Speaker 1: The fourth lesson mental control, Part one. In our first
Speaker 1: three lessons of this series, we have endeavored to bring
Speaker 1: into realization within your mind. One the consciousness of the eye,
Speaker 1: its independence from the body, its immortality, its invincibility and invulnerability.
Speaker 1: Two the superiority of the eye over the mind as
Speaker 1: well as over the body. The fact that the mind
Speaker 1: is not the eye, but is merely an instrument for
Speaker 1: the expression of the eye. The fact that the eye
Speaker 1: is master of the mind as well as of the body.
Speaker 1: That the eye is behind all thought. That the eye
Speaker 1: can set aside for consideration the sensations, emotions, passions, desires,
Speaker 1: and the rest of the mental phenomena, and still realize
Speaker 1: that it the eye is apart from these mental manifestations
Speaker 1: and remains unchanged, real and fully existent. That the eye
Speaker 1: can set aside any and all of its mental tools
Speaker 1: and instruments as not i things, and still consciously realize
Speaker 1: that after so setting them aside, there remains something itself,
Speaker 1: the eye, which cannot be set aside or taken from
Speaker 1: That the eye is the master of the mind and
Speaker 1: not its slave. Three, that the eye is a much
Speaker 1: greater thing than the little personal eye. We have been
Speaker 1: considering it to be that the eye is a part
Speaker 1: of that great one reality which pervades all the universe.
Speaker 1: That it is connected with all other forms of life
Speaker 1: by countless ties, mental and spiritual filaments and relations. That
Speaker 1: the eye is the center of consciousness in that great
Speaker 1: one reality or spirit, which is behind and back of
Speaker 1: all life and existence, the center of which reality or
Speaker 1: existence is the Absolute or God. That the sense of
Speaker 1: reality that is inherent in the eye is really the
Speaker 1: reflection of the sense of reality inherent in the whole,
Speaker 1: the great eye of the universe. The underlying principle of
Speaker 1: these three lessons is the reality of the eye in
Speaker 1: itself over and above all matter, force, or mind, positive
Speaker 1: to all of them, just as they are positive or
Speaker 1: negative to each other, and negative only to the center
Speaker 1: of the One, the Absolute. And this is the position
Speaker 1: for the candidate or initiate to take. I am positive
Speaker 1: to mind, energy, and matter, and control them all. I
Speaker 1: am negative only to the Absolute, which is the center
Speaker 1: of being, of which being I am. And as I
Speaker 1: exert my mastery over mind, energy, and matter and exercise
Speaker 1: my will over them, so do I acknowledge my subordination
Speaker 1: to the Absolute and gladly open my soul to the
Speaker 1: inflow of the Divine will and partake of its power, strength,
Speaker 1: and wisdom. In the present lesson and those immediately following it,
Speaker 1: we shall endeavor to assist the candidate or initiate in
Speaker 1: acquiring a mastery of the subordinate manifestations matter, energy, and mind.
Speaker 1: In order to acquire and assert this mastery, one must
Speaker 1: acquaint himself with the nature of the thing to be controlled.
Speaker 1: In our advanced course, we have endeavored to explain to
Speaker 1: you the nature of the three great manifestations known as
Speaker 1: Hita or mind, substance, Prana or energy, and Akasa or
Speaker 1: the principle of matter. We also explain to you that
Speaker 1: the eye of men is superior to these three, being
Speaker 1: what is known as Atman or spirit, Matter, energy, and mind,
Speaker 1: as we have explained, are manifestations of the absolute in
Speaker 1: our relative things. The Yogi philosophy teaches that matter is
Speaker 1: the grossest form of manifested substance, being below energy and
Speaker 1: mind and consequently negative to and subordinate to both. One
Speaker 1: stage higher than matter is energy or force, which is
Speaker 1: positive to and has authority over matter, matter, being a
Speaker 1: still grosser form of substance, but which is negative to
Speaker 1: and subordinate to mind, which is a still higher form
Speaker 1: of substance. Next in order comes the highest of the three, Mind,
Speaker 1: the finest form of substance, and which dominates both energy
Speaker 1: and matter, being positive to both. Mind, however, is negative
Speaker 1: and subordinate to the Eye, which is spirit, and obeys
Speaker 1: the orders of the latter when firmly and intelligently given.
Speaker 1: The eye itself is subordinate only to the absolute, the
Speaker 1: center of being, the I, being positive and dominant over
Speaker 1: the threefold manifestation of mind, energy, and matter. The eye,
Speaker 1: which for the sake of the illustration, must be regarded
Speaker 1: as a separate thing, although it is really only a
Speaker 1: center of consciousness in the great body of Spirit, finds
Speaker 1: itself surrounded by the triple ocean of mind, energy, and matter,
Speaker 1: which ocean extends into infinity. The body is but a
Speaker 1: physical form through which flows an unending stream of matter.
