Power of Concentration 20 - Concentration Reviewed

Those unable to concentrate will generally suffer from poverty and unhappiness, The best instructor will only help you to the extent you put it into practice. Gaining the mastery of your work, life powers and forces. Concentrate the dominant quality that makes men successful. Everyone can learn to concentrate better. An experiment to try. Final instructions.


LESSON XX. CONCENTRATION REVIEWED

In bringing this book to a close, I again want to impress you
with the inestimable value of concentration, because those that
lack this great power or, rather that fail to develop it, will
generally suffer from poverty and unhappiness and their life's
work will most often be a failure, while those that develop and
use it will make the most of life's opportunities,

I have tried to make these lessons practical and I am sure that
many will find them so. Of course the mere reading of them will
not do you a great deal of good, but, if the exercises are
practiced and worked out and applied to your own individual case,
you should be able to acquire the habit of concentration in such
measure as to greatly improve your work and increase your
happiness.

But remember the best instruction can only help you to the extent
to which you put it into practice. I have found it an excellent
idea to read a book through first, and then re-read it, and when
you come to an idea that appeals to you, stop and think about it,
then if applicable to you, repeat it over and over, that you will
be impressed by it. In this way you can form the habit of picking
out all the good things you read and these will have a wonderful
influence on your character.

In this closing chapter, I want to impress you to concentrate on
what you do, instead of performing most of your work
unconsciously or automatically, until you have formed habits that
give you the mastery of your work and your life powers and
forces.

Very often the hardest part of work is thinking about it. When
you get right into it, it does not seem so disagreeable. This is
the experience of many when they first commence to learn how to
concentrate. So never think it a difficult task, but undertake it
with the "I Will Spirit" and you will find that its acquirement
will be as easy as its application will be useful.

Read the life of any great man, and you will generally find that
the dominant quality that made him successful was the ability to
concentrate. Study those that have been failures and you will
often find that lack of concentration was the cause.

"One thing at a time, and that done will

Is a good rule as I can tell."

All men are not born with equal powers, but it is the way they
are used that counts. "Opportunity knocks at every man's door."
Those that are successful hear the knock and grasp the chance.
The failures believe that luck and circumstances are against
them. They always blame someone else instead of themselves for
their lack of success. We get what is coming to us, nothing more
or less. Anything within the universe is within your grasp. Just
use your latent powers and it is yours. You are aided by both
visible and invisible forces when you concentrate on either "to
do" or "to be."

Everyone is capable of some concentration, for without it you
would be unable to say or do anything. People differ in the power
to concentrate because some are unable to Will to hold the
thought in mind for the required time. The amount of
determination used determines who has the strongest will. No
one's is stronger than yours. Think of this whenever you go
against a strong opponent.

Never say "I can't concentrate today." You can do it just the
minute you say "I will." You can keep your thoughts from
straying, just the same as you can control your arms. When once
you realize this fact, you can train the will to concentrate on
anything you wish. If it wanders, it is your fault. You are not
utilizing your will. But, don't blame it on your will and say it
is weak. The will is just the same whether you act as if it were
weak or as if it were strong. When you act as if your will is
strong you say, "I can." When you act as if it were weak you say,
"I can't." It requires the same amount of effort, in each case.

Some men get in the habit of thinking "I can't" and they fail.
Others think "I can" and succeed. So remember, it is for you to
decide whether you will join the army of "I can't" or "I can."

The big mistake with so many is that they don't realize that when
they say "I can't," they really say, "I won't try." You can not
tell what you can do until you try. "Can't" means you will not
try. Never say you cannot concentrate, for, when you do, you are
really saying that you refuse to try.

Whenever you feel like saying, "I can't," say instead, "I possess
all will and I can use as much as I wish." You only use as much
as you have trained yourself to use.

An Experiment to Try. Before going to bed tonight, repeat, "I am
going to choose my own thoughts, and to hold them as long as I
choose. I am going to shut out all thoughts that weaken or
interfere; that make me timid. My Will is as strong as anyone's
else. While going to work the next morning, repeat this over.
Keep this up for a month and you will find you will have a better
opinion of yourself. These are the factors that make you a
success. Hold fast to them always.

Concentration is nothing but willing to do a certain thing. All
foreign thoughts can be kept out by willing that they stay out.
You cannot realize your possibilities until you commence to
direct your mind. You then do consciously what you have before
done unconsciously. In this way you note mistakes, overcome bad
habits and perfect your conduct.

You have at times been in a position that required courage and
you were surprised at the amount you showed. Now, when once you
arouse yourself, you have this courage all the time and it is not
necessary to have a special occasion reveal it to you. My object
in so strongly impressing this on your mind is to make you aware
that the same courage, the same determination that you show at
certain exceptionable times you have at your command at all
times. It is a part of your vast resources. Use it often and
well, in working out the highest destiny of which you are
capable.

Final Concentration Instruction. You now realize that, in order
to make your life worthy, useful and happy, you must concentrate.
A number of exercises and all the needed instruction has been
given. It now remains for you to form the highest ideal that you
can in the present and live up to that ideal, and try to raise
it. Don't waste your time in foolish reading. Select something
that is inspiring, that you may become enrapport with those that
think thoughts that are worth while. Their enthusiasm will
inspire and enlighten you. Read slowly and concentrate on what
you are reading. Let your spirit and the spirit of the author
commune, and you will then sense what is between the lines--those
great things which words cannot express.

Pay constant attention to one and one thing only for a given time
and you will soon be able to concentrate. Hang on to that thought
ceaselessly until you have attained your object. When you work,
let your mind dwell steadily on your task. Think before you speak
and direct your conversation to the subject under discussion. Do
not ramble. Talk slowly, steadily and connectedly. Never form the
hurry habit, but be deliberate in all you do. Assume static
attitudes without moving a finger or an eyelid, or any part of
your body. Read books that treat of but one continuous subject.
Read long articles and recall the thread of the argument.
Associate yourself with people who are steady, patient and
tireless in their thought, action and work. See how long you can
sit still and think on one subject without interruption.

Concentrating on the Higher Self. Father Time keeps going on and
on. Every day he rolls around means one less day for you on this
planet. Most of us only try to master the external conditions of
this world. We think our success and happiness depends on us
doing so. These are of course important and I don't want you to
think they are not, but I want you to realize that when death
comes, only those inherent and acquired qualities and conditions
within the mentality--your character, conduct and soul
growth--will go with you. If these are what they should be, you
need not be afraid of not being successful and happy, for with
these qualities you can mold external materials and conditions.

Study yourself. Find Your Strong Points And Make Them Stronger As
Well As Yo Weak Ones And Strengthen Them. Study yourself
carefully and you will see yourself as you really are.

The secret of accomplishment is concentration, or the art of
turning all your power upon just one point at a time.

If you have studied yourself carefully you should have a good
line on yourself, and should be able to make the proper interior
re-adjustments. Remember first, last, and always, Right thinking
and right Living necessarily results in happiness, and it is
therefore within your power to obtain happiness. Anyone that is
not happy does not claim their birthright.

Keep in mind that some day you are going to leave this world and
think of what you will take with you. This will assist you to
concentrate on the higher forces. Now start from this minute, to
act according to the advice of the higher self in everything you
do. If you do, its ever harmonious forces will necessarily insure
to you a successful fulfilment of all your life purposes.
Whenever you feel tempted to disobey your higher promptings, hold
the thought

"My-higher-self-insures-to-me-the-happiness-of-doing-that-which
-best-answers-my-true-relations-to-all-others."

You possess latent talents, that when developed and utilized are
of assistance to you and others. But if you do not properly use
them, you shirk your duty, and you will be the loser and suffer
from the consequences. Others will also be worse off if you do
not fulfil your obligations.

