Concentration

C O N C E N T R AT I O N
HE a rt of conc e ntration i s one

of th e s i mplest to learn and
,
one o f th e greatest when mas

t e r e d ; and thes e p ages a re written e s
p e c i a l l y for thos e wh o wish to le arn how

to maste r this fine a rt in all of i ts a s
p eets ; who w i sh to develop the power to
concentrate well at any time and for any
purpose ; who wi sh to make real con e en
t r a t i o n a p e r manent a cqu i sition o f the
mind .
Whate v e r you r wo rk o r you r purpose

may b e a good concentration i s ind i s
,
p ensabl e I t i s necess ary to apply

.
,
up on the obj ect o r subj ect a t ha nd th e ,
[ ]
I
'fl ' ' '6

‘
1
a n u
C o nc e ntr a t i o n
full power of thought and talent i f you

a r e to s ecure with a certa inty the r e
, ,
s u l t s you desire o r win the one thing

,
you h ave in vi ew B ut th e a rt o f con

.
centrati on i s not on l y a lea d i ng factor in

th e fi elds o f a ch i evement an d r e ali za
tion ; i t is also a l e a ding fa ct or in a n
other e d fi l — a fi eld o f untold possi
b i l i ty .
The e x ception al value of concentra

tion i s r ecogn i ze d un i versally ; and still
'
th ere a r e comp a ratively few that re ally
know how to concentrate ome o f
.
thes e h ave a n atural aptitude for c on

c e n t r a t e d thought and action while oth,
ers h ave improved themselves remar k

ably l n th i s d i rection due to incre as e d
,
knowledge on th e subj ect ; but a s yet th e

p sychology o f concentrat i on i s not u n
d e r s t o o d generally ; and th at i s why th e
m aj ority have not de v elop e d this g r e a t
[ ]
2
C o nc e n t r a t i o n
a rt although they ar e deeply desirous o f

,
do i ng so .
Wh en we do n ot know h o w to pro
c e e d we either h esita te or pr o ceed i n a
,
bungling f ash i on ; or we may procee d

,
unde r th e gu i dance o f a numb er o f m i s

l ead i ng beli e fs And in connection with
.
concentrat i on ther e a re s everal i de a s

and bel i efs tha t have interfere d greatly
w i th th e development o f th i s art In .
fact method s h ave b een given out and

, ,
published b roa dca st that a re suppose d

,
to develop concentrat i on but that p ro ,
duce th e very oppo s i te e ffect Th ese .
th i ngs however clea r up when we le a rn

, ,
the p sychology o f th e subj ect .
Among these m i sleading b eli e fs we

fi nd one of the most prevalent to b e
tha t we must i n order to concentrate
,
well b ecome oblivious to everything but

,
th e one thing b e fore attention now ; but

[3]
C o nc e ntr a ti o n
the fa c t i s that whe n we b e c ome obli v

i o u s to our su r r oundings we do not con
ce ntrate a t all ; we h ave simply buri e d
ourselve s in ab straction which i s the
,
r evers e o f concentrati o n .Th e mind i s

h i ghly a ctive and thoroughly alive when
we concent rat e p er fectly ; and s u fii
c i e n t l y alive and keen to b e aware o f
eve rything in the mind and all ab o u t the

m i nd although g i v i ng fi rst thought and
,
a ttention to the work in hand .
Another b eli ef i s this tha t w e mus t

,
us e gre a t force i n the mind in orde r

to concentrate well ; that i s w e must,
literally comp el th e mind to fi x attention

u pon the obj ect or subj ect b e fore it ;
bu t here we must not e tha t forced act i on ,
although s eemin g ly e ff ective fo r a while ,
i s detrimental in the l ong run This .
i s true o f the b ody a s well a s o f the

m ind s o tha t w e must fin d a b e tte r
,
[4]
method However when we lea rn the

.
,
real secret o f concentrat i on we find that

no spec i al e ffort i s requ i red ; there i s
ne i ther mental stra i n nor ha rd work con
n e c t e d w i th the proce s s ; the m i nd h e
comes well po i sed and serene ; and i n ,
tha t att i tude f ull powe r and capac i ty

,
i s appl i ed where a ttent i on i s d i rected .
Th e mind that concentra tes well does

not wo rk in the commonpla ce sense of
that term ; we ar and tea r h ave b e en
el i m i nated ; there i s no strenuous act i on ;
there is no des i re to f orce o r dr i ve
th i ngs through ; and no tendency wha t
eve r towards the h i gh strung o r keye d
up cond i t i on O n the contra ry all a c
.
,
t i on is smooth orderly ea sy and ha r

, ,
m o n i o u s ; and work has b ecome a ke en

plea sure Th i s we can fully appreciate
.
when we learn that in real concentra

,
t i on the mind ha s gaine d that p eculia r

,
[5 ]
fa culty through which i t ca n a t will

op en all the avenues o f energy in such a
way tha t all thos e energies fl o w into
one stre am ; and tha t strea m flows into

the one pla ce where wor k i s going on
n ow . Ther e fore i t i s not a ma tte r o f
,
main f orce but a matter o f knowledge ;

,
knowing how and where to open the

gate s o f energy in th e mental world .
When we study the p sychology o f

concentra tion we find that most o f our
,
p revious b eli e fs on the subj ect will have

t o b e di sca rded Th ey h ave only a cted
.
a s ob stacles ; and a s those obs tacles ha v e

p revented the development o f re al con
centra tion anothe r ob sta cl e ha s a risen
,
i n nearly e v e ry mind that o f a dverse

suggest i on the most detr i mental o f
all B ri e fl
. y th e maj ority feel i ng the
, ,
la ck o f concentra tion continue to think

,
a nd s p ea k o f this facto r a s wea k .
[ ]
6
C o nc e n tr a t i o n
They cont i nue to suggest to themselves ,
i gnorantly and un i ntent i onally tha t they

,
are very poor i n concentrat i on ; an d

therefo re they hold th i s fa ctor down
i n a p erpetual state of weakness No .
mental faculty o r powe r can develop to

any extent s o long a s we th i nk o r spe ak
o f tha t f a culty a s weak or i nferior A d .
vers e suggestion a cts a s a blight and ,
must n ot b e p ermitted under any c i r

cum s t a nc e . We should th i nk a s l i ttl e
a s p oss i ble abou t our weak po i nts .
When we know th at we h ave a certa i n

weakness we n eed not sp eak of i t fur
,
the r To dwell mentally upon weak

.
ness i s to live mentally i n weakness ; and

they who live mentally i n weakness can
n ot develop s trength Th ere fore we
.
,
will not think o r say ; again and a ga i n ,
that we a re u nable to concentrate or ,
that we a r e wea k o r in feri or in any r e

[7 ]
sp ect whatever We w i ll el i m i nate all

.
mann er o f a dverse suggestion We .
will th i nk and say that we can W e .
w i ll not compla i n that W e con centrate

p oorly but we w i ll proceed to tra i n our
,
s elve s to concent r a te wonder fully .
[ 8 ]
a n
‘ '
ce m flfa f / a
O N C E N T R AT I O N in gene r al
may b e defined a s an active state
o f m i nd wh ere i n the whole o f
a ttention with all ava i lable energy and
,
talent i s b e i ng appl i e d upon the one

,
'
th i ng tha t we a re do i ng now We c on .
centrate i n th e f ull mean i ng o f the te rm

when we g i ve ourselves complet ely to
the thought or the a ct i on of th e present
moment ; and th i s i s true whethe r w e -
work w i th muscl e b ra i n or m i nd o r
, ,
exp res s ours elves through thoughts ;

words or emot i on .
Th e p r i nciple o f concentra tion i s to

do one th i ng at a t i me and to do tha t
,
one thing w i th all the talent and powe r

we possess We literally tu rn on the
.
full current o f mental and per s onal e n

e r gy n o t o nly the full c urr ent o f wha t
[9]
C o nc e n tr a ti o n
we may f e el on the surfa ce o f thought

— but all tha t we can a rous e i n deepe r
cons c i ousness an d b ring forth from th e
,
gre ater s elf within I t i s a lea ding pur

.
p ose in c e nce nt r a t i on to lay hold upon

deep e r an d greate r p ossibility ; for we
a re no t giving ou r whole b est s elf to
th e wor k i n h and unl ess w e apply all the
li fe energy and ta l ent tha t we c a n
,
through sup e r -e ff o r t awa k en and de v e l op

n ow .
How thi s m ay b e a cc omp lishe d we

will u nderstand cle a r ly a s we proceed
with o u r ana l ysis of the many pha s e s o f
the subj ect ; and we will disco v e r tha t
th e p owe r to concentrat e well means
' astly mo r e a nd in vo lve s v a st l y m o r e
tha n most mind s eve r ima gined Al .
though th e general pu rpose o f this a r t

i s to giv e und i vide d a ttention to the
w o r k in ha nd the develo p me n t o f tha t
,
10 1
{
C o nc e nt r a ti o n
purpos e w i ll presently lea d u s b eyond

thi s p oint and we W i ll enter a n ew fi eld ;
,
we will d i scover i n concentra t i on a new

p ower and a marvelous p ossibili ty .
There a re many th i ngs that we may

expect t o a ccomplish through concentra
ti on ; and in orde r tha t we may b ecome
fam i lia r with this a rt from eve r y a sp ect
- which i s neces sary to its highest de
l
v e op m e n t — w e w i ll con s ider b ri e fly
the most important o f thes e accomplish
ments Fi rst o f a ll we gain the power
.
to hol d a ttenti on up on any obj ect o r

subj ect for a su ffi cient length o f time to
complete the work in hand an d the ,
power to do th i s a t any time and unde r

any circumstances This i s v itally i m
.
p ortant a s we all meet distracti ons a t

every turn and must l earn to give ou r
,
wor k undivided a ttention whate v e r our

su r r ou ndings ma y b e .
[ 1 1 ]
When we concentrate well we may ,
a t will caus e all the available ene rg i e s

