|
In the technique of forming mental pictures we must emphasize the importance of concentration, a
principle about which many people talk and write - but which few know how to put into practice.
It is easy to form a mental picture. Everyone has done so and continue to do so to a greater or lesser
extent. Day dreams are such pictures. Even the most 'unimaginative' person forms pictures in his
mind of the desires or longings are closest to his heart.
Ideas must express themselves, and in order to become
full-fledged ideas they must picture
themselves in one's consciousness. If you propose to build a house, you may be
hazy about details
but you have some idea of about how you expect it to look, and you try to convey your general
mental picture to your architect, leaving the detailed drawings and specifications to him, if you are
wise. In forming thought-forms, you are commending your ideas to the Great Architect of the
Universe.
The more your retain your pictured idea in your mind, seldom letting it out of your consciousness,
even though you may be engaged in other matters, the stronger that picture becomes. It grows by
its own nature, for growth is a Cosmic law that applies to things on the mental plane as well as on
the physical. Concentration means being of 'one mind' for the period in which you are holding your
thought-form for impression upon the Universal Mind. There must be no confusion. You cannot
develop your thought-form and impress it upon the Universal Mind and at the same time allow side
thoughts to flit across your mental vision. Development of concentration is natural to some, difficult
for others: but any normal person CAN develop it by perseverance.
If, at the start, your mind wanders, bring it back to focus again and again until your picture remains
clear and unobscured. Again, if your mind persists in wandering in spite of all your efforts it shows
that what you think you desire does not take the precedence it should and that is it not, for the
moment, the all-absorbing interest in your life. To be successful, it MUST be the all-absorbing interest,
to the exclusion of all else at that time. This does not mean that you must think of nothing else at
any time. Go about your ordinary affairs, but with the knowledge that the thought-form upon you
are working is very close beneath your surface consciousness and can be brought up for focus at
any moment. Have an underlying consciousness of your supreme desire and as many times as
possible each day bring it to focus and impress it again and again upon the Universal Mind.
In concentrating upon your thought-form, hold it steady, clear and fixed. But there is another way
in which you can help. Meditate upon it. Meditation is somewhat like concentration but not the same.
In concentration, the thought or idea is held fixed. In meditation, the general idea is held, but one
allows the mind to revolve the idea in every direction, developing its possibilities, and then adding
such developments to the fixed idea. Then contemplate calmly and
expectantly its working out.
Now notice carefully that it is not by concentration or meditation that you consciously create
circumstances. It is only by impressing your thought-forms on the subjective and visualizing them
worked out that you bring them about. Concentration and meditation are needed to help you do
this stamping. Your will holds the thought constant in its purpose - but the thought alone creates.
The sort of concentrative ability you need must be the vigorous, active kind that will operate
anywhere and under any conditions without an external stimulus. In seeking this, first relax. Close
the eyes. Take a comfortable posture. In other words, remove external distractions. Allow your mind
to calm down. Then develop the picture of your desire. Fill in as many details as you want without
specifying how they shall come about. Gradually, like a photographic film developing, the picture
will take on more meaning, until it suddenly jumps into completion. Then fix it. Hold on to it for o
few minutes. Then banish it and forget it. Relax. Later on, recall the picture to your mind. Repeat
this process often. There is no such thing as too much concentration, unless you do so much of it
at any one time that you become over tired.
|
