All have the ability to concentrate, but will you? You can, but
whether you will or not depends on you. It is one thing to be
able to do something, and another thing to do it. There is far
more ability not used than is used. Why do not more men of
ability make something of themselves? There are comparatively few
successful men but many ambitious ones. Why do not more get
along? Cases may differ, but the fault is usually their own. They
have had chances, perhaps better ones than some others that have
made good.
What would you like to do, that you are not doing? If you think
you should be "getting on" better, why don't you? Study yourself
carefully. Learn your shortcomings. Sometimes only a mere trifle
keeps one from branching out and becoming a success. Discover why
you have not been making good--the cause of your failure. Have
you been expecting someone to lead you, or to make a way for you?
If you have, concentrate on a new line of thought.
There are two things absolutely necessary for success--energy and
the will to succeed. Nothing can take the place of either of
these. Most of us will not have an easy path to follow so don't
expect to find one. The hard knocks develop our courage and moral
stamina. The persons that live in an indolent and slipshod way
never have any. They have never faced conditions and therefore
don't know how. The world is no better for their living.
We must make favorable conditions and not expect them to shape
themselves. It is not the man that says, "It can't be done," but
the man that goes ahead in spite of adverse advice, and shows
that "it can be done" that "gets there" today. "The Lord helps
those that help themselves," is a true saying. We climb the road
to success by overcoming obstacles. Stumbling blocks are but
stepping stones for the man that says, "I can and I Will." When
we see cripples, the deaf and dumb, the blind and those with
other handicaps amounting to something in the world, the
able-bodied man should feel ashamed of himself if he does not
make good.
There is nothing that can resist the force of perseverance. The
way ahead of all of us is not clear sailing, but all hard
passages can be bridged, if you just think they can and
concentrate on how to do it. But if you think the obstacles are
unsurmountable, you will not of course try, and even if you do,
it will be in only a half-hearted way--a way that accomplishes
nothing.
Many men will not begin an undertaking unless they feel sure they
will succeed in it. What a mistake! This would be right, if we
were sure of what we could and could not do. But who knows? There
may be an obstruction there now that might not be there next
week. There may not be an obstruction there now that will be
there next week. The trouble with most persons is that just as
soon as they see their way blocked they lose courage. They forget
that usually there is a way around the difficulty. It's up to you
to find it. If you tackle something with little effort, when the
conditions call for a big effort, you will of course not win.
Tackle everything with a feeling that you will utilize all the
power within you to make it a success. This is the kind of
concentrated effort that succeeds.
Most people are beaten before they start. They think they are
going to encounter obstacles, and they look for them instead of
for means to overcome them. The result is that they increase
their obstacles instead of diminishing them. Have you ever
undertaken something that you thought would be hard, but
afterwards found it to be easy? That is the way a great many
times. The things that look difficult in advance turn out to be
easy of conquest when once encountered. So start out on your
journey with the idea that the road is going to be clear for you,
and that if it is not you will clear the way. All men that have
amounted to anything have cleared their way and they did not have
the assistance that you will have today.
The one great keynote of success is to do whatever you have
decided on. Don't be turned from your path, but resolve that you
are going to accomplish what you set out to do. Don't be
frightened at a few rebuffs, for they cannot stop the man that is
determined--the man that knows in his heart that success is only
bought by tremendous resolution, by concentrated and
whole-hearted effort.
"He who has a firm will," says Goethe, "molds the world to
himself."
"People do not lack strength," says Victor Hugo; "they lack
Will."
It is not so much skill that wins victories as it is activity and
great determination There is no such thing as failure for the man
that does his best. No matter what you may be working at, at the
present time, don't let this make you lose courage. The tides are
continually changing, and tomorrow or some other day they will
turn to your advantage if you are a willing and are an ambitious
worker. There is nothing that develops you and increases your
courage like work. If it were not for work how monotonous life
would at last become!
So I say to the man that wants to advance, "Don't look upon your
present position as your permanent one. Keep your eyes open, and
add those qualities to your makeup that will assist you when your
opportunity comes. Be ever alert and on the watch for
opportunities. Remember, we attract what we set our minds on. If
we look for opportunities, we find them.
If you are the man you should be, some one is looking for you to
fill a responsible position. So when he finds you, don't let your
attention wander. Give it all to him. Show that you can
concentrate your powers, that you have the makeup of a real man.
Show no signs of fear, uncertainty or doubt. The man that is sure
of himself is bound to get to the front. No circumstances can
prevent him.
LESSON XIV. THE ART OF CONCENTRATING BY MEANS OF PRACTICAL
EXERCISES
Select some thought, and see how long you can hold your mind on
it. It is well to have a clock at first and keep track of the
time. If you decide to think about health, you can get a great
deal of good from your thinking besides developing concentration.
Think of health as being the greatest blessing there is, in the
world. Don't let any other thought drift in. Just the moment one
starts to obtrude, make it get out.
Make it a daily habit of concentrating on this thought for, say,
ten minutes. Practice until you can hold it to the exclusion of
everything else. You will find it of the greatest value to
centralize your thoughts on health. Regardless of your present
condition, see yourself as you would like to be and be blind to
everything else. You will find it hard at first to forget your
ailments, if you have any, but after a short while you can shut
out these negative thoughts and see yourself as you want to be.
