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Hypothesis
HeartMath Coherence Model Throws New Light on Arka
Dhyana Intuitive Meditation
Tina Lindhard 1,* , Caroll Hermann 2and Stephen D. Edwards 2
Citation: Lindhard, T.; Hermann, C.;
Edwards, S.D. HeartMath Coherence
Model Throws New Light on Arka
Dhyana Intuitive Meditation.
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162. https://
doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9091162
Academic Editors: Manoj Sharma,
Kavita Batra and Helen Noble
Received: 7 July 2021
Accepted: 1 September 2021
Published: 5 September 2021
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
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Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
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4.0/).
1Department of Psychology, International University of Professional Studies, Mau, HI 96768, USA
2Department of Psychology, University of Zululand, Richards Bay 3886, South Africa;
HermannC@unizulu.ac.za (C.H.); profsdedwards@gmail.com (S.D.E.)
*Correspondence: t.lindhard@iups.edu
Abstract:
In an experimental evaluation of an introductory Arka Dhyana (Intuitive Meditation)
course, HeartMath (HM) Inner Balance or emWave2 electronic technology showed highly significant
increases in both coherence and achievement in six participants who learned how to change their
level of consciousness as proposed by the Theory of the Six Main Levels of Consciousness. During the
course, which was offered to an international audience via Zoom technology, participants intended to
connect with their deeper self, being, or essence, by bringing their I-ego-awareness from the thinking
mind, often associated with the frontal part of the brain, to 19 energetic stations in the body including
the heart centre. Considering the results from the HeartMath Coherence Model viewpoint, it seems
this intended shift leads to cardiovascular phase synchronicity and interconnection of various bodily
subsystems, which is also comprehensible based on our bodily development during embryogenesis.
Qualitative statements involving feeling also point to increases in well-being, indicating changes in
levels and individual transformative experiences as predicted by the Theory of the Six Main Levels
of Consciousness. Increased focus, stilling of the mind, and calming of emotions also seem to be
health benefit by-products of Intuitive Meditation (IM), but further research on more advanced
practitioners is needed. This preliminary study needs to be repeated using a bigger sample size and
further research on more advanced IM practitioners is required.
Keywords:
HeartMath; coherence; Intuitive Meditation; levels of consciousness; Inner Balance
technology; heart centre; feeling; self; inner being; embryogenesis
1. Introduction
The purpose of the study is to further our understanding of human consciousness
through the study of people exploring the nature of their own consciousness using a method
of meditation known as Arka Dhyana or Intuitive Meditation (IM). This method involves
rewinding our surface consciousness to reverse everything that has happened to us “to
experience the very essence of our being, the Self” (Arka, 2006, p. 180). Based on his own ex-
ploration into the nature of his own consciousness and that of his pupils using the Intuitive
Meditation) method he developed, the yogi and philosopher Arka proposes people will
experience six main levels of consciousness when undertaking this inner journey, which has
given rise to the Theory of the Six Main Levels of Consciousness [
1
]. The main levels he [
1
]
identifies are: (1) M (Mind)–Consciousness, (2) SM (Subliminal-Mind)–Consciousness, (3)
F (Feeling-Mind)–Consciousness, (4) H (Emotional-Heart)–Consciousness, (5) HS (Heart-
Soul)–Consciousness and (6) PS (Pure-Self)–Consciousness. (pp. 37–38). Arka [
1
] further
maintains that practitioners will have individually unique experiences within each level.
When starting the exploration into the nature of one’s consciousness, the person
starts where they are now and that usually involves the area of the brain involved with
behavior, speech, and reasoning associated with the prefrontal cortex. This area reaches
full maturity late [
2
] and from the evolutionary perspective of Fuster [
3
] involves the
adaptation of the organism to its environment and its relation to other cortices. In his
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9091162 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162 2 of 13
theory, Arka [
1
] associates M (Mind)–Consciousness, with the “surface of the cerebral
region (which) becomes sharpened by the cultivation of learning, evolves into a faculty
called intellect” (p. 37). This suggests an overlap between the PFC and Mind-Consciousness
of Arka, involving our later development as intellectual beings.
Previous research into the IM method, also known as Arka Dhyana, undertaken by
Tina Lindhard for her doctoral thesis [
4
] and later described in two articles [
5
,
6
], showed
that participants who attended a five session introductory IM course began a transforma-
tional inner journey which was marked by a highly significant shift (at the p= 0.001 level)
towards a more feeling based consciousness as measured by the Feeling consciousness
scale (FCS) she developed for the study. “This scale includes items such as unity, peace,
intuition, positivity, awareness of emotions, and connection to one’s inner Self, sometimes
expressed as soul, inner being, or atman” [4] (p. 184).