When you have aroused into activity your thought powers you will
realize the wonderful value of these principles in helping you to
carry out your plans. The right in the end must prevail. You can
assist in the working out of the great plan of the universe and
thereby gain the reward, or you can work against the great plan
and suffer the consequences. The all consuming fires are
gradually purifying all discordant elements. If you choose to
work contrary to the law you will burn in its crucible, so I want
you to learn to concentrate intelligently on becoming in harmony
with your higher self. Hold the thought:

"I-will-live-for-my-best. I-seek-wisdom, self-knowledge,
happiness-and-power-to-help-others. I-act-from-the-higher-self,
therefore-only-the-best-can-come-to-me. The more we become
conscious of the presence of the higher self the more we should
try to become a true representative of the human soul in all its
wholeness and holiness, instead of wasting our time dwelling on
some trifling external quality or defect. We should try to secure
a true conception of what we really are so as not to over value
the external furnishings. You will then not surrender your
dignity or self respect, when others ignorantly make a display of
material things to show off. Only the person that realizes that
he is a permanent Being knows what the true self is.

Power of Concentration 19 - Will Development

A most effective and practical method of developing the Will. Practical exercises. Will training without exercises. Will-power can overcome big obstacles. The Will to win. Man an unknown quality until his powers are developed. Ability plentiful, but organizing, initiative and creative power not so plentiful. The driving force within.


LESSON XIX. A CONCENTRATED WILL DEVELOPMENT

New Method. You will find in this chapter a most effective and
most practical method of developing the will. You can develop a
strong one if you want to. You can make your Will a dynamo to
draw to you untold power. Exercises are given which will, if
practiced, strengthen your will, just as you would strengthen
your muscles by athletic exercises.

In starting to do anything, we must first commence with
elementary principles. Simple exercises will be given. It is
impossible to estimate the ultimate good to be derived from the
mental cultivation that comes through these attempts at
concentration. Even the simple exercises are not to be thought
useless. "In no respect," writes Doctor Oppenheim, "can a man
show a finer quality of will-power than in his own private,
intimate life." We are all subjected to certain temptations. The
Will decides whether we will be just, or unjust; pure of thought;
charitable in opinion; forbearing in overlooking other's
shortcomings; whether we live up to our highest standard. Since
these are all controlled by the Will, we should find time for
plenty of exercises for training of the will in our daily life.

You, of course, realize that your will should be trained. You
must also realize that to do this requires effort that you alone
can command. No one can call it forth for you.

To be successful in these exercises you must practice them in a
spirit of seriousness and earnestness. I can show you how to
train your will, but your success depends upon your mastery and
application of these methods.

New Methods of Will-Training. Select a quiet room where you will
not be interrupted; have a watch to determine the time, and a
note-book in which to enter observations. Start each exercise
with date and time of day.


Exercise 1

Time decided on. Select some time of the day when most
convenient. Sit in a chair and look at the door-knob for ten
minutes. Then write down what you experienced. At first it will
seem strange and unnatural. You will find it hard to hold one
position for ten minutes. But keep as still as you can. The time
will seem long for it will probably be the first time you ever
sat and did nothing for ten minutes. You will find your thoughts
wandering from the door-knob, and you will wonder what there can
be in this exercise. Repeat this exercise for six days.

 10 P. M. 2nd Day.

Notes. You should be able to sit quieter, and the time should
pass more quickly. You will probably feel a little stronger
because of gaining a better control of your will. It will brace
you up, as you have kept your resolution. 10 P. M. 3rd Day.

Notes. It may be a little harder for you to concentrate on the
door-knob as perhaps you had a very busy day and your mind kept
trying to revert to what you had been doing during the day. Keep
on trying and you will finally succeed in banishing all foreign
thoughts. Then you should feel a desire to gain still more
control. There is a feeling of power that comes over you when you
are able to carry out your will. This exercise will make you feel
bigger and it awakens a sense of nobility and manliness. You will
say, "I find that I can actually do what I want to and can drive
foreign thoughts out. The exercise, I can now see, is valuable."

10 P. M. 4th Day.

Notes. "I found that I could look at the door-knob and
concentrate my attention on it at once. Have overcome the
tendency to move my legs. No other thoughts try to enter as I
have established the fact that I can do what I want to do and do
not have to be directed. I feel that I am gaining in mental
strength, I can now see the wonderful value of being the master
of my own will-force. I know now if I make a resolution I will
keep it. I have more self-confidence and can feel my self-control
increasing.

10 P. M. 5th Day.

Notes. "Each day I seem to increase the intensity of my
concentration. I feel that I can center my attention on anything
I wish.

10 P. M. 6th Day.

Notes. "I can instantly center my whole attention on the
door-knob. Feel that I have thoroughly mastered this exercise and
that I am ready for another."

You have practiced this exercise enough, but before you start
another I want you to write a summary of just how successful you
were in controlling the flitting impulses of the mind and will.
You will find this an excellent practice. There is nothing more
beneficial to the mind than to pay close attention to its own
wonderful, subtle activities.


Exercise 2

Secure a package of playing cards. Select some time to do the
exercise. Each day at the appointed time, take the pack in one
hand and then start laying them down on top of each other just as
slowly as you can, with an even motion. Try to get them as even
as possible. Each card laid down should completely cover the
under one. Do this exercise for six days.

1st Day.

Notes. Task will seem tedious and tiresome. Requires the closest
concentration to make each card completely cover the preceding
one. You will probably want to lay them down faster. It requires
patience to lay them down so slowly, but benefit is lost if not
so placed. You will find that at first your motions will be jerky
and impetuous. It will require a little practice before you gain
an easy control over your hands and arms. You probably have never
tried to do anything in such a calm way. It will require the
closest attention of your will. But you will find that you are
acquiring a calmness you never had before. You are gradually
acquiring new powers. You recognize how impulsive and impetuous
you have been, and how, by using your will, you can control your
temperament.

2nd Day.

Notes. You start laying the cards down slowly. You will find that
by practice you can lay them down much faster. But you want to
lay them down slowly and therefore you have to watch yourself.
The slow, steady movement is wearisome. You have to conquer the
desire of wanting to hurry up. Soon you will find that you can go
slowly or fast at will.

3rd Day.

Notes. You still find it hard to go slowly. Your will urges you
to go faster. This is especially true if you are impulsive, as
the impulsive character finds it very difficult to do anything
slowly and deliberately. It goes against the "grain." This
exercise still is tiresome. But when you do it, it braces you up
mentally. You are accomplishing something you do not like to do.
It teaches you how to concentrate on disagreeable tasks. Writing
these notes down you will find very helpful.

4th Day.

Notes. I find that I am beginning to place the cards in a
mathematical way. I find one card is not completely covering
another. I am getting a little careless and must be more careful.
I command my will to concentrate more. It does not seem so hard
to bring it under control.

5th Day.

Notes. I find that I am overcoming my jerky movements, that I can
lay the cards down slowly and steadily. I feel that I am rapidly
gaining more poise. I am getting better control over my will each
day, and my will completely controls my movements. I begin to
look on my will as a great governing power. I would not think of
parting with the knowledge of will I have gained. I find it is a
good exercise and know it will help me to accomplish my tasks.

6th Day.

Notes. I begin to feel the wonderful possibilities of the will.
It gives me strength to think of the power of will. I am able to
do so much more and better work now, that I realize that I can
control my will action. Whatever my task, my will is concentrated
on it. I am to keep my will centered there until the task is
finished. The more closely and definitely I determine what I
shall do, the more easily the will carries it out. Determination
imparts compelling force to the will. It exerts itself more. The
will and the end act and react on each other.

7th Day.

Notes. Now try to do everything you do today faster. Don't hurry
or become nervous. Just try to do everything faster, but in a
steady manner.

You will find that the exercises you have practiced in
retardation have steadied your nerves, and thereby made it
possible to increase your speed. The will is under your command.
Make it carry out resolutions rapidly. This is how you build up
your self-control and your self-command. It is then that the
human machine acts as its author dictates.

