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Lesson XIV (Part 1)
The Art of Concentrating By Means Of Practical Exercises
By Theron
Q. Dumont
Select some thought, and see
how long you can hold your mind on it. It is well to have a clock at
first and keep track of the time. If you decide to think about health,
you can get a great deal of good from your thinking besides developing
concentration. Think of health as being the greatest blessing there is,
in the world. Don't let any other thought drift in. Just the moment one
starts to obtrude, make it get out.
Make it a daily habit of concentrating on this thought for, say, ten
minutes. Practice until you can hold it to the exclusion of everything
else. You will find it of the greatest value to centralize your
thoughts on health. Regardless of your present condition, see yourself
as you would like to be and be blind to everything else. You will find
it hard at first to forget your ailments, if you have any, but after a
short while you can shut out these negative thoughts and see yourself
as you want to be. Each time you concentrate you form a more perfect
image of health, and, as you come into its realization, you become
healthy, strong and wholesome.
I want to impress upon your mind that the habit of forming mental
images is of the greatest value. It has always been used by successful
men of all ages, but few realize its full importance.
Do you know that you are continually acting according to the images you
form? If you allow yourself to mould negative images you unconsciously
build a negative disposition. You will think of poverty, weakness,
disease, fear, etc. Just as surely as you think of these will your
objective life express itself in a like way. Just what we think, we
will manifest in the external world.
In deep concentration you become linked with the great creative spirit
of the universe, and the creative energy then flows through you,
vitalizing your creations into form. In deep concentration your mind
becomes attuned with the infinite and registers the cosmic intelligence
and receives its messages. You become so full of the cosmic energy that
you are literally flooded with divine power. This is a most desired
state. It is then we realize the advantages of being connected with the
supra-consciousness. The supra-consciousness registers the higher
cosmic vibrations. It is often referred to as the wireless station, the
message recorded coming from the universal mind.
There are very few that reach this stage of concentration. Very few
even know that it is possible. They think concentration means
limitation to one subject, but this deeper concentration that brings us
into harmony with the Infinite is that which produces and maintains
health.
When you have once come in contact with your supra-consciousness you
become the controller of your human thoughts. That which comes to you
is higher than human thoughts. It is often spoken of as Cosmic
Consciousness. Once it is experienced it is never forgotten. Naturally
it requires a good deal of training to reach this state, but once you
do, it becomes easier each time to do, and in the course of time you
can become possessed of power which was unknown to you before. You are
able to direct the expression of almost Infinite Power while in this
deeper state of concentration.
Exercises in Concentration. The rays of the sun, when focused upon an
object by means of a sun glass, produce a heat many times greater than
the scattered rays of the same source of light and heat. This is true
of attention. Scatter it and you get but ordinary results. But center
it upon one thing and you secure much better results. When you focus
your attention upon an object your every action, voluntary and
involuntary, is in the direction of attaining that object. If you will
focus your energies upon a thing to the exclusion of everything else,
you generate the force that can bring you what you want.
When you focus your thought, you increase its strength. The exercises
that follow are tedious and monotonous, but useful. If you will persist
in them you will find they are very valuable, as they increase your
powers of concentration.
Before proceeding with the exercises I will answer a question that just
comes to me. This person says after he works all day he is too tired to
practice any exercise. But this is not true. We will say he comes home
all tired out, eats his supper and sits down to rest. If his work has
been mental, the thought which has been occupying his mind returns to
him and this prevents him from securing the rest he needs.
It is an admitted fact that certain thoughts call into operation a
certain set of brain cells; the other cells, of course, are not busy at
that time and are rested. Now if you take up something that is just
different from what you have been doing during the day, you will use
the cells that have not done anything and give those that have had work
to do a rest. So you should regulate the evenings that you have and
call forth an entirely different line of thought so as not to use the
cells which you have tired out during the day. If you will center your
attention on a new thought, you relieve the old cells from vibrating
with excitement and they get their needed rest. The other cells that
have been idle all day want to work, and you will find you can enjoy
your evenings while securing needed rest.
When once you have learned to master your thoughts, you will be able to change them just as easily as you change your clothes.
Remember, the real requisite of centering is to be able to shut out
outside thoughts--anything foreign to the subject. Now, in order to
control your intention first gain control over the body. This must be
brought under direct control of the mind; the mind under the control of
the will. Your will is strong enough to do anything you wish, but you
must realize that it is. The mind can be greatly strengthened by being
brought under the direct influence of the will. When the mind is
properly strengthened by the impulse of the will it becomes a more
powerful transmitter of thought, because it has more force.
