Power Of "Concentration".

"The powers of the mind are like the rays of the sun. When they are concentrated, they illumine." - Swami Vivekananda

When I was a child, I saw how a magnifying glass could burn a piece of paper, when the rays of the sun were focused through it on one point. The fire could only be ignited, when the sun's rays were concentrated on a small point. When the magnifying glass was moved far away, or close to the paper, the rays were not focused enough, and nothing happened.

This experience, describes vividly, how the power of concentration works. It is a skill, which enables you to fix your attention on one single thought or subject, while at the same time excluding from your awareness everything else.

"The power of concentration manifests as focused attention and as a one-pointed mind."

When you focus your mind, you conserve your energies and do not dissipate them on irrelevant thoughts or activities. This is why developing concentration is vital for anyone aspiring to be more efficient and take charge of his or her life. This skill is vital for every kind of success. Without it, your efforts get scattered, but with it, you can accomplish great things.

Concentration has many uses and benefits. It assists in studying, enables faster comprehension, improves the memory, helps in focusing on a task, job or goal, and therefore, achieving them more easily and efficiently. It is a powerful tool for the efficient use of creative visualization, and it also helps in developing psychic powers.

When this ability is strong, the mind obeys you more readily and does not engage in futile, negative thoughts or worries. This ability plays an important role in meditation, gaining mental mastery, and attaining peace of mind. Without it, the mind just jumps restlessly from one thought to another, not allowing you to meditate properly.

Do you now realize, why it is very important and worthwhile to develop and improve the ability to concentrate? To develop this power you need to train and exercise it. Forget all your excuses about not having the time or being too busy. Do not say that the circumstances are not appropriate, or that you cannot find a quiet place to exercise. With a little planning, desire and motivation, you can always find the time to exercise each day, no matter how busy you are.

To develop this ability, you have to train your mind. Most people believe that concentration is a strenuous and tiring activity and that it involves exertion and tension, which are difficult and unpleasant. This belief, which usually starts at an early age, is not true.

Parents and teachers expect children to study, do their homework and get good grades. Sometimes, they use disciplinary measures against the children. This makes the children feel forced to do something they don't like doing. Telling a child often, that he or she is not concentrating well enough, creates a subconscious aversion to concentration and study. These become associated with coercion, lack of freedom, and doing something they do not like to do. When children grow up, it is no wonder that their power of concentration is too weak.

Though most people would admit that good concentration is a great asset, yet, most of them, do nothing to strengthen it, because they don't know how, and because they lack the motivation to do so. Concentration can be fun if approached in the right way. It should be practiced with joy, positive attitude, optimism, and understanding of its great possibilities.