art of concentrating with practical exercise

8/12/2019 Art of Concentrating With Practical Exercise

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ART OF CONCENTRATING WITH PRACTICAL EXERCISE.

A daily habit will wonderfully increase your concentration. Seeing yourself as youwould like to be. Instruction of the greatest importance. The great creative spirit of

the universe. Why things manifest as they do. The cosmic intelligence. A mostdesired state. How to receive messages from the universal mind. How to develop

power, unknown to you before. ake your mind a powerful transmitter of thought.The best time to practice concentration e!ercises. How to re"uvenate every cell of

your brain and body. An e!ercise that will give you a self#poised manner. Instead of anervous strained appearance. $oncentrating on the powers within. $oncentration willsave your energy. How to keep from getting irritable or nervous. The %astern way of

concentrating. %!ercise in controlling desires.

Select some thought, and see how long you can hold your mind on it. It is well to havea clock at first and keep track of the time. If you decide to think about health, you canget 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 otherthought drift in. Just the moment one starts to obtrude, make it get out.

ake it a daily habit of concentrating on this thought for, say, ten minutes. !racticeuntil you can hold it to the e"clusion of everything else. #ou will find it of the greatestvalue to centrali$e your thoughts on health. %egardless of your present condition, seeyourself as you would like to be and be blind to everything else. #ou will find it hard atfirst to forget your ailments, if you have any, but after a short while you can shut outthese negative thoughts and see yourself as you want to be. &ach time youconcentrate you form a more perfect image of health, and, as you come into itsreali$ation, you become healthy, strong and wholesome.

I want to impress upon your mind that the habit of forming mental images is of thegreatest value. It has always been used by successful men of all ages, but few reali$eits full importance.

Do you know that you are continually acting according to the images you form If youallow yourself to mould negative images you unconsciously build a negativedisposition. #ou will think of poverty, weakness, disease, fear, etc. Just as surely asyou think of these will your ob(ective life e"press itself in a like way. Just what wethink, we will manifest in the e"ternal world.

In deep concentration you become linked with the great creative spirit of the universe,and the creative energy then flows through you, vitali$ing your creations into form. Indeep concentration your mind becomes attuned with the infinite and registers thecosmic intelligence and receives its messages. #ou become so full of the cosmicenergy that you are literally flooded with divine power. This is a most desired state. Itis then we reali$e the advantages of being connected with the supra)consciousness.

The supra)consciousness registers the higher cosmic vibrations. It is often referred toas the wireless station, the message recorded coming from the universal mind.

There are very few that reach this stage of concentration. *ery few even know that it ispossible. They think concentration means limitation to one sub(ect, but this deeperconcentration that brings us into harmony with the Infinite is that which produces andmaintains health.

+hen you have once come in contact with your supra)consciousness you become thecontroller of your human thoughts. That which comes to you is higher than humanthoughts. It is often spoken of as osmic onsciousness. -nce it is e"perienced it isnever forgotten. aturally it re/uires a good deal of training to reach this state, butonce 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. #ou are able to directthe e"pression of almost Infinite !ower while in this deeper state of concentration.



&"ercises In oncentration. The rays of the sun, when focused upon an ob(ect bymeans of a sun glass, produce a heat many times greater than the scattered rays ofthe same source of light and heat. This is true of attention. Scatter it and you get butordinary results. 0ut center it upon one thing and you secure much better results.+hen you focus your attention upon an ob(ect your every action, voluntary andinvoluntary, is in the direction of attaining that ob(ect. If you will focus your energiesupon a thing to the e"clusion of everything else, you generate the force that can bringyou what you want.

+hen you focus your thought, you increase its strength. The e"ercises that follow aretedious and monotonous, but useful. If you will persist in them you will find they arevery valuable, as they increase your powers of concentration.

