"Exercise in Energy Balance

Control of the prana is also guided through nutrition. Food and air
contain a great deal of prana. Prana is transferred from one person to
another, from a person to a plant, from a plant to a person. It is the
life of the world of form. We should eat types of food that contain a
great deal of prana so that we are making prana ourselves. Consider
the physical body as a temple, with plumbing and electricity. To
maintain this temple, watch what you eat and be conscious of the areas
where you flow awareness in the world of thought. The vibration of
certain thoughts upsets the nerve system of this physical-body temple.
Also, be careful of the people that you mix with, so that their
awareness and vibrations do not pull your awareness into unwholesome
areas and the vibrations of their aura do not affect your temple. This
is extremely important to observe, especially during the first few
years of unfoldment.

When we are in ideal surroundings, in the shrine room of our own home,
we can balance the passive and active currents of the body--the ida
and pingala forces. First, do this simple pranayama. Breathe easily,
in and out, in an even rhythm, say, four heartbeats to the inhalation
and four heartbeats to the exhalation. This steady rhythm will soon
begin to balance the ida and pingala.

As the pingala force becomes quieted and regulated, you will hear a
ringing about an inch above the right ear. This is the sound of the
nerve current of the pingala nadi. And as the ida force becomes
quieted and regulated, you will hear a ringing about an inch above the
left ear. This is the nerve sound of the ida nadi, slightly different
from the tone of the pingala nadi. The direction of energy flow in the
pingala nadi is up, whereas the ida nadi flows downward. When the
energy in the two nadis is balanced, a circle is formed, creating a
force field in which the sushumna nadi is regulated.

Now, to bring the sushumna force into power, listen to both tones
simultaneously. It may take you about five minutes to hear both tones
at the same time. Next, follow both tonal vibrations from the ears
into the center of the cranium, where they will meet and blend into a
slightly different sound, as two notes, say, a "C" and an "E," blend
into a chord. The energy of the nadis is then flowing in a circle, and
you will enter the golden yellow light of the sushumna current. Play
with this light and bask in its radiance, for in it is your bloom. The
unfoldment progresses from a golden yellow to a clear white light.
Should you see a blue light, know that you are in the pingala current.
If you see a pink light, that is the color of the ida. Just disregard
them and seek for the white light in the tone of the combined currents
until finally you do not hear the tone anymore and you burst into the
clear white light. Thus you enter savikalpa samadhi--samadhi with
seed, or consciousness, which is the culmination of this particular
practice of contemplation.

After doing this for a period of time, you will find that you lose
interest in the exterior world. It will seem transparent and unreal to
you. When this happens, you have to learn to bring your consciousness
back through meditation, deliberately into the processes of inner
knowing and thought, and back into the exterior world through
concentration. It requires a deliberate concentration then to make the
exterior world seem real again to you.

Now is the time for devotees who have worked diligently in
concentration and meditation and in clearing up personal problems to
enjoy their yoga and be happy in their attainments, to enjoy the bliss
that is their heritage on Earth."  GSS