You certainly should now be able to judge of the great benefit
that comes from writing out your introspections each day. Of
course you will not have the exact experiences given in these
examples, but some of these will fit your case. Be careful to
study your experiences carefully and make as true a report as you
can. Describe your feelings just as they seem to you. Allow your
fancies to color your report and it will be worthless. You have
pictured conditions as you see them. In a few months, if you
again try the same exercises, you will find your report very much
better. By these introspections, we learn to know ourselves
better and with this knowledge can wonderfully increase our
efficiency. As you become used to writing out your report, it
will be more accurate. You thus learn how to govern your
impulses, activities and weaknesses.

Each person should try to plan exercises that will best fit his
needs. If not convenient for you to practice exercises every day,
take them twice or three times a week. But carry out any plan you
decide to try. If you cannot devote ten minutes a day to the
experiments start with five minutes and gradually increase the
time. The exercises given are only intended for examples.

Will Training Without Exercise. There are many people that do not
want to take the time to practice exercises, so the following
instructions for training the will are given to them.

By willing and realizing, the will grows. Therefore the more you
will, the more it grows, and builds up power. No matter whether
your task is big or small, make it a rule to accomplish it in
order to fortify your will. Form the habit of focusing your will
in all its strength upon the subject to be achieved. You form in
this way the habit of getting a thing done, of carrying out some
plan. You acquire the feeling of being able to accomplish that
which lies before you, no matter what it is. This gives you
confidence and a sense of power that you get in no other way. You
know when you make a resolution that you will keep it. You do not
tackle new tasks in a half-hearted way, but with a bold, brave
spirit. We know that the will is able to carry us over big
obstacles. Knowing this despair never claims us for a victim. We
have wills and are going to use them with more and more
intensity, thus giving us the power to make our resolutions
stronger, our actions freer and our lives finer and better.

The education of the will should not be left to chance. It is
only definite tasks that will render it energetic, ready,
persevering and consistent. The only way it can be done is by
self-study and self-discipline. The cost is effort, time and
patience, but the returns are valuable. There are no magical
processes leading to will development, but the development of
your will works wonders for you because it gives you
self-mastery, personal power and energy of character.

Concentration of the Will to Win. The adaptability of persons to
their business environment is more a matter of determination than
anything else. In this age we hear a good deal of talk about a
man's aptitudes. Some of his aptitudes, some of his powers, may
be developed to a wonderful extent, but he is really an unknown
quality until all his latent powers are developed to their
highest possible extent. He may be a failure in one line and a
big success in another. There are many successful men, that did
not succeed well at what they first undertook, but they profited
by their efforts in different directions, and this fitted them
for higher things, whereas had they refused to adjust themselves
to their environment, the tide of progress would have swept them
into oblivion.

My one aim in all my works is to try and arouse in the individual
the effort and determination to develop his full capacities, his
highest possibilities. One thing I want you to realize at the
start, that it is not so much ability, as it is the will to do
that counts. Ability is very plentiful, but organizing initiative
and creative power are not plentiful. It is easy to get employes,
but to get someone to train them is harder. Their abilities must
be directed to the work they can do. They must be shown how,
while at this work, to conserve their energy and they must be
taught to work in harmony with others, for most business concerns
are dominated by a single personality.

Concentrating on Driving Force Within. We are all conscious, at
times, that we have somewhere within us an active driving force
that is ever trying to push us onward to better deeds. It is that
"force" that makes us feel determined at times to do something
worth while. It is not thought, emotion or feeling. This driving
force is something distinct from thought or emotion. It is a
quality of the soul and therefore it has a consciousness all its
own. It is the "I will do" of the will. It is the force that
makes the will concentrate. Many have felt this force working
within them, driving them on to accomplish their tasks. All great
men and women become conscious that this supreme and powerful
force is their ally in carrying out great resolutions.

This driving force is within all, but until you reach a certain
stage you do not become aware of it. It is most useful to the
worthy. It springs up naturally without any thought of training.
It comes unprovoked and leaves unnoticed. Just what this force is
we do not know, but we do know that it is what intensifies the
will in demanding just and harmonious action.


The ordinary human being, merely as merchandise, if he could be
sold as a slave, would be worth ten thousand dollars. If somebody
gave you a five thousand dollar automobile you would take very
good care of it. You wouldn't put sand in the carburetor, or mix
water with the gasoline, or drive it furiously over rough roads,
or leave it out to freeze at night.

Are you quite sure that you take care of your own body, your own
health, your only real property, as well as you would take care
of a five thousand dollar automobile if it were given to you?

The man who mixes whiskey with his blood is more foolish than a
man would be if he mixed water with gasoline in his car.

You can get another car; you cannot get another body.

The man who misses sleep lives irregularly--bolts his food so
that his blood supply is imperfect. That is a foolish man
treating himself as he would not treat any other valuable piece
of property.

Do you try to talk with men and women who know more than you do,
and do you LISTEN rather than try to tell them what you know?

There are a hundred thousand men of fifty, and men of sixty,
running along in the old rut, any one of whom could get out of it
and be counted among the successful men if only the spark could
be found to explode the energy within them now going to waste.

Each man must study and solve his own problem.

Power of Concentration 18 - Mental Control through Creation

An inventor's vision. Why It is easy to project your thoughts to another. How your mental powers can draw to you forces of a helpful nature. The big business man must possess mental power of control. How to make a friend or relative succeed. How to generate enthusiasm and the spirit of success. Your environment is either helpful or harmful. Mental starvation. How to instil your thoughts and ideas into others. Influence that must be shaken off before you can advance. Our attitude has more to do with success than you realize.


LESSON XVIII. MENTAL CONTROL THROUGH CREATION

I attended a banquet of inventors recently. Each inventor gave a
short talk on something he thought would be accomplished in the
future. Many very much needed things were spoken of. One inventor
spoke of the possibilities of wireless telephone. Distance, he
said, would shortly be annihilated. He thought we would soon be
able to talk to the man in the submarine forty fathoms below the
surface and a thousand miles away. When he got through he asked
if there were any that doubted what he said. No one spoke up.
This was not a case of tactful politeness, as inventors like to
argue, but a case where no one present really doubted that the
inventor's vision would, in the future, materialize.

These shrewd men, some real geniuses, all thought we would in
time be able to talk to those a thousand miles away without
media. Now, if we can make an instrument so wonderful that we can
send wireless messages a thousand miles, is there any reason why
we should not through mental control transmit messages from one
person to another? The wireless message should not be as easy to
send as the projected thought.

The day will come when all business will employ highly developed
persons to send out influences. These influences will be so
dominating that employes will be partly controlled by them and so
you will profit more and more by your mental powers and depend on
them to draw to you all forces of a helpful nature. You will be
constantly sending out suggestions to your employes and friends.
They will receive these unconsciously, but in case yours is the
stronger personality they will carry them out the same as if you
had spoken them.

This is being done even today. A finely organized company secures
the combined effort of all its men. They may be each doing a
different kind of work, but all work to bring about the very best
results. The whole atmosphere is impregnated with a high standard
of workmanship. Everyone feels he must do his best. He could not
be in such surroundings and be satisfied to do anything but his
best work.

A business will succeed only to the extent that the efforts of
all are co-ordinated towards one result. At least one person is
needed to direct all toward the desired end. The person at the
head does not have to exactly outline to the others what steps to
take, but he must possess the mental power of control over
others.

An up-to-date business letter is not written in a casual,
commonplace way today. The writer tries to convey something he
thinks the receiver will be interested to know. In this way he
awakens a responsive spirit. Sometimes just the addition of a
word or two will change a letter of the matter-of-fact style to
one that compels a response. It is not always what is actually in
a letter, but the spirit which it breathes that brings results.
That intangible something that defies analysis is the projected
thought of the master that brings back the harvest that it
claims.