0efore proceeding with the e"ercises I will answer a /uestion that (ust comes to me.This person says after he works all day he is too tired to practice any e"ercise. 0utthis is not true. +e will say he comes home all tired out, eats his supper and sitsdown to rest. If his work has been mental, the thought which has been occupying hismind 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 braincells1 the other cells, of course, are not busy at that time and are rested. ow if youtake up something that is (ust different from what you have been doing during theday, you will use the cells that have not done anything and give those that have hadwork to do a rest. So you should regulate the evenings that you have and call forth anentirely different line of thought so as not to use the cells which you have tired outduring the day. If you will center your attention on a new thought, you relieve the oldcells from vibrating with e"citement and they get their needed rest. The other cellsthat have been idle all day want to work, and you will find you can en(oy yourevenings while securing needed rest.

+hen once you have learned to master your thoughts, you will be able to change

them (ust as easily as you change your clothes.%emember, the real re/uisite of centering is to be able to shut out outside thoughts))anything foreign to the sub(ect. ow, in order to control your intention first gaincontrol over the body. This must be brought under direct control of the mind1 themind under the control of the will. #our will is strong enough to do anything you wish,but you must reali$e that it is. The mind can be greatly strengthened by being broughtunder the direct influence of the will. +hen the mind is properly strengthened by theimpulse of the will it becomes a more powerful transmitter of thought, because it hasmore force.

The 0est Time to oncentrate Is after reading something that is inspiring, as you arethen mentally and spiritually e"alted 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 areup and the air is good. 2ie down flat on your bed without a pillow. See that everymuscle is rela"ed. ow breathe slowly, filling the lungs comfortably full of fresh air1hold this as long as you can without straining yourself1 then e"hale slowly. &"hale inan easy, rhythmic way. 0reathe this way for five minutes, letting the Divine 0reathflow through you, which will cleanse and re(uvenate every cell of brain and body.

#ou are then ready to proceed. ow think how /uiet and rela"ed you are. #ou canbecome enthusiastic over your condition. Just think of yourself as getting ready toreceive knowledge that is far greater than you have ever received before. ow rela"and let the spirit work in and through you and assist you to accomplish what youwish.

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 (ust the minute you wish a thing to be doneit manifests in the thought world. +henever you concentrate (ust believe it is a



success. 3eep up this feeling and allow nothing to interfere and you will soon findyou have become the master of concentration. #ou will find that this practice will beof wonderful value to you, and that rapidly you will be learning to accomplishanything 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 e"ercise is especiallygood in assisting you to ac/uire perfect control of the muscles.

%!ercise & Sit in a comfortable chair and see how still you can keep. This is not as easy as itseems. #ou will have to center your attention on sitting still. +atch and see that youare not making any involuntary muscular movements. 0y a little practice you will findyou are able to sit still without a movement of the muscles for fifteen minutes. 4t firstI advise sitting in a rela"ed position for five minutes. 4fter you are able to keepperfectly still, increase the time to ten minutes and then to fifteen. This is as long as itis necessary. 0ut never strain yourself to keep still. #ou must be rela"ed completely. #ou will find this habit of rela"ing is very good.

%!ercise ' Sit in a chair with your head up and your chin out, shoulders back. %aise your rightarm until it is on the level with your shoulder, pointing to your right. 2ook around, withhead only, and fi" your ga$e on your fingers, and keep the arm perfectly still for oneminute. Do the same e"ercise with left arm. +hen you are able to keep the armperfectly steady, increase the time until you are able to do this five minutes with eacharm. Turn the palm of the hand downward when it is outstretched, as this is theeasiest position. If you will keep your eyes fi"ed on the tips of the fingers you will beable to tell if you are keeping your arm perfectly still.

%!ercise ( 5ill a small glass full of water, and grasp it by the fingers1 put the arm directly in frontof you. ow fi" the eyes upon the glass and try to keep the arm so steady that nomovement will be noticeable. Do this first for one moment and then increase it to five.Do the e"ercise with first one arm and then the other.

