Yeow! Before we get going, I just want to say:
Cohort #14 of Clean Your Inner World kick starts this Monday.
Enrollment closes tomorrow at 11:59 pm est.
So if you want to participate, hit the link below to register (or you could donate the cost of the course to ANY charity of your choice & simply send me the receipt as proof and I’ll add you):
https://www.mindskool.com/clean
Now onto the email…
Put your index finger on your belly button, slide it two inches down and imagine it going about three inches inward. Take a deep breath into this area and focus on it.
Now congratulate yourself because you’ve just found the greatest secret of the human body.
“Why is this the greatest secret?”
Because this is a hidden energy center proven to increase vitality, energy, focus, grounding, confidence, willpower, strength, support, trust, charisma and presence.
I know. I know. Sounds like the greatest bullshit in the world instead of the greatest secret haha…
… but it’s really NOT because you can think of this center like a bridge that experientially connects your “character” [visible] to the qualities and capacities of your True Nature [invisible Source of all that is].
When you’re in touch with it, your character becomes “infused” with the riches of your true nature and you have an abundance of energy to put in the work, be consistent, and stay the course (crucial for entrepreneurship and life).
When you’re disconnected, on the other hand, your character becomes separated from the ground of Being and you start feeling doubtful, unsupported, lazy, weak, prone to bad habits, and stuck in your head (with a mind full of distracting thoughts).
Night and day difference. Not just in theory (F that noise), but in real “practical” life.
But before we get to the practical part of awakening this center (so you can test it out for yourself – this after all is the most fun), let’s first take it back a few steps and answer the question:
What Exactly Is This Center And What Makes It So Powerful?
This center goes by many different names.
In Japanese culture, it’s called the Hara.
In Chinese culture, it’s called the Lower Dan Tian.
In other cultures it’s called Ki, Kath, or simply the Belly.
But names are just names.
What we want to know is what makes this center SO POWERFUL at infusing the human being with the qualities, capacities, and abilities he/she needs to live a full life?
And to answer that question, I’m not going to give you my take (not an expert on the subject… but a student) but turn to what I consider to be the greatest book written on this center which is called: “HARA: The Vital Center Of Man”
Inside this book, Karlfried Graf Dürckheim (the author) defines the Hara Center as:
A source of strength that is not of this world aka “The very embodiment of man’s contact with the fundamental power of the Greater Life manifested in him. It is a gift from life which is his without his having earned it. But only by preserving a right center of gravity can it unfold its fullest meaning.”
And states the Hara Center is the most vital center in the body for actualizing the qualities and capacities intrinsic to Being such as calmness, fearlessness, strength, vitality, focus, presence.
“Every born leader – whether in the sphere of politics, great enterprises or the spiritual life – draws his strength from the primordial forces of life”
… and “the man who draws his energies from the forces of the basic, vital center develops magical powers. Not only does he possess inexhaustible energy, often an unbelievable resistance to disease and even an apparent immunity to death, he also makes others fall under his spell. He easily wins a blindly devoted following on whom he imprints his stamp and whom he unites and carries with him.”
Not only that, but Karlfried also states that an underdeveloped Hara center can give rise to a limited life experience characterized more with a personality that is ‘unbalanced’ (top heavy) and full of anxiety, fear, struggle, and decay.
And that the maturation of the Hara leads to “Development of the highest levels of life.”
Quite interesting, isn’t it?
All these capacities, qualities, abilities are intrinsic to you aka your birthright (plus a potential solution to certain performance problems you may be experiencing), but up till now you may not have known it existed (as you’re lost in the world of the personality and take it be the truth of who you are).
“Yes! It’s interesting… but still is this even true?”
I’ll share my own personal experience in just a moment, but first I want to share three quick case studies.
These are ‘worldly’ case studies I’ve picked out to highlight the power and potential of developing this center.
So, here goes.
Case Study 1/ Acting School – Training The Outstanding Actor
Have you ever watched a movie and been impressed with an actor’s stage presence?
Chances are you have because it seems like they have something that most people don’t. They’re locked in, mesmerizing, fully here, grounded in themselves, and can easily captivate audiences with their presence (no need to talk. Just look at the image above).
Question is, why and how?
I thought it was just acting (and it is), but turns out it’s deeper than that too and actually is the result of developing and coming from the Hara/Ki Center.
For when you come from this center, your charisma and presence is greatly magnified compared to when you don’t (come from your head for example).