Speaker 1: For as you know, the particles and atoms of the
Speaker 1: body are constantly changing, being renewed, replaced, thrown off, and
Speaker 1: supplanted one's body of a few years ago, or rather,
Speaker 1: the particles composing that body have passed off and now
Speaker 1: form new combinations in the world of matter, and one's
Speaker 1: body of today is passing away and being replaced by
Speaker 1: new particles. And one's body of next year is now
Speaker 1: occupying some other portion of space, and its particles are
Speaker 1: now parts of countless other combinations from its space, and
Speaker 1: combinations they will later come to combine and form the
Speaker 1: body of next year. There is nothing permanent about the body.
Speaker 1: Even the particles of the bones are being constantly replaced
Speaker 1: by others. And so it is with the vital energy
Speaker 1: force or strength of the body, including that of the brain.
Speaker 1: It is constantly being used up and expended, a fresh
Speaker 1: supply taking its place. And even the mind of the
Speaker 1: person is changeable, and the mind substance or keita is
Speaker 1: being used up and replenished, the new supply coming from
Speaker 1: the great ocean of mind into which the discarded portion slips,
Speaker 1: just as is the case with the matter and energy.
Speaker 1: While the majority of our students, who are more or
Speaker 1: less familiar with the current material scientific conceptions, will readily
Speaker 1: accept the above idea of the ocean of matter and
Speaker 1: energy and the fact that there is a continual using
Speaker 1: up and replenishing of one store of both, they may
Speaker 1: have more or less trouble in accepting the idea that
Speaker 1: mind is a substance or principle amenable to the same
Speaker 1: general laws as are the other two manifestations or attributes
Speaker 1: of substance. One is so apt to think of his
Speaker 1: mind as himself the eye, notwithstanding the fact that in
Speaker 1: our second lesson of this series, which showed you that
Speaker 1: the eye is superior to the mental states, and that
Speaker 1: it can set them aside and regard and consider them
Speaker 1: as not i things. Yet the force of the habit
Speaker 1: of thought is very strong, and it may take some
Speaker 1: of you considerable time before you get into the way
Speaker 1: of realizing that your mind is something that you use
Speaker 1: instead of being you yourself. And yet you must persevere
Speaker 1: in attaining this realization. For in the degree that you
Speaker 1: realize your dominance over your mind, so will be your
Speaker 1: control of it and its amenability to that control. And
Speaker 1: as is the degree of that dominance in control, so
Speaker 1: will be the character, great and extent of the work
Speaker 1: that your mind will do for you. So you see,
Speaker 1: realization brings control and control brings results. This statement lies
Speaker 1: at the base of the science of Raja yoga, and
Speaker 1: many of its first exercises are designed to acquaint the
Speaker 1: student with that realization and to develop the realization and
Speaker 1: control by habit and practice. The Yogi philosophy teaches that
Speaker 1: instead of mind being the eye, it is the thing
Speaker 1: through and by means of which the eye thinks, at
Speaker 1: least so far as is concerned the knowledge concerning the
Speaker 1: phenomenal or outward universe, that is, the universe of name
Speaker 1: and form. There is a higher knowledge locked up in
Speaker 1: the innermost part of the eye that far transcends any
Speaker 1: information that it may receive about or from the outer world.
Speaker 1: But that is not before us for consideration at this time,
Speaker 1: and we must concern ourselves with the thinking about the
Speaker 1: world of things. Mind substance in Sanskrit is called kita,
Speaker 1: and a wave in the kita, which wave is the
Speaker 1: combination of mind and energy, is called frita, which is
Speaker 1: akin to what we call a thought. In other words,
Speaker 1: it is mind in action, whereas kita is mind in repose. Frita,
Speaker 1: when literally translated, means a whirlpool or eddy in the mind,
Speaker 1: which is exactly what a thought really is. But we
Speaker 1: must call the attention of the student at this point
Speaker 1: to the fact that the word mind is used in
Speaker 1: two ways by the Yogis, and other occultists, and the
Speaker 1: student is directed to form a clear concept of each
Speaker 1: meaning in order to avoid confusion, and that he may
Speaker 1: more clearly perceive the true aspects of the things which
Speaker 1: the word is intended to express. In the first place,
Speaker 1: the word mind is used as synonymous with kita or
Speaker 1: mind substance, which is the universal mind principle. From this kita,
Speaker 1: mind substance, or mind, all the material of the millions
Speaker 1: of personal minds is obtained. The sacond meaning of the
Speaker 1: word mind is that which we mean when we speak
Speaker 1: of the mind of any one, thereby meaning the mental
Speaker 1: faculties of that particular person, that which distinguishes his mental
Speaker 1: personality from that of another. We have taught you that
Speaker 1: this mind in men functions on three planes, and have
Speaker 1: called the respective manifestations one the instinctive mind, two the intellect,
Speaker 1: and three the spiritual mind see fourteen Lessons in Yogi Philosophy,
Speaker 1: et cetera. These three mental planes, taken together, make up
Speaker 1: the mind of the person, or, to be more exact,
Speaker 1: they clustered around the eye form the soul of the individual.