,
of mind and personality to wor k to

geth e r with full cap acity upon the wor k
, ,
in hand Thi s will incre as e remarkably

th e working capa ci ty and th e dep endable
e ndurance of b oth mind an d b ody and ,
will me an a high degree o f mental mas

te ry . To b e able to ma ster the elements
and energies o f the min d su ffi ci ently to
b ring them al l t o g t h e r to work together
anywh ere any time this i s an a dv a n
tage for which we would pay almost
any price ; but i t comes as a n at u ral e m o l
u m e n t with the development o f c o nc e n
t r at i on .
We all appreci ate the value o f spe ed ,
and especi ally among the th i nk i ng pro

cesse s o f th e m i nd Th e m i nd tha t
.
moves slowly i s neve r b r i ll i ant ; while

the mind tha t can th i nk and a ct with
[ 1 2 ]
l i ghtning rapi dity i s on the verge o f a t

taining genius ; and may reach the goal
o f genius in this way i f depth and range
a re combine d w i th the element o f sp ee d .
It i s not p ossible howe v er to produce

, ,
mental sp eed through forced a ction ; i t

come s n aturally through concentration ;
and i t will mean more wor k and b ette r
wor k ; mo re p e r fect pl ans and more bril
li ant i dea s a combin ation that w i ll go
'
very fa r towa r ds the high goal we have
in vi ew .
You are equal to any occasion whe n

th e whol e of you r mind i s calle d i nto
'
a ction ; and thi s ve ry thing concentra
tion h as the p owe r to do . ore than
tha t the whole o f the mind will b e
,
called to highe r ground thereby work

,
ing i ts elf out o f med i ocri ty an d r e

s t r i c t e d channels
, and gradually devel
oping i tse l f into tha t wonde r state
[ 3]
1
whe re everything s e ems p ossible R eal .
concentr ation can lea d the way ; the

whole mind will follo w ; a n d concent r a
tion i nva ri ably le a ds into wo r lds o f
greate r r esults Whe n we concentrate
well we exercise a p e culi a r in fl
.
uence ove r
the whole mind ; we cre ate in eve ry pa rt
,
o f the mind an irresistibl e desi re to go

,
to wor k ; an d we inspire e v ery element

o f the mind with a definite amb iti o n t o
e x cel
.
Th e act o f c oncentrati o n tends not

only to ap p ly e ffectively all available
en e rgy o f mind an d pe r s o nality ; but
tends also t o draw forth la tent energies .
The f act i s that real concentrati on b e

come s in the mind a remarkable force
o f attra ction a ttra cting to itsel f u n
us ed and l atent energies fro m all
s ou rce s in the mental world Tha t is .
one r e ason why the min d tha t c o nc e n

[ 4]
I
C o nc e nt r a t i o n
W ell , you will find the soluti on Th e .
solution o f any p roble m i s locked up in

th a t problem ; and concentratio n is the
k ey . Th e psychology o f this involves
a most fa scinating study ; but su ffi cient
in this stage o f our study to k now tha t
thes e things can b e done The same .
i s tru e o f any subj ect situati on o r ci r

,
cu ms t a nc e. You can through c o nc e n

,
t r a t i o n fin d the main points or th e i n

,
side facts o f any subj ect or situation

tha t you may consider R e al concentra
.
tion h a s th e p owe r to b reak through the

s hell ; to get b enea th the sur face ; t o get
in b ehin d the scen es ; to ente r into th e

' e ry li fe of the thing and thus get hol d
,
o f be d-rock in forma tion .
Th ese things we may a ccomplish

through con centration ; and there i s good
r e ason there fore why i t has always b een
[ 1 6 ]
looked upon a s the master a rt ; but there
'
i s one th i ng more the greatest o f the m
,
all. ental a ction when p erfectly con

,
c e nt r a t e d
, tends to go fa rther and
farther into th e li fe substance or prin
,
c i p l e that i s a cte d up on a t the t i me .
C oncentration develop s a penetrat i ng

tendency a tendency to lea d th e
m i nd out o f the usual and on into the
unkno wn C oncentrat i on forges ahea d
. .
I t goe s stra i ght on It does no t ta rry

.
with k nown fa cts It goes fa rth er

. .
I t s ets out up on a j ourney ; and such a

j o u rn ey w i ll i nvariably prove a j ourney
o f disco v ery The mind will find and
.
enter new fi elds o f thought N ew l aws .
and p rinc i ples will b e discovered A .
n e w reg i on o f possib i l i ty will open b e
'
fore th e mind and long sought s ecrets
,
may c ome to light .ositively we can , ,
[ 7]
1
through a h i ghly developed concentra
'
t i on caus e Nature to g i ve up her s ecrets
, ,
and caus e the myste r i es of i fe to b e r e

v e aled.
HEN we realiz e wha t may
b e a ccompl i shed through con
centrat i on we shall make
,
e v ery con ce i vable e ff ort to develop th i s

master a rt ; and ou r p ers i stence deter,
m i nat i on and enthus i asm w i ll kn ow

neith er p ause nor mea sure ; we will pu r
p os e p os i t i vely to lea rn how to c o n c e n
trate and th ere f ore w i ll want to know
,
how to p roceed what pr i nc i ple s to

a dop t and wh a t methods to apply .
When we exam i n e the psycholo g y o f

concentrat i on we find th at i t i s b a se d
,
u pon mental a ct i ons tha t a re deeply i n
t e r e s t e d in a certa i n subj ect or obj ect ;

tha t i s we concentrate naturally an d
,
w i thout e ffort wheneve r or wherever we

a re v i tally interested Thi s then i s the
.
first principle B e r eally inte r ested in

.
[ 9]
I
tha t to whi c h you a re to a ddres s yo u r

s el f and yo u will give i t you r undi v ide d
,
attenti on .
The problem howeve r i s how to b e

, ,
come really interest e d in subj ects or o b

j e c t s that do not , o n their own a c c ount ,
attra ct ou r attention ; or tha t do not on ,
the surfa ce appe al to us in the lea st

,
.
Thi s i s the fi rs t and possibly the gre atest

obstacle we have to meet in the develop
ment o f concentration ; but the s olution
i s v ery simple ; and we proce ed upon
the fa ct that e v e r y t h i ng i s i nt e r e s ti ng
f r o m a c e r t a i n p o i n t o f vi ‘
e w tha t
eve ryth i ng can attra ct our attention i f
p ermitte d to reveal i t s chie f attra ction .
To th e sup erfici al mind many things

may seem useles s or uninteresting ; bu t
not so to the mind tha t h a s lea rned t o
think It i s only on th e surface or
.
,
fro m a c ommonplace v i ewp o int th a t ,
[ 2 0 ]
most th i ngs may seem unworthy o f p a ss

i ng not i ce ; and i t i s only when looked
upon through the eyes o f prej ud i ce or
ignorance tha t our associ ations may r e
p el or produce indi ff e rence o r tha t life
,
and i ts work may o ff er sl i ght appeal .
The situati on changes ent i rely when we

se e things a s they a re ; a nd espec i ally
when we s ee k for the de eper caus e o f
e v ery condit i on and d i scove r the greate r
,
possibil i ties tha t a r e awaiting b ack of

the s cenes eve rywhere .
Th e most commonplace obj ect in e x

i s t e n c e such a s a s i mple rock or a tur f
, ,
b ecomes a wonder -worl d when exam i ned

s ci ent i fically ; a nd the ord i nary duties of
li f e i f e x amin ed from all p o i nts o f view
, ,
wi l l reveal opp ortun iti es and possib i l i

t i es tha t w i ll pos i t i vely startle the mind
.
I t is certa i nly tru e that everyth i ng is

interesting from a certain point o f ' iew
,
[ 2 1 ]
and we may multiply illust r ations i n

definitely The un i vers e i n a ll o f i t s
.
r ealities ; li fe in all o f i t s mani festations ;

and e xi stence in all o f its a ctions a nd
changes — thes e things when l ooke d ,
into wi th e yes that se e will p rove i h

, ,
t e r e s t i ng to a wonderful degre e , and

frequently fas c inating to an ama zing
'
degre e .
nderstanding this a spect o f the sub

j e c t
, which i s the all important a sp ect
,
w e may make th e follow i ng p roposi

tion ' We c o nc e nt r a t e na tu r a l ly a nd pe r
ed
f y
e c tl w h e n w e a r e v i t a l l y i n t e r e s t .
Eve rything i s in i t s ch i e f a ttraction

, ,
e x tremely inte r esting The re fore we.