But we should not always claim success for ourselves only. If you
are anxious that some friend or relative should succeed, think of
this person as becoming successful. Picture him in the position
you would like to see him in. If he has a weakness, desire and
command that it be strengthened; think of his shortcomings which
belong to his negative nature as being replaced by positive
qualities. Take a certain part of the day to send him thoughts of
an up-building nature. You can in this way arouse his mental
powers into activity, and once aroused, they will assert
themselves and claim their own.

We can accomplish a great deal more than many of us are ready to
believe by sending to another our direct, positive and
controlling suggestions of leadership, but whether a man is a
success or not is greatly determined by the way he acts on the
suggestions he receives.

We either advance or decline. We never stand still. Every time we
accomplish something it gives us ability to do greater things.
The bigger the attempt undertaken, the greater the things
accomplished in the future. As a business grows, the head of the
business also has to grow. He must advance and be ever the
guiding influence. By his power to control, he inspires
confidence in those associated with him. Often employes are
superior to their employers in some qualities, and, if they had
studied, instead of neglected their development, they could have
been employers of more commanding influence than those whom they
serve.

Through your mental power you can generate in another enthusiasm
and the spirit of success, which somehow furnishes an impetus to
do something worth while.

In concentrated mental control, there is a latent power more
potent than physical force. The person becomes aware that the
attitude of the mind has a power of controlling, directing and
governing other forces. He has been placed in an attitude capable
of acquiring that which he desires.

All of us no matter how strong we are, are affected by the mental
forces of our environment. There is no one that can remain
neutral to influences. The mind cannot be freed from the forces
of a place. If the environment of your place of business is not
helpful, it will be harmful. That is why a change of position
will often do a person a great deal of good.

No person was ever intended to live alone. If you are shut up
with only your own thoughts you suffer from mental starvation.
The mind becomes narrow; the mental powers weaken. Living alone
often causes some of the milder forms of insanity. If children do
not play with those their own age, but associate with only older
people, they will take on the actions of the older people. The
same is true of older persons if they associate with people
younger than they are. They take on the spirit of youth. If you
wish to retain your youth you need the influences of youth. Like
attracts like all over the world.

The thought element plays a great part in our lives. Every
business must not only command physical effort but it must also
command thought effort. There must be co-ordination of thought.
All employers should aim to secure employes that think along
similar lines. They will work in fuller sympathy with each other.
They will better understand each other. This enables them to help
each other, which would be utterly impossible if they were not in
sympathy with each other. It is this that goes to make up a
perfect organization, which directs and influences them toward
the one end. Instead of each person being a separate unit, each
one is like a spoke in a big wheel. Each member carries his own
load, and he would not think of shirking. Anyone working in such
an atmosphere could not help turning out his best work.

All great leaders must be able to inspire this co-operative
spirit. They first secure assistance through their mental
control. They then make their assistants realize the value of
mental control. Soon there is a close bond between them; they are
working toward a single purpose. They profit by their combined
effort. The result is that they accomplish much.

If your business is conducted in the right spirit, you can
instill your thoughts and your ideas into your employes. Your
methods and ideas become theirs. They don't know it, but your
mental forces are shaping their work. They are just as certain to
produce results as any physical force in nature.

The up-to-date business man of the future is going to take pains
to get his employes to think and reason better. He will not want
them to become depressed or discouraged. There is time that
instead of being wasted he will endeavor to have them use in
concentrated effort that will be profitable to both employer and
employed. There must be more of the spirit of justice enter into
the business of the future.

There is a firm I know that will not hire an employe until he has
filled out an application blank. No doubt those that fill it out
think it is foolishness, but it is not. A capable manager can
look over this application blank and pretty nearly tell if this
person will fit into his management. The main thing he wants to
know is the applicant's capacity for efficient co-operative
effort. He wants persons that have faith in themselves. He wants
them to realize that when they talk of misfortunes and become
blue they are likely to communicate the same depressing influence
to others. The up-to-date manager wants to guard against hiring
employes who will obstruct his success.

You must realize that every moment spent in thinking of your
difficulties of the past, every moment spent in bad company is
attracting to you all that is bad; is attracting influences that
must be shaken off before you can advance.

Many firms prefer to hire employes that never worked before so
that they have nothing to unlearn. They are then not trained, but
have no bad business habits to overcome. They are more easily
guided and grasp the new methods more effectively because they
are not contrary to what they have already learned. They are at
once started on the right road, and as they co-operate readily
they receive the mental support of the management in learning the
methods that have been perfected. This inspires confidence in
themselves and they soon become efficient and, finally, skilled
workers.

Most big business firms today employ efficiency experts. Each day
or week they are in a different department. They earn their money
because they familiarize persons with very little business
experience with plans that has taken the "expert" years of
training and much money to perfect.

The attitude we take has a great deal more to do with our success
than most of us realize. We must be able to generate those forces
that are helpful. There is a wonderful power in the thought
rightly controlled and projected and we must through
concentration develop this power to the fullest possible extent.

We are surrounded by many forces of which we know but little at
present. Our knowledge of these is to be wonderfully increased.
Each year we learn more about these psychic forces which are full
of possibilities of which we are not even dimly conscious. We
must believe in mental control, learn more about it, and use it,
if we want to command these higher powers and forces which will
unquestionably direct the lives of countless future generations.

Power of Concentration 17 - Ideals Developed

Your happiness and success depends upon your ideals. A valuable lesson. Through concentration we can work out our ideals In physical life. What a different world this would be if we would build the right kind of ideals. Every time you change your ideal you think differently. Life is one continuous unfoldment. You can be happy every step of its way or miserable as you please. How our grandest thoughts come to us.

LESSON XVII. IDEALS DEVELOPED BY CONCENTRATION

Through our paltry stir and strife, Glows the wished Ideal, And
longing molds in clay, what life Carves in the marble
real.--Lowell.


We often hear people spoken of as idealists. The fact is we are
all idealists to a certain extent, and upon the ideals we picture
depends our ultimate success. You must have the mental image if
you are to produce the material thing. Everything is first
created in the mind. When you control your thoughts you become a
creator. You receive divine ideas and shape them to your
individual needs. All things of this world are to you just what
you think they are. Your happiness and success depend upon your
ideals.

You are responsible for every condition you go through, either
consciously or unconsciously. The next step you take determines
the succeeding step. Remember this; it is a valuable lesson. By
concentrating on each step as you go along, you can save a lot of
waste steps and will be able to choose a straight path instead of
a roundabout road.

Concentrate Upon Your Ideals and They Will Become Material
Actualities. Through concentration we work out our ideals in
physical life. Your future depends upon the ideals you are
forming now. Your past ideals are determining your present.
Therefore, if you want a bright future, you must begin to prepare
for it today.

If persons could only realize that they can only injure
themselves, that when they are apparently injuring others they
are really injuring themselves, what a different world this would
be!

We say a man is as changeable as the weather. What is meant is
his ideals change. Every time you change your ideal you think
differently. You become like a rudderless boat on an ocean.
Therefore realize the importance of holding to your ideal until
it becomes a reality.

You get up in the morning determined that nothing will make you
lose your temper. This is your ideal of a person of real strength
and poise. Something takes place that upsets you completely and
you lose your temper. For the time being you forget your ideal.
If you had just thought a second of what a well-poised person
implies you would not have become angry. You lose your poise when
you forget your ideal. Each time we allow our ideals to be
shattered we also weaken our will-power. Holding to your ideals
develops will-power. Don't forget this.

Why do so many men fail? Because they don't hold to their ideal
until it becomes a mental habit. When they concentrate on it to
the exclusion of all other things it becomes a reality.

"I am that which I think myself to be."

Ideals are reflected to us from the unseen spirit. The laws of
matter and spirit are not the same. One can be broken, but not
the other. To the extent that ideals are kept is your future
assured.

It was never intended that man should suffer. He has brought it
upon himself by disobeying the laws of nature. He knows them so
cannot plead ignorance. Why does he break them? Because he does
not pay attention to those ideals flashed to him from the
Infinite Spirit.