Inspired by the positive findings of Lindhard [
4
] and Louchakova-Schwartz’ [
7
] com-
ment that meditation methods that investigate the ‘self’ produce positive characterological
transformation which in turn promotes healing including “traces of prior trauma and
integrate the shadow” [
5
] (abstract), the authors of this study decided to collaborate to find
out more about the initial shift in level of consciousness mentioned in Arka’s theory by
using HeartMath (HM) Inner Balance or emWave2 electronic technology to measure mean
coherence and achievement of 6 of the participants before and after each session.
The rationale behind the use of the HM electronic devices may be understood in terms
of the HM coherence model that rhythmic activity in living systems reflects information
transmitted by interconnected biological, social, and environmental networks [
8
]. The term
coherence implies logical argumentation, harmony, interconnectedness, and consistency,
where the whole is always more than the sum of the parts. For example, in IM it can be
seen as implying a relationship between various bodily subsystems and related energies
and the quality of yoking with divine energy, implicit in the term “yoga” [9,10].
Both IM and HM emphasize the “feeling heart” and increases in intuition, which
literally refers to inner understanding and knowing. HM studies distinguish three dimen-
sions or types of intuition; the implicit process of insight, energetic sensitivity in detecting
electromagnetic and other environmental signals, and non-local intuition, which transcends
conventional space-time [
11
]. All types typically operate inclusively in that gestalt appre-
hension experienced as intuition by many people, especially traditional diviners, healers,
psychologists, and some medical doctors. Extensive HM studies endorse empirical research
with South African traditional healers as to the crucial function of the coherent heart before
the brain in intuition. Further archetypal, cultural endorsement of this empirical research
is apparent in the similarity of the experiential terms umbilini and kundalini, respectively
used to describe intuition by Zulu indigenous and yogic practitioners [11,12].
In this study, we were mainly concerned with the initial shift in experiencing con-
sciousness between the thinking mind, which is associated with the surface of the cerebral
region and the feeling mind, associated with the heart center, and possibly the experience
of other deeper levels also connected with the heart. The heart center is in the middle
of the upper chest and is also associated with the spiritual heart that is considered the
“psychospiritual centre of embodied consciousness in the interior space of the chest” in [
13
]
(p. 43), but here we refer to the heart in a more open non-specific way. For people already
experiencing a certain degree of heart consciousness, the practice of the IM method would
enable them to access deeper layers of feeling as outlined in Arka’s theory.
Evaluation of IM method was both process and outcome orientated where practition-
ers were instructed to rest and record coherence and achievement quantitative data for
exactly five minutes before and after each meditation session. These quantitative data were
supplemented by qualitative information obtained from participants’ comments concerning
(1) how they felt Arka Dhyana had complemented their wellbeing, (2) a general statement
outlining their individual experiences while practising the method Arka Dhyana (IM) and
(3) a more detailed record of the experiences of the participants after each IM session. The
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162 3 of 13
results were analysed and then looked at from the perspective of the HeartMath Coherence
Model and the Theory of the Six Main Levels of Consciousness
According to Arka [
1
], consciousness is the property of the entity or being, whereas
awareness is “the effect of consciousness
. . .
you can cultivate awareness over a period of
time by willfully allowing it to flow or work in a certain direction and can thus increase
your knowledge on a subject” [
1
] (p. 39). Conscious awareness, on the other hand, “takes
one to a deeper level. It is not just a matter of raising awareness intellectually through
knowledge. Here you raise your awareness emotionally with full involvement of your
deeper mind prevailing in the heart region
. . .
some people may be conscious but are not
effectively aware of their particular presence” [1] (p. 39).
Hypotheses
Although the IM method intends a shift in consciousness from the rational mind to the
emotional heart-mind to the discovery of the self [
14
], owing to empirical, experiential, and
cultural evidence for the role of the coherent heart in intuition, it was also expected that IM
participants would experience increases in mean coherence and coherence achievement as
measured by HM technology before and after IM practice.
It was further expected that the participants’ qualitative statements of how the IM
method had added to their wellbeing, and descriptions of their individual experiences
during this experienced shift in their level of consciousness, would also provide interesting
information regarding what coherence involves when using the IM method.
The null hypothesis was that IM would not increase mean coherence and coherence
achievement as measured by HM technology before and after IM practice.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. The Participants
Participants were recruited through a flyer informing people about an Intuitive Medi-
tation course that would take place internationally via zoom technology. This flyer was
shared by one of the researchers with the staff of the psychology department of his univer-
sity and his acquaintances. People who showed an interest were admitted to the course,
and those that wished were invited to also take part in a study of the IM method. Out
of these, participants who possessed or had access to HM Inner Balance or emWave2
equipment were asked if they would also participate in the study we report in this paper.
As the experiment took place during COVID restrictions, we were obliged to do this part of
the study this way, hence the sample was by convenience. As the measurement was both
process and outcome orientated, the scores of each participant reflected each participant’s
change in coherence prior to and after each IM session. This research design excludes the
need for a control group involving matching samples.