,
may by s e eking th e chie f a tt raction in

,
everything concentrate naturally an d

,
p er fectly anywhere any time This i s .
s i mple and conclus i v e provi de d w e find

,
th e chi e f a ttra c tion ; but he r e w e mee t

[ 2 2 ]
e v erything is interesting from a certa i n

p oint o f ' i ew you e stablish in the sub
, ,
cons c ious a n atural tendency to b e o n

,
the alert for this interesting vi ewp o int .
Your mind will unconsciously and u m

,
failingly look fo r the interest i ng ele

,
ment i n eve rything you meet in l i fe o r ,
that you may take up f or consideration .
And when the min d is on the alert and ,
ke enly looking fo r the i nteresting ele
'
ment the mind i s really inte rested in
,
that subj ec t o r obj ect . ital interest

i n th e s i tuatio n h a s sprung up s u b c o n
'
' '
s c i o u s l y , w i t h out yo ii r making the le a st

m
e ffort to b ecome interested . o there
you have the first and most v i tal essen

tial for concentration .
Th e importance o f this p rinciple i s

s o great and th e methods connected
,
with i t a r e so e ffective that w e should

,
emphasi z e and reempha si z e these things

[ 4]
2
C o nc e n t r a ti o n
in our m i nds i n every way conceivable .
We should th i nk on thes e th i ngs r e

p e a t e d l y ; dwell upon th i s situat i on w i th
the utmost o f fa i th and confi dence ; and
give speci al t i me and thought to the
fa cts involved There i s a tendency in
.
ne arly every mind to take natu ral i h

t e r e s t in a few things only ; to work and
a ct la rgely i n grooves and to think o f
,
things i n the most general and s u p e r fi

c i a l f ash i on B ut real concentration i s
out o f the question i n such a state o f
m i nd ; tha t is why spec i al attent i on
,
should b e given to the facts under con

s i deration so that the tendency o f i h
,
di ff erence may b e supplante d by one of

whole -h ea rted i nterest .
In p ra ct i cal l i fe this i s how the plan

will work You a re called upon to give
.
attention to something you do not under

stand o r someth i ng tha t does not a p
,
[ 5 ]
2
p eal to you i n the l east You a re not.
interested and there fo re you cannot a t

, ,
the moment concentrate properly or

, ,
g i ve the matte r undivide d attention .
But you remembe r th e gre at fa ct n oted

in th i s study tha t everyth i ng i s i nterest
,
i ng from a certa i n point o f view In.
s t a n t l y you become cu r i ous to know

what the i nterest i ng element i n the mat
te r in h and m i ght b e You h ave ma de
.
your own mind curious ; and a cu rious

mind i s o n th e v erge o f b ecoming an
interested mind .
I f thi s b e your first a ttempt in th e

appli cation o f thi s method noth i ng ,
more than a m i ld i nterest may a r i s e ; an d

even tha t m i ght a i d you dec i dedly a t th e
time ; but suppose you make us e o f thi s
metho d many t i mes c v y'for we ek s
and months . ose you make 1 t a
p art o f you r daily work to impress upon
[ 2 6 ]
your m i nd aga i n and aga i n the fa ct tha t
'
, ,
everyth i ng i s i nterest i ng from a certain

m g V i ew The
. sub consc i ous w i ll
soon r e c e i vgtfi e s e impress i ons and make
tha t fa ct i ts very own Then suppose .
you a re called upon to cons i der a sub

j e c t towa rds wh i ch you h ave b een wholly
i nd i fferent '
B ut th e ub consc i ous ha s
b een advised tha t there a re elements of
i nterest everywh ere and th e s u b co n
,
scious neve r f orgets wha t i t ha s once

really le arned Accord i ngly the mind
.
,
w i ll b e prompted by powerful i mpulses

,
from w i th i n to seek the interest i ng ele

,
ments i n th e subj ect b e f ore you ; and ,
b e f ore you are ha rdly awa re o f the fa ct ,
'
th i s subj ect ha s b ecome interest i ng and
a ttra ctive. uddenly a keen des i re h a s
,
come over you to look i nto th i s subj ect

thoroughly You want to know You
. .
a r e vitally interested Yo u are givin g .
[ 7]
2
C o nc e ntr a t i o n
th e matter undivided attention You .
a re concentrating p e r fectly in that di r e c

ti on.
When i t b ecomes a p a rt o f you r min d

to know and fe el tha t the re a re i nterest
ing elements i n everything and tha t ,
everything wh en l ooke d upon w i th eyes

,
th a t se e b ecomes a wonder -world you

, ,
develop a p ermanent fa culty for look

ing into th e v i tal elements in all things .
You a re interested deeply and p erma,
h e nt l y in th e workings and poss i b i l i t i es

,
o f all a spects o f li f e ; you a re won de rfully

a ttra cted to th e real and the tru e every
where ; and th ere fore you will instantly ,
and wi thout effort g i ve your whol e a t

,
tenti on to anyth i ng tha t you may meet ,
o r tha t you are called upon to cons i der .
Whereve r you think and a ct you do so ,
with you r whole m i nd ; you concentrat e

p er fe c tly no t b ecaus e yo u a re tryi ng t o
,
[ 2 8 ]
do so but b ecause you have developed

,
that someth i ng in yours elf that p roduces

p erfect c on c ent r ation .
[ 2 9 ]
O de v e l o p thi s ide a fa r the r and
,
se cure all poss i ble results we ,
should make it one o f th e pe r

m anent rules o f li fe to mee t eve rything
with the desire to di scove r its real worth
and chie f points o f interest ; and whethe r
th e element o f interest b e found or n ot ,
th e act o f l ooking for tha t element will

cre a te interest in the mind thereby pro
,
d u c i ng a certain degree o f concentration .
Whethe r we meet the commonplace or

th e exceptional this rule shoul d b e
,
rigi dly ob ser v ed ; an d whenever we have

moments to sp a re we shoul d apply the
rule defin i tely to any subj ect o r obj ect
a t h and so tha t the mind may de v elop
,
a permanent and a power ful tendency i n

that di r e c tio n To illustrate w e may
.
,
[3 ]0
find h ow many points of interest will

come forth to attra ct an d eve n ama z e
th e mind . Th e truth i s that i f we a re ,
wide awa k e to th e me aning and purpos e

o f eve r ything in existence we shall not ,
find anything to b e commonpla ce or u n

interesti ng Wha t appe ars to b e unin
.
t e r e s t i n g app e a rs so simply b eca u se we

have no t taken th e time to ma k e an i h
t e ll i g e n t examin ati on The moment .
,
howeve r tha t w e re ally e x amine th e

,
thing itsel f an d loo k into its elements

, ,
i ts nature its qu aliti es its powe rs its

, , ,
p ossibilitie s and i ts very soul we shall ,
find s o much tha t i s interesting that w e

might occupy th e min d for days weeks ,
and months i n a de ep e r an d furthe r

exam i nation .
We shall find noth i ng to b e o f gre ate r

value a s a da i ly pra ct i ce than to take up
obj ects or subj ects in which we a r e n o t
,
[3 ]
2
a ctu ally interested and d i rect the m i nd

,
to look for interest i ng V i ewpo i nts ele ,
ments o r fa ctors i n connection w i th

thos e obj ects or s ubj ects We shall b e
ri chly rewarded b ecaus e we w i ll not
,
only find much tha t is interesting but we ,
will th r ough thi s p ractice tra i n th e

, ,
mind to look n aturally for tha t which

i s o f interest everywhere ; and we know
tha t the r e i s n oth i ng that a dds s o much
to our fun d o f knowledge a s the happy
faculty o f being able to look fo r facts ,
or for the truth everywhere ; and the

s ame fa culty tends to develop not only ,
intellect but all th e finer mental f a c u l

,
tie s a s well.
Th i s pra cti ce w i ll produce a p erma

nent tendency in the m i nd to look f or the
intere st i ng i n connect i on w i th everyth i ng
tha t we may s ee o r he ar o r th i nk ab out ;
, ,
and thi s tendency w i ll e xp and an d de

[ 33 ]
ve lo p the mind and pla ce us in a p osition

,
to secu re d i rect o r fi r s t-hand in forma

t i on from e v ery exp eri ence and from
'
every obj ect or subj ect tha t we meet on
th e way . o r e than thi s the s ame ,
tendency w i ll develop in the mind the

fa culty o f se a rch i ng f or th e chi e f essen
t i a l s o r th e re al th i ng that inva ri ably
, ,
e xi sts in the actual li fe o r soul o f that

wi th wh i ch we come i n contact ; and it i s
h a rdly p oss i b e to over estimate the
l -
value o f such a fa culty know i ng a s we

,
do tha t the average mind sk i ms ove r

the surface continually and s eldom i f, ,
eve r d i scove rs the re al vi tal p r i nc i ple

, ,
i nvolve d any whe r e When we develop

.
the fa culty o f find i ng the real thing the

[
real truth the re al p r 1n c 1p l e the re al

, ,
powe r th e real fa ctors that exis t i n

,
everyth i ng we me et i n li fe we ha v e ,
ga ine d immens ely .
[ 34 ]
When e v er w e meet wha t does not

se em i nterest i ng we should proceed at
,
once to exam i ne that pa rt i cula r th i ng

with a ' ie w of find i ng someth i ng o f i n
t e r e s t ; and we w i ll find it .And when
we have work that does not s eem i n
t e r e s t i ng work upon wh i ch we must
concentrate i n orde r to do i t well we
should ta k e up such wo rk i n th e s ame
a ttitude ; that is we should i nqui re
,
deeply and sci ent i fically a s to what there

i s about such work that i s i n reality i n
t e r e s t i ng
. Th i s quest i on com i ng up ,
will cause th e min d to b ecome interested ;

an d a t once concentrat i on will b egin .
And a s w e continu e thi s pra ctice the ,
tendency to look f or the interesting

everywhere w i ll b ecome second nature ;
that is concentra tion w i ll h ave b ecome a
,
p ermanent p owe r in the m i nd an d will ,
a c t tho r o u ghly and e ff e c ti v ely o f itse l f

,
[ 35 ]
'
whe rever th e mind may proce ed to a ct .
Th e rule is s i mple ' oo k fo r the i n

t e r e s t i ng , and the mind b ecomes i n
t e r e s t e d ; and whe reve r the mind i s i n
t e r e s t e d the r e you concentrate n aturally
,
and e ffectively ; p rovided o f cou rs e tha t

