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When we say meditation on the heart, we do not mean the physical heart, but that place in the centre of the chest where we can feel the core of our being, When we are pointing to ourselves, we don't point to or head or any other point of our body; we point to our heart centre because we know that this place somehow lies the essence of our being. As meditation is first and foremost a journey of self discovery, finding what lies deep within the heart when the mind is still and calm is a very natural place to begin the journey.

The first step in meditating on the heart is learning to rest your awareness on the centre of your chest using concentration. Whereas the mind's way of concentration is analysis, the heart has the power of empathy and identification, and by meditating in the heart we can identify ourselves and become with the object we are concentrating on. It is good to start by first concentrating on a candle. When we breath in we can feel that the qualities of the candle are entering into our heart centre and becoming part of our existence, and when we breath out we can feel that our own existence is entering into the candle, so that our existence and the candle existence gradually become one existence.

Another way of meditating on the heart is feel that you do not have a mind at all; you have only the heart. You can even say to yourself silently; 'I have no mind, I have only the heart'. After a few minutes, you can go one step further and say that not only do you have the heart, but you are the heart. When you say this, you can feel that every part of your being is now the beauty and fragrance of the heart.

Mantras are another great way for a beginner to get into the heart centre. When chanting them, you can feel the physical vibration in the middle of you chest, and this helps you focus on that area. It helps to place your hand on your chest or use the anjali mudra, which is a hand position very similar to the Christian prayer position, with the hands folded and your two thumbs resting against your heart centre.

It can be quite difficult for a beginner to tear him or herself away from the mind's superficial rambling and become firmly anchored in the joy and peace of the heart. One technique you can try is to imagine that the mind is like the surface of the ocean, with its countless waves and ripples; we are aiming to do deep into the centre of the ocean, where all is calm and quiet. Feel that you are immersed in these quiet peaceful depths; you can still see the ripples overhead but you are not caught up in them, you are just observing them from your heart-home.

All these techniques are rather like stabilisers on a bicycle; after a while you will naturally find yourself drawn towards this beautiful space at the core of your being. You can then listen to the intuitive voice coming from this space and let it guide you in your meditation; this is when the meditation journey really begins in earnest, as your soul comes more and more to the fore and leads you towards the joy and peace of true self-knowledge.

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