CONCENTRATION

One of the definitions of concentration is « to be in the present ». This means concentrating on what we are doing or experiencing at every moment of our lives, without looking back at the past with our memories or into the future with our imagination. This will make us more aware.

When we are present, the energy centers are in harmony and work together. There is no tiredness or depression. There is activity, health, efficiency, creativity and well being. The best way to learn the “art of being in the present” is to concentrate on what we are doing by using each of the five senses. We can use this to improve our capacity to concentrate throughout the day no matter where we are. This is more accessible than the classic meditation exercise where you need to set aside a particular time during the day.

Below we will give some examples that you can try for each one of the senses. Each time you concentrate on a sense, try to note the thoughts that interrupted your concentration. These thoughts are a veil – which prevent a healthy relationship with those around us.

SIGHT
Take a flower arrangement, a beautiful landscape or a simple, natural object. Look at it for 2 to 3 minutes. Then close your eyes and try to visualize it in as much detail as possible. Open your eyes and evaluate how accurate you were. In what detail were you able to represent the chosen subject?
Do this exercise with all that you see, look at everything with interest, as if you were seeing it for the first time.

TASTE
Take a fruit, a biscuit or some other simple food. Close your eyes and put it in your mouth. Eat it very slowly and concentrate on the taste – be it salty, sweet or bitter.
Rediscover all the flavors and their effects on your mouth and organism. Enjoy the simple pleasure without any associated thoughts.
Try this exercise every time you eat. You will see that with a lot less food you will get more satisfaction and energy.

SMELL
Choose a scented object like a perfume, a flower, an essential oil or a spice.
Sit comfortably with your eyes closed. Hold the object in front of your nose and concentrate for a minute or two on the scent. Then hold it further away and try to continue to smell the fragrance. Observe how long you can hold this fragrance in your mind. Repeat this exercise often, until you can smell the fragrance whenever and wherever you are.

TOUCH
Put some pieces of material such as velvet, lace, wool or silk in front of you. Close your eyes touch and observe the different vibrations, which you may feel due to their color, texture etc…
Take some slices of cucumber, loose tea and corn flakes. With your eyes closed, try to feel the consistency of each object. Try to feel the sensitivity of your fingers. Clear any thoughts associated with this sense.

HEARING
Concentrate on a piece of music, natural sounds (waves, wind, birds, water flowing) or on your heartbeat. Relax and see how much you can be in unity with what you are listening to. Repeat this exercise often so that you can listen to others without being polluted with associated thoughts. Observe how much the ears are affected by not listening and not understanding those around us.