Speaker 1: The word soul is often used as synonymous with spirit,
Speaker 1: but those who have followed us will distinguish the difference.
Speaker 1: The soul is the ego surrounded by its mental principles,
Speaker 1: while the spirit is the soul of the soul, the eye,
Speaker 1: or real self. The science of Raja Yoga to which
Speaker 1: these series of lessons is devoted, teaches as its basic
Speaker 1: principle the control of the mind. It holds that the
Speaker 1: first step toward power consists in obtaining a control of
Speaker 1: one's own mind. It holds that the internal world must
Speaker 1: be conquered before the outer world is attacked. It holds
Speaker 1: that the eye manifests itself in will, and that that
Speaker 1: will may be used to manipulate, guide, govern, and direct
Speaker 1: the mind of its owner, as well as the physical world.
Speaker 1: It aims to clear away all mental rubbish and encumbrances,
Speaker 1: to conduct a mental house cleaning, as it were, and
Speaker 1: to secure a clear, clean, healthy mind. Then it proceeds
Speaker 1: to control that mind intelligently and with effect, saving all
Speaker 1: waste power, and by means of concentration, bringing the mind
Speaker 1: in full harmony with the will, that it may be
Speaker 1: brought to a focus and its power greatly increased, and
Speaker 1: its efficiency fully secured. Concentration and will power are the
Speaker 1: means by which the Yogis obtain such wonderful results and
Speaker 1: by which they manage and direct their vigorous, healthy minds
Speaker 1: and master the material world, acting positively upon energy and matter.
Speaker 1: This control extends to all planes of the mind, and
Speaker 1: the yogis not only controlled the instinctive mind, holding in
Speaker 1: subjection its lower qualities and making use of its other parts,
Speaker 1: but they also develop and enlarge the field of their
Speaker 1: intellect and obtain from it wonderful results. Even this spiritual
Speaker 1: mind is mastered and aided in its unfoldment, and urged
Speaker 1: to pass down into the field of consciousness some of
Speaker 1: the wonderful secrets to be found within its area. By
Speaker 1: means of Raja yoga, many of the secrets of existence
Speaker 1: and being, many of the riddles of the universe are
Speaker 1: answered and solved, and by it, the latent powers inherent
Speaker 1: in the constitution of men are unfolded and brought into action.
Speaker 1: Those highly advanced in the science are believed to have
Speaker 1: attained such a wonderful degree of power and control over
Speaker 1: the forces of the universe that they are as gods
Speaker 1: compared with the ordinary men. Raja Yoga teaches that not
Speaker 1: only may power of this kind be secured but that
Speaker 1: a wonderful field of knowledge is opened out through its practice.
Speaker 1: It holds that when the concentrated mind is focused upon
Speaker 1: thing or subject, the true nature and inner meaning of
Speaker 1: and concerning that thing or subject will be brought to view.
Speaker 1: The concentrated mind passes through the object or subject, just
Speaker 1: as the X ray passes through a block of wood,
Speaker 1: and the thing is seen by the eye as it
Speaker 1: is in truth and not as it had appeared before,
Speaker 1: imperfectly and erroneously. Not only may the outside world be
Speaker 1: thus explored, but the mental ray may be turned inward
Speaker 1: and the secret places of the mind explored. When it
Speaker 1: is remembered that the bit of mind that each man
Speaker 1: possesses is like a drop of the ocean, which contains
Speaker 1: within its tiny compass all the elements that make up
Speaker 1: the ocean, and that to know perfectly the drop is
Speaker 1: to know perfectly the ocean, then we begin to see
Speaker 1: what such a power really means. Many in the Western world,
Speaker 1: who have attained great results in the intellectual and scientific
Speaker 1: fields of endeavor, have developed these powers, more or less unconsciously.