Sample mean age was 53 years, standard deviation of 16, and age range from 31 to
74 years. Three held doctorates, one masters, and two bachelor ’s degrees. There were
four professional psychologists, one yoga teacher, and one artist. Five professed to various
forms of Christian religion and the sixth to various mystical traditions. For confidential
reasons, the six participants were simply coded A to F.
2.2. Intuitive Meditation Course Process
Following the establishment of relationship, rapport and appropriate intuition or
ambience within the group, the Arka Dhyana Intuitive Meditation process was introduced
and progressively, the three pillars of the Arka Dhyana method consisting of touch, breath,
and sound, were demonstrated in sequential stages. This demonstration was preceded by
practicing the gesture of leading the thinking mind to the area of the heart in the center
of the upper chest. This gesture typically involved moving one’s hand slowly from the
region of one’s head (thinking mind) to that of one’s heart while maintaining the fingers in
gyan mudra (i.e., the thumb and the index figure forms a circle) and inviting the thinking
mind to come on a journey. The course as presented consisted of practising touching
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162 4 of 13
rhythmically 4, then 8, 12 and 19 body parts, consisting of feet, calves, knees, thighs,
sacrum, naval, solar plexus, heart, shoulders, elbows, hands together, throat, mouth, nose,
cheeks, ears, forehead, and head, where each was accompanied by a syllable of the mystical
vibratory sound, SAROOGOVAUM. Except for the first session consisting of 3 h, each of
the following sessions lasted 2 h. Each stage is built sequentially on the previous stage.
Finally, in the fifth session, physical touch was superseded by visualized touch with hands
of light.
In IM, the modulation of the vibratory sound SAROOGOVAUM is directed at each
energetic station, and participants are instructed to increase its pitch and duration as they
ascend the body synchronizing each movement with the breath. By lengthening the sound,
the out-breath is encouraged to become more and more prolonged. This practice sometimes
initially facilitates the shadow emotions to surface, during which the practitioner is invited
to become one with each station touched, as well as the arising emotion that is seen as a
part of emotional consciousness but is not the whole of the self.
The IM introductory course lasted 11 h but, between sessions, participants were
invited to become more familiar and involved with the IM method by practising it.
2.3. Intention
The main intention in IM is to discover our true nature or deeper self. For this reason,
participants are invited to launch a desire to connect to it when practising IM. It is also
pointed out that IM is like a musical instrument and can be played however the participant
wants. “The preliminary task of setting one’s intention is the thrust of the IM method” but
people may utilize it how they like. Some people want to “improve their health or feel
good, whereas others want to discover and connect with their true nature or inner Self”
(S. Arka, public unpublished talk, Ecocentro, Madrid, Spain, 6 August 2016, in [
3
]) (p. 15).
The latter was the suggested intention in this study.
The IM intention can be contrasted with that of HM, which typically focuses on
coherence, through intentionally slowing heart and breath patterns, while cultivating
positive, renewing feelings such as peace and love.
2.4. Instrument
HM emWave2 and Inner Balance electronic devices measure and monitor psychophys-
iological coherence, which emerges from the harmonious activity and interactions of the
body’s subsystems. Physiological coherence is associated with a smooth, sine wave-like
pattern in heart rhythms and a narrow-band, high-amplitude peak between 0.04 and
0.26 hertz
in the low frequency range of the heart rate variability (HRV) power spectrum.
This is associated with general well-being and optimal performance [
11
]. Coherence means
and achievement totals were used in this study. The Inner Balance and emWave2 electronic
devices are unique in their potential to measure insight, energetic sensitivity, and non-local
intuition. HM and related studies repeatedly affirm the influence of the coherent heart on
the human brain, social relationships, and wider ecology [11].
Initially, from a purely psychophysiological perspective, coherence reflects cardiovas-
cular phase synchrony, which includes the order in the relationship between heart and
breath rhythm patterns, as well as other oscillating physiological systems, such as blood
pressure, brain waves, cerebrospinal fluid, and emotion, all of which are influenced by
the heart, which is the greatest physiological oscillator, the conductor of the orchestra
so to speak. Correlated variables include the heart’s electromagnetic field, oxytocin; the
love hormone, and neurochemicals, such as serotonin and dopamine. HM studies have
shown that higher coherence results from positive renewing emotions independently of
cardiovascular rhythm; in real (lived) life, all are intimately interlinked. An important
naturally occurring variable is respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), whereby inhalation and
exhalation are associated with increasing and decreasing pulsation, respectively.
The electronic Inner Balance app contains a photoplethysmogram (PPG), which uses
a light-emitting device (LED) to monitor blood volume changes from light absorption.
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162 5 of 13
Photoplethysmography sensors are usually attached to the earlobe. The changes are
monitored on a downloaded app in a smartphone, such as an iPhone or any Android
device [8,15].