The Best Time to Concentrate Is after reading something that is
inspiring, as you are then mentally and spiritually exalted in the
desired realm. Then is the time you are ready for deep concentration.
If you are in your room first see that your windows are up and the air
is good. Lie down flat on your bed without a pillow. See that every
muscle is relaxed. Now breathe slowly, filling the lungs comfortably
full of fresh air; hold this as long as you can without straining
yourself; then exhale slowly. Exhale in an easy, rhythmic way. Breathe
this way for five minutes, letting the Divine Breath flow through you,
which will cleanse and rejuvenate every cell of brain and body.
You are then ready to proceed. Now think how quiet and relaxed you are.
You can become enthusiastic over your condition. Just think of yourself
as getting ready to receive knowledge that is far greater than you have
ever received before. Now relax and let the spirit work in and through
you and assist you to accomplish what you wish.
Don't let any doubts or fears enter. Just feel that what you wish is
going to manifest. Just feel it already has, in reality it has, for
just the minute you wish a thing to be done it manifests in the thought
world. Whenever you concentrate just believe it is a success. Keep up
this feeling and allow nothing to interfere and you will soon find you
have become the master of concentration. You will find that this
practice will be of wonderful value to you, and that rapidly you will
be learning to accomplish anything that you undertake.
It will be necessary to first train the body to obey the commands of
the mind. I want you to gain control of your muscular movements. The
following exercise is especially good in assisting you to acquire
perfect control of the muscles.
Exercise 1
Sit in a comfortable chair and see how still you can keep. This is not
as easy as it seems. You will have to center your attention on sitting
still. Watch and see that you are not making any involuntary muscular
movements. By a little practice you will find you are able to sit still
without a movement of the muscles for fifteen minutes. At first I
advise sitting in a relaxed position for five minutes. After you are
able to keep perfectly still, increase the time to ten minutes and then
to fifteen. This is as long as it is necessary. But never strain
yourself to keep still. You must be relaxed completely. You will find
this habit of relaxing is very good.
Exercise 2
Sit in a chair with your head up and your chin out, shoulders back.
Raise your right arm until it is on the level with your shoulder,
pointing to your right. Look around, with head only, and fix your gaze
on your fingers, and keep the arm perfectly still for one minute. Do
the same exercise with left arm. When you are able to keep the arm
perfectly steady, increase the time until you are able to do this five
minutes with each arm. Turn the palm of the hand downward when it is
outstretched, as this is the easiest position. If you will keep your
eyes fixed on the tips of the fingers you will be able to tell if you
are keeping your arm perfectly still.
Exercise 3
Fill a small glass full of water, and grasp it by the fingers; put the
arm directly in front of you. Now fix the eyes upon the glass and try
to keep the arm so steady that no movement will be noticeable. Do this
first for one moment and then increase it to five. Do the exercise with
first one arm and then the other.
Exercise 4
Watch yourself during the day and see that your muscles do not become
tense or strained. See how easy and relaxed you can keep yourself. See
how poised you can be at all times. Cultivate a self-poised manner,
instead of a nervous, strained appearance. This mental feeling will
improve your carriage and demeanor. Stop all useless gestures and
movements of the body. These mean that you have not proper control over
your body. After you have acquired this control, notice how
"ill-at-ease" people are that have not gained this control. I have just
been sizing up a salesman that has just left me. Part of his body kept
moving all the time. I just felt like saying to him, "Do you know how
much better appearance you would make if you would just learn to speak
with your voice instead of trying to express what you say with your
whole body?" Just watch those that interview you and see how they lack
poise.
Get rid of any habit you have of twitching or jerking any part of your
body. You will find you make many involuntary movements. You can
quickly stop any of these by merely centering your attention on the
thought, "I will not."
If you are in the habit of letting noises upset you, just exercise
control; when the door slams, or something falls, etc., just think of
these as exercises in self-control. You will find many exercises like
this in your daily routine.
The purpose of the above exercises is to gain control over the
involuntary muscular movement, making your actions entirely voluntary.
The following exercises are arranged to bring your voluntary muscles
under the control of the will, so that your mental forces may control
your muscular movements.
Exercise 5
Move your chair up to a table, placing your hands upon it, clenching
the fists, keeping the back of the hand on the table, the thumb doubled
over the fingers. Now fix your gaze upon the fist for a while, then
gradually extend the thumb, keeping your whole attention fixed upon the
act, just as if it was a matter of great importance. Then gradually
extend your first finger, then your second and so on until you open the
rest. Then reverse the process, closing first the last one opened and
then the rest, and finally you will have the fist again in the original
position with the thumb closed over the finger. Do this exercise with
the left hand. Keep up this exercise first with one hand and then the
other until you have done it five times with each hand. In a few days
you can increase it to ten times.