Speaker 1: Many great inventors are practical yogis, although they do not
Speaker 1: realize the source of their power. Any One who is
Speaker 1: familiar with the personal mental characteristics of Edison will see
Speaker 1: that he follows some of the Raja yoga methods, and
Speaker 1: that concentration is one of his strongest weapons. And from
Speaker 1: all reports, Professor Elmer Gates of Washington, d c. Whose
Speaker 1: mind has unfolded many wonderful discoveries and inventions, is also
Speaker 1: a practical yogi, although he may repudiate the assertion vigorously
Speaker 1: and may not have familiarized himself with the principles of
Speaker 1: the science which he has dropped into unconsciously. Those who
Speaker 1: have reported upon Professor Gates's methods say that he fairly
Speaker 1: digged out the inventions and discoveries from his mind after
Speaker 1: going into seclusion and practicing concentration in what is known
Speaker 1: as the mental vision. But we have given you enough
Speaker 1: of theory for one lesson, and must begin to give
Speaker 1: you directions whereby you may aid yourself in developing these
Speaker 1: latent powers and unfolding these dormant energies. You will notice
Speaker 1: that in this series we first tell you something about
Speaker 1: the theory and then proceed to give you something to do.
Speaker 1: This is the true yogi method, as followed and practiced
Speaker 1: by their best teachers. Too much theory is time and
Speaker 1: sings the mind to sleep, while too much exercise tires
Speaker 1: one and does not give the inquiring part of his
Speaker 1: mind the necessary food. To combine both in suitable proportions
Speaker 1: is the better plan, and one that we aim to
Speaker 1: follow Part two Mental drill and exercises. Before we can
Speaker 1: get the mind to do good work for us, we
Speaker 1: must first tame it and bring it to obedience to
Speaker 1: the will of the eye. The mind, as a rule,
Speaker 1: has been allowed to run wild and follow its own
Speaker 1: sweet will and desires without regard to anything else. Like
Speaker 1: a spoiled child or badly trained domestic animal, it gets
Speaker 1: into much trouble and is of very little pleasure, comfort,
Speaker 1: or use. The minds of many of us are like
Speaker 1: menagries of wild animals, each pursuing the bent of its
Speaker 1: own nature and going its own way. We have the
Speaker 1: whole managery within us, the tiger, the ape, the peacock,
Speaker 1: the ass, the goose, the sheep, the hyena, and all
Speaker 1: the rest, and we have been letting these animals rule us.
Speaker 1: Even our intellect is erratic, unstable, and like the quicksilver
Speaker 1: to which the ancient occultists compared it shifting and uncertain.
Speaker 1: If you will look around you, you will see that
Speaker 1: those men and women in the world who have really
Speaker 1: accomplished anything worth while have trained their minds to obedience.
Speaker 1: They have asserted the will or were their own minds,
Speaker 1: and learned mastery and power in that way. The average
Speaker 1: mind chafes at the restraint of the will and is
Speaker 1: like a frisky monkey that will not be taught tricks,
Speaker 1: but taught it must be if it wants to do
Speaker 1: good work, and teach it you must if you expect
Speaker 1: to get any use from it, if you expect to
Speaker 1: use it instead of having it use you. And this
Speaker 1: is the first thing to be learned in Raja yoga,
Speaker 1: this control of the mind. Those who had hoped for
Speaker 1: some royal road to mastery may be disappointed. But there
Speaker 1: is only one way, and that is to master and
Speaker 1: control the mind by the will. Otherwise it will run
Speaker 1: away when you most need it. And so we shall
Speaker 1: give you some exercise design to aid you in this direction.
Speaker 1: The first exercise in Raja yoga is what is called pratyahara,
Speaker 1: or the art of making the mind introspective or turned
Speaker 1: inward upon itself. It is the first step toward mental control.
Speaker 1: It aims to turn the mind from going outward and
Speaker 1: gradually churning it inward upon itself or inner nature. The
Speaker 1: object is to gain control of it by the will.
Speaker 1: The following exercises will aid in that direction. Exercise one
Speaker 1: A place yourself in a comfortable position and, so far
Speaker 1: as possible, free from outside disturbing influences. Make no violent
Speaker 1: effort to control the mind, but rather allow it to
Speaker 1: run along for a while and exhaust its efforts. It
Speaker 1: will take advantage of the opportunity and will jump around
Speaker 1: like an unchained monkey at first, until it gradually slows
Speaker 1: down and looks to you for orders. It may take
Speaker 1: some time to tame down at first trial, but each
Speaker 1: time you try, it will come round to you in
Speaker 1: shorter time. The Yogis spend much time in acquiring this
Speaker 1: mental peace and calm, and consider themselves well paid for it. B.
