HOW TO PRACTICE HEART AWARENESS

1. We run a bath, initially hot water only, and add two cups filled to the brim with coarse, raw sea salt. The bath is initially filled with hot water only to assist dissolving the salt.

2. We add cold water to adjust the temperature so it is not hot, but still warm. Through practice and experimentation we ascertain the most suitable depth of the water for us.

3. It is advisable to place an alarm clock near the bathtub and set the alarm for 20 minutes. The reason is this practice often induces deep levels of relaxation and we may inadvertently fall asleep in the bathtub.

4. We enter the water and sit in it for a while, allowing our body to adjust to the temperature. A good rule of thumb is once the heat moves evenly throughout our body, as indicated by the beading of sweat on our forehead, we are ready to lie back in the water.

5. Before we lie back we internally state our intention to use this experience for the purpose of activating emotional body awareness and the cleansing of parasitic presences from our energy field.

6. We lie back in the water, making sure our chest area is submerged, and our head is back in the water. Our ears must be submerged so that we can hear our own heartbeat. It does not matter if our hands or feet protrude from the water, but, when possible, our torso is to be completely submerged.

7. We close our eyes and place our full attention in the centre of our chest area; our heart centre. We allow ourselves to be there with intent to feel whatever occurs there. Initially, we may feel a sense of slight nausea present in this area. Nausea, in the context of this procedure, occurs when we perceive energetic circumstances as yet unfamiliar or still unconscious to us. As already discussed, these sensations we perceive as nausea are often indications of foreign presences in our field. We are not to react to any of this; instead we calmly place our attention on the nausea and allow it to be, observing any changes unfolding through the presence of our attention. These alien presences do not like to be watched with our attention and become uncomfortable. Also, their frequency is acidic, and therefore they cannot remain in the alkaline frequency created by the salt water. This is why salt water is reputed to be cleansing, and this is why a dip in the sea temporarily rejuvenates our spirits. As with Spinning, the salt baths cause foreign presences to move out of our field. Again, it is our consistency in this practice that ensures they experience our energetic field as too uncomfortable and therefore leave permanently.

8. By holding our attention in the area of our heart centre we gradually become aware of the sound of our own heartbeat. We then adjust our intent from feeling the energy to listening to our heart beating. As we relax into the practice, with our attention still held in the heart centre, the sound of our heartbeat becomes louder and clearer.

9. We notice that our attention wanders into other thought processes. We are not to be concerned about this. When we notice this occurring, we return it to listening to our heartbeat. This repetition of repeatedly redirecting our attention to our heartbeat begins to strengthen the mental muscle used to anchor our awareness in our emotional body. (This is the same mental muscle we use to navigate our intentions with consistency and clarity.)

10. Sometimes we may discover we connect our breathing during these sessions. We are welcome to allow this when it does occur, but we are not to breathe to the extent that the sound of our breath obscures the sound of our heartbeat. When this does occur, breathing through our mouth makes less noise than through our nose.

11. Consciously connecting our breathing is unnecessary for this procedure to be efficient; listening to the sound of our heartbeat is. Once we hear our heartbeat clearly, we are able to explore the connection between our rate and depth of breathing and the intensity of our heartbeat. We discover the deeper and fuller we breathe, the slower our heart beats. This teaches us how to actively use our breath as a tool to bring calmness to any unsettling outer life experience.

12. When the session is concluded we let the bath water out. It is recommended we shower to remove the salty water from our skin. This avoids itchiness, which may occur when we allow the salt water to dry on our skin. The salt baths wonderfully improve the health and well-being of our skin. For some of us this procedure dries our hair extensively. When this is our experience, to compensate it is recommended we wash our hair after our salt bath sessions with a mild shampoo containing an inbuilt moisturizer, or have hot oil treatments.

13. Once towelled dry, we immediately drink at least 0.5 litres of pure water. Fresh fruit or vegetable juice is also recommended.