, ,
you sub consci ously f e e l tha t the re a re

interesting elements in eve rything ; and ,
p rovided furth e r th at your mind i s

,
ke enly alive with th e desi r e to k no w to ,
a chi e ve to e x cel
, .
[ 3 6 ]
'' O
T imp ortant essenti al in
the development o f concentra
t i on i s to learn to control the
a c t i o n s o f the mind all the le a ding
‘
a ct i ons both obj ect i ve and subj ective ;

,
and although th i s may seem to de a d i ffi

cult undertak i ng i t i s really qu i te s i mple
, ,
f o r in f a ct we exe rc i se th i s powe r almost

hourly to some degree We all have
.
exper i enced moments when the forces

o f the m i nd se eme d to b e under p er fect
control when i t seemed a s i f we could
m ove those forces in any mode o r man
,
ner desired j ust a s we move our hands

,
o r fe et An d when we analyze our

.
states o f mind dur i ng such moments ,
we fi nd th at we a re i n deep er o r close r
touch w i th the finer f orces o f m i nd and
p ersonality tha t is the s ecret To
.
[ 37 ]
a cquire th e a rt o f entering into thi s

close r touch th e re fore must b e our pur
p os e ; and to b eg i n i t i s deep er feel i ng
,
th a t prep a re s the way for th a t d e s 1 r e d

state o f mi n d .
Whenever we p r oce e d to concentrate ,
we should t ry an d deep en th e feeling o f

all thought and all mental action ; i n f act ,
w e should try and fe el so de eply ab out

e v erything tha t we th i nk o r do tha t th e
m i nd actually ente rs into the very sp i r i t
o f th e proce ss ; that i s into the under
,
c u rrents o f mental l i fe those fine r cur

,
rents tha t determine results i n every

th i ng that i s b e i ng done We may.
,
when concentrating i n a sup erfi ci al man

n e r s ecu re some sl i ght results temp o ra
,
rily bu t i t i s those deep er fine r m ore

, , ,
p en etrat i ng currents tha t produce real

results and tha t alon e h ave the capa c i ty
,
to p roduce e x t r aord i na ry results B e .
[3 ]8
tone o f tha t musi c will a ctu ally thrill

the atoms o f your b eing an d a rous e
,
feelings in m i n d a nd soul tha t a re s o

deep s o lo fty and so b eauti ful tha t you
,
could not p oss i bly describ e them

B ri e fl
.
y sta ted you r enti re b eing would

,
b e alive with the deep est and finest and

most s a cre d emotions and th e e xp e r i
,
ence would b e such th a t i ts e ffect would

r emain with you for weeks months an d ,
p oss i bly yea rs

.
Thi s illustrates what h app ens wh e n

we me et experi ences or anything in l i fe
, ,
in the a ttitude o f deep e r and fine r state s

o f mind At such times we do not
.
simply discern the surfa ce o f th i ngs o r ,
come in mental conta ct merely with the

oute r meaning ; we a ctually discern th e
v ery li fe o f things and come in mental
,
conta ct with the very k i ngdom o f the

soul We find tha t we in v ari ably ente r
.
[4 ]
0
into th i s deep e r feel i ng when we try to

l i v e every a ct thought or experi ence that
,
may appea r i n ou r world ; an d th e rea

son why i s found in the f a ct that when
eve r we try to l i ve anyth i ng we ente r ,
into the very l i fe o f that pa r t i cula r thing .
To develop the tendency to enter th e

deep e r states o f the mind we shoul d ,
work in ha rmony w i th a lead i ng l a w i n

the mental world ; that is the pecul i a r ,
p roneness o f the m i nd to p roduce within
'
i tsel f any state cond i t i on o r tendency
,
tha t we cont i nu e to des i re with p ers i st

ence and s i ncer i ty It I ' . the truth tha t
y o u r m i n d w i l l d o a ny t hi ng f o r y o u i f
y o u r e a l ly w a nt i t d o ne .
When we ma ke i t o u r purp os e to
enter i nto deep e r sta tes o f f e e l i ng in l
connection w i th eve ry thought and a c

tion the mind will soon develop a tend
,
e ncy tha t will inva ri ably take al l men

[4 ]1
tal a ction into deep er state s o f fe eling .
To encourage th e mi nd in this connec

tion we shall find i t a most e x cellent
,
pra ctice whenev e r we hea r good music

, ,
to look fo r th e soul o f music to try and

,
fe el the fi n er touch o f th e re al li fe o f
musi c and to t r y to appreciate the most
,
deli cate ha rmo ni es tha t e x i st in the v e r y

spirit o f music itself .
We shall find it a n e x cellent p r a ctice

to a pp l y th e s ame p r inciple in connection
with anything that i s b e auti ful or any ,
thing that may app e al to the mind a s b e

ing wo rthy o f ou r de ep est an d highest
atte ntion ; and in fa c t whateve r w e may
,
b e thinking ab ou t we should try and

,
ente r into the v ery s oul o f the thought

o r the theme In this manne r we will
.
,
develop a n atural desi re to s eek f o r the

real to ente r into th e depths o f li fe
, ,
thought and f e eling ; a nd g r a d u al l y c on

[4 ]2
s c i ou s ne s s
will deepen all o f its a ct i vit i es
until we find we c a n feel mo r e deeply
i n every thought o r exp e rien c e ; and we
shall also find tha t the consc i ous doma i n
ha s b een i ncre ased remarkably .
We shall fin d it p rofitable to apply

the s ame p r inciple to e very a sp ect o f
physical s ensation an d to every e xp e r i
,
e nc e o f the sense li fe I f w e make i t

-
ou r a im not to b e s atisfi ed with the

,
gross er side of physical s ensation but ,
try t o di scern and fe el the finer elements

tha t a re inva ri ably expressed through all
forms o f sensation we shall n ot only,
fi n d e v ery s ensation more delightful tha n

b e fore but also that it h as b een li fte d
,
to a highe r p la ne — that grossness and

crudeness have disapp ea red and that ,
the physical b ody a s a whole ha s b e

, ,
come more r efine d in e v ery for m and

man ne r .
[ 43 ]
Th es e e x ercises an d exp eriences wil l

tend d i re ctly to prep are the way for the
development o f those states of m i nd
th at we must posses s i n order to ente r
into thi s clos e r and finer touch with the
highe r an d finer force s o f the mind
a most imp ortant e s s e n t 1 a l in the a r t o f
controll i ng all the a ctions o f the mi n d ;

for we know that wh en we have gaine d
p e r fect control over all the acti ons o f
t h e m i nd the n w e shall b e able to con
‘ ,
c e ntrate all t h e energy we p ossess up on

any obj e ct o r subj ect we may ha v e in
v i ew .
The pu rpos e must b e to li v e b ene ath

t h e s u rfa ce ; to make the great within
our chie f real m o f li fe and concern .
We may a ct upon and with th e external

a sp ects of li fe ; but we mus t make th e
deepe r fi elds o f thought our real place
o f busi ne ss Fo r surely i f we would
.
[ 44 ]
'
maste r th e de epe r forces o f li f e w e must ,
live and think wh ere thos e forces a rise

and develop This the r e fo r e i s a m
.
, ,
te r o f i mp e r a t 1ve imp orta nc e .
[ 45 ]
N i ndis p ens able e l eme n t i s that
o f a good strong will ; and th e
u se o f th e will in connection
with concentra tion may b e illustrate d
va ri ously ; but we will first examine the
e ffect o f will p ower correctly appli ed
, ,
in the p rocess o f thought cre ation To .
illustrate we will suppos e th a t you h ave

,
s everal fa cts concerning a prop ose d i n

v e nt i o n but have not a s yet succeede d
,
in b ringing thos e fa cts togeth er in the

combination requi re d fo r the pe rfecting
o f tha t invention I f you understan d
.
th e u se o f th e will yo u will apply will

,
p ower upon tha t group o f facts know ,
i ng that you thereby increa se mental a c

t i vi t y i n that p a rt i cula r p a rt o f the m i n d ;
a nd W here v e r mental a ct i vity is i n
crea sed the r e the cre ati v e p rocess i s i h
,
[ 4 6 ]
concentra ti on p rovi de d co ncentratio n i s

,
de ep ly e xp ressed an d in a positi v e m a n
,
'
n er r esu l ts w e may s ecur e th r ough th e
full a c tion of the will . o r when we
fully apply th e will we increas e powe r

,
a n d a ct i vity
. We intensi fy the p rocess
involved ; and there i s nothing th at tend s
mor e directly to incre ase th e powe r o f
concentrati on than the a ct o f i nc r e a s
ing the rapid i ty o f a cti on whe r e v e r con
c entration may b e ta k ing pla c e .
We all app r eci at e th e v alu e o f b ri l

li ant i de as ; an d most minds a r e in a
p osition to cre a te b rilli ant i dea s a t f r e
q u ent inte r v als but a s a r ule they

,
merely come u p to the p oi n t o f cr eating

a b rilli ant i de a ; th ey do n o t quite reach
th e point itsel f Th e r ea son i s tha t

.
they ha v e not th e p ower to b ring to

gethe r all the elements require d fo r thi s
n e w idea ; and thi s p owe r is la cki ng b e
[4 ]8
caus e th e will i s weak and concentra

tion undevelop ed The same is true r e
.
garding the p erfect i ng o f plans or

methods We ma y have the essentials
.
,
o r all the factors required but we may

,
not always h ave the power to br i ng them

togethe r to a focus where the required
,
combinati on ca n b e b rought about so a s

to evolve the ide a o r plan w e desire .
Th e us e o f the w i ll however in th i s
, ,
con nection will produce rema rkable r e

su lt s
. Th e will always i ntens i fies any
mental p rocess and thereby tends to
,
b ring to a climax any cre ative p rocess

that may b e going on in the m i nd Th e .
creation o f ri ch and v aluable thought

may b e furthered in th e s ame manner ,
b ecaus e such thought i s almost i nva r i

ably the result o f the b ring i ng togethe r ,
in the prope r comb inat i on o f th e b est