Life is but one continuous unfoldment, and you can be happy every
step of the way or miserable, as you please; it all depends upon
how we entertain those silent whisperings that come from we know
not where. We cannot hear them with mortal ear, but from the
silence they come as if they were dreams, not to you or me alone,
but to everyone. In this way the grandest thoughts come to us, to
use or abuse. So search not in treasured volumes for noble
thoughts, but within, and bright and glowing vision will come to
be realized now and hereafter.


You must give some hours to concentrated, consistent, persistent
thought. You must study yourself and your weaknesses.

No man gets over a fence by wishing himself on the other side. He
must climb.

No man gets out of the rut of dull, tiresome, monotonous life by
merely wishing himself out of the rut. He must climb.

If you are standing still, or going backward, there is something
wrong. You are the man to find out what is wrong.

Don't think that you are neglected, or not understood, or not
appreciated.

Such thoughts are the thoughts of failure.

Think hard about the fact that men who have got what you envy got
it by working for it.

Don't pity yourself, criticise yourself.

You know that the only thing in the world that you have got to
count upon is yourself.

Power of Concentration 16 - Fulfill Your Desire

The desire to do implies the ability to do. Man has within him the power to gratify his every wish. If you have been unable to satisfy your longings, it is time you learn how to use your God-given powers. Priceless knowledge and unlimited possibilities within you that Is foreign to most people. How to concentrate on what you want and get it. The miraculous help we apparently receive at times. How one man started a business on thirteen cents and in six years built up a business that pays him $6,000 a year. When you put forth the necessary concentrated effort you will receive great help from unknown sources.


LESSON XVI. HOW CONCENTRATION CAN FULFILL YOUR DESIRE

"It is a spiritual law that the desire to do necessarily implies
the ability to do."

You have all read of "Aladdin's Lamp," which accomplished such
wonderful things. This, of course, is only a fairy story, but it
illustrates the fact that man has within him the power, if he is
able to use it, to gratify his every wish.

If you are unable to satisfy your deepest longings it is time you
learned how to use your God-given powers. You will soon be
conscious that you have latent powers within capable when once
developed of revealing to you priceless knowledge and unlimited
possibilities of success.

Man should have plenty of everything and not merely substance to
live on as so many have. All natural desires can be realized. It
would be wrong for the Infinite to create wants that could not be
supplied. Man's very soul is in his power to think, and it,
therefore, is the essence of all created things. Every instinct
of man leads to thought, and in every thought there is great
possibility because true thought development, when allied to
those mysterious powers which perhaps transcend it, has been the
cause of all the world's true progress.

In the silence we become conscious of "that something" which
transcends thought and which uses thought as a medium for
expression. Many have glimpses of "that something," but few ever
reach the state where the mind is steady enough to fathom these
depths. Silent, concentrated thought is more potent than spoken
words, for speech distracts from the focusing power of the mind
by drawing more and more attention to the without.

Man must learn more and more to depend on himself; to seek more
for the Infinite within. It is from this source alone that he
ever gains the power to solve his practical difficulties. No one
should give up when there is always the resources of Infinity.
The cause of failure is that men search in the wrong direction
for success, because they are not conscious of their real powers
that when used are capable of guiding them.

The Infinite within is foreign to those persons who go through
life without developing their spiritual powers. But the Infinite
helps only he who helps himself. There is no such thing as a
Special "Providence." Man will not receive help from the Infinite
except to the extent that he believes and hopes and prays for
help from this great source.

Concentrate on What You Want and Get It. The weakling is
controlled by conditions. The strong man controls conditions. You
can be either the conqueror or the conquered. By the law of
concentration you can achieve your heart's desire. This law is so
powerful that that which at first seems impossible becomes
attainable.

By this law what you at first see as a dream becomes a reality.

Remember that the first step in concentration is to form a Mental
Image of what you wish to accomplish. This image becomes a
thought-seed that attracts thoughts of a similar nature. Around
this thought, when it is once planted in the imagination or
creative region of the mind, you group or build associated
thoughts which continue to grow as long as your desire is keen
enough to compel close concentration.

Form the habit of thinking of something you wish to accomplish
for five minutes each day. Shut every other thought out of
consciousness. Be confident that you will succeed; make up your
mind that all obstacles that are in your way will be overcome and
you can rise above any environment.

You do this by utilizing the natural laws of the thought world
which are all powerful.

A great aid in the development of concentration is to write out
your thoughts on that which lies nearest your heart and to
continue, little by little, to add to it until you have as nearly
as possible exhausted the subject.

You will find that each day as you focus your forces on this
thought at the center of the stream of consciousness, new plans,
ideas and methods will flash into your mind. There is a law of
attraction that will help you accomplish your purpose. An
advertiser, for instance, gets to thinking along a certain line.
He has formed his own ideas, but he wants to know what others
think. He starts out to seek ideas and he soon finds plenty of
books, plans, designs, etc., on the subject, although when he
started he was not aware of their existence.

The same thing is true in all lines. We can attract those things
that will help us. Very often we seem to receive help in a
miraculous way. It may be slow in coming, but once the silent
unseen forces are put into operation, they will bring results so
long as we do our part. They are ever present and ready to aid
those who care to use them. By forming a strong mental image of
your desire, you plant the thought-seed which begins working in
your interest and, in time, that desire, if in harmony with your
higher nature, will materialize.

It may seem that it would be unnecessary to caution you to
concentrate only upon achievement that will be good for you and
work no harm to another, but there are many who forget others and
their rights, in their anxiety to achieve success. All good
things are possible for you to have, but only as you bring your
forces into harmony with that law that requires that we mete out
justice to fellow travelers as we journey along life's road. So
first think over the thing wanted and if it would be good for you
to have; say, "I want to do this; I am going to work to secure
it. The way will be open for me."

If you fully grasp mentally the thought of success and hold it in
mind each day, you gradually make a pattern or mold which in time
will materialize. But by all means keep free from doubt and fear,
the destructive forces. Never allow these to become associated
with your thoughts.

At last you will create the desired conditions and receive help
in many unlooked-for ways that will lift you out of the undesired
environment. Life will then seem very different to you, for you
will have found happiness through awakening within yourself the
power to become the master of circumstances instead of their
slave.

To the beginner in this line of thought some of the things stated
in this book may sound strange, even absurd, but, instead of
condemning them, give them a trial. You will find they will work
out.

The inventor has to work out his idea mentally before he produces
it materially. The architect first sees the mental picture of the
house he is to plan and from this works out the one we see. Every
object, every enterprise, must first be mentally created.

I know a man that started in business with thirteen cents and not
a dollar's worth of credit. In ten years he has built up a large
and profitable business. He attributes his success to two
things--belief that he would succeed and hard work. There were
times when it did not look like he could weather the storm. He
was being pressed by his creditors who considered him bankrupt.
They would have taken fifty cents on the dollar for his notes and
considered themselves lucky. But by keeping up a bold front he
got an extension of time when needed. When absolutely necessary
for him to raise a certain sum at a certain time he always did
it. When he had heavy bills to meet he would make up his mind
that certain people that owed him would pay by a certain date and
they always did. Sometimes he would not receive their check until
the last mail of the day of the extension, and I have known him
to send out a check with the prospect of receiving a check from
one of his customers the following day. He would have no reason
other than his belief in the power of affecting the mind of
another by concentration of thought for expecting that check, but
rarely has he been disappointed.

Just put forth the necessary concentrated effort and you will be
wonderfully helped from sources unknown to you.

Remember the mystical words of Jesus, the Master: "Whatsoever
thing ye desire when ye pray, pray as if ye had already received
and ye shall have."

Power of Concentration 15 - You Will Not Forget

Why people forget. An easy way to remember. How to deepen your impression. Exercise in Memory Concentration.


