Now let me give you two specific meditation exercises for opening your centers. The first I described in a recent answer to a question, but I shall briefly repeat it.
Sit down in a very relaxed way, in the posture of this instrument. Do not slump down, yet sit without tension, completely contained within yourself, without stiffness. The spine should be straight, not needing to lean against the backrest of the chair but held up by its own balance. Close your eyes and feel every part of your outer body. Relax it deliberately. Then try and see what happens when you do not think. Do not force yourself not to think, for this would only make you tense. Rather attempt it in the spirit of “I would like not to think, but I know that I am not capable of doing so without some involuntary thinking processes taking place almost all the time. Therefore I shall calmly observe my thinking processes, to what extent they penetrate my mind without my being able to control them.” In that fashion, in unpushing, unresisting observation, you will eventually succeed, for perhaps a fraction of a minute, in not thinking. You will in that moment be so still, so untense, yet so poised and “there” with your attention and awareness, that the agitated mind processes will be calmed down. This state is not at all an unaware rambling and drowsing. It is extremely alert and awake, a sharp concentration without the least bit of tension. You will then find yourself seeing the thinking process as it wants to rush in on you. You will feel as if you were standing on the threshold of an apparent nothingness or void. Do this in an unintense way. Give it a minute or two — perhaps before or after the meditation that you use for self-discovery or reorientation of your negativity. Breathe calmly but distinctly through your abdomen. Feel your lower stomach rhythmically lift up and down, in as calm and regular fashion as you can. Every inhalation and exhalation should express a harmonious mind attitude of the most positive nature, until gradually the volitional mind ceases to work and merely observes the involuntary mind.
This exercise will help you calm the busy, agitated mind. Therefore the center at the solar plexus will open. Through this exercise, a channel to this center will begin to loosen up and finally open. Thus an inner connection to your higher wisdom will be established. You will not get a direct, immediately noticeable result, but by doing this practice as unintensely and calmly as possible, you will suddenly find yourself poised on the brink of an apparent void. This is the beginning of a new opening, which you will experience only retroactively and indirectly, as though it happened quite independently of these practices.

The other practice I suggest is very much related to the topic of this lecture — the observation of outer and inner body blocks. Sit down in the same way. In this exercise you may also lie down flat. Again relax and tune in to your body. Let every part of the outer functioning deliberately relax. Then you will find tense areas of which you have not been particularly aware before. See to what extent you can deliberately loosen them and where this is not possible. This will show you whether the area belongs to the outer or inner system. Once you can clearly distinguish the area and feel the block, or the lump, or the congestion, question the meaning of it. Connect it to the mind and the feelings that create it. What is the fear that creates this tension? Ask yourself: What is the direct relationship between the specific body tension and fear? Send the thought into these cells, which have their own consciousness. “What is the misconception behind the tension?” Answers will come to you. You will probably first notice the outer blocks only. But the more you progress, the greater the awareness of the inner reality becomes. You will then use the same approach on that level — only it will be easier then. (lecture 173)