,
imp r essions tha t may have come into

[ 49 ]
the min d through our own study or ex

p e r i e n c e .
R ega rding th e psychological use o f

th e p owe r o f thought we shall find the
,
s ame principle o f exceptional value b e ,
cause whenever we use the p ower o f

though t wheth e r for the overcoming of
,
physical a ilments for the el i m i nation o f

,
a dvers e mental states or for the bu i ld

,
ing up o f ch a racter or mental fa cult i es

— wherever we may apply the p ow e r
o f thought a p erfect concentrati on is
indi spensable ; and the use o f the will in
conn e cti on with concentra tion i nva r i ably
tends to increa se b oth the force and the
cap a city o f the p rocess I n fact we .
,
n ever can concentrate with all th at we

a r e unles s we express through con e en
t r a t i o n the full p ower of th e will
, To .
express th e full p owe r o f the will h o w ,
eve r e ve ry a ction o f the will must be

,
[5 ]
0
p os i tive and the will must a ct s u b j e c

,
t i ve l y ; that i s it must act through the

,
undercurrents or through the attitude

,
o f fine r feel i ng — the i mportance o f

wh i ch we have p rev i ously conside red .
We understand therefore that i f we

would lea rn to concentrate well we must
also a cquire a thorough knowledge o f
th e will and develop the will to th e
,
h i ghest poss i ble deg r e e .
[ 5 1 ]
HE pow e r o f p e r si st e nt d e si r e
i s invalu able whe r eve r in
creased r gs u l t s are wante d ; a nd
there f ore th e full force o f d e s 1 r e m u st
invar i ably combine with concentration .
When we desire p ersi ste ntly the obj ect i n

vi ew w e b ecome deeply interested in
,
that obj ect and we cause th e whole mind

to work for its reali za ti on B esides.
,
th e element o f desire will instill a some

thing into concentration that i s r e af l y
I t will elim i nate the tendency to
make mental or p e rsonal a ctions mecha n
i cal o r forced and wil l give to every a c
,
tion tha t v ital spa r k that means so much .
Th e force o f desi re will also de ep en a nd

W e x p an d every mental p rocess inv o lved
a s i tu ation tha t may a t times b ecome

, ,
the o p ening way to rema rk able re sults .
[5 ]2
To concentrate success fully we must

d i rect an d focal i ze all the cre at i ve
e ne rg i er m m
o f concentra tion ; bu t these energ i es
must first b e a rouse d ; and h ere i s where
re al desire b ecomes i nvaluable Wh e r .
eve r we turn on the full current o f per

s i stent desire every energy and force i n
,
the mind b ecomes al i ve and may b e e n

,
li sted for good work in any place where

the powe r o f concentration ha s b een d i
r e ct e d. We find th ere fore that the
force o f des i re becomes a direct an d
d i stinct y C reat i ng
wi de -awake interest all through the
m i nd — b y caus i ng the mind to b ecome
v i tally i nterested in the goal in V i ew ;
and second by a rous i ng or making al i ve
, , ,
th e l atent or dormant energ i es o f the

m i nd thereby provid i ng the process o f
,
[ 53 ]
concentration with a va st amount o f a d

d i t i o n a l p ower
.
All o f this we understand p erfectly ;

and the more we invest i gate the p sy
c h o l o g y o f the proc ess the more re a
,
s ons we find why we always get wha t
we want when we want i t re al b a d' '

.
The s ecre t then i s to want wh at yo

want w i th all the li fe and power th ere ,
i s in you We can rea ch any goal or

.
,
re aliz e any i deal when we concentrate

p erfe ctly and with the full force o f a
,
p er fect concentra t i on ; and p ersistent

desire p roceeds to give concentration
more and more o f the two ch i e f essen
t i a l s ; tha t is deepe r mental interest and
,
greate r mental powe r .
In this connect i on inquiry may a r i s e a s

to the b est methods for cre ating th i s
deep e r and more persistent des i re
,
,
e sp eci ally where we may not b e p erson

[ 54 ]
we may b e connecte d '

uch a desi re
.
w i ll improve r emar k ably not only o u r

,
own concentration but also all other

,
p ower s and talents we may pos sess .
O u r own ga i n there fore w i ll b e strictly

p e rsonal and most direct ; and although
,
tang i ble ga i n may not come at once it ,
p os i t i vely will come in the nea r f uture .
Th e future is both l a rger and ri cher fo r

those who imp rove themselves i n the
p resent ; and gre ate r opp ortunit i e s ar e
wa iting e v er ywher e fo r gre ater minds ;
but imp rovements must b e genuine n o t ,
merely sup erfici al .
To incre ase th e power of desire we

should deep en and intensi fy all such de
sire i n every for m and manne r r eali zing,
the fa ct that th e m ore the mi nd acts in

a certain direction th e greate r b ecome s
its powe r to act still more i n th e same
di r ection The forc e of desi r e the r e
.
[5 ]
6
f ore m ay through this s i mple rule b e

come immens e And the more we i n
.
cre as e the force of des i re the more we

i ncrea s e results in every fi eld o f thought
o r a ct i on Furthermore we may caus e
.
,
the forces o f concentration and des i re t o

a ct and rea ct upon each othe r to great
a dvantage ; th a t i s the more we c o nc e n
,
trate f or the increa s e of des i re worth

W h i le des i re the more powerful and
p ers i stent w i ll such desire b ecome ; and
the more deeply we des i re the power to
concentr ate well wonderfully well
th e more l i f e en er g y and acti on we e x
,
press i n the bui l d i ng of re a l co nce ntra

ti on
.
[ 57 ]
HE greatest faculty o f all i s
th a t o f imag i nation ; but i t i s
the le a st understood due pr i n
,
c i p a l l y to the fact th at most m i nds have
rema ine d in grooves o f thought and ,
there fore have not given extensive a t

tent i on to the i r own cre ative poss i bil i
ties the ri chest and most numerous of
,
wh i ch e x ist in the fields o f imagination .
I n the development o f any power o r

talent however these cre at i ve p oss i bili
, ,
t i es must re ceive d i rect and sc i entific a t

tenti on ; and th 1 s I ' esp ec i ally true with
rega rd to the p owe r o f concentration .
B esides s om e of the funct i ons o f c o nc e n

,
t r a t i o n a re so clos ely related to those o f
i mag i nation a s t o se em almost ident i cal .
Wh en you employ the f a culty of

imaginati on on e o f your chi e f obj e c ts i s
,
[5 ]
8
to bring togethe r idea s o r mental i mages

with a V i ew o f creating some new or
greater i de a ; and i n concentrat i on th i s
bring i ng together tendency th i s
un i t i ng the many in one i s the lead i ng
,
obj ect i n Vi ew It i s clearly ev i dent

.
there f ore tha t a better train i ng o f

i mag i n ation will largely increa se the
power of concentrati on .
When you employ the faculty o f

imag i nat i on you also tend to b r i ng to
,
gether the many creative energ i es o f the

mind comb i ning those energies in the
,
one proces s to whi ch you a re giving a t

tent i on at the time A h i ghly de
.
ve l o p e d fa culty o f imag i nat i on there f or e
n aturally becomes a n i nvaluable ai d to

the power o f concentrat i on ; and whe n
we understan d how concentration can ,
by work i ng w i th imag i nat i on br i ng to,

.
ge t her in t o one p owerful l i ne o f ment al

.
[ 59 ]
a ction all the b est idea s of the mind an d

,
all ava i lable crea tive energy we k no w ,
why we usually find a n excellent imag i n

ati on wh erever we find a r ema r k able
concentrat i on .
An alyzing the subj ect fa rthe r we find ,
tha t a vivid well -tra i ne d imag i nati on

' '
,
tends to ligh t up the enti re mental

world ; o r in other words to make
, ,
everyth i ng in th e m i nd mor e cle a r ;

The result i s that th e idea o r obj ect
,
u po n which we concentrate b ecomes

more d i st i nct ; and a ccordingly we not ,
only concentra te b etter but the entir e

,
m i nd b e c omes i nterested in this idea on

a ccount o f its v iv i dness and d i st i nctive
n ess Thus we call into a ct i on the many
.
a sp ects o f mental attent i on an act i on

,
th at incre ases d i rectly an d instantane

o u s l y the p ower o f concentrat i on We .
all k no w through experi ence how m u ch

[ 6 0 ]
b etter we can think when the i dea s with

wh i ch we a re deal i ng a re vivid o r st a nd
,
out clearly in the mind ; and also h ow

much b etter we can concentra te when
we have a distinct mental picture o f the
obj ect in view And imag i nation i f
.
,
well traine d and sci entifically applied ,
w i ll invari ably turn the l i ght upon any

idea that we may call up for e x amina
ti on o r further development .
When imag i nat i on i s vi v id every ,
mental proces s w i ll b e literally filled and

surrounded w i th l i ght ; an d we all c a n
app reci ate wha t an immense a dvantage
thi s will b e i n the p ract i cal applica t i on
of concentrat i on To illustrate we will
.
,
call imaginat i on into a ction wherever

w e w i sh to concentra te and immed i ately
,
that place o r proces s i n the m i nd w i ll

b ecome s o v i v i d and stand out s o
,
clearly that all our facult i es w i ll b e

