The book describes a number of practical exercises for developing concentration, broken into five series, with some additional exercises. The exercises are designed to be followed sequentially, and it is advised not to skip ahead. The exercises also involve using colors, visualization, and sound.
Part I: Preparatory Exercises
- Mental Travels Before starting the numbered exercises, it is recommended to do a general training of the mind.
- Look attentively around a room for five minutes to memorize objects.
- Mentally walk the same route, visualizing everything that was seen without any gaps in observation.
- Extend the walk to the front door, the rear of the house, the front gate, a street corner, and then a bus stop.
- The real ‘observation’ or ‘walk’ should not exceed 15 minutes.
- The mental part should be done with eyes open and without ear plugs.
- Any distractions should be avoided during this exercise.
- This exercise is a preparation for Exercises 1 and 1A.
- Willpower Exercises To develop willpower, which is needed for concentration, one should control impulses, feelings, and speech in everyday life. Willpower grows proportionally to the amount of impulses and words suppressed. This includes limiting speech, emotions, impulses, and desires.
Part II: Series of Exercises
- General Principles:
- A suitable time and place should be chosen for the exercises where there will be no disturbance.
- Sit on a chair or stool without leaning back, for proper flow of energy.
- The body should be comfortable, and the position should be able to be maintained for hours.
- Breathing should be natural and easy, but a basic ‘pranayama’ may be useful for finding a natural rhythm of breathing.
- Inhale for a count of 1-2-3-4, hold, exhale, and hold empty, each for the same count. This cycle can be repeated as needed.
- The count may be adjusted as needed, or one can use the syllable ‘Om’ in place of numbers.
- A clock with a sweep second hand is needed.
- No glaring light should strike the eyes during the exercises.
- Exercises should not be done on a full stomach or when overly sleepy or tired.
- It is important to keep to the same time each day for exercises.
- Alcoholic drinks should be excluded, and excessive smoking should be avoided.
- A suitable inspiring thought should be used to substitute for distracting feelings or thoughts. This is not the same as a mantra.
- Before each exercise, use the “preliminaries” described in Chapter XIV, which involve deliberately losing interest in uncontrolled thinking.
- No other exercises should be tried until the current one is mastered.
- First Series (Elementary Exercises):
- Exercise No. 1: Red Pranayama. Concentrate on the point of the second hand of a watch, starting at a short duration and slowly working up to 2 minutes, and then to 10 minutes. If a thought intrudes, start again. This is an attack on the mind using sight.
- Exercise No. 1A: Red Pranayama. Concentrate on a short sound such as the word “Om,” to be done immediately after Exercise No. 1 or at the second daily session if doing two. Can be done with eyes closed if preferred.
- Exercises 1 and 1A should be continued until they can be performed for 5 minutes each, before moving on.
- During exercises 1 and 1A, the body may be kept still, or one can try rhythmically moving the head in different directions while maintaining the exercise.
- The final aim of the first series is 10 minutes of uninterrupted concentration for each exercise. Only one exercise should be done at any particular session.
- Second Series:
- Exercise No. 2: Yellow Pranayama. Focus on a steel pin-head, examining it from all sides with attention to detail. Use a magnifying glass if needed to examine it and memorize it, and then visualize it with closed eyes. After 2 minutes, do Exercise No 1A for 2 minutes, and then alternate. Extend the time to 10 minutes for observation and visualization.
- Exercise No. 2A: Orange Pranayama. Repeat the syllable ‘Om’ mentally, whispered, or aloud, and count each repetition. The goal is to reach 5000 repetitions a day, at which point one can dispense with this exercise and devote more time to Exercise 2.
- Addition ‘A’: Blue Pranayama (Optional). A “Solar accumulator action” to strengthen the physical body and harmonize astro-mental activities. Performed in a secluded place in the sun between 8 and 10 AM. Raise arms, palms open, for a few minutes to receive energy, then close hands and bring to different parts of the body, breathing in and exhaling as you do so.
- Addition ‘B’: (Optional). A “Lunar accumulator action,” similar to the Solar exercise but using the moon at night. Visualize the moon’s energy transmitting into the finger tips, then into the body.
