“They also knew, however, that the brain was only needed on this plane of existence as a kind of interface between the soul and the body. Both here and in the afterlife, it is the Heart that is the true center of Wisdom, of the human person. The Heart (or more properly, the Heart Center, one of the seven major psychic centers), is the true seat of consciousness, and is the Center which can most directly commune with the Divine rhythm of all that is, manifest and unmanifest. The tool used to awaken the Heart to this rhythm, and to attune the whole person with it, is known in Martinism, and in the West in general, as The Prayer of the Heart. Its most basic manifestation is deep rhythmic breathing, while mentally repeating a name or a mantra which represents the deepest mysticism of the practitioner, breathing in and breathing out. At the beginning, an aspirant will do this for periods of time, consciously. For those who practice this ancient art assiduously, it becomes second nature, and becomes part of the fabric of their lives, following the injunction to “pray ceaselessly.”
- Martinism: The Way of the Heart, Steven Armstrong
Martinist Prayer of the Heart
“Martinists practice the Prayer of the Heart in its direct and most basic form, using the name of the Grand Architect of the Universe in the mental repetition. This is commemorated each year near the Winter Solstice.
In fact, this practice is one of the most powerful ways to bring about the goal devoutly sought by Louis-Claude de SaintMartin and all Martinists: the only initiation I advocate and search for with all the ardor of my soul is the one through which we can enter into the heart of God and make God’s heart enter our own, there to make an indissoluble marriage which makes us friend, brother, and spouse of our Divine Repairer. There is no other mystery to arrive at this holy initiation than to go more and more down into the depths of our being, and not let go till we can bring forth the living vivifying root, because then all the fruit which we ought to bear, according to our kind, will be produced within and without us naturally, as we see occurs with our earthly trees, because they are attached to their particular root, and do not cease to draw up its sap.(Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, “The Way of the Heart,” letter of June 19, 1797)
It should be no surprise that with the central place that the concepts of “Wisdom” and “Word” have in the Primordial Tradition, and as many traditions consider that the universe was created by the utterance of a word or sound, that the Prayer of the Heart would hold the central place in Martinism, and indeed, in so many mystical paths”
- Martinism: The Way of the Heart, Steven Armstrong
Heart-Based Prayer in other Traditions
- Martinism: The Way of the Heart, Steven Armstrong
In Judaism, this heart-centered prayer consists of using these methods while mentally reciting the Divine Names while meditating. In Kabbalah, this is usually the meditative recitation of the 72 Names of God from the Sepher Yezirah.
he Western Mediaeval practice of Lectio Divina (Divine Reading) is still widely practiced today. In this approach, the practitioner rhythmically breathes in and out while very slowly mentally reading a prayer, or a passage from Scripture, sometimes repeating one word or phrase for many iterations.
Islam’s heart practice is known as Dhikr or Zikr, meaning invocation. It is the repeated and rhythmic recitation, usually mentally, of phrases with which one “Remembers Allah.” Many sections of the Qur’an recommend this practice highly. Most typically citations from the Qur’an or exclamations such as “God is Greatest!” or “There is no God but God!”7 are used.
Japa is the form that the heart prayer takes in Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism. Usually accompanied by the use of a 108-bead chain, the practitioner repeats a mantra or Divine name mentally. Common mantras are Aum, Hare Krishna, and Om Mani Padme Hum. Japa means “to utter with a low voice, repeat internally.”
In Pure Land Buddhism, Nianfo or Nembutsu is the repetitive prayer for “mindfulness of the Buddha.” It consists most commonly of the rhythmic repetition of the name of Amitabha Buddha: Namo Amitabhaya, “Homage to Infinite Light.”
While Rosicrucians do not have a direct analogue with the Prayer of the Heart, the use of Vowel Sounds and the Lost Word are quite similar.8