,
come inte r ested The entire mind wi l l

.
[ 6 1 ]
turn its a ttention towa rds th e point o f

concentrati on ; and in a moment the e n
tire mind will concentrate And when
.
we h ave the whole mind work i ng for th e

obj ect i n V i ew the results desi red will
,
p ositively b e real i zed .
As a pr act i cal sugge stion we should ,
wh enever we b eg i n to concentrate pro

,
c e e d to imag i ne all the forces o f the
mind coming to a focus a t th e point o f

concentration Th i s simple rule will
.
not only produce s ome sta rtling results

in th e process o f concentrat i on i ts el f ,
but will also train i maginat i on for d e fi

ni te and p ra ctical work Herewith let
.
,
u s note tha t imag i nat i on does h ave the

powe r to take th e lea d i n th e mental
world ; an d there fore whenever w e
imagine that a certain th i ng is b eing
done in th e mind we lea d a maj or i ty o f
,
th e energ i es o f the mind to go an d do

[ 6 2 ]
O co nc entrate we l l is not su f
fi c i e n t ; we must also co n c e n
trate with th e greatest possible
cap acity ; and there fore we should tra i n
,
ourselves to concentrate with the whole

mind ; o r to exp res s more and more o f
l i fe and p ower in every thought and a c
t i on B ut the average mind makes a ct
.
u al use o f only a small fra ction o f wha t

is p ossible i n abili ty and p ower ; and
th at i s one r ea son why the concentrated
e fforts o f such a min d a re s o wea k o r
u tterly futile .
Where concentration is wea k and i m

p erfect we always find most o f the m i nd
,
in a dormant state ; and vice vers a ,
W here concentrat i on i s except i onal we ,
find ma rked a ct i v i ty all through the men

ta l wo rl d Th e p rob l em the n i s to
.
[ 4]
6
awaken more o f the m i nd and express ,
more o f the powe r o f the m i nd in every

thing we do a p roblem tha t would
la rgely solve itsel f i f we woul d aban

don completely all h alf-hea rted modes
o f thought and action .
We should make i t a pra ctice to ex

pres s the whole sel f in everyth i ng we do ,
thin k or say ; and th e increa se i n mental

capacity would b e remarkable We .
should eliminate indifference absolutely .
Wh ether we turn to the le ft or to the

r i ght we should turn with all we have
,
i n feel i ng purpos e and w i ll Whereve r

, .
we a ct we should b e a power and a im

—
, ,
to make all a ction constructive con

d u c i ve to greate r capa ci ty for a ction to
morrow There i s n o ga in i n sav i ng up
.
p ower for another day I f we use i t .
all now we w i ll ha v e still more when the

,
oth er day a rr i v es The powe r that i s

.
[ 5 ]
6
generate d i n the system to -day sh ould b e

use d to day
- not s cattered but used
used in co n s tru ct i ve express i on .
An d the law i s th at th e more p owe r w e

,
us e to -day the more we shall h ave to

,
morrow .
2 When we think we, should not s i mply

thin k with the b ra i n but th i nk w i th
,
every force and element in the ent i re

p ers onality There i s noth i ng that w i ll
increa s e mental capacity so qu i ckly and
s o e ff ect i vely a s the tra i n i ng o f the mind
to us e the whole p e rsonal i ty i n every
thought and exp ress i on And when th e .
mind can i n concent ra ti on dra w upon

, ,
the enti re p ersonal i ty f or powe r con ,
sc i ous and s ubconsc i ous we can imag i ne

,
wha t the f orce o f su c h concentrat i on will

b e O u r pr i ncipal obj ect ther e fore
.
, ,
should b e i n thi s connect i on to awake n

the vast regions o f dormant energy all
[ 6 6 ]
C o nce nt r a ti o n
th rough the mental world and exp ress ,
more and mo re o f th i s n ew energy i n

everyth i ng we do Thus we prov i de
.
concentrat i on w i th an ever-i ncre as i ng

measu re o f power .
A most excellent pra ct i ce i n order to ,
exp ress more o f the m i nd i n every

thought and a ct i on i s to lay hol d upon
,
all the ener g y o f the m i nd w i th deep

feel i ng and w i ll and actually take up
,
tha t en ergy a s we w ould take up a book

w i th the h and and pla ce i t whe re we
,
want i t n o w Th i s can rea d i ly b e done ;

.
and w i th p ractice we w i ll find tha t we

can control our mental energ i es j ust as
e ffect i vely a s we control th e movements
o f hands or feet Wh en th i s control i s
.
gaine d we shall b e able a t any t i me to

, ,
i ncrea se the express i on o f the powe r o f

m i nd thereby i ncrea sing directly t h e
,
power o f concentrat i on ; and when we

[ 7]
6
re alize tha t e v e n excepti onal minds us e

les s than five p e r cent o f thei r latent
energi es we gain some ide a o f the v a st
,
ness o f our own possibili ties .
To fu rthe r this incre as e i n mental

cap a city we should give definite and f r e
,
quent d i rections to the subconsci ou s fo r

thi s pa rticula r purpos e I n fact the re
.
,
i s nothing tha t will ava il so much fo r

s u ch a purpose which f a ct we can re adily
,
appreciate when we note wha t the sub

conscious i s and wha t it can do We
, .
should make i t a da ily p ractice the re

fore to d i rect the subcons c i ous to
awa k en the whol e m i nd an d to e xpress
, ,
in constructive a cti on the full power and

,
capa ci ty o f the mind R ema rkable i h

.
crea se w i ll b e real i z ed a s t h e weeks

,
p a ss b oth in wor k ing c apa city and i n

,
th i nking powe r .
The n we s hould pro ce e d fa r th e r a nd

[ 6 8 ]
d i rect the subconscious to develop and

p erfect concentrat i on i tself ; and we
shall b e ama zed a t wha t ca n b e done i n
th i s regard We know tha t the sub
.
conscious can do anyth i ng within the

range o f human poss i bil i ty i f p roperly,
d i rected ; there fore the creat iv e powe r

o f the grea t with i n can bu i ld for us all
the most e ff ective and the most pe rfect
concentration con ceivable This ma r .
v e l o u s powe r i s la tent i n every mind
wa i t i ng to b e use d w i th intelligence ,
sup e r e ff o r t a nd re a l faith
- .
[ 69 ]
N th e s ci en c e and a r t of conce ntra
tion it i s the de ep er forces and th e
,
finer energ i e s o f mind and p erson

ality with wh i ch we deal di rectly ; and
the re fore we increas e the power o f con
centratio n as we a cqui re th e ab i lity to
take up o r control thos e forces a t w i ll ,
and a ccord i ng to our purp ose or desire .
To a ccompl i sh thi s we must gain i n

,
t e r i o r hold o f thos e forces b ecaus e they

,
do not respond to any a cti on o f mind o r

will tha t i s merely sup erficial And .
here w e find anothe r reason why i t i s

only the f e w who re ally can concentrate ;
i t i s o nly th e few who thin k deeply and
who cause the acti ons o f th e min d to
wor k among the p ower ful undercurrents
o f li fe thought and mentality ; but any
,
on e c an acquir e this p ower ; a nd the fi r st

[7 ]0
from tha t o f c oncentration i s very ,
grea t esp eci ally in connection with the

,
creati on o f e ffective and brilli ant idea s ;

for the fact i s tha t i t i s only in this i n
,
ner fi eld o f mind and thought that b ril

l i ant ide a s a re cre ated ; and b esides ,
every mental creat iv e p rocess o f genuin e

worth dep ends di rectly upon the a ctio n
o f these fine r en ergi es I f we would de
.
v e l o p the real powe r o f concentration ,
th ere fore and also ma ster the a r t of

,
cre ating brilli ant ide a s we must thin k

,
and act in the cons c i ousness o f th e i n

'
ne r fi eld o f mentality a nd gain mor e
, ,
and more this i nteri o r hol d up on th e

,
forces o f m i nd an d p ersonality .
To a dvance i n thi s direction we ,
should ende avo r frequently to take up

and apply the deep e r force s o f the men
ta l system ; tha t is to take p ositive hold
,
o f thos e fo r ce s with mind and wi l l di ,
[7 ]
2
r e c t i ng
them fi rst upon one sphe re i n the
mental world then upon some othe r
,
sphere ; to move those f orces to and f ro

a s we may des i re ; to cause them to move
i n circles one moment and in stra i ght
l i nes e i the r towa rds the depths o r th e
,
he i ghts o f the mental world the n ext ,
moment ; to gather them in l arge groups

or i n small groups a ccord i ng to des i re ;
to f ocal i ze them all upo n any subj ect o r
i de a we have i n m i nd and to s ee how
,
long we can cont i nu e such focal i za t i o n

w i th out los i ng i nterest in the subj ect o r
b ecom i ng obl i v i ous to our surround i ngs .
And here we should remember tha t the

moment we lose interest in th e subj ect
be f ore us that moment we cease to con
,
centrate ; and also that the moment we

,
become obl i v i ous to ou r surround i ngs ,
tha t moment we cea se to concentrate .
C oncentration i nvolves on the one,
[ 73 ]
hand und i v i ded a ttention to the subj ect