%!ercise ) +atch yourself during the day and see that your muscles do not become tense orstrained. See how easy and rela"ed you can keep yourself. See how poised you canbe at all times. ultivate a self)poised manner, instead of a nervous, strainedappearance. This mental feeling will improve your carriage and demeanor. Stop alluseless gestures and movements of the body. These mean that you have not propercontrol over your body. 4fter you have ac/uired this control, notice how 6ill)at)ease6

people are that have not gained this control. I have (ust been si$ing up a salesmanthat has (ust left me. !art of his body kept moving all the time. I (ust felt like saying tohim, 6Do you know how much better appearance you would make if you would (ustlearn to speak with your voice instead of trying to e"press what you say with yourwhole body6 Just watch those that interview you and see how they lack poise.

7et rid of any habit you have of twitching or (erking any part of your body. #ou willfind you make many involuntary movements. #ou can /uickly stop any of these bymerely centering your attention on the thought, 6I will not.6

If you are in the habit of letting noises upset you, (ust e"ercise control1 when the doorslams, or something falls, etc., (ust think of these as e"ercises in self)control. #ou willfind many e"ercises like this in your daily routine.

The purpose of the above e"ercises is to gain control over the involuntary muscularmovement, making your actions entirely voluntary. The following e"ercises are



arranged to bring your voluntary muscles under the control of the will, so that yourmental forces may control your muscular movements.

%!ercise * ove your chair up to a table, placing your hands upon it, clenching the fists, keepingthe back of the hand on the table, the thumb doubled over the fingers. ow fi" your

ga$e upon the fist for a while, then gradually e"tend the thumb, keeping your wholeattention fi"ed upon the act, (ust as if it was a matter of great importance. Thengradually e"tend 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, andfinally you will have the fist again in the original position with the thumb closed overthe finger. Do this e"ercise with the left hand. 3eep up this e"ercise first with onehand and then the other until you have done it five times with each hand. In a fewdays you can increase it to ten times.

The chances are that the above e"ercises will at first make you 6tired,6 but it isimportant for you to practice these monotonous e"ercises so you can train yourattention. It also gives you control over your muscular movement. The attention, of

course, must be kept closely on each movement of the hand1 if it is not, you of courselose the value of the e"ercise.

%!ercise + !ut the right hand on knee, both fingers and thumb closed, e"cept the first finger,which points out in front of you. Then move the finger slowly from side to side,keeping the attention fi"ed upon the end of the finger. #ou can make up a variety ofe"ercises like these. It is good training to plan out different ones. The main point youshould keep in mind is that the e"ercise should be simple and that the attentionshould be firmly fi"ed upon the moving part of the body. #ou will find your attentionwill not want to be controlled and will try to drift to something more interesting. Thisis (ust where these e"ercises are of value, and you must control your attention and

see it is held in the right place and does not wander away. #ou may think these e"ercises very simple and of no value, but I promise you in ashort time you will notice that you have a much better control over your muscularmovements, carriage and demeanor, and you will find that you have greatly improvedyour power of attention, and can center your thoughts on what you do, which ofcourse will be very valuable.

o matter what you may be doing, imagine that it is your chief ob(ect in life. Imagineyou are not interested in anything else in the world but what you are doing. Do not letyour attention get away from the work you are at. #our attention will no doubt berebellious, but control it and do not let it control you. +hen once you con/uer therebellious attention you have achieved a greater victory than you can reali$e at the

time. any times afterwards you will be thankful you have learned to concentrate yourclosest attention upon the ob(ect at hand.

2et no day go by without practicing concentrating on some familiar ob(ect that isuninteresting. ever choose an interesting ob(ect, as it re/uires less attention. Theless interesting it is the better e"ercise will it be. 4fter a little practice you will find youcan center your attention on uninteresting sub(ects at will.

The person that can concentrate can gain full control over his body and mind and bethe master of his inclinations1 not their slave. +hen you can control yourself you cancontrol others. #ou can develop a +ill that will make you a giant compared with theman that lacks +ill !ower. Try out your +ill !ower in different ways until you have itunder such control that (ust as soon as you decide to do a thing you go ahead and do

it. ever be satisfied with the 6I did fairly well6 spirit, but put forward your best efforts.0e satisfied with nothing else. +hen you have gained this you are the man you were



intended to be.