LESSON XV. CONCENTRATE SO YOU WILL NOT FORGET

A man forgets because he does not concentrate his mind on his
purpose, especially at the moment he conceives it. We remember
only that which makes a deep impression, hence we must first
deepen our impressions by associating in our minds certain ideas
that are related to them.

We will say a wife gives her husband a letter to mail. He does
not think about it, but automatically puts it in his pocket and
forgets all about it. When the letter was given to him had he
said to himself, "I will mail this letter. The box is at the next
corner and when I pass it I must drop this letter," it would have
enabled him to recall the letter the instant he reached the mail
box.

The same rule holds good in regard to more important things. For
example, if you are instructed to drop in and see Mr. Smith while
out to luncheon today, you will not forget it, if, at the moment
the instruction is given, you say to yourself something similar
to the following:

"When I get to the corner of Blank street, on my way to luncheon,
I shall turn to the right and call on Mr. Smith." In this way the
impression is made, the connection established and the sight of
the associated object recalls the errand.

The important thing to do is to deepen the impression at the very
moment it enters your mind. This is made possible, not only by
concentrating the mind upon the idea itself, but by surrounding
it with all possible association of ideas, so that each one will
reinforce the others.

The mind is governed by laws of association, such as the law that
ideas which enter the mind at the same time emerge at the same
time, one assisting in recalling the others.

The reason why people cannot remember what they want to is that
they have not concentrated their minds sufficiently on their
purpose at the moment when it was formed.

You can train yourself to remember in this way by the
concentration of the attention on your purpose, in accordance
with the laws of association.

When once you form this habit, the attention is easily centered
and the memory easily trained. Then your memory, instead of
failing you at crucial moments, becomes a valuable asset in your
every-day work.

Exercise in Memory Concentration. Select some picture; put it on
a table and then look at it for two minutes. Concentrate your
attention on this picture, observe every detail; then shut your
eyes and see how much you can recall about it. Think of what the
picture represents; whether it is a good subject; whether it
looks natural. Think of objects in foreground, middle ground,
background; of details of color and form. Now open your eyes and
hold yourself rigidly to the correction of each and every
mistake. Close eyes again and notice how much more accurate your
picture is. Practice until your mental image corresponds in every
particular to the original.


Nature is a Wonderful Instructor. But there are very few who
realize that when we get in touch with nature we discover
ourselves. That by listening to her voice, with that curious,
inner sense of ours, we learn the oneness of life and wake up to
our own latent powers.

Few realize that the simple act of listening and concentrating is
our best interior power, for it brings us into close contact with
the highest, just as our other senses bring us into touch with
the coarser side of human nature. The closer we live to nature
the more developed is this sense. "So called" civilization has
over developed our other senses at the expense of this one.

Children unconsciously realize the value of concentration--for
instance: When a Child has a difficult problem to solve, and gets
to some knotty point which he finds himself mentally unable to
do--though he tries his hardest--he will pause and keep quite
still, leaning on his elbow, apparently listening; then you will
see, if you are watching, sudden illumination come and he goes on
happily and accomplishes his task. A child instinctively but
unconsciously knows when he needs help, he must be quiet and
concentrate.

All great people concentrate and owe their success to it. The
doctor thinks over the symptoms of his patient, waits, listens
for the inspiration, though quite unconscious, perhaps, of doing
so. The one who diagnoses in this way seldom makes mistakes. An
author thinks his plot, holds it in his mind, and then waits, and
illumination comes. If you want to be able to solve difficult
problems you must learn to do the same.

Power of Concentration 14.2 - Exercises 11-20

Exercise 11

By Concentration You Can Control Your Temper. If you are one of
those that flare up at the slightest "provocation" and never try
to control yourself, just think this over a minute. Does it do
you any good? Do you gain anything by it? Doesn't it put you out
of poise for some time? Don't you know that this grows on you and
will eventually make you despised by all that have any dealings
with you? Everyone makes mistakes and, instead of becoming angry
at their perpetrators, just say to them, "Be more careful next
time." This thought will be impressed on them and they will be
more careful. But, if you continually complain about their making
a mistake, the thought of a mistake is impressed on them and they
will be more likely to make mistakes in the future. All lack of
self-control can be conquered if you will but learn to
concentrate.

Many of you that read this may think you are not guilty of either
of these faults, but if you will carefully watch yourself you
will probably find that you are, and, if so, you will be greatly
helped by repeating this affirmation each morning:

"I am going to try today not to make a useless gesture or to
worry over trifles, or become nervous or irritable. I intend to
be calm, and, no difference what may be the circumstances, I will
control myself. Henceforth I resolve to be free from all signs
that show lack of self-control."

At night quickly review your actions during the day and see how
fully you realized your aim. At first you will, of course, have
to plead guilty of violation a few times, but keep on, and you
will soon find that you can live up to your ideal. After you have
once gained self-control, however, don't relinquish it. For some
time it will still be necessary to repeat the affirmation in the
morning and square your conduct with it in the evening. Keep up
the good work until, at last, the habit of self-control is so
firmly fixed that you could not break it even though you tried.

I have had many persons tell me that this affirmation and daily
review made a wonderful difference in their lives. You, too, will
notice the difference if you live up to these instructions.


Exercise 12.

Practice Talking Before a Glass. Make two marks on your mirror on
a level with your eyes, and think of them as two human eyes
looking into yours. Your eyes will probably blink a little at
first. Do not move your head, but stand erect. Concentrate all
your thoughts on keeping your head perfectly still. Do not let
another thought come into your mind. Then, still keeping the
head, eyes and body still, think that you look like a reliable
man or woman should; like a person that anyone would have
confidence in. Do not let your appearance be such as to justify
the remark, "I don't like his appearance. I don't believe he can
be trusted."

While standing before the mirror practice deep breathing. See
that there is plenty of fresh air in the room, and that you are
literally feasting on it. You will find that, as it permeates
every cell, your timidity will disappear. It has been replaced by
a sense of peace and power.

The one that stands up like a man and has control over the
muscles of his face and eyes always commands attention. In his
conversation, he can better impress those with whom he comes in
contact. He acquires a feeling of calmness and strength that
causes opposition to melt away before it.

Three minutes a day is long enough for the practice of this
exercise.

Look at the clock before you commence the exercise, and if you
find you can prolong the exercise for more than five minutes do
so. The next day sit in a chair and, without looking at the
picture, concentrate on it and see if you cannot think of
additional details concerning it. The chances are you will be
able to think of many more. It might be well for you to write
down all you thought of the first day, and then add to the list
each new discovery. You will find that this is a very excellent
exercise in concentration.


Exercise 13

The Control of Sensations. Think how you would feel if you were
cool; then how you would feel if you were cold; again, how you
would feel if it were freezing. In this state you would be
shivering all over. Now think of just the opposite conditions;
construct such a vivid image of heat that you are able to
experience the sensation of heat even in the coldest atmosphere.
It is possible to train your imagination until you do this, and
it can then be turned to practical account in making undesirable
conditions bearable.

You can think of many very good exercises like this. For
instance, if you feel yourself getting hungry or thirsty and for
any reason you do not wish to eat, do not think of how hungry or
thirsty you are, but just visualize yourself as finishing a
hearty meal. Again, when you experience pain, do not increase it
by thinking about it, but do something to divert your attention,
and the pain will seem to decrease. If you will start practicing
along this line systematically you will soon gain a wonderful
control over the things that affect your physical comfort.


Exercise 14

The Eastern Way of Concentrating. Sit in a chair with a high back
in upright position. Press one finger against the right nostril.
Now take a long, deep breath, drawing the breath in gently as you
count ten; then expel the breath through the right nostril as you
count ten. Repeat this exercise with the opposite nostril. This
exercise should be done at least twenty times at each sitting.