2.5. Data Analysis
The small convenience sample recorded HM Inner Balance Coherence Mean and
Achievement records of 39 pre-test and post-test IM practice sessions. This indicted a simple
Wilcoxon Z nonparametric statistical analysis of related samples of data. Unfortunately
for technical connectivity reasons, participants A and B could not participate in all five IM
sessions, so reported only limited quantitative and qualitative data, as will be apparent
in the results that follow. The small sample ensured that all participants’ experiential
descriptions could be included in the thematic content analysis and related discussion.
2.6. Ethical Statement
The study was approved by the Academic Committee of the International University
of Professional Studies (Project Lindhard, 16 March 2021); all appropriate ethical standards
as required by the Helsinki Declaration and Professional Boards for Psychologists applied.
The consent form preceded the submission of the online answers to the open questions
and had to be agreed on before proceeding with the questions. Confidentiality of the
participant’s data were sustained during the study by numbering them alphabetically.
Participants were regularly informed that if they needed any help with the arising emotions
or clarification concerning the practice or their experiences of Arka Dhyana (Intuitive
Meditation)—or if they would like to share anything about how their life was unfolding,
they were more than welcome to contact Dr Lindhard via e-mail or WhatsApp. Regular
contact between individual and group participants and Dr Lindhard was maintained
throughout the course.
3. Results
3.1. Quantitative Findings
Because they occurred before and after any IM session, quantitative findings essentially
refer to ongoing process evaluations of the IM course. These consisted of coherence and
achievement mean scores and related statistical findings, as appear in Table 1.
Table 1. Quantitative Process Evaluation of the IM course.
Assessment Number Coherence Achievement Wilcoxon Z Significance
Pre-test 39 1.79 (1.54) 99.77 (91.20) 4.249 0.000
Post-test 39 2.84 (1.56) 190.18 (96.87) 4.354 0.000
Table 1refers to 39 comparisons of coherence and achievement mean scores (with
standard deviations in parentheses), of HM Inner Balance recordings as taken by 6 par-
ticipants before and after 39 Intuitive meditation sessions. Non-parametric comparisons
of these 39 related data samples using Wilcoxon Z statistics indicated highly significant
increases in both coherence and achievement associated with these Intuitive Meditation
sessions (p< 0.0001).
3.2. Qualitative Findings
Qualitative findings rest on answers to the two reflective questions which were col-
lected online as part of the Revised Feeling Consciousness Scale as well as a record made
by participants of their experiences after each IM session and shared with the researchers
at the end of the course.
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3.3. Qualitative Answers
As this study only involved a few participants and their answers were concise, answers
to question 1 are given in full. (Participant codes appear in parentheses).
Question 1: “In what way or how do you feel Arka Dhyana has complemented to
your wellbeing?” The IM method was said by participants to increase wellbeing as it led to:
“a recognition and acceptance of different parts within me and that is ok” (D)
“helped to still my mind and calm and still the agitation and anxiety in my body,
bringing me into the body and heart-focus more easily” (F)
“brought me back to a place of remembrance of how much more I am than
this body and this experience on earth. Through my daily challenges I now
have something to continuously return too, that helps me feel less stressed and
more connected to myself and my higher power resulting in me flowing through
challenges with more grace and acceptance” (C)
“more aware of many aspects of light love and life. It is easily amalgamated into
my existing meditative and contemplative practices” (E)
“opened a new way of approaching my inner being that I feel I need to connect
with more so it’s a positive move in my life” (A)
One subject also reported “not being sure as yet” of how the method had benefited
her (B)
Question 2: “Please add something about your experiences while practising the
method Arka Dhyana (IM), and how you feel afterwards.” As expected, the experiences
reported during this initial shift in consciousness from the rational mind to the feeling
heart-mind were highly individual. Four of the six participants gave concise one or two-
sentence type answers, whereas the 5th and 6th included the record of experiences noted
after all 5 sessions.
Reported personal experiences include:
“I have become aware of energies and vibrations externally of me and in other
people. It is made me MORE sensitive to that energy I feel in other people” (D)
“I noticed that being in the group practice space would bring up a kind of jittery
feeling and agitation that would settle by the end of the practice. I was able to
observe how busy and agitated my mind is. I was surprised at how it works so
well; I didn’t expect that. The sounds and sensation helped to focus my mind
so that it didn’t drift off and dissociate as is its usual habit. I am still impatient
with the whole procedure when I do it by myself. The final session helped me to
experience the process more viscerally, especially experiencing the spirit body
so clearly. I practiced that this morning. It does help me to feel centred and
integrated and aligned in my heart, soul and body after practising” (F)
“It helped me focus (B)
“I generally feel very relaxed after practising and hungry for some unknown
reason. But I for sure feel more connected to my body and my soul. I have a
groundedness and surety of myself and my decisions (C)
I felt an escape from everyday problems (except when the unstable internet cut
us off in sessions). It was a relief to remind myself there is a way to find this
peace and time for connection. I still have difficulty quietening my thoughts but
have this as a much-desired goal” (A)
Record of experiences (3). Although the participants were asked to record their
individual experiences after each IM session, three participants (A, B and F) gave limited,
one sentence or phrase type feedback on their personal experiences. One participant (C)
reported fully on all five sessions, providing a valuable illustrative qualitative example of
transformative personal change. This participant C’s experiential descriptions associated
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162 7 of 13
with each of the five Intuitive Meditation instruction sessions (with session numbers
indicated in parentheses) follow verbatim:
Participant C (1) A sensation of a loving, gentle touch that I crave from another, I find
I can give it to myself through the method of meditation. Connecting to my body and
creating a relationship with parts of my body that I haven’t had before- it feels new and
comforting. (2) This takes time and showing you daily to my practice like all relationships.
