The Heart
When the qualities of the Self (referred to in the previous post), such as blissfulness, warmth, and energy, begin to emerge, they might seem to flow from a specific place around the center of the chest. Some Nonduality teachers, the most important being Ramana Maharshi, call this area The Heart. Its radiant qualities can feel as though you’re having an intimate relationship with the presence of a very warm and loving person.
Depending on one’s cultural and religious background, the presence might be identified as a specific religious figure. In the born-again Christian tradition, for example, it’s popularly identified as Jesus. But, if no traditional beliefs are imposed, it might be identified simply and vaguely as divine presence. That’s how I described my own experience, which happened long before I ever heard of the Heart or of any traditions surrounding the experience. But that divine presence, which might be felt initially as “other,” is ultimately revealed to be one’s own limitless Self.
Note: Ramana Maharshi said that the Heart appears as a center in the chest only as long as one identifies with the body, but that it is truly unlimited and unconfined to any physical region. Interestingly, recent scientific experiments shed some light on the relationship of the body with the usual sense of self.
Out-of-Body Experience Recreated Scientists have found a way to trigger an out-of-body experience in volunteers.
The Science of Out-of-Body Experiences “…the studies relate to humankind’s most enduring question: what makes us ourselves in the first place? ‘I’m not really interested in out-of-body experiences,’ says Henrik Ehrsson, one of the study’s authors and an assistant professor at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. ‘I’m really interested in in-body experiences: how the brain keeps and updates a model of the world and the body. To have a perception of your own body is the foundation of self-consciousness.’”