Hiranyagarbha

"While Qigong-inspired visualizations expand consciousness outward, I also want to turn my focus inward before I meditate. For this, I use techniques I adapted from hypno-therapy to deepen the connection between my mind and body. I’ll do a technique, based on a Qigong practice, where I open my hands outward, close my eyes, and think, I am in the universe. As I do this, I’m picturing the entire observable universe—all 546,000 billion trillion miles of it. I let myself become a mind without a body, floating in a vast, mostly empty space. It’s a very liberating feeling. Then I’ll bring my arms inward, cupping them as if I’m holding a globe or egg in front of me, and think, And the universe is in me. I picture Hiranyagarbha, the Hindu golden egg of the universe, between my hands. I lift that imaginary egg to my mouth and, visualizing the universe being placed in my mouth, I swallow it, repeating silently, The universe is in me. Sometimes I’ll take it further. After I swallow the universe, I’ll think, I love the universe and feel love pouring out of me, filling every speck of the cosmos. Then I’ll think, And the universe loves me, as my arms come in, almost like a self-hug. I imagine this is how a baby might feel wrapped in a mother’s hug but multiplied by a million. If I want to deepen the experience, I envision not just…"