%!ercise oncentration Increases the Sense of Smell. +hen you take a walk, or drive in thecountry, or pass a flower garden, concentrate on the odor of flowers and plants. Seehow many different kinds you can detect. Then choose one particular kind and try to

sense only this. #ou will find that this strongly intensifies the sense of smell. Thisdifferentiation re/uires, however, a peculiarly attentive attitude. +hen sense of smellis being developed, you should not only shut out from the mind every thought butthat of odor, but you should also shut out cogni$ance of every odor save that uponwhich your mind, for the time, is concentrated.

#ou call find plenty of opportunity for e"ercises for developing the sense of smell.+hen you are out in the air, be on the alert for the different odors. #ou will find the airladen with all kinds, but let your concentration upon the one selected be such that ascent of its fragrance in after years will vividly recall the circumstances of thise"ercise.

The ob(ect of these e"ercises is to develop concentrated attention, and you will find

that you can, through their practice, control your mind and direct your thoughts (ustthe same as you can your arm.

%!ercise - oncentration on the +ithin. 2ie down and thoroughly rela" your muscles.oncentrate 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 body1 try toactually picture the blood leaving the great reservoir and going in one stream rightdown to the toes. !icture another going down the arms to the tips of the fingers. 4ftera 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 e"tra supply of blood

shall go there. 5or instance, if your eyes feel tired, picture the blood coming from theheart, passing up through the head and out to the eyes. #ou can wonderfully increaseyour strength by this e"ercise. en have been able to gain such control over the heartthat they have actually stopped it from beating for five minutes. This, however, is notwithout danger, and is not to be practiced by the novice.

I have found the following a very helpful e"ercise to take (ust before going to bed andon rising in the morning8 Say to yourself, 6&very cell in my body thrills with life1 everypart of my body is strong and healthy.6 I have known a number of people to greatlyimprove their health in this way. #ou become what you picture yourself to be. If yourmind thinks of sickness in connection with self you will be sick. If you imagineyourself in strong, vigorous health, the image will be reali$ed. #ou will be healthy.

%!ercise oncentrating on Sleep. +hat is known as the water method is, although very simple,very effective in inducing sleep.

!ut a full glass of clear water on a table in your sleeping room. Sit in a chair besidethe table and ga$e into the glass of water and think how calm it is. Then pictureyourself , getting into (ust as calm a state. In a short time you will find the nervesbecoming /uiet and you will be able to go to sleep. Sometimes it is good to pictureyourself becoming drowsy to induce sleep, and, again, the most persistent insomniahas been overcome by one thinking of himself as some inanimate ob(ect))forinstance, a hollow log in the depths of the cool, /uiet forest.

Those who are troubled with insomnia will find these sleep e"ercises that /uiet the

nerves very effective. Just keep the idea in your mind that there is no difficulty ingoing to sleep1 banish all fear of insomnia. !ractice these e"ercises and you will



eyes, and think of them as two human eyes looking into yours. #our eyes willprobably blink a little at first. Do not move your head, but stand erect. oncentrate allyour thoughts on keeping your head perfectly still. Do not let another thought comeinto your mind. Then, still keeping the head, eyes and body still, think that you looklike a reliable man or woman should1 like a person that anyone would haveconfidence in. Do not let your appearance be such as to (ustify the remark, 6I don'tlike his appearance. I don't believe he can be trusted.6

+hile standing before the mirror practice deep breathing. See that there is plenty offresh air in the room, and that you are literally feasting on it. #ou will find that, as itpermeates every cell, your timidity will disappear. It has been replaced by a sense ofpeace and power.

The one that stands up like a man and has control over the muscles of his face andeyes always commands attention. In his conversation, he can better impress thosewith whom he comes in contact. 9e ac/uires a feeling of calmness and strength thatcauses opposition to melt away before it.

Three minutes a day is long enough for the practice of this e"ercise.