Speaker 1: When the mind is well calmed down and peaceful, fix
Speaker 1: the thought on thee. I am. As taught in our
Speaker 1: previous lessons, picture the eye as an entity independent of
Speaker 1: the body, deathless and vulnerable, immortal real Then think of
Speaker 1: it as independent of the body and able to exist
Speaker 1: without its fleshly covering. Meditate upon this for a time,
Speaker 1: and then gradually direct the thought to the realization of
Speaker 1: the eye as independent and superior to the mind and
Speaker 1: controlling saying, go over the general ideas of the first
Speaker 1: two lessons, and endeavor to calmly reflect upon them and
Speaker 1: to see them in the mind's eye. You will find
Speaker 1: that your mind is gradually becoming more and more peaceful
Speaker 1: and calm, and that the distracting thoughts of the outside
Speaker 1: world are farther and farther removed from you. See. Then,
Speaker 1: let the mind pass on to a calm consideration of
Speaker 1: the third lesson, in which we have spoken of the
Speaker 1: oneness of all and the relationship of the eye to
Speaker 1: the one life power intelligence being. You will find that
Speaker 1: you are acquiring a mental control and calm heretofore unknown
Speaker 1: to you. The exercises in the first three lessons will
Speaker 1: have prepared you for this. The following is the most
Speaker 1: difficult of the variations or degrees of this exercise, but
Speaker 1: the ability to perform it will come gradually. The exercise
Speaker 1: consists in gradually shutting out all thought or impression of
Speaker 1: the outside world, of the body, and of the thoughts themselves,
Speaker 1: the student concentrating and meditating upon the word and idea
Speaker 1: I am, the idea being that he shall concentrate upon
Speaker 1: the idea of mere being or existence, symbolized by the
Speaker 1: words I am, not I am this, or I am that,
Speaker 1: or I do this or I think that, but simply
Speaker 1: I am. This exercise will focus the attention at the
Speaker 1: very center of being within oneself, and will gather in
Speaker 1: all the mental energies instead of allowing them to be
Speaker 1: scattered upon outside things. A feeling of peace, strength, and
Speaker 1: power will result. For the affirmation and the thought back
Speaker 1: of it is the most powerful and strongest that one
Speaker 1: may make, for it is a statement of actual being
Speaker 1: and the turning of the thought inward to that truth.
Speaker 1: Let the mind first dwell upon the word I, identifying
Speaker 1: it with the self, and then let it pass on
Speaker 1: to the word M, which signifies reality and being. Then
Speaker 1: combine the two with the meanings thereof, and the result
Speaker 1: a most powerful focusing of thought inward and most potent
Speaker 1: statement of being. It is well to accompany the above
Speaker 1: exercise with a comfortable and easy physical attitude, so as
Speaker 1: to prevent the distraction of the attention by the body.
Speaker 1: In order to do this, one should assume and e
Speaker 1: easy attitude, and then relax every muscle and take the
Speaker 1: tension from every nerve until a perfect sense of ease, comfort,
Speaker 1: and relaxation is obtained. You should practice this until you
Speaker 1: have fully acquired it. It will be useful to you
Speaker 1: in many ways. Besides rendering concentration and meditation easier, it
Speaker 1: will act as a rest cure for tired body nerves
Speaker 1: and mind exercise too. The second step in Raja yoga
Speaker 1: is what is known as tarana or concentration. This is
Speaker 1: a most wonderful idea in the direction of focusing the
Speaker 1: mental forces, and may be cultivated to an almost incredible degree.
Speaker 1: But all this requires work, time, and patience, but the
Speaker 1: student will be well repaid for it. Concentration consists in
Speaker 1: the mind focusing upon a certain subject or object and
Speaker 1: being held there for a time. This, at first thought,
Speaker 1: seems very easy, but a little practice will show how
Speaker 1: difficult it is to firmly fix the attention and hold
Speaker 1: it there. It will have a tendency to waver and
Speaker 1: move to some other object or subject, and much practice
Speaker 1: will be needed in order to hold it at the
Speaker 1: desired point. But practice will accomplish wonders. As one may
Speaker 1: see by observing people who have acquired this faculty and
Speaker 1: who use it in their everyday life. The following point
Speaker 1: should be remembered. Many persons have acquired the faculty of
Speaker 1: concentrating their attention, but have allowed it to become almost involuntary,
Speaker 1: and they become a slave to it forgetting themselves and
Speaker 1: everything else, and often neglecting necessary affairs. This is the
Speaker 1: ignorant way of concentrating, and those addicted to it become
Speaker 1: slaves to their habits. Instead of masters of their minds.
Speaker 1: They become day dreamers and absent minded people. Instead of masters.
