English
And, on the other hand, there is no surer indication of a weak mind than the deficiency in Attention. This weakness may arise from illness or physical weakness reacting upon the brain, in which case the trouble is but temporary. Or it may arise from a lack of mental develop¬ ment. Imbeciles and idiots have little or no Attention. The great French psychologist, Luys, speaking of this RAJA ' YOGA ays, “ Imbeciles and idiots see badly, hear adly, and their sensorium is, in consequence,’^iiw" ilar condition of sensitive poverty. Its impression¬ ability for the things of the external world is at a mini¬ mum, its sensibility weak, and, consequently, it is difficult to provoke the physiological condition necessary for the absorption of the external impression.” In old age the Attention is the first faculty to show signs of decay. Some authorities have held that the Memory was the first faculty to be affected by the approach of old age, but this is incorrect, for it is a matter of common experience that the aged manifest a wonder¬ fully clear memory of events occurring in the far past. The reason that their memory of recent events is so poor is because their failing powers of Attention have prevented them from receiving strong, clear mental impressions, and as is the impression so is the memory. Their early im¬ pressions having been clear and strong, are easily recalled, while their later ones, being weak, are recalled with diffi¬ culty. If the Memory were at fault, it would be difficult for them to recall any impression, recent or far distant in time. But we must stop quoting examples and authorities, and urging upon you the importance of the faculty of Attention. If you do not now realize it, it is because you have not given the subject the Attention that you should have exercised, and further repetition would not remedy matters. Admitting the importance of Attention, from the psycho¬ logical point of view, not to speak of the occult side of the subject, is it not a matter of importance for you to start in to cultivate that faculty? Wc think so. And the only way to cultivate any mental or physical part of faculty is to Exercise it. Exercise “ uses up ” a muscle, or mental faculty, but the organism makes haste to rush to THE CULTIVATION OF ATTENTION sne additional material—cell-stuff, nerve forced •air the waste, and it always sends a little more than needed. And this “ little more,” continually accruing and increasing, is what increases the muscles and brain centres. And improved and strengthened brain centres give the mind better instruments with which to work. One of the first things to do in the cv’dvation of Attention is to learn to think of, and do, one thing at a time. Acquiring the “ knack ” or habit of attending closely to the things before us, and then passing on to the next and treating it in the same way, is most conducive to success, and its practice is the best exercise for the cultiva¬ tion of the faculty of Attention. And on the contrary, there is nothing more harmful from the point of view of successful performance—and nothing that will do more to destroy the power of giving Attention—than the habit of trying to do one thing while thinking of another. The thinking part of the mind and the acting part should work together, not in opposition. Dr. Beattie, speaking of this subject, tells us: “ It is a matter of no small importance that we acquire the habit of doing only one thing at a time; by which I mean that, while attending to any one object, our thoughts ought not to wander to another.” And Granville adds: A frequent cause of failure in the faculty of Attention is striving to think of more than one thing at a time.” And Kay quotes, approvingly, a writer who says: “ She did things easily, because she attended to them in the doing. When she made bread, she thought of the bread, and not of the fashion of her next dress, or of her partner at the last dance.” Lord Chesterfield said, “ There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at a time; but there is not time enough in the year if you try to do two things at a time.” To attain the best results one should practise concen- misT/t), RAJA YOGA upon the task before him, shutting out, as^ le, every other idea or thought. One should* 1 'get self—personality—in such cases, as there is nothing more destructive of good thinking than to allow morbid self-consciousness to intrude. One does best when he “ forgets himself ” in his work, and sinks his personality in the creative work. The “ earnest ” man or woman is the one who sinks personality in the desired result, or per¬ formance of the task undertaken. The actor, or preacher, or orator, or writer, must lose sight of himself to get the best results. Keep the Attention fixed on the thing before you, and let the