In order to illustrate this, I highly recommend you check out these two videos (when you have the time) from a well known acting professor who has trained some legendary A listers:
(I’m obviously not an actor lol, but I found both videos very useful.)
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Okay that’s acting and it’s all about embodying presence, so I guess it makes sense that the Hara center ‘grounds’ you in the moment which, in return, magnifies your stage presence and increases your capacity to act.
But what about other areas like work and performance?
Well, let’s keep it moving.
Case Study 2/ This Man Developed His Lower Dan Tian And Worked 90 Hour Weeks With Minimal Sleep
After he quit, his boss had to hire five men to replace him.
I know… sounds like a cheesy ClickBank VSL lol. But here’s his story:
I chose this case study in particular because most of the time you just hear a bunch of new age people talking new age nonsense, but this individual comes from a stronger lineage, so hopefully his words carry more weight.
(I don’t think you need to give up sleep and work 90 hour weeks lol, but it definitely alludes to the power of this center.)
Again, quite wild, isn’t it?
You bet!
But there’s just one more case study I want to bring to your attention…
Case Study 3/ Mixed Martial Arts
Stand up (if you can) and throw a punch with just your arms – meaning source the power of the punch from your upper body (only).
Now throw a punch from your belly – meaning bring all your mental focal energy to your belly and throw your hands, but source the power of the punch from the belly. In simpler words, put your hips into it.
(Here’s a quick video on this)
Notice the difference in power and increase in strength?
“YES!”
Where did this power come from?
Now if you subscribe to the mainstream view, you’ll say the power came from your legs and hips because it allowed you to put more ‘force’ behind the punch.
And that’s 100% true.
But what’s interesting is if you study the history of various martial arts, you’ll quickly realize that it was a spiritual discipline designed to cultivate and strengthen one’s spirit by awakening various centers in the body with a primary focus on the Hara Center.
It was believed that the man with the stronger Hara center and lower center of gravity would prevail in combat. Such is why Karlfried Graf Dürckheim also stated that the entire purpose of military training is to ‘develop’ the HARA CENTER.
For a man with a developed Hara can keep calm, grounded, confident, and fearless even in the face of death (thus is one reason why the military turns ‘boys’ into ‘men’).
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(Bonus: This is another cool case study on Reddit.)
As you’re starting to see, an increase in energy, presence, conviction, consistency, and strength are just some of the potentials of a developed belly center (this is one reason why most people who can “actually” fight are always pretty calm and grounded compared to the people who cannot fight – more loud/obnoxious. Fighting over time develops the Hara Center which naturally grounds/calms you down).
But with that stated, what exactly has been my personal experience with the Hara center (in relation to entrepreneurship and getting things done)?
Here’s My Story:
Before I stumbled across the teachings of the Hara and started putting the practices (which I’ll reveal in just a moment) into action, I was pretty Type A and head heavy.
Meaning, my head was the steering wheel I used to direct my life and entrepreneurial pursuits.
Only issue with being ‘head heavy’?
I would easily suffer from a lack of clarity (head heavy = being run by conflicting thoughts, viewpoints, faces – blurring the immediacy of reality to the point that you cannot tell right from left) with respect to decision making in business, inability to keep my word (overcommitting to obligations and not having enough space/bandwidth to eat all the food on my plate – direct result of a lack of grounding in reality), and inconsistency (falling on/off the wagon).
These were all signs of a weak will due to a lack of support (which happens when you become disconnected from the belly for the belly is the anchor that provides support for the head and heart to do its thing).
In entrepreneurship, this was a HUGE problem because your will is essentially all you got to bring your vision to life.
With a weak will, you’re doomed.
With a strong will, you can bend the world to your will.
(Look at all the successful entrepreneurs and you’ll notice they all have a very strong will.)
So with that noted, I always knew I was smart enough, creative enough, skilled enough to make a lot of money in biz…
… but where I lacked was in my followthrough. Fixing this ‘problem’ thus became a central focus in my late teens and one of the ways I did that (without knowing at the time) was by building and strengthening the belly center (training your discipline is really just building your belly center btw).
This, in return, provided immense dividends and allowed me to embody the required will to turn my thoughts/intentions into reality by becoming a true executor/high performer.
Not only that, but it also gave me the energy to:
Put in 4-6 hours of continuous deep work without a moment’s break (I’d literally go 8am till 2pm without a break – just locked and loaded)
Write 5,000+ words daily
Graduate with a 3.87 GPA, build a successful online biz (so I wouldn’t have to get a job after college), party multiple times a week, and have a complete blast
… While in my college days (this was the time when I zeroed in on developing my will.)