Speaker 1: They are to be pitied as much as those who
Speaker 1: cannot concentrate at all. The secret is in a mystery
Speaker 1: of the mind. The yogis can concentrate at will and
Speaker 1: completely bury themselves in the subject before them, and extract
Speaker 1: from it every item of interest, and kim then pass
Speaker 1: the mind from the thing at will, the same control
Speaker 1: being used in both cases. They do not allow fits
Speaker 1: of abstraction or absent mindedness to come upon them, nor
Speaker 1: are they day dreamers. On the contrary, they are very
Speaker 1: wide awake individuals, close observers, clear thinkers correct reasoners. They
Speaker 1: are masters of their minds, not slaves to their moods.
Speaker 1: The ignorant concentrator buries himself in the object or subject
Speaker 1: and allows it to master and absorb himself, while the
Speaker 1: trained yogi thinkers assert the eye and then directs his
Speaker 1: mind to concentrate upon the subject or object, keeping it
Speaker 1: well under control and in view all the time. Do
Speaker 1: you see the difference, then heed the lesson. The following
Speaker 1: exercises may be found useful in the first steps of concentration.
Speaker 1: A concentrate the attention upon some familiar object, a pencil,
Speaker 1: for instance. Hold the mind there and consider the pencil
Speaker 1: to the exclusion of any other object. Consider its size, color, shape,
Speaker 1: kind of wood, Consider its uses and purposes, its materials,
Speaker 1: the process of its manufacture, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 1: In short, think as many things about the pencil as possible,
Speaker 1: allowing the mind to pursue any associated bypaths, such as
Speaker 1: a consideration of the graphite of which the lead is made,
Speaker 1: the forests from which came the wood used in making
Speaker 1: the pencil, the history of pencils and other inclements used
Speaker 1: for writing, et cetera. In short, exhaust the subject of pencils.
Speaker 1: In considering a subject under concentration, the following plan of
Speaker 1: synopsis will be found useful. Think of the thing in
Speaker 1: question from the following viewpoints. One the thing itself, two,
Speaker 1: the plays from whence it came, three, its purpose or use,
Speaker 1: four its associations, five its probable end. Do not let
Speaker 1: the apparently trivial nature of the inquiry discourage you, for
Speaker 1: the simplest form of mental training is us useful and
Speaker 1: will help to develop your will and concentration. It is
Speaker 1: akin to the process of developing a physical muscle by
Speaker 1: some simple exercise, and in both cases one loses sight
Speaker 1: of the unimportance of the exercise itself in view of
Speaker 1: the end to be gained. B Concentrate the attention upon
Speaker 1: some part of the body, the hand, for instance, and
Speaker 1: fixing your entire attention upon it, shut off or inhibit
Speaker 1: all sensation from the other parts of the body. A
Speaker 1: little practice will enable you to do this. In addition
Speaker 1: to the mental training, this exercise will stimulate the part
Speaker 1: of the body concentrated upon, for reasons that will appear
Speaker 1: in future lessons. Change the parts of the body concentrated
Speaker 1: upon and thus give the mind a variety of exercises,
Speaker 1: and the body the effect of a general stimulation. See
Speaker 1: These exercises may be extended indefinitely upon familiar objects about you.
Speaker 1: Remember always that the thing in itself is of no importance.
Speaker 1: The whole idea being to train the mind to obey
Speaker 1: the will, so that when you really wish to use
Speaker 1: the mental forces upon some important object, you may find
Speaker 1: them well trained and obedient. Do not be tempted to
Speaker 1: slight this part of the word because it is dry
Speaker 1: and uninteresting, for it leads up to things that are
Speaker 1: most interesting and opens a door to a fascinating subject.
Speaker 1: D practice focusing the attention upon some abstract subject, that is,
Speaker 1: upon some subject of interest that may offer a field
Speaker 1: for mental exploration. Think about the subject in all its
Speaker 1: phases and branches, following up one by path and then another,
Speaker 1: until you feel that you know all about the subject
Speaker 1: that your mind has acquired. You will be surprised to
Speaker 1: find how much more you know about any one thing
Speaker 1: or subject than you have believed possible. In hidden corners
Speaker 1: of your mind you will find some useful or interesting
Speaker 1: information about the thing in question, and when you are through,
Speaker 1: you will feel well posted upon it and upon the
Speaker 1: things connected with it. This exercise will not only help
Speaker 1: to develop your intellectual powers, but will strengthen your memory
Speaker 1: and broaden your mind and give you more confidence in yourself.
Speaker 1: And in addition, you will have taken a valuable exercise
Speaker 1: in concentration or tarana. The importance of concentration. Concentration is
Speaker 1: a focusing of the mind, and this focusing of the
Speaker 1: mind requires a focusing or bringing to a center of
Speaker 1: the will. The mind is concentrated because the will is
Speaker 1: focused upon the object. The mind flows into the mold
Speaker 1: made by the will. The above exercises are designed not
Speaker 1: only to accustom the mind to the obedience and direction
Speaker 1: of the will, but also tend to accustom the will
Speaker 1: to command. We speak of strengthening the will, when what
Speaker 1: we really mean is training the mind to obey and
Speaker 1: accustoming the will to command. Our will is strong enough,
Speaker 1: but we do not realize it. The will takes root
Speaker 1: in the very center of our being, in the eye,
Speaker 1: but our imperfectly developed mind does not recognize this fact.
