The Teachings / Hypsoconsciousness / Improving Concentration

If we watch ourselves carefully we could say that "we do not think". In fact, how can we think if we are not able to stop thinking?

There is a close relationship between thought activity and eye movement: If we can calm the eyes, our imagination will also become calm. Our thoughts have an extraordinary influence on our emotional states and on our reactions.

Our thoughts have an extraordinary influence on our emotional and nervous states. They serve as guidelines for nervous tension and our emotional and mental condition.

The thoughts which regularly cross our mind are real cornerstones upon which we construct our material life, and the emotional state they evoke is equivalent to their intent and quality.

If we are watching a violent scene in a movie, our muscles unconsciously imitate the action we are viewing.

We inadvertently reproduce muscular tensions we observe in other people. Therefore, people copy the tense state from all individuals they deal with on a daily basis.

One of the most damaging habits with regards to our thoughts is when we let our imagination wander, when we day-dream,or build castles in the air. After a time practicing this habit, the person gradually drifts away from reality, to such an extent that they confuse their imagination with reality.

One of the most important characteristics of thought is the lack of control we have over it. But, thought can be educated to a certain degree with our willpower.

There is an intimate relationship between imagination and the movement of one's eyes. Therefore, if we can calm our imagination, we can also calm our eyes. Consequently, if we relax our eyes, our imagination will become less active. One's eyes, therefore, are the instrument of control  with which to dominate the imagination.

Mental concentration is defined as the capacity to focus our attention on one thing at a time, and exclude everything else. The more things an individual needs to attend to at once, the more divided his or her “I” will be.

Techniques for achieving concentration of the mind are invariably based on the individual voluntarily selecting a special emotional activity to which the person assigns complete importance exclusivity, concentration and focus. When this happens, the individual is totally indifferent to everything outside of the object of interest.

The process of concentration by nature involves “a patient focusing of the imagination” that is deliberately carried out.

The only mental rest that is truly effective is when one can “make one’s mind blank,” which is a state of mental void where the flow of thought is temporarily suspended. A mental void is a momentary “paralysis” of the thought process. This is achieved voluntarily.

The following exercises are used to:

• Raise one’s level of consciousness.
• Stop the uncontrolled flow of thoughts.
• Attain control and be able to “freeze” the thoughts at will.
• Create a state of mental and psychic relaxation.
• Intensify one’s capacity to pay attention.
• Raise one’s mental state.
• Train oneself to be able to completely and freely use one’s willpower and creative thoughts.
• Reduce physical fatigue.

Experiment A

• Make a rudimentary pendulum with a piece of thin string (12 inches long) and tie a ring or a key to it.
• Sit at a table and put your elbows upon it, so that the palms of your hands are joined at chin level.
• Hold the improvised pendulum by the thread so that the weight is hanging between the middle fingers of both bands with finger tips joined.
• Now, try to keep the pendulum immobile. With your eyes open, imagine that the pendulum begins to swing back and forth, towards and away from your body.
• You must intently wish the pendulum to swing. After a few minutes, you will discover that the pendulum in fact begins to swing in the direction you imagined.
• Change the direction imagining that the pendulum is swinging from left to right, that is, from elbow to elbow, and the pendulum will begin to move accordingly.

Why does the pendulum move? The movement of the pendulum follows the direction of the experimenter's imagination showing that slight unconscious movements made with his/her fingers give form to the image that existed in his/her mind.


Experiment B

• Close your eyes and imagine clearly that you are standing beside a railway.
• Imagine that a train is approaching from the left and passes in front of you, disappearing to the right.
• Try to imaginatively visualize the passing of the train from left to right.
• During this experiment, observe what happens to your eyeballs, which despite the fact that your eyelids are closed, will move and follow the direction of the train.

What is revealed by the fact that the eyeballs move in the imagined direction? The movement of the eyeballs shows that there is a close relationship between thought and eye movement.


Exercise No. 1 - Relaxation and Thought Control

• Imagine you are looking backwards through your own brain as if your field of vision were inverted and turned backwards. You should NOT imagine that your eyes turn around in their sockets, but that they remain in their usual position, however seeing backwards.
• Just like a lantern (the eye) that suddenly begins to shine backwards instead of forward.
• When you practice the exercise with your eyes open, you must keep your eyes looking forward without turning them sideways or fixing them on anything in particular.
• This exercise produces a parallel vision, that is, one that does not converge, which is precisely what in time, lets your gaze be calm and soft, without there being any tension in your vision.

Exercise No. 2 - Mental Concentration

Take any object; place it on a table and observe it closely for three to five minutes until you perceive all its details. There must be no haste or worry about how long the exercise takes. You should rather be absorbed in the contemplation of the object.

