PRACTICAL MENTAL INFLUENCE/PART 4
CHAPTER 4
MENTAL CONCENTRATION
The two principal factors in the manifestation of Mental
Influence, in all of its forms, are what are known as (1) Concentration, and
(2) Mental Imagining. The first of these factors shall be considered in this
chapter, the succeeding chapter taking up the consideration of the second.
"Concentration" is a word derived from two
Latin words, i.e., "con," a prefix meaning " to;" and
"centrum," meaning "center" or "fixed central
point." The two words combined mean, literally, "to bring to a common
point; to focus," etc. Thus the word "Concentration" is seen to
mean, literally, "the act or state of bringing to a fixed point or focus.
Borrowing an analogous illustration from physical
science, we readily see that the highest forms of energy, force or power are manifested
by bringing the force to a focus, center, or common point thereby directing to
that point the entire energy employed, instead of allowing it to become
dissipated over a larger area. The electricity generated by a battery or
dynamo, if allowed to diffuse itself over a large surface manifests but a small
degree of the power that may be obtained from it by compelling it to discharge
itself from a small point of focus. The same is true regarding the power of
steam, which manifests great power by being forced to discharge itself through
a small point or opening instead of being permitted to spread itself widely in
the air. The same law applies to gunpowder, which manifests force by its gases
being compelled to escape through the small gun-barrel instead of spreading in
all directions, which it would do if unconfined. Another familiar example is
that of the sun glass, or "burning-glass," which brings the rays of
the sun to a common point or focus, greatly intensifying the heat and light by
reason thereof.
The occult masters have ever impressed upon their pupils
the importance and necessity of acquiring the power of Mental Concentration,
and all trained and developed occultists have practiced and persevered toward
this end, the result being that some of them attained almost miraculous mental
powers and influence. All occult phenomena are caused in this way, and all
occult power depends upon it.
Therefore the student of Mental Influence should devote
much thought, time and practice to this most important branch of the subject.
It is a fact known to all students of mental phenomena
that very few persons possess more than a very small degree of concentration.
They allow their mental forces to become scattered and dissipated in all
directions, and obtain little or no results from the same. In the degree that a
man is able to concentrate, so is he able to manifest mental power. A man's
power of mental concentration is to a great extent his measure of greatness.
Mental Concentration, in practice, consists of focusing
the mind upon a given subject, or object, firmly and fixedly, and then holding
it there for a certain time, fully intent upon its object, and not allowing
itself to be diverted or attracted from its object. It likewise consists in the
correlative power of then detaching the mind from that subject, or object, and
either allowing it to rest, or else focusing it upon another object. In other
words, it either gives undivided attention or else inhibits (or "shuts
off") attention from the given subject or object.
To the reader who has had no experience along the lines
of Mental Concentration, it may seem like a very easy Mental Influence task to
focus the mind upon a subject, and then hold it there firmly and fixedly. But a
little practice will undeceive such a person and will bring him to a realizing
sense of the difficulty of the task. The mind is a very restless thing, and its
tendency is to dance from one thing to another, darting here and there, soon
tiring of continued attention, and like a spoiled child, seeking a new object
upon which to exercise itself .On the other hand, many people allow their minds
to concentrate (involuntarily) upon whatever may strike their fancy, and,
forgetting everything else, they give themselves up to the object attracting their
attention for the moment, often neglecting duties and important interests, and
becoming day dreamers instead of firm thinkers. This involuntary concentration
is a thing to be avoided, for it is the allowing of the attention to escape the
control of the will. The Mental Concentration of the occultists is a very
different thing, and is solely in control of the will, being applied when
desirable, and taken off or inhibited when undesirable.
The trained occultist will concentrate upon a subject or object with a
wonderful intensity, seemingly completely absorbed in the subject or object before him, and
oblivious to all else in the world. And yet, the task accomplished or the given
time expired, he will detach his mind from the object and will be perfectly
fresh, watchful and wide-awake to the next matter before him. There is a
difference in being controlled by involuntary attention, which is a species of
self- hypnotizing, and the control of the attention, which is an evidence of
mastery.
The secret of Mental Concentration lies in the control of
the Attention. And the control of the Attention lies in the exercise of the
Will.
A celebrated French psychologist has well said: "The
authority is subject to the superior authority of the Ego. I yield it or I
withhold it as I please. I direct it in turn to several points. I concentrate
it upon each point as long as my will can stand the effort." Sully says:
"Attention may be roughly defined as the active self-direction of the mind
to any object which presents itself at the moment."
All of the occult authorities begin teaching their pupils
Attention as the first step toward Mental Concentration. They instruct the
pupil to examine some familiar object, and endeavor to see as many details as
possible in the object. Then after hearing the pupil's report, the master sends
him back to the task, bidding him seek for new details, and so on until at last
the pupil has discovered about all concerning the object that can be
discovered. The next day a new object is given to him, and the process is
repeated. First simple objects are given, and then more complex ones, until at
last objects of great complexity are easily mastered. In this way not only is
the power of close observation highly developed, but also the faculty of
Attention becomes so highly strengthened that the pupil is able to exert the
greatest amount of Mental Concentration with scarcely the consciousness of
effort. And such a person then becomes a very giant in the manifestation of
Mental Influence. For he is able to mold his mind "one-pointed," as
the Orientals describe it, until he has focused and directed a mighty degree of
Mental Influence toward the desired object.
Among the practices imposed
upon their pupils by occult masters may be named Mathematics, Drawing,
Analysis, etc. You will readily see why this is. To begin with, Mathematics
requires the undivided attention of the student - unless he concentrates upon
his examples, he will not be able to work out their solution. And, according to
the principle in Nature that "practice makes perfect," and that
"exercise develops power," the practice of the mind along lines
requiring voluntary attention and mental concentration will inevitably result
in the acquirement of the mental control and power, which renders possible the
strongest manifestation of Mental Influence.
The person who uses Mental Influence must certainly
possess the power of focusing the force to a common point, in order to manifest
the greatest amount of power and influence and that faculty of focusing results
from the training of the mind along the lines of Concentration. Concentration
arises from the mastery of Voluntary Attention. So there you have the whole
matter in a nutshell. So your first step toward acquiring Mental Influence
should be to cultivate Voluntary Attention.
We might fill page after page with exercises designed to
strengthen your faculty of Voluntary Attention, but what would be the use? The
best plan is to set you to work to find something upon which to concentrate,
for the very search will develop attention. Look around you for some object to
study in detail. Then concentrate your attention upon it until you have seen
all there is about it to be seen, then take up another object and pursue the
practice further. Take a page - this page, if you will, and count the number of
words on it. Then see how many words are required to fill each line, on an
average, then see how many letters there are in each word, in each line, on the
whole page. Then go over the page and see if any words are misspelled, or if
any of the letters are imperfect, etc. In short, get acquainted with this page,
until you know all about it. Then take up another page, and after studying it
in the same way, compare the two. And so on. Of course this will be very dry
and tedious unless you take an interest in it. And, remembering just what the
exercise is designed for may arouse this interest. After practicing this way
for a short time each day, you will begin to find that you are able to bestow
greater attention upon objects upon which you are trying to manifest Mental
Influence. You are developing Concentration, and that is the great secret of
the use of Mental Influence, and explains the difference in its manifestation
among men. Think over this.
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