When the mind sinks into the heart with perfect trust, an ineffably soft and healing warmth glows here, which is manna for the body and peace for the soul. The early Christians experienced this warmth of the heart through breathing the name of Jesus. Sufi's tasted this radiance through Zikr prayer, chanting the name of God, "La ilaha il'Allah." Yogis merged with the heart-radiance through the mantra Ham'sah, or So'ham (they are the same). Breathing in the sound of "Ham," I Am, breathing out "Sah," God.
There is an instruction given by the early Christian mystics of the Orthodox Church again and again in their textbook of prayer, the Philocalia, yet it is exactly the same instruction given in the Shiva Sutras of India: "Let your mind descend into the heart." This descent of the mind into the heart is the beginning and end of prayer.
Christian mystics, like St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, taught, "Let Jesus be your breath!" Their practice of the "Jesus Prayer," or "Prayer of the Heart," was precisely to enter the heart by means of the breath, as breath is energized by the divine name. Breath is the energy of Christ's Holy Spirit in Christian meditation, so in Kashmir Shaivism the power that flows through the breath is Kundalini Shakti, the very Goddess form of Shiva.
There is a divine kiss of inbreath and outbreath, outbreath and inbreath, where they touch. This is the point bindhu,. In Jewish mysticism it is called the Ayin Soph Aur: which means the dimensionless point of no-thing from which the light of creation flows. This point contains all space and time in a singularity, from which the star systems whirl like sparks flung out from a conflagration. Yet this bindhu is inside you, infinitesimal, more intimate than you are to yourself.
Vijnana Bhairava states, "The supreme Goddess, whose nature is to sing and create, constantly expresses herself in your body as exhalation and inhalation. By resting awareness in the space in the heart, between the descending and ascending breaths, one experiences Bhairava, the source of creation, where the worlds are born."
Without awakened awareness, breath is just an autonomic biological response. But when awareness is united to breath, they polish one another, and caress one another in a holy friction of unspeakable softness, igniting the light of God. The interface between breath and awareness unites the spiritual and physical worlds, inner and outer creation, consuming their apparent duality in one radiance, for they were never actually two.
"Light of God" is not a metaphor, nor a figure of speech. It is the very substance of divine energy, the essence of matter and consciousness, bathing every atom in the glory of its origin.
So on this Sabbath morning, at least for a little while, gently breathe upon the glowing coal in your hearth, your most secret center. It is a humble effortless practice, yet if you continue faithfully, the ember bursts into a vibrant flame. Call it the Christ in you. Call it Shiva. Call it the dance of the Goddess Shakti, who is the Holy Spirit. What Name you use matters less than the warmth you feel.
Follow the leading of this warmth, even when you move through deep darkness. Surrender to this trembling aureole in your breast, even though the day is cold. There will come a time when you will know, beyond all believing, that there is no higher law, no fuller wealth, no more sovereign authority, than this flame in your heart.
The Great Way is the Simple Way. The Simple Way is the anarchy of love. All other paths are kindling.
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