“But that was back then, what about now?”
These days:
I’m doing more than ever before and the results are bigger and badder than ever before…
… but it doesn’t really feel like I’m doing anything.
It just feels like everything is happening on its own and I have an infinite fountain of energy that is constantly renewing itself on the daily.
Of course I’m still young, so naturally I have a lot of energy, but still. I don’t think that’s the sole reason.
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With the above noted, this is why a couple years ago I tweeted the following (the first sentence in particular for it came from direct experience):
So with that noted, the question now becomes…
How exactly can you test this for yourself?
After all, that’s the most important because words are just words. And we’re not reading for a mental transformation, but an experiential transformation.
In order to derive that experiential transformation, I’ll share with you the daily practice that I personally do. Before going it, however, I recommend you lower the time (to suit your needs) because consistency is the most important.
My Daily Hara Practice
1/ Morning – 30 Minute Hara Meditation
I wake up in the morning and I sit for 30 minutes. While I sit, I close my eyes, put my hands on my lower belly, and bring all my awareness/focus/concentration to this area (“where energy goes, matter grows” so by placing your focus here, you’ll start developing the hara center and experiencing the benefits) and breathe into it for 30 minutes. In. Out. Normal breaths. Nothing fancy. As I’m doing this, my mind is hitting me with thoughts and I get distracted like everybody else. But when I do, I simply notice and bring my attention back to the belly. I keep it here for the duration of the meditation. Once the timer goes off, I’m done and I open my eyes and get my day started.
2/ During The Day – Hara Awareness (Act From The Hara)
As I’m living my life and going through my day – whether that’s writing copy, recording podcasts, eating steak, cracking trash jokes, having team meetings, or even writing this letter right now – I make a conscious effort to keep some of my awareness on the lower belly and to act from here.
What does this mean?
Just like you can throw a punch from the arms or the belly, the same applies to all other actions. I choose to come from the belly and now every action I take in my normal waking life becomes an opportunity to develop the hara center.
(It’s actually quite remarkable. Sometimes when I’m recording podcasts, I lose myself and become very heady. Then I’m reminded to speak from the belly and I typically notice my voice gets deeper, slower, infused with greater joy and depth. Try it yourself and you’ll notice similar results. Speak from the head vs. speak from the belly.)
So that’s the second thing I do.
3/ Night – 30 Minute Hara Meditation
Lastly, I wrap up the day with another 30 minute session before I retire the day and go to sleep.
So that’s the daily practice.
(I recommend you start by doing 15 minute morning and night meditation instead of 30 minutes.)
By doing the above (every single day), I experience the following external benefits:
Put in hours and hours of high quality deep work (I started my deep work session today at 7am for example and it’s 11:22 am right now and I’ve written about 5643 words thus far with zero breaks – I will stop after I’m done this though)
Experience extreme focus – Heightened clarity to know exactly what to do and how (straight line actions, no random zig zags, no random side streets, no bullshit)
High energy – The internal fountain of energy is constantly overflowing and renewing itself in each moment.
Strong immunity – Rarely get sick.
Increased presence – Grounded in the immediacy of reality.
Improved functioning of the head – Head works better when it has the support and clarity of the belly.
Easier time bringing intentions to life – Not just visualizing a grandiose life on a lazy boy sofa, but actually engaging the process and carrying out my will.
But the real benefits are internal (the entire purpose of developing the hara center is to support you on your spiritual journey so you can stay the course and not quit when things get difficult).
You develop a greater grounding, support, fearlessness and trust to stay with your experience – no matter what it is and this directly translates to your ability to hold and maintain frame – regardless of what is going on in the video game of life.
In business (and on the spiritual path) this makes all the difference. So I wanted to share it with you because it truly is one of the greatest untapped powers every human being possesses (but most live and die without ever activating it). More you develop it, the more benefits you enjoy.
So put it into action and see what unfolds for you?
That’s all for me.
Thanks for reading.
Your friend,
/tej
P.S. Opening up the belly center is one of the four daily practices we leverage inside Clean Your Inner World. It’s extremely important and the foundation for deep transformation. But it’s just the first practice.
Other four are revealed inside the 45-day protocol:
https://www.mindskool.com/clean
(Register by Sunday 11:59 pm est)
Going to add this to my 20 min morning meditation starting tomorrow. Thanks Tej.