Body and soul are all one. A lot of tingling through my body almost scary- mostly my
feet. It got extremely strong and then I broke through to a place of peace, surrender and
groundedness. (3) Feeling immense gratitude for this session- it felt like a breakthrough
into the present moment where u was feeling really agitated before the session and I didn’t
know where to put my mind. (4) I was feeling really tired before starting the session, found
the session challenging to keep going but I relaxed my body—jaw, stomach and shoulders
coming back to my breath. A lot of electric feeling on the right side of my brain. Feeling
really present and in the moment. An acceptance of where I am in the moment, which
is a sadness. Less resistance and more connected to my body and essence. (5) Finding
more acceptance of my true self that includes the not so pretty parts of selfishness and
self-centeredness. They all belong and need to be seen to lose the power. Less judgement
and more compassion for myself. Less whipping myself and more allowing things to be
without judging them as good or bad.
Two participants (D and E) gave very full feedback in the form of artistic and phe-
nomenological reports, respectively, that are beyond the scope of the present study. A
summary of D and E’s descriptions follows:
Participant D. “I have become aware of energies and vibrations externally of me
and in other people. It is made me MORE sensitive to that energy I feel in other
people and in myself.
The experience was overwhelming, and I found myself close to tears. I have not
managed to ‘feel’ emotions for so long and suddenly I became aware of turmoil
. . .
it is exactly how it felt on day 1. Big mess of swirling colours and lines and
blurs.
I am a very visual person and not good with words, or parts of me struggle to
verbalise what I want to say. I think it is a way of “blocking” that which I do not
want to confront. I like the idea of parts of me, needing to be free, attended to,
waiting to be heard.
I, my ‘messiness’ coming together. I could visualise the end product of a creation.
Two parts of the pot, Yin and Yang on opposite ends of the base, black and white
circles built out of stones or pebbles, big stones and smaller stones, can both mean
before and after. Smaller stones in the ‘white’ part represent the little things that
come into our lives/hearts, good or bad. The black part consists of mainly the
big things in my life, good or bad.
While ‘moving between the parts’, healing between the parts and connecting
between the parts, bending and shaping the tree (using IM methods throughout
the various sessions).
I still feel a deeper connection to my bonsai garden, where I am happiest. I am
more aware of the insects visiting, the snakes and little birds that come and play.
I find myself humming SaaRooGoVaum as I like to feel the vibrations in my chest
near my heart. Every day is a learning curve for me as more and more opens up
for me”.
Participant E. Personal experiences of this participant were recorded after each IM
session and summarized as follows: “There are different layers and levels of heart con-
sciousness involved in intuition; personal, social, and global, life, love, and light. Hands of
light made me more aware of mainly, old, sport injury issues on the right side of my body,
which I am healing further: hip, lung, shoulder, throat and eye are all getting extra love and
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162 8 of 13
care. Socially our group gelled more in the fourth session. Many processes seemed similar
to other group processes: intention, expectancies, attitudes, motivations, relationships,
energy, sentience, awareness, consciousness. I have included other variables in my ear-
lier, experiential descriptions. At the lower collective consciousness level, dreams, which
initially flooded through, were represented by more than usual reptilian imagery, e.g.,
crocodile and snake, spiritual sexual imagery, which were energetically transmuted into
intuition, love, empathy, and compassion. Inner umbilini kundalini awakening, isangoma
animus, embryology, Jung’s [
16
] active imagination, Sufi imaginal world, phallic clitoral
physicality, lower-level animal unconsciousness, ancestral calling, feet-sand running, inte-
gration of sea and river ancestors, rewinding for fast forward planet generational healing.
Traditional spiritual images included Zulu isangoma, the black Madonna of Monserrat and
related African and Spanish geographical and historical associations, typically divine and
feminine, as related to our group who were predominantly women. I found IM similar
to my usual meditation and comfortably used personal, Christian, ancestral, HM and IM
mantra interchangeably during practice. Differences noted was that my usual meditation,
contemplation and/or prayer is relatively less past, whole body and Self-orientated and
more psychophysiological, heart, personal, group, global and future-directed. Both IM and
MH are concerned with whole making, IM is essentially more orientated towards knowing
and HM towards healing. However, these orientations appear inextricably interrelated”.
