In the Manipura meditation, you will have the opportunity to get in touch with the awareness that transcends conscious mind. In this meditation you will get in touch with that transcendental self that allows you to participate and empathize with other people, and to connect deeply with them. By experiencing the radiations of the third chakra consciously, you will transcend "me" concerns and experience the selflessness that permits you to connect with other people and to feel the deep contentment associated with that connection.

To begin the Manipura meditation, find a comfortable position with your back straight, close your eyes and begin the Yogic breath by breathing deeply through your nose without separation between inhalation and exhalation. As you breath yogically, feel yourself relaxing. Become conscious of your body by paying attention to your breath for about five minutes. After about five minutes, bring your mental attention to your third chakra, located just below the breastbone, and begin breathing in and out from it. On each inhalation you will feel the energy in the solar plexus growing stronger. You will feel it as a heat and intensity. As the energy grows stronger, visualize it as a ball of golden yellow energy. Visualize and experience it growing stronger and brighter for two or three minutes. Next, feel your consciousness move downward until it becomes centered in that ball of energy. Become the ball of energy and feel yourself radiating outward from it, first through your body and then into the outer environment. As you radiate, you will feel yourself beginning to melt.

You will feel yourself becoming watery and fluid. As your consciousness radiates from that center, you will feel a profound empathy. This empathy, which is the product of trust and contentment, will permit you to feel compassion for the pain and suffering of others as well as for yourself. Surrender to these feelings and let them flow through you. Take about ten minutes for this part of the meditation. After about ten minutes or when you feel satisfied, take a deep breath through your nose and as you exhale mentally repeat, "Every time I come to this level of consciousness I learn to use more of my mind in more creative ways." Then let your breathing return to normal, release the ball of energy from your third chakra and the imagery associated with it, and mentally return to the room and relax. After a few moments, begin to count mentally from one to five and when you reach the number five, open your eyes. You will feel wide awake, perfectly relaxed, and better than you did before.

Excerpted from Chakra Therapy, by Keith Sherwood