2ook at the clock before you commence the e"ercise, and if you find you can prolongthe e"ercise for more than five minutes do so. The ne"t day sit in a chair and, withoutlooking at the picture, concentrate on it and see if you cannot think of additionaldetails concerning it. The chances are you will be able to think of many more. It mightbe well for you to write down all you thought of the first day, and then add to the listeach new discovery. #ou will find that this is a very e"cellent e"ercise inconcentration.

%!ercise &(

The ontrol of Sensations. Think how you would feel if you were cool1 then how youwould feel if you were cold1 again, how you would feel if it were free$ing. In this stateyou would be shivering all over. ow think of (ust the opposite conditions1 constructsuch a vivid image of heat that you are able to e"perience the sensation of heat evenin the coldest atmosphere. It is possible to train your imagination until you do this,and it can then be turned to practical account in making undesirable conditionsbearable.

#ou can think of many very good e"ercises like this. 5or instance, if you feel yourselfgetting hungry or thirsty and for any reason you do not wish to eat, do not think ofhow hungry or thirsty you are, but (ust visuali$e yourself as finishing a hearty meal.4gain, when you e"perience pain, do not increase it by thinking about it, but dosomething to divert your attention, and the pain will seem to decrease. If you will startpracticing along this line systematically you will soon gain a wonderful control overthe things that affect your physical comfort.

%!ercise &) The &astern +ay of oncentrating. Sit in a chair with a high back in upright position.!ress one finger against the right nostril. ow take a long, deep breath, drawing thebreath in gently as you count ten1 then e"pel the breath through the right nostril asyou count ten. %epeat this e"ercise with the opposite nostril. This e"ercise should bedone at least twenty times at each sitting.

%!ercise &* ontrolling Desires. Desire, which is one of the hardest forces to control, will furnishyou with e"cellent e"ercises in concentration. It seems natural to want to tell otherswhat you know1 but, by learning to control these desires, you can wonderfully

strengthen your powers of concentration. %emember, you have all you can do toattend to your own business. Do not waste your time in thinking of others or in



gossiping about them.

If, from your own observation, you learn something about another person that isdetrimental, keep it to yourself. #our opinion may afterwards turn out to be wronganyway, but whether right or wrong, you have strengthened your will by controllingyour desire to communicate your views.

If you hear good news resist the desire to tell it to the first person you meet and youwill be benefited thereby. It will re/uire the concentration of all your powers ofresistance to prohibit the desire to tell. 4fter you feel that you have complete controlover your desires you can then tell your news. 0ut you must be able to suppress thedesire to communicate the news until you are fully ready to tell it. !ersons that do notpossess this power of control over desires are apt to tell things that they should not,thereby often involving both themselves and others in needless trouble.

If you are in the habit of getting e"cited when you hear unpleasant news, (ust controlyourself and receive it without any e"clamation of surprise. Say to yourself, 6othingis going to cause me to lose my self)control. #ou will find from e"perience that thisself)control will be worth much to you in business. #ou will be looked upon as a cool)

headed business man, and this in time becomes a valuable business asset. -f course,circumstances alter cases. 4t times it is necessary to become enthused. 0ut be everon the lookout for opportunities for the practice of self)control. 69e that ruleth hisspirit is greater than he that ruleth a city.6

%!ercise &+

+hen #ou %ead. o one can think without first concentrating his thoughts on thesub(ect in hand. &very man and woman should train himself to think clearly. 4ne"cellent e"ercise is to read some short story and then write (ust an abridgedstatement. %ead an article in a newspaper, and see in how few words you can e"pressit. %eading an article to get only the essentials re/uires the closest concentration. Ifyou are unable to write out what you read, you will know you are weak in

concentration. Instead of writing it out you can e"press it orally if you wish. 7o toyour room and deliver it as if you were talking to some one. #ou will find e"erciseslike this of the greatest value in developing concentration and learning to think.