,
o r obj ect b e f ore us ; and on the oth e r

,
h and , complete w i de a w a ke n e s s to
-
everyth i ng go i ng on among our sur

round i ngs The moment we b ecome
.
obl i v i ous to our surround i ngs th e real ,
powe r o f concentrat i on i s lost f or th e

t i me b e i ng ; i t i s very i mportant there
f o re tha t we cont i nue to b e w i de awake
-
,
b oth to the obj ect i ve and to the subj e e

tive ; in fa ct in a s wide and de ep and
,
large a sphe re a s poss i ble .
To gain th i s i nteri or hold upon th e

d eep e r forces o f th e m i nd it i s con ,
t i nu o u s pra ctice that w i ll g i ve the powe r

desi red ; and eve ry imag i nabl e method
should b e employed b ecaus e the more
,
w ays through wh i ch we can handle ,
sway or man i pul ate those f orces the ,
greater w i ll become ou r consc i ous hold

u p on those forces ; and when thi s con
[ 74 ]
sc i ous hold b ecomes rema rkable then ,
we can apply thos e forces anywhe re at

any t i me and w i th f ull capac i ty and
,
power In oth er words we shall b e

.
,
abl e to concentrate per fectly and turn ,
on th e f ull current o f all the talent ,
energy and p ower we possess .
An excellent pract i ce 1 8 to turn a tten

t i on frequently upon the great w i th i n ,
con centrat i ng th e g e epg g f o r c e s of t h e

i v '
.
pos
sib il i t i e s th at ex i st in — W
j s
d
h i
i
aw
é pf h o f tn
h e-
m ental
m
w o r l d i s
pra ct i ce w i ll not only a i d the mind r e

m a r ka b l y in ga i n i ng thi s interi or hold
up on th e finer energi es bu t w i ll also ,
awaken latent f orces an d new talents ;

and w i ll inva r i ably a rous e i ncrease d
cap a city and p owe r i n every faculty and
talent we may b e us i ng now .
When we find tha t th e fa culties an d

[ 75 ]
talents we employ do not p osse ss suf

fi c i e nt force and capacity to make tha t
work a success i t i s most important that
,
we take up th e abo v e pra ctice and do so

wi th determin ati on a nd enthusia sm .
We will soon exp eri ence most ma rke d

improvement ; th e mental eng i ne will
'
h ave more steam and we shall b e
,
abl e to spe ed on with twice and thrice

th e usual cargo o f plans propositi ons
,
and a chievements Furth ermore thi s

.
,
p racti ce will enla rge immensely the fi eld

for concentration ; and here 1 t I ' 1m o r t
p
ant to rememb er that th e gre ater th e
s c op e and range o f the mental world of ,
wh i ch we a re a ctively consci ous the ,
greate r b ecomes the power of c o nc e n

tr ati on
. Every fa culty or power in the
mind ga ins excepti onal advantages when
g i v en more and more to work with ; and
the p ract i ce o f concentrating f r eque ntly
[7 ]
6
upon th e gre at wi th i n w i ll g i ve every

faculty more to work with b esides giv ,
ing the mind a s a whole an ever -i nc r e a s

, ,
ing world fo r atta inment a nd a c hi e v e

me nt.
[ 77 ]
HE p ossibiliti es o f concentra
t i on a re many ; but there i s one
possib i l i ty i n pa rt i cular that w e
all should se ek to understand most
thoroughly and develop t o th e h i ghest
,
degree conceivable The results w i ll b e

.
ama z i ng ; and every step in a dvance will

open n ew worlds to conqu e r .
Th e p rinciple is th i s th at we can
,
through concentration clea r th e way for

almost any a ch i evement atta inment or
,
d i scovery w i thin th e range o f human l i fe

and power ; and th i s range i s a thousand
t i mes greate r than we have supposed ;
i n fact no l i mits o r restrictions can b e
,
found .
Th i s p rinciple can b e applie d to a l

most anyth i ng that we may w i sh to find
o r a ccomplish ; and fo r pra cti ca l illus
[7 ]8
whe n v i ewed in the dark or in subdue d

light When we can look through the
.
thing then we k n ow wh at to do
, .
'
Turn on su ffi cient light and all mys
t e r y di sappea rs roblems ce ase to b e
.
problems when vi ewed i n th e cle ar l i ght ;

and we can through a highly develope d
,
concentrat i on turn the full light o f the

,
mind upon any subj ect circumstance o r ,
s ituation The re fore we should con

.
,
centrate upon thos e things ; concent r ate

with all the ene rgy and intellect we
p ossess ; concentrate for days or we eks
i f necessa r y and with un fl
,
,
inching fa i th
and determinat i on We will soon .
p enetrate the mystery and find wh at is

wan ted We will see through it all and
.
,
s e e clea rly what to do .
Th e s ame princ i ple will app l y i f you

a re working on s ome invention D o .
not gi ve up a t any stage ; c on c e ntrat e

[ 8 0 ]
upon the thing you wish to develop or

p er f ect ; and concentrate with more and
more p ersistence until the th i ng i s done .
Nothing i s impossible N ature w i ll.
gi v e up he r s ecrets to thos e who really

want them or to those who w i ll com
,
into her greater r ealms and get them ;

and concentra ti on ha s the p enet r ating
power to go on i n anywhere .
It i s a well k nown fa ct that most i n

ve n t i o n s have come through p ersistent
concentration ; or through mental pro

cesse s tha t involve d l i ghtn i ng spe ed
c re ati v e p ower ; and such p ro c esses a re
always due t o pre v ious moments o f e x
c e p t i o n a l c oncentrati o n
. Furthe r more ,
the possibilities of the mind b ecome sim

ply marvelous when th e full l i ght a nd the
full creati v e p owe r o f the m i nd a re con
c e n t r a t e d up on the go al in 'iew We .
r ealiz e there f o re that greate r i nve n

[ 8 1 ]
tion s than the world ha s ever dreame d

o f may b e expecte d when a much la rge r
numb er le arn to ma ster the wonder
work i ng a rt o f concentration .
Inventive gen i us i nvolves among ,
othe r things the p owe r to create n ew

,
i de as ; and we ca n real i z e that the more

intelle ct and energy we apply in any cre a
t i ve process the gre ate r and more b ril
li ant will tha t idea b ecome W e also .
reali z e tha t when we apply all our f a cu l

ti es an d fo rce s up on the creation o f a n
i de a or th e p er fect i ng o f an invention ,
the results w i ll b e fa r gre ater than i f

we appl i ed only a fra ct i on o f those fac
u l t i e s and f orces .And i t i s the functio n
o f concentrat i on to apply upon th e work
,
in h and th e full power o f the m i nd and

,
th e highest and most e ffective a ctions o f

th a t power .
R ich things grow whe r e p r o du c ing

[ 8 2 ]
p ower i s abundant ; and the produc i ng

p ower of the m i n d at any po i nt w i ll b e
ab u ndan t i n pro f us i on when we con e en
tra te the b est that we h ave and the best
tha t we are up on that po i nt And to .
emphasiz e th i s f act let u s not e aga i n

,
that the power of concentrat i on when

p ers i stent and h i ghly developed will n ot ,
only cause all the talents and force s o f

th e m i nd to work togethe r at the po i nt
o f a ct i on but w i ll als o awaken latent e m
,
e r g i e s i n m i nd and personal i ty s ome

t i mes a n enormous amount of n ew e n
e r gy unt i l y o u f eel a s i f you were a
l i v i ng dynamo .
When you are i n need o f a n ew plan

i n your bus i nes s or i n your field o f e n
,
d e a vo r do not consult all the people

,
you know the maj or i ty o f whom may

,
not b e really interested That is th e .
old way and it l eads to confusion The

, .
[ 3]
8
n ew way i s to concentrate upon the plan

yo u want and with the highest and
,
greatest a ctions o f the mind Thus .
you cause the highest and gre atest in

your mi n d to go to wor k and evol v e the
plan you desi re They can do it ; and
.
i f you co n centrate e x ceptionally well ,
you will c a u s e th o s e a ctions to ma k e a

sup er e ffo rt
- — th e result of which will
go fa r b eyond your every e x pe c tati on .
Here you should not e well the fact

th a t you r own mind ha s the p owe r a c ,
tive or latent to wor k out any plan you

,
m ay r equire for you r b est wel fa r e an d

cont i nued p rogress Nothing i s mo r e
.
tr u e tha n this tha t y o ur o w n mi nd i s

,
of
f y
u l l a b l e t o t a k e t h e v e r y b e s t c a r e
y o u. Thi s i s a statement tha t shoul d

b e shoute d from the house tops and ,
drilled so thoroughly into every huma n

b r a i n tha t it b ecomes a positi v e a nd e v e r
[ 4]
8
C o nce nt r a t i o n
conscious reali zation Your own m i nd

.
can solve your problems and work out

the plans that you need for a d v ance
ment i n yo u r l i fe an d your work And .
you r own m i nd w i ll do these th i ngs i f

you concentra te p ersistently upon that
whi ch you wa nt and c o ncentrate won
,
d e r f u l ly well
.
A l a rge a nd v al ue d fi eld fo r the a p

plication of the s ame p rinciple i s the ,
fi eld o f ide als And in th i s c onnection

.
we should conside r well the great fa ct

tha t whenever the mind ga i ns the i n
s i ght to perceive an i deal i t also ga i ns
the power to make tha t ideal real But .
i t i s only through a well develope d con

centration that this power can b e applied
e ff ectively Th e maj ority however
.
, ,
among thos e who entertain high i deals ,
do not give s u fl i c i e nt thought to c o nc e n

t r ati on
. They dream and dream hop ,
[ 5 ]
8
ing the dream w i ll come true ; o r whe n ,
they do try to concentrate they j ourney ,
o ff into abstractions and transcendental
sp eculations — a p rocess that does not
call into a ction the power that i s able to

make those dreams come true .
'
Th e s ame i s tru e o f young minds
wh o are amb i tious ost o f them
merely h op e and hop e tha t thei r amb i
tions will be re ali zed somehow ; but th ey
do not concentrate p ersistently an d con
t i nu a l l y up on the gre at goal they have
in vi ew They do not call into c o n
.
c e r t e d and organi ze d action the sum
total o f their forces and f aculties ; and ,
in consequence thei r ambitions neve r

