08-25-2012, 12:39 AM
Concentration, here's one of the very first thing students of esoteric schools learn to do.
This is to allow them to get ready for the second step which is "Meditation".
Now there's a lot of definition of concentration and meditation out there, and I will simply give my view on what I believe they are. So your own opinions are also welcome.
Concentration is the ability to focus.
Meditation is concentration on a spiritual matter.
Concentration is not really a spiritual practice. However meditation is.
Concentration is simply a tool that helps in meditation. If you can't concentrate you can't meditate. In other words if you can't focus on one thing at once, you can't meditate, because meditation requires one to stay focus on one thing at the time.
Concentration is an ability nature has given to everyone as free gift; and maybe the most previous of free gifts nature has given us, because from that ability will come many other abilities. For example, those who know how to concentrate on God can fell his love.
Concentration is however used for many other reason than for God. It can be used to focus while reading, while studying, while cooking, while working etc. Some level of concentration is always required to everyone to do anything consciously.
The human heart (human soul, feelings) has attractions (what it loves) and usually the mind helps the heart to achieve her desires. The mind will usually go where the heart is going.
Let me explain that like this:
The heart is the big sister of the mind, the mind is the small brother. The small brother has muscles (the Will) and lots of books in his house ( knowledge). However his big sister is blind, but she has beauty (the feeling) and lost of friends ( desires ).
While the brother collects books, the sister looks for beauty. So what happens is, the sister asks his small brother who knows a lot, to take her where she can find beauty. The small brother usually says "Yes sister, I know where you will find it, hold on me and let's go, I'll guide you".
When the mind (Small Brother) shows the heart (big sister) the way to ugliness (bad feelings), this is considered as a miss use of the concentration ability; But If the mind guides the heart to find beauty, then this is meditation. So concentration has no purpose on its own, while meditation has. Concentration becomes meditation as soon as it has a purpose to focus on something spiritual.
Concentration is the activity of the mind. The mind is a boy who focuses on anything he sees, to study it; he discovers good and bad things. All he does as job is to focus, his life is just a concentration until he decides to focus on good things. Concentration and meditation are then 2 phases of the mind life. Concentration being the mind young age and meditation being the adult age of the mind. A mind that starts to meditate, has grown up.
We should be away of the fact that in the human being evolution, the heart (big sister) is first to grow ( from 7 to 14 years old), and later start to grow the mind ( from 14 to 21 years old); If you realize that, a blind daughter is first born in us in our life time, you will understand why for example puberty life time gives such a difficult time to parents, who try so hard to convince the child to think about this and that; Well, during puberty time, the heart is grown up so much, and the mind is still a small boy, too small to say a word.
Our heart arrived first so she started going and touching all sorts of feelings (bad or good), because she was born blind. And when the mind comes, he must direct his sister( the heart) , to show her the way to the beauty. And that's exactly the purpose of meditation, to guide the heart where she is meant to go.
In many people's inner world, the mind is a boy full of knowledge, some people are even seen as human Wikipedias. They are considered as intelligent in our society. They know about this and about that. That's is so wonderful! Yes it is! But let's see how angels see these people. Angels say : "Hooo if you can't help your sister with what you know, we say you are fools".
Yes our intelligence is seen as foolishness in heaven if it doesn't help us to guide our feelings and desires.
Our mind full of knowledge must help the heart full of desires. This is how the mind truly grows up; This happens when the mind goes to its second phase; And once that becomes an habit, we become wise. Then if the heart (sister) is about to be burnt, the mind (brother) must grab the heart with his hands(with his will) and pull her (the heart), to save her from the pain (sufferance).
Also in some people's inner world, the mind and the heart are in conflict. They disputes, they even fight . The heart will want something but the mind doesn't help. Or it could be the opposite, I mean, the mind tells the heart to go someplace but the heart wants something else so she doesn't want to. For example we have all noticed sometimes we want to do something, but when you think about it, your knowledge shows how bad it is to do, so you end up not doing it at all. Sometimes we have lots of good knowledge but the desires to do the good thing is absent. All these cause a lot of inner conflicts, a lot of pain. This happens when the mind and the heart do not vibrate the same; Harmony requires that the heart and the mind should work together, and the result of that is inner peace.
The heart's job is to desire higher spiritual feelings and desires and the mind's job is to guide the heart where those higher desires are, by using all its knowledge. If the mind says NO, then the heart should obey and stop.
The heart needs warm (Love). And for the love of his sister (the heart), the mind will learn how to meditate and not simply how to concentrate. The mind will look for the light that warms, he must know the way to the light of God so he can take his big sister there. That way both gets what they truly live for: the mind for the true light and the heart for the true love.