4fter you have practiced a number of these simple e"ercises read a book for twentyminutes and then write down what you have read. The chances are that at first youwill not remember very many details, but with a little practice you will be able to writea very good account of what you have read. The closer the concentration the moreaccurate the account will be.

It is a good idea when time is limited to read only a short sentence and then try towrite it down word for word. +hen you are able to do this, read two or moresentences and treat similarly. The practice will produce very good results if you keep

it up until the habit is fi"ed.

If you will (ust utili$e your spare time in practicing e"ercises like those suggested youcan gain wonderful powers of concentration. #ou will find that in order to rememberevery word in a sentence you must keep out every thought but that which you wish toremember, and this power of inhibition alone will more than compensate for thetrouble of the e"ercise. -f course, success in all of the above depends largely uponcultivating, through the closest concentration, the power to image or picture what youread1 upon the power, as one writer e"presses it, of letting the mountains of which wehear loom before us and the rivers of which we read roll at our feet.

%!ercise & oncentration -vercomes 0ad 9abits. If you have a habit that you want to get rid of,shut your eyes and imagine that your real self is standing before you. ow try thepower of affirmation1 say to yourself, 6#ou are not a weakling1 you can stop this habit



if you want to. This habit is bad and you want to break it.6 Just imagine that you aresome one else giving this advice. This is very valuable practice. #ou, in time, seeyourself as others see you. The habit loses its power over you and you are free.

If you will (ust form the mental image of controlling yourself as another person might,you will take a delight in breaking bad habits. I have known a number of men to break

themselves of drinking in this way.%!ercise &-

+atch oncentration. Sit in a chair and place a clock with a second hand on the table.5ollow the second hand with your eyes as it goes around. 3eep this up for fiveminutes, thinking of nothing else but the second hand, This is a very good e"ercisewhen you only have a few minutes to spare, if you are able to keep every otherthought in the stream of consciousness subordinate to it. 4s there is little that isparticularly interesting about the second hand, it is hard to do this, but in the e"traeffort of will power re/uired to make it successful lies its value. 4lways try to keep asstill as possible during these e"ercises.

In this way you can gain control over nerves and this /uieting effect is very good for

them.

%!ercise & 5aith oncentration. 4 belief in the power to concentrate is of course very important. Ipurposely did not put this e"ercise in the beginning where it naturally belongsbecause I wanted you to know that you could learn to concentrate. If you havepracticed the above e"ercises you have now developed this concentration power to aconsiderable e"tent and therefore you have faith in the power of concentration, butyou can still become a much stronger believer in it.

+e will say that you have some desire or wish you want fulfilled, or that you needsome special advice. #ou first clearly picture what is wanted and then you

concentrate on getting it. 9ave absolute faith that your desires will be reali$ed.0elieve that it will according to your belief be fulfilled. ever, at this time, attempt toanaly$e the belief. #ou don't care anything about the whys and wherefores. #ou wantto gain the thing you desire, and if you concentrate on it in the right way you will getit.

4 aution. ever think you will not succeed, but picture what is wanted as alreadyyours, and yours it surely will be.

Self)Distrust. Do you ever feel distrust in yourself If #ou do, (ust ask yourself, whichself do I mistrust Then say8 my higher self cannot be affected. Then think of thewonderful powers of the higher self. There is a way to overcome all difficulties, and itis a delight for the human soul to do so. Instead of wasting precious thought)force by

dreading or fearing a disagreeable interview or event, instead devote the time andconcentrated thought in how to make the best of the interview or event and you willfind that it will not be as unpleasant as you thought it would be. ost of our troublesare but imaginary, and it is the mental habit of so dreading them that really acts as amagnet in attracting those that really do come. #our evil circumstances are created orattracted by your own negative, fears and wrong thoughts, and are a means ofteaching you to triumph over all evils, by discovering that which is inherent withinyourself.

#ou will find it helpful in overcoming self)distrust, to stop and think, why you are,concentrating your forces, and by so doing you become more closely attached to thehigher self, which never distrusts.

art of concentrating with practical exercise

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