Each time you concentrate you form a more perfect image of
health, and, as you come into its realization, you become
healthy, strong and wholesome.
I want to impress upon your mind that the habit of forming mental
images is of the greatest value. It has always been used by
successful men of all ages, but few realize its full importance.
Do you know that you are continually acting according to the
images you form? If you allow yourself to mould negative images
you unconsciously build a negative disposition. You will think of
poverty, weakness, disease, fear, etc. Just as surely as you
think of these will your objective life express itself in a like
way. Just what we think, we will manifest in the external world.
In deep concentration you become linked with the great creative
spirit of the universe, and the creative energy then flows
through you, vitalizing your creations into form. In deep
concentration your mind becomes attuned with the infinite and
registers the cosmic intelligence and receives its messages. You
become so full of the cosmic energy that you are literally
flooded with divine power. This is a most desired state. It is
then we realize the advantages of being connected with the
supra-consciousness. The supra-consciousness registers the higher
cosmic vibrations. It is often referred to as the wireless
station, the message recorded coming from the universal mind.
There are very few that reach this stage of concentration. Very
few even know that it is possible. They think concentration means
limitation to one subject, but this deeper concentration that
brings us into harmony with the Infinite is that which produces
and maintains health.
When you have once come in contact with your supra-consciousness
you become the controller of your human thoughts. That which
comes to you is higher than human thoughts. It is often spoken of
as Cosmic Consciousness. Once it is experienced it is never
forgotten. Naturally it requires a good deal of training to reach
this state, but once you do, it becomes easier each time to do,
and in the course of time you can become possessed of power which
was unknown to you before. You are able to direct the expression
of almost Infinite Power while in this deeper state of
concentration.
Exercises In Concentration. The rays of the sun, when focused
upon an object by means of a sun glass, produce a heat many times
greater than the scattered rays of the same source of light and
heat. This is true of attention. Scatter it and you get but
ordinary results. But center it upon one thing and you secure
much better results. When you focus your attention upon an object
your every action, voluntary and involuntary, is in the direction
of attaining that object. If you will focus your energies upon a
thing to the exclusion of everything else, you generate the force
that can bring you what you want.
When you focus your thought, you increase its strength. The
exercises that follow are tedious and monotonous, but useful. If
you will persist in them you will find they are very valuable, as
they increase your powers of concentration.
Before proceeding with the exercises I will answer a question
that just comes to me. This person says after he works all day he
is too tired to practice any exercise. But this is not true. We
will say he comes home all tired out, eats his supper and sits
down to rest. If his work has been mental, the thought which has
been occupying his mind returns to him and this prevents him from
securing the rest he needs.
It is an admitted fact that certain thoughts call into operation
a certain set of brain cells; the other cells, of course, are not
busy at that time and are rested. Now if you take up something
that is just different from what you have been doing during the
day, you will use the cells that have not done anything and give
those that have had work to do a rest. So you should regulate the
evenings that you have and call forth an entirely different line
of thought so as not to use the cells which you have tired out
during the day. If you will center your attention on a new
thought, you relieve the old cells from vibrating with excitement
and they get their needed rest. The other cells that have been
idle all day want to work, and you will find you can enjoy your
evenings while securing needed rest.
When once you have learned to master your thoughts, you will be
able to change them just as easily as you change your clothes.
Remember, the real requisite of centering is to be able to shut
out outside thoughts--anything foreign to the subject. Now, in
order to control your intention first gain control over the body.
This must be brought under direct control of the mind; the mind
under the control of the will. Your will is strong enough to do
anything you wish, but you must realize that it is. The mind can
be greatly strengthened by being brought under the direct
influence of the will. When the mind is properly strengthened by
the impulse of the will it becomes a more powerful transmitter of
thought, because it has more force.
The Best Time to Concentrate Is after reading something that is
inspiring, as you are then mentally and spiritually exalted in
the desired realm. Then is the time you are ready for deep
concentration. If you are in your room first see that your
windows are up and the air is good. Lie down flat on your bed
without a pillow. See that every muscle is relaxed. Now breathe
slowly, filling the lungs comfortably full of fresh air; hold
this as long as you can without straining yourself; then exhale
slowly. Exhale in an easy, rhythmic way. Breathe this way for
five minutes, letting the Divine Breath flow through you, which
will cleanse and rejuvenate every cell of brain and body.
You are then ready to proceed. Now think how quiet and relaxed
you are. You can become enthusiastic over your condition. Just
think of yourself as getting ready to receive knowledge that is
far greater than you have ever received before. Now relax and let
the spirit work in and through you and assist you to accomplish
what you wish.
Don't let any doubts or fears enter. Just feel that what you wish
is going to manifest. Just feel it already has, in reality it
has, for just the minute you wish a thing to be done it manifests
in the thought world. Whenever you concentrate just believe it is
a success. Keep up this feeling and allow nothing to interfere
and you will soon find you have become the master of
concentration. You will find that this practice will be of
wonderful value to you, and that rapidly you will be learning to
accomplish anything that you undertake.
It will be necessary to first train the body to obey the commands
of the mind. I want you to gain control of your muscular
movements. The following exercise is especially good in assisting
you to acquire perfect control of the muscles.