self take care of itself. In connection with the above, we may relate an anec¬ dote of Whateley that may be interesting in connection with the consideration of this subject of “ losing one’s self ” in the task. He was asked for a recipe for “ bash¬ fulness,” and replied that the person was bashful simply because he was thinking of himself and the impression he was making. His recipe was that the young man should think of others—of the pleasure he could give them—and in that way he would forget all about himself. The pre¬ scription is said to have effected the cure. The same authority has written: “ Let both the extemporary speaker, and the reader of his own compositions, study to avoid as far as possible all thoughts of self, earnestly fixing the mind on the matter of what is delivered; and they will feel less that embarrassment which arises from the thought of what opinion the hearers will form of them.” The same writer, Whateley, seems to have made quite a study of Attention, and has given us some interesting information on its details. The following may be read with interest, and if properly understood may be em¬ ployed to advantage. He says: “ It is a fact, and a ver curious one, that many people find that they can bes the cultivation of attention I2l!n" n y seri< ? us , matter when they are occupied™ nS el f whlch rec l Llires a little, and but a lit? oanerT' ™ 7°^ with the needle > cutting open Paper leaves, or, for want of some such employment reasoffor^ f the fi fingers ’’ He do “ not give the ason for this, and at first sight it might seem like a ontradiction of the “ one thing at a time ” idea. But a cl° ser exammation will show us that the minor work or auS'"' is in he of an fflC or nn T movement, inasmuch as it requires little no voluntary attention, and seems to “ do itself.” it oes not take olf the Attention from the main subject ofte.ft rhap f a r tS - t0 CatCh the “ Waste Atten tion ” that often tries to divide the Attention from some voluntary thi2 rSf* ThC habU mind may be d0in § one ^ng, one m2 h A tl0n K . fiXed ° n another - For instance, t °" e r y u , Wnting W,th his attention firmly fixed upon the thought he wishes to express, while at the timS S given^f R 71T S ’: ‘ p P are ntly with no attention to writing trv trf Ut Ct a u b ° y ’ 0r person unaccustomed you wnffin/2 fl PrS ? S J IS thou S hts in this way, and thonohn L fi l h r at he ,s hampered in the flow of his to the m/i the h"! 01 tbat he has t0 give much attention the hecin amCa aCt of writ i n g- In the same w? pose to thT ° n < the typewriter finds it difficult to com- the mech'inicTi 301106, Wh ' le lhe ex P eri enced typist finds flovv o7f, U movements no hindrance whatever to the fmd d USht and f ° CUSin S of Attention ; in fact, many find that they can compose much better while using the ^pewnter than they can by dictating to a stenog aphe, We think you will see the principle " P ' And now for a little Mental Drill in Attention that faculty^ ^ StarlCd ° n the r ° ad t0 Cultivate tbis important raja Yoga Mental Drill in Attention /. Begin by taking some familiar object and placing it before you; try to get as many impressions regarding it as is possible for you. Study its shape, its colour, its size, and the thousand and one little peculiari¬ ties about it that present themselves to your attention. In doing this, reduce the thing to its simplest parts— analyse it as far as is possible—dissect it, mentally, and study its parts in detail. The more simple and small the part to be considered, the more clearly will the impression be received, and the more vividly will it be recalled. Reduce the thing to the smallest possible proportions, and then examine each portion, and, mastering that, then pass on to the next part, and so on, until you have covered the entire field. Then, when you have exhausted the object, take a pencil and paper and put down as nearly as possible all the things or details of the object examined. When you have done this, compare the written descrip¬ tion with the object itself, and see how many things you have failed to note. The next day take up the same object, and after re-examining it, write down the details, and you will find that you will have stored away a greater number of impressions regarding it, and, moreover, you will have discovered many new details during your second exam¬ ination. This exercise strengthens the memory as well as the Attention, for the two are closely connected, the memory depending largely upon the clearness and strength of the impressions received, while the impres¬ sions depend upon the amount of attention given to the thing observed. Do not tire yourself with this exercise, for a tired Attention is a poor Attention. Better try it by degrees, increasing the task a little each time you try it.