Love and light to all.
This is to allow them to get ready for the second step which is "Meditation".
Now there's a lot of definition of concentration and meditation out there, and I will simply give my view on what I believe they are. So your own opinions are also welcome.
Concentration is the ability to focus.
Meditation is concentration on a spiritual matter.
Concentration is not really a spiritual practice. However meditation is.
Concentration is simply a tool that helps in meditation. If you can't concentrate you can't meditate. In other words if you can't focus on one thing at once, you can't meditate, because meditation requires one to stay focus on one thing at the time.
Concentration is an ability nature has given to everyone as free gift; and maybe the most previous of free gifts nature has given us, because from that ability will come many other abilities. For example, those who know how to concentrate on God can fell his love.
Concentration is however used for many other reason than for God. It can be used to focus while reading, while studying, while cooking, while working etc. Some level of concentration is always required to everyone to do anything consciously.
The human heart (human soul, feelings) has attractions (what it loves) and usually the mind helps the heart to achieve her desires. The mind will usually go where the heart is going.
Let me explain that like this:
The heart is the big sister of the mind, the mind is the small brother. The small brother has muscles (the Will) and lots of books in his house ( knowledge). However his big sister is blind, but she has beauty (the feeling) and lost of friends ( desires ).
While the brother collects books, the sister looks for beauty. So what happens is, the sister asks his small brother who knows a lot, to take her where she can find beauty. The small brother usually says "Yes sister, I know where you will find it, hold on me and let's go, I'll guide you".
When the mind (Small Brother) shows the heart (big sister) the way to ugliness (bad feelings), this is considered as a miss use of the concentration ability; But If the mind guides the heart to find beauty, then this is meditation. So concentration has no purpose on its own, while meditation has. Concentration becomes meditation as soon as it has a purpose to focus on something spiritual.
Concentration is the activity of the mind. The mind is a boy who focuses on anything he sees, to study it; he discovers good and bad things. All he does as job is to focus, his life is just a concentration until he decides to focus on good things. Concentration and meditation are then 2 phases of the mind life. Concentration being the mind young age and meditation being the adult age of the mind. A mind that starts to meditate, has grown up.
We should be away of the fact that in the human being evolution, the heart (big sister) is first to grow ( from 7 to 14 years old), and later start to grow the mind ( from 14 to 21 years old); If you realize that, a blind daughter is first born in us in our life time, you will understand why for example puberty life time gives such a difficult time to parents, who try so hard to convince the child to think about this and that; Well, during puberty time, the heart is grown up so much, and the mind is still a small boy, too small to say a word.
Our heart arrived first so she started going and touching all sorts of feelings (bad or good), because she was born blind. And when the mind comes, he must direct his sister( the heart) , to show her the way to the beauty. And that's exactly the purpose of meditation, to guide the heart where she is meant to go.
In many people's inner world, the mind is a boy full of knowledge, some people are even seen as human Wikipedias. They are considered as intelligent in our society. They know about this and about that. That's is so wonderful! Yes it is! But let's see how angels see these people. Angels say : "Hooo if you can't help your sister with what you know, we say you are fools".
Yes our intelligence is seen as foolishness in heaven if it doesn't help us to guide our feelings and desires.
Our mind full of knowledge must help the heart full of desires. This is how the mind truly grows up; This happens when the mind goes to its second phase; And once that becomes an habit, we become wise. Then if the heart (sister) is about to be burnt, the mind (brother) must grab the heart with his hands(with his will) and pull her (the heart), to save her from the pain (sufferance).
Also in some people's inner world, the mind and the heart are in conflict. They disputes, they even fight . The heart will want something but the mind doesn't help. Or it could be the opposite, I mean, the mind tells the heart to go someplace but the heart wants something else so she doesn't want to. For example we have all noticed sometimes we want to do something, but when you think about it, your knowledge shows how bad it is to do, so you end up not doing it at all. Sometimes we have lots of good knowledge but the desires to do the good thing is absent. All these cause a lot of inner conflicts, a lot of pain. This happens when the mind and the heart do not vibrate the same; Harmony requires that the heart and the mind should work together, and the result of that is inner peace.
The heart's job is to desire higher spiritual feelings and desires and the mind's job is to guide the heart where those higher desires are, by using all its knowledge. If the mind says NO, then the heart should obey and stop.
The heart needs warm (Love). And for the love of his sister (the heart), the mind will learn how to meditate and not simply how to concentrate. The mind will look for the light that warms, he must know the way to the light of God so he can take his big sister there. That way both gets what they truly live for: the mind for the true light and the heart for the true love.
Love and light to all.
M. Krya