LESSON XV. CONCENTRATE SO YOU WILL NOT FORGET

A man forgets because he does not concentrate his mind on hispurpose, especially at the moment he conceives it. We rememberonly that which makes a deep impression, hence we must firstdeepen our impressions by associating in our minds certain ideasthat are related to them.

We will say a wife gives her husband a letter to mail. He doesnot think about it, but automatically puts it in his pocket andforgets all about it. When the letter was given to him had hesaid to himself, "I will mail this letter. The box is at the nextcorner and when I pass it I must drop this letter," it would haveenabled him to recall the letter the instant he reached the mailbox.

The same rule holds good in regard to more important things. Forexample, if you are instructed to drop in and see Mr. Smith whileout to luncheon today, you will not forget it, if, at the momentthe instruction is given, you say to yourself something similarto the following:

"When I get to the corner of Blank street, on my way to luncheon,I shall turn to the right and call on Mr. Smith." In this way theimpression is made, the connection established and the sight ofthe associated object recalls the errand.

The important thing to do is to deepen the impression at the verymoment it enters your mind. This is made possible, not only byconcentrating the mind upon the idea itself, but by surroundingit with all possible association of ideas, so that each one willreinforce the others.

The mind is governed by laws of association, such as the law thatideas which enter the mind at the same time emerge at the sametime, one assisting in recalling the others.

The reason why people cannot remember what they want to is thatthey have not concentrated their minds sufficiently on theirpurpose at the moment when it was formed.

You can train yourself to remember in this way by theconcentration of the attention on your purpose, in accordancewith the laws of association.

When once you form this habit, the attention is easily centeredand the memory easily trained. Then your memory, instead offailing you at crucial moments, becomes a valuable asset in yourevery-day work.

Exercise in Memory Concentration. Select some picture; put it ona table and then look at it for two minutes. Concentrate yourattention on this picture, observe every detail; then shut youreyes and see how much you can recall about it. Think of what thepicture represents; whether it is a good subject; whether itlooks natural. Think of objects in foreground, middle ground,background; of details of color and form. Now open your eyes andhold yourself rigidly to the correction of each and everymistake. Close eyes again and notice how much more accurate yourpicture is. Practice until your mental image corresponds in everyparticular to the original.

Nature is a Wonderful Instructor. But there are very few whorealize that when we get in touch with nature we discoverourselves. That by listening to her voice, with that curious,inner sense of ours, we learn the oneness of life and wake up toour own latent powers.

Few realize that the simple act of listening and concentrating isour best interior power, for it brings us into close contact withthe highest, just as our other senses bring us into touch withthe coarser side of human nature. The closer we live to naturethe more developed is this sense. "So called" civilization hasover developed our other senses at the expense of this one.

Children unconsciously realize the value of concentration--forinstance: When a Child has a difficult problem to solve, and getsto some knotty point which he finds himself mentally unable todo--though he tries his hardest--he will pause and keep quitestill, leaning on his elbow, apparently listening; then you willsee, if you are watching, sudden illumination come and he goes onhappily and accomplishes his task. A child instinctively butunconsciously knows when he needs help, he must be quiet andconcentrate.

All great people concentrate and owe their success to it. Thedoctor thinks over the symptoms of his patient, waits, listensfor the inspiration, though quite unconscious, perhaps, of doingso. The one who diagnoses in this way seldom makes mistakes. Anauthor thinks his plot, holds it in his mind, and then waits, andillumination comes. If you want to be able to solve difficultproblems you must learn to do the same.