After having observed it, close your eyes and try to reproduce it in your imagination as accurately as possible. Open your eyes and now compare the degree of likeness that you attained mentally with the actual object before you.


Exercise No. 3 - Mental Void

Stage 1:

Sitting comfortably or lying on your back, close your eyes and begin to focus your attention upon them. After a while, you will notice contractions and movements of your eyeballs and a tendency to blink continuously, despite the fact that your eyes are closed. By using your willpower, you should try to stop the slight fluttering of your eyelids and the muscular tension of the eyes.

Persevere until you observe that all the nervous activity in both eyes and eyelids has disappeared. This ends the first stage.

Stage 2:

Now, forget your eyes and fix your attention on your breathing, that is, feel each inhalation and exhalation, trying to identify with the slight movement of the expansion and contraction of the thorax.

Clearly feel the alteration of breathing in and out, in and out, in and out. You should NOT breathe deeply, just breathe normally.

Stage 3:

After a while, when you feel that you have reached perfect identification with your breathing, you should forget the respiration process and focus your attention on the imaginative visualization of the color black, which should continue until it vanishes.

• The whole exercise must be done in a state of total immobility, keeping the body as inert as possible.
• You should not proceed to the next stage without having mastered the former.
• The division of this exercise in three stages should only be followed during the learning period. Once you have mastered the exercise, the three stages should become virtually fused into one.

In order to evaluate the results of this training, please fill out the first stage of the self-evaluation before beginning (see below).

Objectives:

The student or practitioner should be able to:

• Achieve a state of physical and mental relaxation at will.
• Economize energy to raise his or her state of mind.
• Improve mental concentration.
• Stop mechanical thoughts.
• Develop creative thoughts.

Stages:

First Week:

• Exercise: General Relaxation and Thought Control.
• Duration: 10 Minutes.
• Frequency: Once a day.

During this first stage, the individual achieves physical and mental relaxation. This exercise allows one to achieve a parallel vision, that is, vision that does not converge, but which is precisely what provokes the desired state of relaxation.

Second Week:

• Exercise: Mental Concentration.
• Duration: 5 Minutes.
• Frequency: Once a day.

During this period, the intent is to increase the intensity of the attention. This reinforces the unity of the “I” by observing an object for a certain amount of time.

Third Week:

• Exercise: Mental Void.
• Duration: 20 Minutes.
• Frequency: Once a day.

This period one strives to achieve complete rest of the mind without the presence of thought.

Fourth Week:

Do all the exercises deliberately throughout the day, integrating them with your activities.

Education of thoughts for improving concentration

To assist with the self-evaluation process, we will point out some characteristics that indicate a high level of consciousness.

• Self Control.
• Voluntary Relaxation.
• A permanent and stable attitude of peace and tranquility.
• Improvement in one’s health and vitality.
• Greater efficiency at work with less fatigue.
• Freedom from disturbing ideas.
• Isolation from the negative influences of the environment.
• Delay in the aging process.
• Self-determination.
• Voluntary use of the mind to attain success.
• A greater capacity to adapt, and improved intellectual flexibility.
• Spiritual, moral, and intellectual betterment.

We recommend that you print this self-evaluation and complete it twice.

• Before you start on the training program, to get to know your starting point in each of the aspects.
• After the training program, to evaluate the results based on the reference points of the first self-evaluation.

Evaluate these aspects and choose the appropriate answer:

Come to your own conclusions about what you have achieved through your experience of practicing the exercise:

Check whether most of your answers were A, B, or C and according to the results read the corresponding paragraph.

If your final answers were mostly A, it means that you are carrying out a conscious and real work. Keep it up! Increase the frequency and impeccability of each of these exercises. You have discovered a new way to consolidate yourself as a person focused on forming an individual identity.

If your final answers were mostly B, it means that your level of achievement is moderate and it shows that perhaps you need to commit yourself more in order to be more constant. Even though you have been able to improve certain aspects, there is still room for further improvement.

If your final answers are mostly C, it implies a deficient level of achievement. Remember that the unconscious mechanisms of our behavior are difficult to overcome unless we use a great deal of willpower and are highly motivated from within. Try again, because, while practicing these exercises you will surely discover that you actually did feel inner peace and harmony. The results that will improve your life are waiting for you. It is all up to you.

In any case: compare your results and notice where you improved and where you did not improve. This will give you an idea of the direction you must take from now on. We all have aspects that are more difficult for us to overcome. These are the things we are stuck on and that drain our vital energy.

Raising one's level of consciousness permits the individual to get closer to reality and face life's difficulties with power and firmness. When one raises one's level of consciousness, one can remain optimistic and full of "joie de vivre," understanding that all experiences can be used for one's spiritual, moral and intellectual improvement, in other words, for one's total and complete development.