Mental Concentration

In our material life we have various abilities to perform different tasks. All of these are the abilities of the conscious mind. For example the ability to touch, to feel, to listen, to smell, to behold, to taste, to speak, to hold, to walk, to sleep or to arise and so on all fall under that category. Various branches of knowledge like art, music, printing, liter­ature, poetry, history, science and so on and so forth are also in the same league. When someone wants to learn a skill that he or she does not already know, the first thing they need to do is to concentrate on the idea of learning that particular skill and then depending on their overall enthusiasm, the hidden qualities and abilities come to the surface. Bottom line is that to set any ability into motion the primary thing is to focus on it. No one could acquire any skill or ability without concentrat­ing on the idea of acquiring that skill. Whether it is intentional or unin­tentional, concentration is the basis of all learning and acquiring new skills.

This rule also applies to the awakening of spiritual abilities. Since we are unaware of the extent of our spiritual potential, we simply do not even attempt to focus on it. Unless someone would try to focus on his or her inner self, their spiritual abilities would never emerge.

We all know for a fact that unless any work is done using the full concentration, desired results would never be achieved. Whether it is educational, sports or spiritual, mental concentration is the backbone of all the achievements. To learn something we need an environment where there is least distraction. When we learn something new using full concentration, we usually achieve the desired results. On the other hand if the environment is full of distraction then our objective could not be achieved, no matter great our ability to learn it.

Concentration is the name of focusing the mind into one point so that it could be focused on a single thought or point. Through it, the scat­tered forces from the depth of mind converge and then surface. The rea­son why so many reflections of the soul and its unlimited force remain dormant is because the power of mental concentration is hardly used to activate the paranormal capabilities that exist within each of us.

Under the influence of emotions, thoughts, and urges, the mind is constantly changing from one state to the other. It never stays in a sin­gle state. Due to the constant influx of thoughts, we failed to perceive the stations that are the source of our origin.

Example

Radio stations throughout the world relay their transmission on the air through radio waves. Each wave has its own frequency. The various radio sets receiving the transmission are receivers, because they receive the transmission. To receive those transmissions radio sets must be tuned to the same frequency, which is the frequency of that radio sta­tion. It is our daily routine that whenever we want to hear our favorite radio station, all we have to do is to adjust the switch to the relaying sta­tion's frequency. When the receiving frequency corresponds to the relay­ing frequency we start hearing our favorite station.

All radio stations relay their programming in different frequencies. When the frequencies do not match, we do not hear anything. In the same way if there is resistance of any kind, for example bad weather, we do not hear the clear sound. In case of television sound and picture are relayed together. We not only hear the sound but watch the pictures as well in different channels.

In the same way human consciousness is also a receiver. The infor­mation that is stored in the depth of the mind transmits itself in various forms to the consciousness. Some information is displayed in the form of pictures, some in the form of imagination. Others are received in the form of thought, while some are also received as sound.

We all know for a fact that thoughts come to our mind involuntari­ly. There is not a single moment in our life when we are free of thoughts. What we do not realize is the urges for food and water to end our hunger and thirst are also thoughts. And so are our needs for sleep or awaken­ing after sleep. Happiness, sadness, and other emotions are thoughts as well. Not only thoughts and imaginations but vision, hearing, touch are nothing but information. In fact our whole life revolves around thoughts and when this process finally ends, it culminates in death.

Law of Inventions

When a thought goes deeper, it has a way of manifesting itself. If life were something other than the thoughts then they would not have affected us. However, the truth is that when happier thoughts come to our mind, we feel serenity and peace. Scary thoughts make us fearful and when doubts enter our mind, we become anxious. From the medical point of view, this has been recognized as well. Diseases and disorders like ulcers, other digestive ailments, hypertension, depression and oth­ers either are caused or get complicated by thoughts. This is our daily observation that when we are worried or anxious, we lose our appetite. Even a remote thought about an accident or any other disaster could send our heart rate up. In the same way, we would not be able to go to work or school unless the thought of going to work or school enters our conscious mind. For instance if we wanted to build a house, the first thought that comes to our mind is the need of the house. When this thought activates we start making plans for it like getting the capital or loan, contact builders and so on. The architecture itself is stored in the human mind in the form of a thought. Therefore, when the forces of thoughts and action combine, the construction of the house starts. The house that once existed in the form of a thought manifests itself into a building.

