Sadhanas for Flowering of the Heart & Deepening of Awareness

If true friendship is to flower the heart must flower. For the heart to flower you must be free of hurts.

Pick one suffering relationship and ask to feel the pain that that person caused you. From the midst of that pain ask for help in forgiving that person. See the lightening of the heart.

Now ask to experience the pain you caused that person. Surely you are not innocent. Ask to be in their shoes. See how harshly you judged that person and felt about them. How you have carried that hatred, kept the fire burning much of your life. From the midst of that pain ask for them to forgive you.

This is called right repentance. It will lead to the compassion (the word passion means pain-compassion is to feel the pain of others) and a flowering of the heart and perfection of relationship. It will help you to set right all of your relationships.

Life is relationship and the answer to the question: "How are my relationships?" is among the
best gauges of spiritual growth.

If you would like to go deeper and develop deep states of awareness, practice the following sadhana every night for 21 days. If you fall or backslide somewhat then simply continue:

At night before you go to bed, review your day and ask the Divine to show you if anyone hurt you that day. If so then ask to re-experience the pain that person caused you. From the midst of that pain ask the Divine to help you forgive that person. You must ask. If you could have done it on your own you would have by now. This is to suffer and forgive and it is Grace. To do this-to suffer and forgive- your nature will become Divine.

Now ask to see if you hurt anyone that day. Maybe it was not deliberate. However if you are suffering you will cause suffering to others. It is like that. An unhappy person brings happiness to no one. If you see you have hurt someone, even in passing, ask to experience the pain you caused that other being. Now ask the Divine to help that being to forgive you. You will develop tremendous compassion in this practice as well.

Next review your day and see if anyone asked you for help. The external action or lack thereof is not relevant. Pay close attention to what was there internally.

And finally ask yourself, "Am I happy?"

Namaste,

DD

From an Awakening the Antaryamin Workshop.