This glimpse practice is called Cave of the Heart.
This practice is similar to a meditation called Nirvakalpa Samadhi,
Which is a practice of absorption without any self-referencing.
The Tibetans have a practice they call the Mind of Black Near Attainment.
It's also similar to Yoga Nidra,
Which is translated often as Yogic Sleep,
A practice of deep rest.
You may know the Yoga Nidra practice called Savasana,
That's commonly done at the end of a yoga class,
Where you lie on your back and let yourself drift into a kind of sleep,
And yet you're often wide awake,
Which has great benefits for resting the entire nervous system on a very deep level.
This practice is one in which you can experience no self in a way that's more restful than sleep,
And yet you remain wide awake without content or a self.
In most of the other practices,
We're experiencing a kind of day-sky clarity.
Here in this practice,
The feeling is one of a night sky,
A black velvet rest,
As if you're resting at night on a nice grassy hill on a summer night with a warm breeze,
And you just let go and feel completely content.
Ramana Maharshi,
One of the modern great sages,
Often recommended two practices.
The first one is Self-Inquiry,
Where he directly asked people to look into,
Who am I?
The second practice,
Which is less well known,
Is what Ramana Maharshi called,
Resting in the Cave of the Heart on the Right Side of the Chest.
He never described in detail exactly how to do the practice,
But here's a version that makes sense to me and seems to work for others.
Many of my students say this is one of their favorite practices.
So let's set it up.
On the left side of your chest is your biological heart.
Some people feel that their emotional heart is in the center,
Right below their throat.
Below that is where people often locate the heart chakra,
In the middle but down low.
On the right side of the chest is open space.
This is where the Cave of the Heart is,
The safe space of the heart.
In this exercise,
We're going to start the same way we started many other exercises,
By unhooking local awareness from thought and having it drop down below our necks.
But in this case,
We're going to have it go to the Cave of the Heart on the Right Side of the Chest.
As it goes there,
It's able to let go and rest deeper than sleep and wide awake in a black velvet silence.
When our bodies are deeply resting,
The normal tendency is for our minds to fall asleep.
Here,
When we allow our bodies and brains to rest deeply,
Let's see if there's also an awareness that remains wide awake,
A kind of black velvet clarity,
Like the night sky.
Some people report that a short period of resting in the Cave of the Heart makes them feel like they've had the equivalent of the best night's sleep of their lives.
So let's try it now.
First,
You can lie down or sit comfortably.
So take your time and get ready.
Find a comfortable position,
And this one will do with our eyes closed.
So take a little deeper breath,
Feel the full breath in your entire body,
And remain alert while you relax.
So now notice the activity of thought in your head and unhook local awareness,
Having it know directly from within your throat,
From within your upper body,
And now allow local awareness to slowly drift down like a leaf and find the safe,
Restful place inside your upper body on the right side of your chest.
Find a place,
A space within your body that feels safe,
Restful,
With no activity,
Just a stillness.
It may be completely dark,
Like black velvet,
Or maybe a little pinpoint of light,
Like the night sky,
Sparkling,
Dazzling darkness.
Allow your awareness to rest completely in this black velvet silence without falling asleep.
Feel the awareness as alert as it is resting.
You can allow yourself to remain here as long as you need.
Often you'll naturally open your eyes when you're ready,
Feeling refreshed and renewed.
Feel each cell drinking in this rest and renewal.
Let awake awareness surrender into the cave of the heart.
Rest as this deep black velvet silence,
Dazzling darkness,
Deeper than sleep,
Yet wide awake.
Surrender without going to sleep.
Rest.
Awake.
Remain here until you naturally arise and open your eyes.
Enjoy.