The chances are that the above exercises will at first make you
"tired," but it is important for you to practice these monotonous
exercises so you can train your attention. It also gives you control
over your muscular movement. The attention, of course, must be kept
closely on each movement of the hand; if it is not, you of course lose
the value of the exercise.
Exercise 6
Put the right hand on knee, both fingers and thumb closed, except the
first finger, which points out in front of you. Then move the finger
slowly from side to side, keeping the attention fixed upon the end of
the finger. You can make up a variety of exercises like these. It is
good training to plan out different ones. The main point you should
keep in mind is that the exercise should be simple and that the
attention should be firmly fixed upon the moving part of the body. You
will find your attention will not want to be controlled and will try to
drift to something more interesting. This is just where these exercises
are of value, and you must control your attention and see it is held in
the right place and does not wander away.
You may think these exercises very simple and of no value, but I
promise you in a short time you will notice that you have a much better
control over your muscular movements, carriage and demeanor, and you
will find that you have greatly improved your power of attention, and
can center your thoughts on what you do, which of course will be very
valuable.
No matter what you may be doing, imagine that it is your chief object
in life. Imagine you are not interested in anything else in the world
but what you are doing. Do not let your attention get away from the
work you are at. Your attention will no doubt be rebellious, but
control it and do not let it control you. When once you conquer the
rebellious attention you have achieved a greater victory than you can
realize at the time. Many times afterwards you will be thankful you
have learned to concentrate your closest attention upon the object at
hand.
Let no day go by without practicing concentrating on some familiar
object that is uninteresting. Never choose an interesting object, as it
requires less attention. The less interesting it is the better exercise
will it be. After a little practice you will find you can center your
attention on uninteresting subjects at will.
The person that can concentrate can gain full control over his body and
mind and be the master of his inclinations; not their slave. When you
can control yourself you can control others. You can develop a Will
that will make you a giant compared with the man that lacks Will Power.
Try out your Will Power in different ways until you have it under such
control that just as soon as you decide to do a thing you go ahead and
do it. Never be satisfied with the "I did fairly well" spirit, but put
forward your best efforts. Be satisfied with nothing else. When you
have gained this you are the man you were intended to be.
Exercise 7
Concentration Increases the Sense of Smell. When you take a walk, or
drive in the country, or pass a flower garden, concentrate on the odor
of flowers and plants. See how many different kinds you can detect.
Then choose one particular kind and try to sense only this. You will
find that this strongly intensifies the sense of smell. This
differentiation requires, however, a peculiarly attentive attitude.
When sense of smell is being developed, you should not only shut out
from the mind every thought but that of odor, but you should also shut
out cognizance of every odor save that upon which your mind, for the
time, is concentrated.
You call find plenty of opportunity for exercises for developing the
sense of smell. When you are out in the air, be on the alert for the
different odors. You will find the air laden with all kinds, but let
your concentration upon the one selected be such that a scent of its
fragrance in after years will vividly recall the circumstances of this
exercise.
The object of these exercises is to develop concentrated attention, and
you will find that you can, through their practice, control your mind
and direct your thoughts just the same as you can your arm.
Exercise 8
Concentration on the Within. Lie down and thoroughly relax your
muscles. Concentrate on the beating of your heart. Do not pay any
attention to anything else. Think how this great organ is pumping the
blood to every part of the body; try to actually picture the blood
leaving the great reservoir and going in one stream right down to the
toes. Picture another going down the arms to the tips of the fingers.
After a little practice you can actually feel the blood passing through
your system.
If, at any time, you feel weak in any part of the body, will that an
extra supply of blood shall go there. For instance, if your eyes feel
tired, picture the blood coming from the heart, passing up through the
head and out to the eyes. You can wonderfully increase your strength by
this exercise. Men have been able to gain such control over the heart
that they have actually stopped it from beating for five minutes. This,
however, is not without danger, and is not to be practiced by the
novice.
I have found the following a very helpful exercise to take just before
going to bed and on rising in the morning: Say to yourself, "Every cell
in my body thrills with life; every part of my body is strong and
healthy." I have known a number of people to greatly improve their
health in this way. You become what you picture yourself to be. If your
mind thinks of sickness in connection with self you will be sick. If
you imagine yourself in strong, vigorous health, the image will be
realized. You will be healthy.
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