Speaker 1: We are like young elephants that do not recognize their
Speaker 1: own strength, but allow themselves to be mastered by puny drivers,
Speaker 1: whom they could brush aside with a movement. The will
Speaker 1: is back of all action, all doing, mental and physical.
Speaker 1: We shall have much to say touching the will in
Speaker 1: these lessons, and the student should give the matter his
Speaker 1: careful attention. Let him look around him, and he will
Speaker 1: see that the great difference between the men who have
Speaker 1: stepped forward from the ranks and those who remain huddled
Speaker 1: up in the crowd consists in determination and will. As
Speaker 1: Buxton has well said, the longer I live, the more
Speaker 1: certain I am that the great difference between men, the
Speaker 1: feeble and the powerful, the great and insignificant, is energy
Speaker 1: and invincible determination. And he might have added that the
Speaker 1: thing behind that energy and invincible determination was will. The
Speaker 1: writers and thinkers of all ages have recognized the wonderful
Speaker 1: and transcendent importance of the will. Tennyson sings, all living will,
Speaker 1: thou shalt endure when all that seems shall see of
Speaker 1: her shock. Oliver Wendell Holmes says, the seat of the
Speaker 1: will seems to vary with the organ through which it
Speaker 1: is manifested to transport itself to different parts of the brain.
Speaker 1: As we may wish to recall a picture, a phrase,
Speaker 1: a melody to throw its force on the muscles or
Speaker 1: the intellectual processes. Like the general in chief, its place
Speaker 1: is everywhere in the field of action. It is the
Speaker 1: least like an instrument of any of our faculties, the
Speaker 1: farthest removed from our conceptions of mechanism and matter as
Speaker 1: we commonly define them. Holmes was correct in his idea,
Speaker 1: but faulty in his details. The will does not change
Speaker 1: its seat, which is always in the center of the ego.
Speaker 1: But the will forces the mind to all hearts and
Speaker 1: in all directions, and it directs the prana or vital force. Likewise,
Speaker 1: the will is indeed the general in chief, but it
Speaker 1: does not rush to the various points of action, but
Speaker 1: since its messengers and couriers there to carry out its orders.
Speaker 1: Buxton has said, the will will do anything that can
Speaker 1: be done in this world, and no talents, no circumstances,
Speaker 1: no opportunities, will make a two legged creature a man
Speaker 1: without it. Ike Marvel truly says, resolve is what makes
Speaker 1: a man manifest, not puny, resolve, not crue determinations, not
Speaker 1: er and purpose, but that strong and indefatigable will which
Speaker 1: treads down difficulties in danger as a boy treads down
Speaker 1: the heaving frostlens of winter, which kindles his eye and
Speaker 1: brain with a proud pulse beat toward the unattainable will
Speaker 1: makes men giants. The great obstacle to the proper use
Speaker 1: of the will in the case of the majority of
Speaker 1: people is the lack of ability to focus the attention.
Speaker 1: The yogis clearly understand this point, and many of the
Speaker 1: Raja Yoga exercises which are given to the students by
Speaker 1: the teachers are designed to overcome this difficulty. Attention is
Speaker 1: the outward evidence of the will. As a French writer
Speaker 1: has said, the attention is subject to the superior authority
Speaker 1: of the ego I yielded, where I withhold it as
Speaker 1: I please, I direct it in turn to several points.
Speaker 1: I concentrated upon each point, as long as my will
Speaker 1: can stand the effort. Professor James has said the essential
Speaker 1: achievement of the will, when it is most voluntary, is
Speaker 1: to attend to a difficult object and hold it fast
Speaker 1: before the mind. Effort of attention is the essential phenomenon
Speaker 1: of the will, and Professor Haleck says the first step
Speaker 1: toward the development of will lies in the exercise of attention.
Speaker 1: Ideas grow in distinctness and motive power as we attend
Speaker 1: to them. If we take two ideas of the same
Speaker 1: intensity and center the attention upon one, we shall notice
Speaker 1: how much it grows in power. Professor Sully says attention
Speaker 1: may be roughly defined as the active self direction of
Speaker 1: the mind to any object which presents itself at the moment.
