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Manipura-The Indweller, Your Hidden Power
third center, you break the bonds of this constricting ego and experience a deepening communion with your real nature. Your outward expression will become both expansive and positive.
This center is associated with the element of fire, whose nature is always to move upward radiating light and heat. Yogis in the Himalayan mountains meditate on this fire element, which they call agni. Becoming one with it, they protect themselves from the severe cold of winter there. The only difference between the power of those yogis and us is that we allow our intellect to put limits on our idea of the possible. We say, “It cannot happen to me. How can I get warm just by concentrating on fire?"
In reality, however, our thinking profoundly affects our body. Suppose, for instance, someone insults you. Immediately, you will blush and your hands will start to tremble. Look at the change which has come over you as the result of a single insult! See how pale and cold you become when you glimpse something frightening; or when you see your beloved one, feel the thrill of joy passing through your whole body. How do these changes occur? They happen spontaneously because you do not interfere with them when you are engrossed in the experience before you. So allow yourself to feel the power of inner energy and warmth by focusing your attention on the element of fire. It can consume all fluctuating desires, all unpleasant feelings, all accumulated fears.
Sit in a comfortable and relaxed position. Bring your full attention to the area of the navel, which, in Sanskrit, is called manipura. Mani means "jewel" and puram means
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