The scriptures tell us that there is a single source of all the thoughts. That source is the Point of Self (nuqta zaat) which exists in the depths of the mind. Through this source, unlimited information (thought) is transmitted continuously. However, the information that is received by the conscious receiver is very limited. This information becomes his knowledge and memory and it is this, which we call consciousness. To receive more and detailed information we need to have higher mental concentration. When our cognition descends into our Point of Self with full mental focus, then little by little we encounter that information that is beyond the scope of our ordinary senses.

The last boundary of this transmitting information is really what consciousness is all about. To receive more and in-depth information, we have to be acquainted with our subconscious. Just as in the field of science, any new formula or invention is in fact new information. Scientists and inventors spend days, months, and sometimes years on contemplating on a point; this cognitive activity eventually sends them into the realm of subconscious that exists beyond the layers of con­sciousness. This results in the discovery or invention of something new. Therefore, even they could not come to any conclusion unless they ven­ture into the subconscious.

First, the idea about an invention enters the mind of the inventor and his mind starts to focus on it. The deeper the mind descends into the thought, the greater the thought broadens; and the form and figures of that thought begin to form. Eventually it manifests as the final inven­tion. Here we can use the invention of airplanes as an example. First in the human mind, the very idea of flight came by simply watching the birds. That curiosity or the desire to fly in space continued to guide man over time. When one generation died, it gave away its conscious inheri tance to the new generation. First, humans tried to imitate the birds by attaching wings to their bodies, but that did not work. Nevertheless, that failure did not stop the desire and so the process continued for centuries. Some like Leonardo Da Vinci came very close but the end product was still far away. Little by little, the mechanics of flight started to emerge in the mind and the concepts of air pressure and aerodynamics were final­ly revealed. And as we know it, the Wright brothers finally succeeded in making a machine that could fly and the rest is history.

All branches of knowledge, rational or intuitive, work the same way. That is, when the mind focuses on any given idea or topic with all its abilities then hidden details leap into the mind. When the cognition focuses on the outward or physical subjects, then physical knowledge is revealed and when it descends into the inner plane then esoteric knowl­edge and revelation surface.

The consciousness of a child is different from that of an adult. At the time of the birth, the child is unaware of his environment. His vision hardly stays on any object nor could he comprehend the sounds around his environment. He could not speak or sense time and space. Slowly and gradually, he learns more or less everything that is prevalent in his environment (i.e., society). Even the way of thinking is transferred from his environment to him. In this transfer, the child's will or intention also plays a part. A big chunk of knowledge that he receives comes involun­tarily from the people of his environment. He learns to speak his native language without ever receiving a formal education for that language. In the same way, he learns the meaning and use of the objects present in his environment. More or less a child sees, understands, and perceives the knowledge and consciousness of his elders. By the time he reaches adulthood, his consciousness contains roughly everything that enables him to lead the life in the same manner or style that is prevalent in his society.

To better explain consciousness we can use the example of a mirror. On it the lights fall and reflect, in the same way thoughts in the form of lights shine on consciousness and based on its knowledge and interest, it absorbs some of those while letting go of others. The lights that the consciousness absorbs stay on the screen. Man sees and feels them but those that cross its screen he is able to behold.

Example

If a clear, clean glass is placed in front of you, and you are unaware of it then you would not be able to see it. The reason is simple, the light passes through that glass, and reflection does not occur. Since there is no reflection, eyes could not see it. You might have seen people would walk towards those glass walls and only after they are hit with it that they realize that it was a glass.

The consciousness has a natural ability that when it is focused on an object, it starts absorbing the lights from it. These lights, which were then unknown, become declassified, as it gets hold of them. This hold or grasp is what we call knowledge, experience, and observation etc.

According to the Spiritual branch of knowledge, the unseen realm holds an unlimited number of these lights. In this realm of lights lie the galaxies, the species of other planets, civilizations, and spiritual myster­ies and abundance of spiritual knowledge. When you shift your focus to your inner Self then on the screen of your consciousness is information that starts to appear in the form of images and your consciousness is then able to understand them as they appear. Gradually it understands and feels them just as a child slowly gets acquainted with his environ­ment.

The will or intention plays a big part in activating your spiritual or hidden senses. When you do Muraqaba with your closed eyes, you are aware that beyond this darkness those objects do exist. This awareness helps activate your esoteric vision. At first, you get frustrated but with continued practice, your will or intention is set into motion and you with your eyes closed are able to see the unseen realm just as with open eyes you see the material world.

We all know that belief plays a major part in achieving anything. If you do not believe that New York is a city then you would never be able to get there. If we do not believe in Chemistry as a science, we would not able to learn it Ever.