4. Discussion
So, what do the significant coherence findings mean and involve, especially as the
intention of the IM method is not coherence as in HM but connection to our self, or inner
being? In addition, the HM and IM methods are uniquely different. By prolonging the
breath, IM initially sometimes facilitates the shadow emotions to surface, during which
the practitioner is invited to become one with each station touched as well as the arising
emotion that is seen as a part of emotional consciousness but not his or her identity, and
on the other hand, during the HM method the breath pattern is deepened, and positive
feelings such as love and peace are cultivated. From a similarities perspective, both IM and
HM are concerned with feeling, HM through specific heart centeredness, while breathing
and noting, experiencing or generating feelings, while, in IM the practitioner, based on
direct experience, becomes consciously aware of what is happening in their inner world,
including arising feelings, emotions and sensations.
The findings can be viewed as applicable at various levels of sentience, awareness,
and consciousness from an HM perspective. From an embryo model perspective, the
Inner Balance application (app) works directly with the heart system, both autonomic
parasympathetic and sympathetic divisions, as well as the central nervous system (CNS),
especially the vagus nerve with its 80% afferent fibres going from heart to brain via the
amygdala and prefrontal cortex. Physiologically, cardiovascular synchronization entrains
all other physiological oscillatory systems as well as other organ systems, immunological,
hormonal, biophysical, neurochemical, and electromagnetic systems. At the psychological
level, coherence is related to positive and renewing emotions, ranging from appreciation to
serenity and love to happiness and ecstasy. Interpersonally, coherence implies alignment
and synchronization in interpersonal and group processes. For example, the present
study was associated with the development of typical group processes, such as openness,
trust, and freedom to express emotion verbally and in writing. Although the focus was
on embodiment and embodied spirituality, broader, wider spiritual apprehensions also
applied.
From an IM understanding, the behavioural gesture of taking our thinking mind
to the heart area coupled with the desire to connect with the inner being or soul at the
beginning of the IM practice opens us to a change in the level of consciousness from
the thinking mind–consciousness associated with the frontal part of the cortex to feeling
mind–consciousness associated with the heart. Looking at the development of the body
during embryogenesis, and summarizing from Lindhard [
2
], the heart system develops
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162 9 of 13
first with blood appearing in the ectocyst, which then runs in capillaries to the cranial end
of the germinal disc and then back to the ectocyst via other capillaries. The central point
where the blood starts its reverse journey, “takes on a rhythmical character (which) is the
first indication of the origin of the heart” [
17
]. Hence, from a physiological point of view,
the heart is the primary system. However, through pulsation which starts at the cranial end
of the germinal disc, the incarnating entity is linked to the underlying core principle and
property of universal existence, cosmic existence, and local existence [Arka in Lindhard 2]
and therefore to the Absolute which in its’ creating form, is perpetual spanda [
18
] (p. 10) or
creative pulsation. This is consistent with Planck [19] who declared:
There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a
force that brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute
solar system of the atom together
. . .
We must assume behind this force the
existence of a conscious and intelligent mind.
Connecting to one’s inner being via our primary or Mother Mind linked with the heart
center, not only connects us to the Absolute, but to all creation which is pulsating. One
participant (E) playfully and alliteratively described this coherence interconnectedness
and/or oneness as an embodied, whole making, symphonic synchrony, of spirit, soul, self,
sky, sea and silence.
On another level, summarizing Lindhard [
20
], intraembryonic mesoderm gives rise to
the major structural components and organs of the inner body, including the notochord
(made of three-dimensional meso tissue) which according to most researchers, pattern
the central nervous system (CNS) from below. This adds emphasis to the idea that the
mesoderm is primary, and the neural system is secondary. At best, de Bree, de Bakker, and
Oostra [
21
] suggest they might be interrelated, which leads to the insight that the body is a
dynamic, interconnected (or entangled) whole.
Although the mesoderm structures are to do with function and are operational at
birth, whereas the prefrontal cortex (PFC), develops late, both phylogenetically and on-
tologically [
22
], and even though this region shows developmental changes in the first
year of life, it only reaches full maturity in humans {2]. However, when we develop our
intellectual abilities associated with this area of the brain associated with thinking Mind–
Consciousness, we may lose contact with the inner mesoderm layer which according to
van der Wal [
17
] is incorrectly named as it is not a limiting skin but simultaneously “creates
space and connects” (p. 42). Hence, by bringing our awareness from the neural part of
the brain with its emphasis of thinking about the world, to the heart area and different
energetic stations in the body, we regain our connection to the deeper inner layer, which is
unfolding and functioning in the now, somewhat reminiscent of Tolle’s [
23
] emphasis on
the Power of the Now A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment.