,
materi ali ze The fact is tha t where one

.
ambitious mind s cales th e h eights o f

a chi evement fi fty g i ve up their e a rly
,
a mbition s a fte r a few yea rs and decide

t o resume a n a v erage existen c e ; and the
[ 8 6 ]
i f yo u concentrat e wonderfully well .
The possib i litie s o f c oncentrati on are

not confined howeve r to the usual fi elds
, ,
o f a chi evement or to thos e mental do

,
mains with which most of us a r e fami l

i a r Th ere a re other and grea te r
.
wor l ds tha t we may dis c ove r an d take

p oss ession o f through th e us e o f thi s
master a rt To illustrate i f we wish to
.
,
evolve or de v elop something that i s e n

t i r e l y n ew o r decidedly di ff erent the
, ,
p rinci p le i s to concentrate i n that d i r e c

ti on Thus we shall make a supe r e f
.
-
fort i n that directi on ; tha t is i f we c o n ,
centra te with full cap acity and ma rv el

ous sk i ll ; and we will with absolute c e r
,
tainty develop s omething that i s b e

,
yond all previous e ffort s omething

that i s distinctive tha t stands out in a
,
cl ass by itsel f tha t revea l s cle arly the

,
m aste r t o u ch o f genius .
[ 88 ]
The elements o f genius a re latent i n

every mind ; and any mind may through ,
the super -e ff orts o f a ma r v elous c once n

t r a t i on call t h ose e l ements togethe r into
,
p ositive ,c reative a cti on Thus

. so m e
th i ng n e w o r startling may b e developed .
It m a yb e a new and most b rilliant ide a ;

'
o r a new a nd s u p e r i o r pla n for the r e
,
a li z a t i o n o f c ertain highly desired

changes in life ; o r an entirely ne w way
—
,
'
o f do i ng things ways and methods ,
which when applied mi ght revolutio n

i ze everythi ng in that '
,
pher e o f hu man
thought o r ende avo r .
The most wonde r ful possibility o f a ll

i s this that concentration can lea d th e
,
mind on and on out o f present r e s t r i c

,
tion s and beyon d p resent state s o f

k no wledge and co n sciousness into ne w ,
re alms riche r kingdoms and greate r

,
w orlds We know that c o nce nt r atio n

.
[ 9]
8
does h av e the tendency t o go farther ;

and tha t it ha s real p enetrat i ng power ,
''
so tha t i t may delve 1 nto anyth i ng i n the
va st domains o f i fe , ind o r Nature .
It i s p oss i ble there f ore to caus e the

p owe r o f concentrat i on to go s o fa r into
any state o f real i ty that new a nd mar
velous doma i ns will open b e fore th e
mind Thus we might find long s ought
.
s ecrets i n th e natural world or make ,
d i scoveries in any fi eld or reg i on that

would prove ama zing to the min d an d
i nvaluable to human progress .
It i s the positive truth th a t a highly

developed concentration can carry th e
mind fa rth er an d deeper in any d i r e c
tion Thi s i s someth i ng that th e gr ea t
.
minds o f every age have demonstrate d
' '
rep eatedly And i f we g o deep er o r
.
farthe r into i fe i n to
,
ind i nto N a
,
ture we a re going to ma ke disco v erie s

,
.
[9 ]
0
We are going to fi n d secrets that no

m i nd has known b efo re We are going
.
to meet forces laws and princ i ples the

, ,
knowledge o f which may reduce to sim

p l i c i t y a thousand s o -calle d i m p o s s ib i l
i t i es
. We a re go i ng to d i s cern the inner
workings o f things i n many fi elds and
regions and thus se cure in format i on
,
that wis e men h ave sought all through

th e ages .
These things a re not exaggerat i ons

nor the mere p i cturing o f a h i ghly st i m
u l a t e d i mag i nation ; f or when we accept
the f act that concentrat i on can lea d the

mind farther and deep er i n any d i rect i on
wh i ch fact we all accept ab solutely
w e real i z e tha t we may through th i s
,
use o f concentrat i on d i scove r or a e com

,
p li s h almost anyth i ng ; that is , i f we

ca rry on th e process f a r enough It is .
a matte r therefore of deciding to con

[9 ] 1
c entrate until we find o r secure wha t we

want The outcome will b e a s e x
p e c t e d ; for in due time we shall meet
th e gre at and the wonder ful ; we shal l
l e a r n how this rema rkable p o w e r c a n
open to th e mind regions b eyond r e
gions o f untold poss i bility .
Here the n i s food for thought what

eve r ou r wor k may b e o r wha tever ou r
,
fields o f study may b e Here we have

.
p romises rich and ra re for thos e who

a spire to e x cel ; fo r those who a re loo k
ing fo r new wo rlds to c onque r ; f o r thos e
who a re i n s e a rch o f the deep e r secrets
o f li fe everywhe re And a s we g iv e
.
thought ful a ttention to these things w e ,
p ercei v e most ke enly th at we are ever

on the brink o f wonders and ma r v els
with the power to go on into those fabu
lous r eg i ons and take p ossessi on .
To the pra ctica l mind it i s cl ea r ly

[9 ]
2
evi dent tha t i f we train the mind thor

oughly along all essential l i nes and ,
l ea rn to concentrate wonderfully well ,
we a re going to move forwa rd stead i ly

and surely ga i ning cap acity powe r and
, ,
sp eed a s we proceed An d i f we con

.
t i nu e in this manner we will not only

,
a ccompl i sh what we h ave in Vi ew but w e ,
m a y a t any t i me strike a n ew tra i l lea d

ing d i rectly and qu i ckly to the highest
p inna cle o f a chi evement .
To the mind o f ideals and to all who

,
have fa ith in greater poss i b i l i ti es i t is,
e qually ev i dent tha t a well tra i ne d m i nd

can through a h i ghly develope d c o nc e n
,
t r a t i on take a charmed j ourney into

'
,
Nature s wonder world w i th the pos i

tive assu rance that something o f untold
v alue will b e found . Fo r when we real
iz e tha t the m i nd holds marvels and
p ossibilities fa r b eyond what we e v e r
[ 93 ]
dre amed ; and when we know tha t these

mental ma rvels can b e gathered and
tra i ne d for sup er e ffort
- — for creat i ve
work on a ny s cale or fo r going out
up o n exp editions o f d i scovery even e n
,
ter i ng into the secrets o f l i fe and the

hea rt o f things when we note thes e
th i ngs w e stand ama ze d a t wha t m i ght
b e done B ut th e mind o f f a i th and
.
'
courage will stand ama ze d only for a
moment . uch a m i nd will resolve to
maste r th i s wonde r a rt a t once for in
it there i s a p ower that never k new
fa i lure nor de feat a p ower that is
fully able to ca st the mounta i ns o f i m
poss i bility into th e se a o f oblivion .

Concentration

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C O N C E N T R AT I O N

HE a rt of conc e ntration i s one

one o f th e greatest when mas

p e c i a l l y for thos e wh o wish to le arn how

Whate v e r you r wo rk o r you r purpose

p ensabl e I t i s necess ary to apply

up on the obj ect o r subj ect a t ha nd th e ,

'ﬂ ' ' '6

full power of thought and talent i f you

s u l t s you desire o r win the one thing

you h ave in vi ew B ut th e a rt o f con

centrati on i s not on l y a lea d i ng factor in

The e x ception al value of concentra

thes e h ave a n atural aptitude for c on

ers h ave improved themselves remar k

knowledge on th e subj ect ; but a s yet th e

a rt although they ar e deeply desirous o f

bungling f ash i on ; or we may procee d

unde r th e gu i dance o f a numb er o f m i s

concentrat i on ther e a re s everal i de a s

fact method s h ave b een given out and

published b roa dca st that a re suppose d

to develop concentrat i on but that p ro ,

duce th e very oppo s i te e ffect Th ese .

th i ngs however clea r up when we le a rn

the p sychology o f th e subj ect .

Among these m i sleading b eli e fs we

well b ecome oblivious to everything but

th e one thing b e fore attention now ; but

the fa c t i s that whe n we b e c ome obli v

r evers e o f concentrati o n .Th e mind i s

eve rything in the mind and all ab o u t the

a ttention to the work in hand .

Another b eli ef i s this tha t w e mus t

us e gre a t force i n the mind in orde r

literally comp el th e mind to ﬁ x attention

bu t here we must not e tha t forced act i on ,

although s eemin g ly e ff ective fo r a while ,

i s detrimental in the l ong run This .

i s true o f the b ody a s well a s o f the

method However when we lea rn the

real secret o f concentrat i on we ﬁnd that

comes well po i sed and serene ; and i n ,

tha t att i tude f ull powe r and capac i ty

i s appl i ed where a ttent i on i s d i rected .

Th e mind that concentra tes well does

t i on is smooth orderly ea sy and ha r

m o n i o u s ; and work has b ecome a ke en

when we learn that in real concentra

t i on the mind ha s gaine d that p eculia r

fa culty through which i t ca n a t will

one stre am ; and tha t strea m flows into

main f orce but a matter o f knowledge ;

knowing how and where to open the

When we study the p sychology o f

p revious b eli e fs on the subj ect will have

a s ob stacles ; and a s those obs tacles ha v e

i n nearly e v e ry mind that o f a dverse

la ck o f concentra tion continue to think

a nd s p ea k o f this facto r a s wea k .

They cont i nue to suggest to themselves ,

i gnorantly and un i ntent i onally tha t they

are very poor i n concentrat i on ; an d

mental faculty o r powe r can develop to