*** Awakening your inner center means gathering the energy of your One-Self into a single creative point through conscious gazing. The energy doesn’t originate from the yantra itself but from your consciousness, which communicates through the symbolic form. The yantra acts as a mirror—consciousness reflecting itself, becoming aware of its own presence. These meditations guide you into the unknown, where the mind dissolves into no-mind, form reveals its ultimate formlessness, and thingness unveils its inherent no-thing-ness. In essence, yantra meditation tunes you to the vibration of your true One-Self, facilitating transcendence.

Once introduced to the yantra and you begin meditating with it, the practice directs you toward the summit. Whether driven by spiritual instinct, stumbling along the path, or turning away, we are all intuitively gathering a knowingness that every movement inevitably returns us to the starting point—the singular moment of the All-Point, the origin of our infinite being.

Integration and expansion into wholeness occur naturally. You need not do anything beyond fixing your consciousness on the central point of the yantra—that’s all. Centering your One-Self in consciousness is a pathway to inner awakening, the pivot around which the yantra revolves.

Begin the meditation with your eyes open, gazing at the center of the yantra—the dot, the middle point. Focus solely on this center, blinking as little as possible, for three, six, or nine minutes, or as long as you can. Maintain a receptive, alert state, free of conclusions, concepts, or thoughts. Gaze with innocent, wonder-filled eyes. By concentrating only on the dot, ignoring all else, your consciousness deepens rather than scattering. The longer you gaze, the more you may feel weightless and unburdened.

Disregard everything surrounding the central dot. This middle point is where your witnessing consciousness settles. Your peripheral vision will register shapes, images, and colors, but your mind need not interpret or project onto them.

As you gaze at the center, simultaneously observe the “witness” within you perceiving the yantra. Thoughts may arise—you cannot control the mind or its chatter, but you can release attachment to them. Let thoughts come and go without clinging. Watch the dot and the witness of the dot. This dual focus, known as “Double Arrow Attention,” fosters relaxation without effort. The relaxed state emerges on its own.

As your consciousness gathers, flow with its momentum. First, you’ll awaken to the forms and shapes around you. Then, you’ll become aware of your body. Next, an inner awakening to your thoughts and emotions will unfold. Finally, you’ll sense the one who is experiencing.

When your consciousness turns inward, that’s the moment to close your eyes—your intuition will guide you. Now, observe the yantra imprinted in your mind’s eye as it gently draws you within. As it absorbs your consciousness, the boundaries blur: Is the yantra within you, or are you within it? Watch with relaxed attentiveness and alertness. Arising thoughts will dissolve. You’ll become aware of your inner perceptions of reality, but don’t grasp them. Avoid evaluating what emerges—simply allow it. Yantras are experiential, not analytical. They don’t dictate truth but point toward it. Truth is an experience, not a belief, and it unfolds only in the Now. Remain empty and receptive, and the truth within you—your being, part of infinite consciousness—will surface.

With eyes closed, you may still see colors, as they are easier to perceive than forms. Forms are complex, abstract perceptions; what we see as form is, in essence, light. Pure light, too intense to bear, splits into colors. The colors and forms of the Sacred Geometry Yantra reflect something essential within us. How we perceive colors is subjective, tied to emotions and the mind, varying for each individual.

Just as a prism splits white light into a spectrum, the mind fragments colors into emotional, mental, and physical responses, shaped by memory and patterns, preventing us from seeing the whole. Yantra meditation heals this division. Gradually, the colors, shapes, and forms seen with your inner eye fade, ushering you into a state of detached awareness—nothing to see, nothing to seek, just stillness, with no movement in the mind.

In this watchful state, there is no commentary, judgment, or evaluation—just total relaxation. Observe the watcher and witness the witnessing. By watching the watcher, its presence expands. A divine silence gently descends. Do nothing, and you’ll find yourself immersed in pure consciousness, undefined by the mind. You won’t feel compelled to label it as “the experience I’ve sought” or “enlightenment.”

Forget about seeking results in meditation. In this process, no vibration drifts into the future. Here, cause and effect are not separate—just as the chicken and egg are one, each containing the other. Meditation cultivates a sensitivity that reveals our deep interconnectedness with All That Is. This sensitivity fosters a loving intimacy with all we see, smell, touch, taste, hear, and intuit. Be aware, and you’ll be sensitive to the entirety of reality. Be sensitive, and you’ll be aware of everything.

Meditation doesn’t produce joy—joy arises when we are meditative. If joy is absent, we’ve strayed from that state, for joy is our natural essence. Meditation can be learned, but joy cannot—it simply is. To embody joy demands a radical shift in perception and lifestyle. When this happens, we are reborn, and sensitivity flows innocently from an “empty” heart. This experience transcends the physical and psychological, embodying authentic spirituality.

When ready, take a deep breath, wiggle your fingers and toes, open your eyes, and reconnect with your surroundings.

Create your own yantra. Follow these principles or craft your own through experience. Watch, witness, and breathe. Chant, practice Bandha or Pranayama, or use any tool that aids your meditation with the yantra. But you know what I’ll say: “Meditation is simple—no need for complex practices.” It’s about being creative and observant, accepting the flow of life in this moment, embracing existence as YOU. Meditation is awareness, nothing more.***

• Ivan Rados - THE MIDDLE POINT - the art of meditation

  Transcripts - A Collection of Spontaneous Discourses on The Middle Point, Yantra, Tantra, Yoga, Mantra, Zen…, to Disciples and Friends in Port Coquitlam, Vancouver, Toronto, and Los Angeles.