- Third Series (Advanced Exercises):
- Exercise No. 3: Yellow Pranayama. After the usual preparation, gaze intently at a pinhead, then close the eyes and visualize the pin-head from all sides simultaneously, as if the object is in the center of a field of vision. The pin-head should be visualized in total blackness. After a lapse in concentration, multiply the time of concentration by three, and work towards that length of time. Work up to 5 minutes and then 10 minutes. Ear plugs should not be used in the final two weeks.
- Exercise No. 3A: Orange Pranayama. Similar to No. 3, but with open eyes. The aim is for 5 minutes of seeing the pin-head from all sides without any other thoughts or attention to inner or outer worlds.
- Artificial Means of Defense These are techniques to defend against intruding thoughts:
- Odic Armour: Visualize a protective, transparent shell around oneself. With every exhalation, purify the inside of the “cell”.
- Mantra: Choose a short sentence or prayer and repeat it for 3 to 5 minutes. It’s important to feel at ease with the chosen mantra, and not switch to another one.
- Select one of these two defenses, or neither, depending on your need.
- Fourth Series:
- Exercise No. 4: Red Pranayama. Sit and close your eyes (ear plugs may be used temporarily), and visualize a rotating disc of about twelve inches diameter on a black background. Multiply this time by three and make this the daily target. The final goal is ten minutes of uninterrupted practice.
- Exercise No. 4A: Red Pranayama. After completing exercise 4, each day diminish the size of the rotating disc by one inch, until it becomes the size of a pea and finally a white point. Take as many days as needed to perform the visualization exactly. The final aim is 10 minutes of visualization at each stage.
- Exercise No. 5: Green Pranayama. Watch the rapidly whirling little white point on the black backdrop for 10 minutes, without any thoughts. In this state, one should be independent of all outer influences.
- Exercise No. 6: Green Pranayama. Repeat exercise 5A, but with open ?eyes.
- Exercise No. 6A: Green Pranayama. Visualize the white point for a few minutes, and then expand it to a revolving disc of one inch in diameter, and then larger over a few minutes until it is twelve inches.
- Fifth Series (Final Exercises):
- Exercise No. 7: Yellow or Light-Green Pranayama. Imagine a black background with closed eyes. Gradually lighten the blackness to dark grey, then medium grey, then a lighter shade, until it is as clear as water with no definite color. Repeat this as often as possible.
- Exercise No. 7A: Yellow or Light-Green Pranayama. Do exercise 7, but with open eyes under all conditions (except dangerous ones). This is to be practiced whenever possible and for any duration possible. This exercise aims at having a new silent consciousness alive in you, separate from yet a part of everything.
- Exercise No. 8: Violet Pranayama. Focus on the space surrounding the universe, including galaxies and solar systems. The attention should be withdrawn from seeing itself. Aim at remaining in this state for 10 minutes.
- Exercise No. 8A: Violet Pranayama. Repeat No. 8, but with eyes and ears open. The time target is 10 minutes.
- Exercise No. 9: Crystal-White Pranayama. With the senses of sight and hearing withdrawn, and excluding all thoughts, imagine an infinite, colorless, transparent background surrounding you on every side.
- Exercise No. 9A: Crystal-White Pranayama. Similar to No. 9 but the exercise should be performed with open eyes and ears.
Part III: Additional Considerations
- Checking Progress: Periodically go back to previous exercises and check if they are still performed flawlessly. It is important to do a check away from your usual practice location.
- Applying Concentration: The book also suggests how to apply concentration to everyday problems by excluding all thoughts and considering a problem from all points of view. Then stop thinking and be aware of your desire for the solution. The solution will come when you do this.
- Spiritual Aspects: The book also discusses the spiritual aspects of concentration and the goal of reaching a state of true meditation. It emphasizes the importance of an inner attitude of peace and disinterest in uncontrolled thinking, using techniques like the Vichara (Self-inquiry) to move beyond thinking
- Moral Considerations Moral character and intentions are key for this work. The author mentions it is important to be harmless, good in actions, and have pure intentions
This comprehensive list of exercises, combined with the foundational principles and advice provided in the sources, should provide a practical path for someone wishing to develop their concentration skills.
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