In IM and HM meditation, practitioners tend to withdraw their secondary perception
system that involves the five basic senses through which information is gained about objects
in the outside environment and open their body-based awareness, which, along with the
other vestigial senses, is primary [
20
]. It is suggested here that by regaining connection
to the pulsating heart, this primary subsystem, consisting of inner three-dimensional
tissue unfolding in time, helps raise our conscious awareness and deeper mind prevailing
in the heart region. At the same time, this connection probably helps bring the whole
psychophysiological system into coherence.
Touch is often referred to as the mother sense as it is primary and although the
importance of touch as an energy exchange between people has been established [
22
],
the effect of touching oneself, as in the Arka Dhyana method still needs to be researched.
However, participant C’s statement regarding self-touch as “a sensation of a loving gentle
touch that I crave from another I find I can give it to myself through the method of
meditation. Connecting to my body and creating a relationship with parts of my body that
I haven’t had before- it feels new and comforting”. This qualitative statement indicates
self-touch as practiced during IM might be a valuable ingredient in bringing harmony
between subsystems, but that needs further research.
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162 10 of 13
Participants’ experiential responses varied appreciably in depth and detail. A shift
in consciousness from our rational thinking mind to a more feeling based consciousness
associated with the heart and body is reflected in the comments: “I for sure feel more
connected to my body and my soul,
. . .
Connecting to my body and creating a relationship
with parts of my body that I haven’t had before- it feels new and comforting
. . .
less
resistance and more connected to my body and essence (C); The practice helped to still my
mind and calm and still the agitation and anxiety in my body, bringing me into the body
and heart-focus more easily”
. . .
The final session helped me to experience the process
more viscerally, especially experiencing the spirit body so clearly (F); Hands of light made
me more aware of mainly, old, sport injury issues on the right side of my body, which I am
healing further old, sport injury issues on the right side of my body (E).
Although the other participants did not specifically mention the body or feeling,
participant B’s single comment that the method helped her focus is highly relevant as
increased focus is a very important aspect of the IM method as it leads to the dhyana
experience. Focus was also mentioned by another participant (F) when reporting “the
sounds and sensation helped to focus my mind so that it didn’t drift off and dissociate as is
its usual habit”.
Some participants went further and awakened level 4 Emotional-Heart –Consciousness
mentioned in Arka’s theory. This was indicated by the acceptance of shadow emotions as
different parts leading to “calm and stilling of anxiety (and other emotions) in the body”.
The acceptance of these emotions, often classified as negative in a non-judgmental way,
awakes participants to other arising emotions like gratitude. Participant’s descriptions of
the IM course resonated with appreciation, a positive, renewing and paradoxically, often
unappreciated emotion, which has been given due recognition in HM studies [
11
] and has
interesting methodological and contemporary connotations [24,25].
Furthermore, spiritual levels were touched on by some participants reflected by
participant D’s answer, which can be summarized by a shift to a full-blown emotional level
of consciousness, which allowed her to tap into the deeper energetic level and increased
creativity. Other changes to a deeper and more spiritual level are recorded in the statements
as having a “remembrance of being more than the body, more connected to the self and
higher power, recognition of many aspects of light, love and life and the opening of a new
way of approaching ones’ inner being, kundalini awakening and many intuitive personal
insights.
Participants’ (D and E) artistic and phenomenological reports provide enough depth
and detail for two separate studies. Depth psychologists emphasize the immediate total
sense of the whole that characterizes the intuitive experience [
16
,
26
]. From an experiential
perspective, Assagioli [
26
] notes that intuitions enter consciousness via levels of personal
and/or collective unconscious in two ways: The first involves a conscious welcoming
openness; the second is more akin to a revelatory flash of lightning. The experiences of
participants D, E, and F emphasize both intra-psychological (between the conscious and
the unconscious) and transpersonal features (from the collective unconscious). Similar
findings are reported in other studies [27,28].
Along with these common themes coherent with a body-based feeling consciousness,
participants emphasized the pathic nature of their experience in terms of feelings, energy,
sentience, awareness, consciousness, the self, body, intuition, life, soul, spirit, the group,
interconnectedness, love, knowing, wholeness and healing, participants expressed this
commonality through their unique highly differentiated participant responses. From a
broader conceptual perspective: (a) It seems yogic in emphasis on breath and chakra like
focus on 19 body parts, some related to chakras manipura,anahata,vishuda and ajna [
7
,
8
,
29
],
(b) Its bottom up, feet to head, kundalini like sequence resembles African isanusi divination
and healing umbilini breathing meditation, as described by Mutwa [
30
], (c) The hands
of light sequence resonates with chi kung stillness in movement and microcirculation of
light [
31
], Johrei energy healing sequences [
32
], Brennan’s [
33
] High Sense Perception and
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162 11 of 13
healing hands of light, as well as aspects of many other heart-based meditation techniques
summarized by such writers as Benson [34,35], Louchakova [36] and Wilber [37,38].
