How does one meditate with a pace-maker?

Dr. Peter
Ananda Village, California

Excellent question. Swami Kriyananda had a pacemaker for atrial fibrillation, which he often described as feeling like a fish flopping around in a barrel inside his chest when he meditates.  I think this is best answered as, "do your best with what God has given you and let Him sort out the issue."

Yes, the heart will start pacing electronically if it slows during meditation if you have a pacemaker (or much worse an automated defibrillator--yeooww.)  But many yogis have bad backs or other conditions, which definitely interfere with meditation and may make deeper levels very difficult.

The goal is to get beyond the body altogether in one's consciousness during meditation then a pacemaker won't matter.  When a devotee once complained to his spiritual teacher about a factory whistle that disturbed his meditation, the teacher suggested he meditate on the whistle.

I would see the pacemaker as your friend and your personal reminder that God is constantly protecting and helping you since God put the thought for the pacemaker in a researchers mind for them to even exist.

I always like to remember that God has engineered our karma to be played out in a way that is perfect for us for our God-Realization.