Exercise 15

Controlling Desires. Desire, which is one of the hardest forces
to control, will furnish you with excellent exercises in
concentration. It seems natural to want to tell others what you
know; but, by learning to control these desires, you can
wonderfully strengthen your powers of concentration. Remember,
you have all you can do to attend to your own business. Do not
waste your time in thinking of others or in gossiping about them.

If, from your own observation, you learn something about another
person that is detrimental, keep it to yourself. Your opinion may
afterwards turn out to be wrong anyway, but whether right or
wrong, you have strengthened your will by controlling your desire
to communicate your views.

If you hear good news resist the desire to tell it to the first
person you meet and you will be benefited thereby. It will
require the concentration of all your powers of resistance to
prohibit the desire to tell. After you feel that you have
complete control over your desires you can then tell your news.
But you must be able to suppress the desire to communicate the
news until you are fully ready to tell it. Persons that do not
possess this power of control over desires are apt to tell things
that they should not, thereby often involving both themselves and
others in needless trouble.

If you are in the habit of getting excited when you hear
unpleasant news, just control yourself and receive it without any
exclamation of surprise. Say to yourself, "Nothing is going to
cause me to lose my self-control. You will find from experience
that this self-control will be worth much to you in business. You
will be looked upon as a cool-headed business man, and this in
time becomes a valuable business asset. Of course, circumstances
alter cases. At times it is necessary to become enthused. But be
ever on the lookout for opportunities for the practice of
self-control. "He that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that
ruleth a city."


Exercise 16

When You Read. No one can think without first concentrating his
thoughts on the subject in hand. Every man and woman should train
himself to think clearly. An excellent exercise is to read some
short story and then write just an abridged statement. Read an
article in a newspaper, and see in how few words you can express
it. Reading an article to get only the essentials requires the
closest concentration. If you are unable to write out what you
read, you will know you are weak in concentration. Instead of
writing it out you can express it orally if you wish. Go to your
room and deliver it as if you were talking to some one. You will
find exercises like this of the greatest value in developing
concentration and learning to think.

After you have practiced a number of these simple exercises read
a book for twenty minutes and then write down what you have read.
The chances are that at first you will not remember very many
details, but with a little practice you will be able to write a
very good account of what you have read. The closer the
concentration the more accurate the account will be.

It is a good idea when time is limited to read only a short
sentence and then try to write it down word for word. When you
are able to do this, read two or more sentences and treat
similarly. The practice will produce very good results if you
keep it up until the habit is fixed.

If you will just utilize your spare time in practicing exercises
like those suggested you can gain wonderful powers of
concentration. You will find that in order to remember every word
in a sentence you must keep out every thought but that which you
wish to remember, and this power of inhibition alone will more
than compensate for the trouble of the exercise. Of course,
success in all of the above depends largely upon cultivating,
through the closest concentration, the power to image or picture
what you read; upon the power, as one writer expresses it, of
letting the mountains of which we hear loom before us and the
rivers of which we read roll at our feet.


Exercise 17

Concentration Overcomes Bad Habits. If you have a habit that you
want to get rid of, shut your eyes and imagine that your real
self is standing before you. Now try the power of affirmation;
say to yourself, "You are not a weakling; you can stop this habit
if you want to. This habit is bad and you want to break it." Just
imagine that you are some one else giving this advice. This is
very valuable practice. You, in time, see yourself as others see
you. The habit loses its power over you and you are free.

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


Exercise 18

Watch Concentration. Sit in a chair and place a clock with a
second hand on the table. Follow the second hand with your eyes
as it goes around. Keep this up for five minutes, thinking of
nothing else but the second hand, This is a very good exercise
when you only have a few minutes to spare, if you are able to
keep every other thought in the stream of consciousness
subordinate to it. As there is little that is particularly
interesting about the second hand, it is hard to do this, but in
the extra effort of will power required to make it successful
lies its value. Always try to keep as still as possible during
these exercises.

In this way you can gain control over nerves and this quieting
effect is very good for them.


Exercise 19

Faith Concentration. A belief in the power to concentrate is of
course very important. I purposely did not put this exercise in
the beginning where it naturally belongs because I wanted you to
know that you could learn to concentrate. If you have practiced
the above exercises you have now developed this concentration
power to a considerable extent and therefore you have faith in
the power of concentration, but you can still become a much
stronger believer in it.

We will say that you have some desire or wish you want fulfilled,
or that you need some special advice. You first clearly picture
what is wanted and then you concentrate on getting it. Have
absolute faith that your desires will be realized. Believe that
it will according to your belief be fulfilled. Never, at this
time, attempt to analyze the belief. You don't care anything
about the whys and wherefores. You want to gain the thing you
desire, and if you concentrate on it in the right way you will
get it.

A Caution. Never think you will not succeed, but picture what is
wanted as already yours, and yours it surely will be.


Self-Distrust. Do you ever feel distrust in yourself? If You do,
just ask yourself, which self do I mistrust? Then say: my higher
self cannot be affected. Then think of the wonderful powers of
the higher self. There is a way to overcome all difficulties, and
it is a delight for the human soul to do so. Instead of wasting
precious thought-force by dreading or fearing a disagreeable
interview or event, instead devote the time and concentrated
thought in how to make the best of the interview or event and you
will find that it will not be as unpleasant as you thought it
would be. Most of our troubles are but imaginary, and it is the
mental habit of so dreading them that really acts as a magnet in
attracting those that really do come. Your evil circumstances are
created or attracted by your own negative, fears and wrong
thoughts, and are a means of teaching you to triumph over all
evils, by discovering that which is inherent within yourself.

You will find it helpful in overcoming self-distrust, to stop and
think, why you are, concentrating your forces, and by so doing
you become more closely attached to the higher self, which never
distrusts.

Power of Concentration 14.1 - Exercises 1-10

Exercise 1

Sit in a comfortable chair and see how still you can keep. This
is not as easy as it seems. You will have to center your
attention on sitting still. Watch and see that you are not making
any involuntary muscular movements. By a little practice you will
find you are able to sit still without a movement of the muscles
for fifteen minutes. At first I advise sitting in a relaxed
position for five minutes. After you are able to keep perfectly
still, increase the time to ten minutes and then to fifteen. This
is as long as it is necessary. But never strain yourself to keep
still. You must be relaxed completely. You will find this habit
of relaxing is very good.


Exercise 2

Sit in a chair with your head up and your chin out, shoulders
back. Raise your right arm until it is on the level with your
shoulder, pointing to your right. Look around, with head only,
and fix your gaze on your fingers, and keep the arm perfectly
still for one minute. Do the same exercise with left arm. When
you are able to keep the arm perfectly steady, increase the time
until you are able to do this five minutes with each arm. Turn
the palm of the hand downward when it is outstretched, as this is
the easiest position. If you will keep your eyes fixed on the
tips of the fingers you will be able to tell if you are keeping
your arm perfectly still.


Exercise 3

Fill a small glass full of water, and grasp it by the fingers;
put the arm directly in front of you. Now fix the eyes upon the
glass and try to keep the arm so steady that no movement will be
noticeable. Do this first for one moment and then increase it to
five. Do the exercise with first one arm and then the other.


Exercise 4

Watch yourself during the day and see that your muscles do not
become tense or strained. See how easy and relaxed you can keep
yourself. See how poised you can be at all times. Cultivate a
self-poised manner, instead of a nervous, strained appearance.
This mental feeling will improve your carriage and demeanor. Stop
all useless gestures and movements of the body. These mean that
you have not proper control over your body. After you have
acquired this control, notice how "ill-at-ease" people are that
have not gained this control. I have just been sizing up a
salesman that has just left me. Part of his body kept moving all
the time. I just felt like saying to him, "Do you know how much
better appearance you would make if you would just learn to speak
with your voice instead of trying to express what you say with
your whole body?" Just watch those that interview you and see how
they lack poise.

Get rid of any habit you have of twitching or jerking any part of
your body. You will find you make many involuntary movements. You
can quickly stop any of these by merely centering your attention
on the thought, "I will not."

