"This meditation brings you into closer contact with your body. When your mind is connected intimately to your body, healing can permeate you. You have an open channel for positive energy. The healing you call upon in the other meditations on the body will become stronger and more powerful.
"With your mind's eye, scan your body. Slowly and gently, see the anatomical details part by part. Try to see them clearly but without strain, to the extent of your anatomical knowledge. You are not trying to see the body as beautiful or ugly, just as it is.
"Relax and feel serenity in your body. You will be contemplating the body from head to feet.
"First with your mind's eye, scan the details of your head. See that your head is made of a skull and a brain.
"See the sense organs: the eyes with their pupils, through which you see forms; the nose with its nostrils, through which you smell odors; the ears with their ear canals, through which you hear sounds; the tongue, with which you taste food; the teeth and jaws; the mouth, which enables you to eat and speak. See the facial muscles, the nerves and arteries, all the parts of the head covered with skin and hairs. See your whole head as it is.
"Now, with your mind's eye, scan your neck: see your throat, then the larynx and vocal cords, then the esophagus, leading into the stomach; also see the trachea, through which you breathe. See the skin covering it all.
"Now scan your upper body: see the spine and spinal cord, the clavicle (collarbone), should blades, sternum, and rib cage.
"Scan the windpipe, which leads to the lungs, and see the soft, spongy lung tissue, which oxygenates the blood and removes carbon dioxide.
"See the heart, which pumps blood through your body with its system of arteries.
"Bring a sense of awareness to the nerves and vessels of this part of the body, the flesh and blood, all covered with skin.
"Now scan your arms and hands: See the bones of the upper arms, forearms, hands, and fingers as wella s the marrow within them. See the muscles, nerves, and blood vessels with blood coursing through them, all covered with skin.
"Scan the internal organs and bones in the area of your abdomen. If you can't visualize all the details, focus mostly on major parts, such as your backbone, the pelvic bones, the stomach, kidneys, and intestines.
"A more detailed picture would include: your spine and spinal cord; the pelvic bones; the liver on the right, with the gallbladder beneath it, the stomach to the left, the spleen farther to the left, the pancreas in the middle, the loops of small intestine, and the large intestine going up, across, then down on the left; the kidneys, which filter the blood; and the adrenal glands (located atop the large intestine), with their regulatory functions.
"Bring your awareness to the urinary bladder, then to the male or female parts: either the ovaries and uterus or the prostate gland, and the genitalia.
"See the nerves and vessels of this part of the body. See the muscles and connective titues all covered with skin.
"Scan your legs and feet: See the femurs (thighbones), tibias and fibulas (lower leg bones), and the bones of the feet and toes, with their bone marrow. See the muscles, nerves, and blood vessels of your legs and feet, all covered with skin.
"Scan your lymph nodes, which are part of the immune system and are clustered at such strategic points as the neck, armpits, and the groin.
"Now look at your whole body. Your body is made of bones, organs, and muscles and has separate circulatory systems for blood and lymph fluids. All the bodily structures and organs and various fluids are wrapped in skin with tiny pores and hair.
"The heart is pumping blood through every part of the body, blood that circulates through thousands of arteries and veins, carrying oxygen and nutrients and getting ride of waste. The lymph system with its vessels also permeates the body, producing disease-fighting lymphocytes, which are filtered in the lymph nodes.
"Your exceedingly complex body parts are vibrantly functioning as one organism because of the circulating energy carried by the breath. As you breathe, feel your life's breath flowing through the body.
"Think and feel that you have seen all the details of your body, just as they are. Think and feel that you have seen your whole body, just as it is.
"Finally, enjoy the awareness of the vivid details of your body, your whole body, just as it is. Feel serenity, ease, and comfort in the vivid awareness of the body."
