Just
as there are waves of heat, light, electricity and energy,
there are also thought waves. Thought has tremendous power.
Everybody experiences it to some degree. It could be used
a thousand times more effectively if one had a comprehensive
understanding of the workings of thought vibration,the techniques
for controlling them.
Hidden psychic and occult powers are awakened by understanding
and realizing the powers of the mind. There is no limit to
the power of the human mind, which has learned to merge with
the Cosmic Mind.
POWER OF
CONCENTRATION
When
flowing loosely over a wide area, every force in nature moves
more slowly and with less power than if gathered in one mass
and directed through a single restricted outlet. The warm
rays of the sun focused through a magnifying glass become
hot enough to burn objects. Such is the power generated by
the concentration of force.
Mental
concentration is the fixing of mind for an extended period
of time on one external or internal point .
There can be no concentration without something on which the
gathered rays of the mind can rest. People sometimes pride
themselves on being able to think of two things at once. The
mind does not work in this way; its oscillating waves are
merely bouncing back and fourth with lightning velocity between
the two ideas. Mind can do only one thing at a time. Their
mental waves are moving between the daydream and the task
at hand. The attention actually given to the work is slowed
down because of the constant interruptions, and the hands
slow down too.
If
you are deeply engrossed in a book or television show, you hear
no outside noises, not even your own name being called. If somebody
approaches, you do not see him. Nor do you smell the fragrance of
the roses on the table by your side. This is concentration or one-pointedness
of mind fixed firmly on one thing.
Everybody possesses the ability to concentrate up to some degree.
Conscious practice of this innate ability strengthens the thought
currents, clarifies ideas and utilizes some of the immense latent
power of the mind. What was difficult, complex and confusing becomes
easy.
Concentration can also prevent or minimize the problems of senility.
After the age of thirty, man's brain cells die off at the rate of
100.000 per day and are not replaced. It is vital to strengthen
and make the best use of one's waning capacity. He who practices
concentration retains clear mental vision. With utmost concentrated
attention the surgeon operates on his patient. Deepest absorption
marks the state of the technician, engineer, architect or painter
engaged in drawing the minute details of a plan, in which accuracy
is of the highest importance.
In Yoga, as in other spiritual disciplines, concentration is the
first stage of meditation, which in turn leads ultimately to experience
of God. What most people think of as Meditation is, in fact, Concentration.
The focusing power of the mind is brought to bear on one abstract
or uplifting symbol. Although the mind is controlled during concentration,
the point at which it becomes meditation cannot be controlled. One
falls into meditation much as one falls into sleep. Meditation is
the continuous flow of one thought of the Supreme.