If you are in the habit of letting noises upset you, just
exercise control; when the door slams, or something falls, etc.,
just think of these as exercises in self-control. You will find
many exercises like this in your daily routine.

The purpose of the above exercises is to gain control over the
involuntary muscular movement, making your actions entirely
voluntary. The following exercises are arranged to bring your
voluntary muscles under the control of the will, so that your
mental forces may control your muscular movements.


Exercise 5

Move your chair up to a table, placing your hands upon it,
clenching the fists, keeping the back of the hand on the table,
the thumb doubled over the fingers. Now fix your gaze upon the
fist for a while, then gradually extend the thumb, keeping your
whole attention fixed upon the act, just as if it was a matter of
great importance. Then gradually extend your first finger, then
your second and so on until you open the rest. Then reverse the
process, closing first the last one opened and then the rest, and
finally you will have the fist again in the original position
with the thumb closed over the finger. Do this exercise with the
left hand. Keep up this exercise first with one hand and then the
other until you have done it five times with each hand. In a few
days you can increase it to ten times.

The chances are that the above exercises will at first make you
"tired," but it is important for you to practice these monotonous
exercises so you can train your attention. It also gives you
control over your muscular movement. The attention, of course,
must be kept closely on each movement of the hand; if it is not,
you of course lose the value of the exercise.


Exercise 6

Put the right hand on knee, both fingers and thumb closed, except
the first finger, which points out in front of you. Then move the
finger slowly from side to side, keeping the attention fixed upon
the end of the finger. You can make up a variety of exercises
like these. It is good training to plan out different ones. The
main point you should keep in mind is that the exercise should be
simple and that the attention should be firmly fixed upon the
moving part of the body. You will find your attention will not
want to be controlled and will try to drift to something more
interesting. This is just where these exercises are of value, and
you must control your attention and see it is held in the right
place and does not wander away.

You may think these exercises very simple and of no value, but I
promise you in a short time you will notice that you have a much
better control over your muscular movements, carriage and
demeanor, and you will find that you have greatly improved your
power of attention, and can center your thoughts on what you do,
which of course will be very valuable.

No matter what you may be doing, imagine that it is your chief
object in life. Imagine you are not interested in anything else
in the world but what you are doing. Do not let your attention
get away from the work you are at. Your attention will no doubt
be rebellious, but control it and do not let it control you. When
once you conquer the rebellious attention you have achieved a
greater victory than you can realize at the time. Many times
afterwards you will be thankful you have learned to concentrate
your closest attention upon the object at hand.

Let no day go by without practicing concentrating on some
familiar object that is uninteresting. Never choose an
interesting object, as it requires less attention. The less
interesting it is the better exercise will it be. After a little
practice you will find you can center your attention on
uninteresting subjects at will.

The person that can concentrate can gain full control over his
body and mind and be the master of his inclinations; not their
slave. When you can control yourself you can control others. You
can develop a Will that will make you a giant compared with the
man that lacks Will Power. Try out your Will Power in different
ways until you have it under such control that just as soon as
you decide to do a thing you go ahead and do it. Never be
satisfied with the "I did fairly well" spirit, but put forward
your best efforts. Be satisfied with nothing else. When you have
gained this you are the man you were intended to be.


Exercise 7

Concentration Increases the Sense of Smell. When you take a walk,
or drive in the country, or pass a flower garden, concentrate on
the odor of flowers and plants. See how many different kinds you
can detect. Then choose one particular kind and try to sense only
this. You will find that this strongly intensifies the sense of
smell. This differentiation requires, however, a peculiarly
attentive attitude. When sense of smell is being developed, you
should not only shut out from the mind every thought but that of
odor, but you should also shut out cognizance of every odor save
that upon which your mind, for the time, is concentrated.

You call find plenty of opportunity for exercises for developing
the sense of smell. When you are out in the air, be on the alert
for the different odors. You will find the air laden with all
kinds, but let your concentration upon the one selected be such
that a scent of its fragrance in after years will vividly recall
the circumstances of this exercise.

The object of these exercises is to develop concentrated
attention, and you will find that you can, through their
practice, control your mind and direct your thoughts just the
same as you can your arm.


Exercise 8

Concentration on the Within. Lie down and thoroughly relax your
muscles. Concentrate on the beating of your heart. Do not pay any
attention to anything else. Think how this great organ is pumping
the blood to every part of the body; try to actually picture the
blood leaving the great reservoir and going in one stream right
down to the toes. Picture another going down the arms to the tips
of the fingers. After a little practice you can actually feel the
blood passing through your system.

If, at any time, you feel weak in any part of the body, will that
an extra supply of blood shall go there. For instance, if your
eyes feel tired, picture the blood coming from the heart, passing
up through the head and out to the eyes. You can wonderfully
increase your strength by this exercise. Men have been able to
gain such control over the heart that they have actually stopped
it from beating for five minutes. This, however, is not without
danger, and is not to be practiced by the novice.

I have found the following a very helpful exercise to take just
before going to bed and on rising in the morning: Say to
yourself, "Every cell in my body thrills with life; every part of
my body is strong and healthy." I have known a number of people
to greatly improve their health in this way. You become what you
picture yourself to be. If your mind thinks of sickness in
connection with self you will be sick. If you imagine yourself in
strong, vigorous health, the image will be realized. You will be
healthy.


Exercise 9

Concentrating on Sleep. What is known as the water method is,
although very simple, very effective in inducing sleep.

Put a full glass of clear water on a table in your sleeping room.
Sit in a chair beside the table and gaze into the glass of water
and think how calm it is. Then picture yourself , getting into
just as calm a state. In a short time you will find the nerves
becoming quiet and you will be able to go to sleep. Sometimes it
is good to picture yourself becoming drowsy to induce sleep, and,
again, the most persistent insomnia has been overcome by one
thinking of himself as some inanimate object--for instance, a
hollow log in the depths of the cool, quiet forest.

Those who are troubled with insomnia will find these sleep
exercises that quiet the nerves very effective. Just keep the
idea in your mind that there is no difficulty in going to sleep;
banish all fear of insomnia. Practice these exercises and you
will sleep.

By this time you should have awakened to the possibilities of
concentration and have become aware of the important part it
plays in your life.


Exercise 10

Concentration Will Save Energy and Appearance. Watch yourself and
see if you are not in the habit of moving your hands, thumping
something with your fingers or twirling your mustache. Some have
the habit of keeping their feet going, as, for instance, tapping
them on the floor. Practice standing before a mirror and see if
you are in the habit of frowning or causing wrinkles to appear in
the forehead. Watch others and see how they needlessly twist
their faces in talking. Any movement of the face that causes the
skin to wrinkle will eventually cause a permanent wrinkle. As the
face is like a piece of silk, you can make a fold in it a number
of times and it will straighten out of itself, but, if you
continue to make a fold in it, it will in time be impossible to
remove it.

By Concentration You Can Stop the Worry Habit. If you are in the
habit of worrying over the merest trifles, just concentrate on
this a few minutes and see bow needless it is; if you are also in
the habit of becoming irritable or nervous at the least little
thing, check yourself instantly when you feel yourself becoming
so; start to breathe deeply; say, "I will not be so weak; I am
master of myself," and you will quickly overcome your condition.

Power of Concentration 14.0 - The Art

A daily habit will wonderfully increase your concentration. Seeing yourself as you would like to be. Instruction of the greatest importance. The great creative spirit of the universe. Why things manifest as they do. The cosmic intelligence. A most desired state. How to receive messages from the universal mind. How to develop power, unknown to you before. Make your mind a powerful transmitter of thought. The best time to practice concentration exercises. How to rejuvenate every cell of your brain and body. An exercise that will give you a self-poised manner. Instead of a nervous strained appearance. Concentrating on the powers within. Concentration will save your energy. How to keep from getting irritable or nervous. The Eastern way of concentrating. Exercise in controlling desires.

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.