Limitation of the Study
The varying familiarity with HM method might be a confounding variable but as the
Independent Variable for this study was the practice of the IM method this should not
be a bias especially as the assessors were instructed to simply use their electronic devices
as neutral assessment tools for exactly five minutes before and after each session. The
qualitative comments indicate that the participants were practicing IM and letting the
different emotions and feelings emerge such as the ‘overwhelming’ emotional experience
of participant D, the stilling of anxiety of F as well as the sense of connection to their inner
being or self of participant A and C. Participant’s B’s unsurely of the effects of the methods
is also an indication of somebody starting a journey where admitted increased ‘focus’ is
an important aspect when one shifts one’s consciousness from outside to inside. That
participant E felt that this practice was compatible with the HM practice, does not mean
that the effects of IM were not being measured during the research, as participants were
specifically told not to practice during measurement sessions. This participant’s qualitative
statements also indicate that IM moved different energies and visions to those the assessor
was accustomed to.
Another confounding variable is the sample was small and of convenience but as
it is a new area or research, a small sample has its advantages in seeing if the topic is
worthwhile pursuing. Studying the nature of one’s own consciousness is a lifelong journey
and normally reported from the first-person point of view through phenomenology. In
this study, we, as researchers, are studying people studying the nature of their own
consciousness using the IM method. Hence, gathering the data from 6 people instead of
one person reporting on the changes of their own consciousness is a step forward. That
the sample consisted of professional psychologists is not an advantage. The fact that they
know a lot about what is said about consciousness often makes it more difficult when
showing them how to explore their consciousness. Knowing a lot about a strawberry from
a scientific point of view is not the same as putting it in your mouth and tasting it, which
is purely experimental; the same applies when exploring our own consciousness when
learning to go below our thinking mind.
Another shortcoming is that two participants did not complete the course and did not
complete the post-test. One dropped out after the first session saying he found the method
difficult and not what he expected and the other was moving house and did not complete
the course. The small sample makes it difficult to generalise to a wider audience.
5. Conclusions
Although this research has admitted shortcomings, as a preliminary study it points to
the connection between coherence and the reported feelings of wellbeing expressed by the
participants on learning the IM method. In addition, as the reported qualitative statements
regarding how IM has added to their wellbeing suggest a shift in levels of consciousness as
described in Arka’s theory of the Six Main Levels of Consciousness, it poses the interesting
question of whether the development of our intellectual mind disconnects us from our
inner body and our heart-based intuitive nature. Although outwardly very different in
philosophy, it seems HM coherence is a concept that adds additional insights to what
is happening during the IM experience, and possibly, the Theory of the Six Main levels
of Consciousness might provide further insights concerning the HM model as both are
heart-based methods. This venture of looking at the data using the HeartMath coherence
model, and Arka’s Theory of The Six Main Levels of Consciousness adds new insights to
both perspectives on a theoretical and practical level, as well as aiding our knowledge of
human consciousness, different levels of mind and coherence.
To summarize, this limited phenomenological and experimental evaluative study
attempts to understand more about human consciousness based on direct spiritual ex-
Healthcare 2021,9, 1162 12 of 13
periences when one starts the inner journey into its exploration using the IM method in
which HM technology not only seems an exciting way to help validate reported changes in
consciousness that are described by participants as leading to increased wellbeing related
to feelings, stilling of the mind and calming emotions but shows meaningful physiological
changes take place involving harmonious activity, interconnection of the body’s subsys-
tems and cardiovascular phase synchrony. Although IM is very different in method to
the focused attention meditation training described by Lenhart, Steiger, Weibel et al. [
39
]
future research into cortical reorganization of participants after learning the IM method
could help point to the link between the heart, coherence, levels of mind, wellbeing, and
different neural organization processes.
This study needs to be repeated using a bigger sample size and further comprehensive
research is needed to understand more about the IM method and the levels a practitioner
undergoes or his or her inner journey from the rational mind to the emotional heart-mind
to pure consciousness which is said to result in ultimate wellbeing or enlightenment.
Author Contributions:
Conceptualization, T.L. and S.D.E.; Methodology S.D.E. and T.L.; Software,
S.D.E. and C.H.; Validation, C.H., S.D.E. and T.L.; Formal Analysis, S.D.E. and C.H.; Investigation,
T.L., C.H. and S.D.E.; Resources, HeartMath (HM) Inner Balance or emWave2 electronic technology;
participants reports, HM Coherence Model and The Theory of the 6 Main Levels of Consciousness;
Data Curation, S.D.E., C.H. and T.L.; Writing—Supervision, T.L.; Project Administration, T.L. and
S.D.E. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement:
The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the
Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Academic Committee of International University of
Professional Studies (protocol Lindhard 16 March 2021). PDF attached.
Informed Consent Statement:
Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the
study.
Data Availability Statement:
Supporting data details are attached: Arka Dhyana (IM)—HeartMath
Coherence and Achievement, Pretest and Postest Data.xlsx; Meditation—HeartMath study Partici-
pant Codes and Qualitative Dta.xlsx.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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