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The Orange Concentration Exercise |
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Introduction
The Orange Concentration Exercise is more than four thousand years old. In this exercise, the orange represents both our universe and God. The orange is round like the Sun, and round like the symbol, that in many spiritual traditions, represents God. The circle can represent God because, like God, it can infinitely expand, yet it is still a circle. The orange also symbolizes the endless processes of growth, death, and rebirth: the infinite cycle of life and transformation. |
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This exercise, if done properly, teaches you to concentrate and gives you the ability to control your mind, so that you may enter into meditation more easily.
If you would like to do this exercise at your computer, read the instructions and then click the pic for a larger orange...
Procedure
Place an orange upon a table about 1 ½ feet from you, as you sit in a straight-backed chair. Now, sit quietly and relax, eyes closed at first, as you allow your thoughts to subside and eventually cease.
Now, open your eyes, and examine slowly and completely the surface of the orange. Let your eyes slowly drift to the center of the orange, and look within and imagine what it looks like inside. Keep your eyes focused as you look within it, and examine first the various segments, then the shapes, colors, sizes of the pieces, and finally the seeds within the orange.
After a few minutes of this phase of your concentration, focus upon examining a seed within the orange, studying it, from its outer shell and into its various layers until you reach the center.
Then imagine taking this seed and placing it into the ground, planting it firmly. See yourself watering it, see it bearing roots and sprouting forth, growing into a small bush, then a tree, and then bearing a blossom, and finally a tiny bead within the blossom, which grows into a full fruit. You once again have returned to the orange.
Do not rush the visualization process, but carry it out slowly and in a relaxed state. Whenever you feel tense, breathe slowly and relax into the orange.
If at any time during this exercise you are distracted, or a thought enters in, then stop where you are and relax, letting your thoughts subside and cease once again, then start the exercise again from the beginning.
You may stop and start several times at a sitting, but don't restart more than 2-3 times. You may do it several times a day if you like, but take breaks in between.
The complete exercise usually takes between 10 to 15 minutes.
Click the pic for a larger orange tree, if you like, to give yourself an idea of what a full grown orange tree looks like...