Speaker 1: The word attention is derived from two Latin words ad tendity,
Speaker 1: meaning to stretch towards, and this is just what the
Speaker 1: Yogis know it to be. By means of their psychic
Speaker 1: or clearvoyant sight. They see the thought of the attentive
Speaker 1: person stretched out toward the object attended to, like a
Speaker 1: sharp wedge, the point of which is focused upon the
Speaker 1: object under consideration, the entire force of the thought being
Speaker 1: concentrated at that point. This is true not only when
Speaker 1: the person is considering an object, but when he is
Speaker 1: earnestly impressing his ideas upon another or upon some task
Speaker 1: to be accomplished. Attention means reaching the mind out to
Speaker 1: a focusing it upon something. The trained will exhibits itself
Speaker 1: in a tenacious attention, and this attention is one of
Speaker 1: the signs of the trained will. The student must not
Speaker 1: hastily conclude that this kind of attention is a common
Speaker 1: faculty among men. On the contrary, it is quite rare
Speaker 1: and is seen only among those of strong mentality. Any
Speaker 1: One may fasten his attention upon some passing, pleasing thing,
Speaker 1: but it takes a trained will to fasten it upon
Speaker 1: some unattractive thing and hold it there. Of course, the
Speaker 1: trained occultist is able to throw interest into the most
Speaker 1: unattractive thing upon which it becomes advisable to focus his attention.
Speaker 1: But this in itself comes with the trained will, and
Speaker 1: is not the possession of the average man. Voluntary attention
Speaker 1: is rare and is found only amongst strong characters. But
Speaker 1: it may be cultivated and grown, until he who has
Speaker 1: scarcely a shade of it to day, in time may
Speaker 1: become a giant. It is all a matter of practice, exercise,
Speaker 1: and will. It is difficult to say too much in
Speaker 1: favor of the development of the faculty of tenacious attention.
Speaker 1: One possessing this developed faculty is able to accomplish far
Speaker 1: more than even a much brighter man who lacks it.
Speaker 1: And the best way to train the attention under the
Speaker 1: direction of the will is to practice upon uninteresting objects
Speaker 1: and ideas, holding them before the mind until they begin
Speaker 1: to assume an interest. This is difficult at first, but
Speaker 1: the task soon begins to take on a pleasant aspect,
Speaker 1: for one finds that his will, power and attention are growing,
Speaker 1: and he feels himself acquiring a force and power that
Speaker 1: were lacking before he realizes that he is growing stronger.
Speaker 1: Charles Dickens said that the secret of his success consisted
Speaker 1: in his developing a faculty of throwing his entire attention
Speaker 1: into whatever he happened to be doing at the moment,
Speaker 1: and then being able to turn that same degree of
Speaker 1: attention to the next thing coming before him for consideration.
Speaker 1: He was like a man behind a great searchlight which
Speaker 1: was successively turned upon point after point, illuminating each in turn.
Speaker 1: The eye is the man behind the light, and the
Speaker 1: will is the reflector, the light being the attention. This
Speaker 1: discussion of will and attention may seem somewhat dry to
Speaker 1: the student, but that is all the more reason that
Speaker 1: he should attend to it. It is the secret that
Speaker 1: lies at the basis of the science of Raja yoga,
Speaker 1: and the yogi masters have attained a degree of concentration,
Speaker 1: will and attention that would be inconceivable to the average
Speaker 1: men of the street. By reason of this, they are
Speaker 1: able to direct the mind here and there, outward or
Speaker 1: inward with an enormous force. They are able to focus
Speaker 1: the mind upon a small thing with remarkable intensity, just
Speaker 1: as the rays of the sun may be focused through
Speaker 1: a sunglass and caused to ignite linen. Or on the
Speaker 1: other hand, they are able to send forth the mind
Speaker 1: with intense energy, illuminating whatever it rests upon, just as
Speaker 1: happens in the case of the strong electric searchlight with
Speaker 1: which many of us are familiar. By all means, start
Speaker 1: in to cultivate the attention and will practice on the
Speaker 1: unpleasant tasks. Do the things that you have before you,
Speaker 1: and from which you have been shrinking because they were unpleasant,
Speaker 1: Throw interest into them, and the difficulty will vanish, and
Speaker 1: you will come out of it much stronger and filled
Speaker 1: with a nuisance of power mentrum affirmation. I have a will.
Speaker 1: It is my inalienable property and right. I determine to
Speaker 1: cultivate and devel by practice and exercise. My mind is
Speaker 1: obedient to my will. I desert my will over my mind.
Speaker 1: I am master of my mind and body. I asert
Speaker 1: my mastery. My will is dynamic, full of force and
Speaker 1: energy and power. I feel my strength. I am strong,
Speaker 1: I am forceful, I am vital. I am center of consciousness, energy,
Speaker 1: strength and power. And I claim my birthright.