[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
the mind) as well as on the act of writing, which also occupies the
brain.
As soon as a patient is able to do the exercise correctly, increase
the number of repetitions to 4, 5, 6, 7 etc. A patient who can do seven
successive repetitions is able to concentrate sufficiently.
Let s look at what happens in the brain, functionally speaking. To
start with, it must make an effort of will to suspend all other cerebral
activity, then it performs the voluntary act of writing the number 1,
speaks it mentally, and listens to it mentally at the same time.
Then everything stops for a second, after which the process is
repeated. The patient must therefore concentrate a number of times
in a row. It should be noted that without the pause the exercise be-
comes much easier, but at the same time loses much of its value.
The exercise forces patients to be fully in control of their brain;
that is why it is so difficult.
Chapter 8 Page 60
The presence of a controlling physician is indispensable at the
outset, since patients are hardly aware of the errors they make.
A curve representing good concentration would look like this:
1 pause 1 pause 1 pause
Each 1 produces a clear impulse, followed by a period of relax-
ation.
When incorrectly done, the following curve is produced:
1 pause 1 pause 1 pause
We should not place to much emphasis on visualization of the
number 1: some patients never succeed in doing it. The effort to visu-
alize can be useful at first, but it can be dropped later on, and re-
placed by concentrating on the sensation of writing, mentally speak-
ing and hearing.
Of course, any other number can be used, as well as grammatical
symbols like dashes or periods. We chose the number 1 because it
gets patients used to the idea of concentrating, which, in fact, means
fixing the mind on one single thought or action.
Patients will then make the transition more easily from this form
of concentration, which is more or less mechanical, to real psycho-
logical concentration. As a means of transition, we suggest that pa-
tients try to gather all their thoughts and concentrate on the number
1. In other words, patients are told to mentally repeat the number 1
when they feel they have succeeded in gathering all their thoughts
Chapter 8 Page 61
into a single, larger thought (which is really the concept of thought
itself).
An image of the above would be a circle whose rays (separate
thoughts) all converge on the number 1 at the center.
Every patient has his or her particular concept for achieving this
result: some imagine that they are shrinking their head until there
only room for one thought or idea; others try to eliminate all thoughts
except the thought of 1.
If patients persevere, they will gradually become convinced that
they are able to concentrate for a set period of time, no matter how
short. Once this conviction is acquired, it becomes a precious aid in
their struggle. But it is not enough - patients must eventually learn to
concentrate whenever, and on whatever they want.
This is certainly more difficult to achieve; patients should prac-
tice ignoring distractions, at first in solitude, and finally when sur-
rounded by people, noise, etc. In this way, they gain confidence in
their ability to concentrate at will. This ability becomes complete when
they are able, through concentration, to put a stop to anxiety, or over-
come a phobia.
Now let s assume that our patients have acquired this ability: the
next step is to ask them to concentrate on an idea.
Concentrating on ideas
In this exercise, patients are asked to develop an idea in their
minds. For example, they may try to resolve a problem, or prepare a
written summary of something they read, or listen to a conversation
or lecture for a predetermined period of time, without allowing them-
Chapter 8 Page 62
selves to get distracted. To do this they must instantly stop all other
thoughts from entering their mind, except those which are directly
related to the subject at hand.
Patients will start to see practical results only gradually, after a
number of failures. The allotted time period should be very short at
first, so as not to discourage them, and the activity should be treated
as a simple exercise and not some kind of test.
The most common error patients make at the beginning is to won-
der if they are really concentrating properly during the exercise. This
self verification naturally interrupts their concentration, and patients
start worrying if they are able to concentrate at all. It should be ex-
plained that they will not be really concentrated unless they approach
the exercise as simply as possible.
This series of exercises cannot be directly controlled by the at-
tending physician (except the one which involves concentrated read-
ing, where hand application will produce a series of regular wave
vibrations). For the rest, we have to depend on what patients tell us,
and leave them to judge their own progress.
However, there are a number of other exercises which can be veri-
fied through hand application, since the curves obtained from them
are very characteristic.
One example is Concentration on Tranquility.
We ask patients to try and establish a sensation of mental calm, of
psychological and physical tranquility in their minds. To do this, they
will mentally evoke an idea or thought which represents those feel-
ings. For example, one person might think of a peaceful landscape,
Chapter 8 Page 63
another of a particularly soothing piece of music, another of some
elevated moral concept like compassion, or a prayer, etc. Once the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl aikidobyd.xlx.pl
the mind) as well as on the act of writing, which also occupies the
brain.
As soon as a patient is able to do the exercise correctly, increase
the number of repetitions to 4, 5, 6, 7 etc. A patient who can do seven
successive repetitions is able to concentrate sufficiently.
Let s look at what happens in the brain, functionally speaking. To
start with, it must make an effort of will to suspend all other cerebral
activity, then it performs the voluntary act of writing the number 1,
speaks it mentally, and listens to it mentally at the same time.
Then everything stops for a second, after which the process is
repeated. The patient must therefore concentrate a number of times
in a row. It should be noted that without the pause the exercise be-
comes much easier, but at the same time loses much of its value.
The exercise forces patients to be fully in control of their brain;
that is why it is so difficult.
Chapter 8 Page 60
The presence of a controlling physician is indispensable at the
outset, since patients are hardly aware of the errors they make.
A curve representing good concentration would look like this:
1 pause 1 pause 1 pause
Each 1 produces a clear impulse, followed by a period of relax-
ation.
When incorrectly done, the following curve is produced:
1 pause 1 pause 1 pause
We should not place to much emphasis on visualization of the
number 1: some patients never succeed in doing it. The effort to visu-
alize can be useful at first, but it can be dropped later on, and re-
placed by concentrating on the sensation of writing, mentally speak-
ing and hearing.
Of course, any other number can be used, as well as grammatical
symbols like dashes or periods. We chose the number 1 because it
gets patients used to the idea of concentrating, which, in fact, means
fixing the mind on one single thought or action.
Patients will then make the transition more easily from this form
of concentration, which is more or less mechanical, to real psycho-
logical concentration. As a means of transition, we suggest that pa-
tients try to gather all their thoughts and concentrate on the number
1. In other words, patients are told to mentally repeat the number 1
when they feel they have succeeded in gathering all their thoughts
Chapter 8 Page 61
into a single, larger thought (which is really the concept of thought
itself).
An image of the above would be a circle whose rays (separate
thoughts) all converge on the number 1 at the center.
Every patient has his or her particular concept for achieving this
result: some imagine that they are shrinking their head until there
only room for one thought or idea; others try to eliminate all thoughts
except the thought of 1.
If patients persevere, they will gradually become convinced that
they are able to concentrate for a set period of time, no matter how
short. Once this conviction is acquired, it becomes a precious aid in
their struggle. But it is not enough - patients must eventually learn to
concentrate whenever, and on whatever they want.
This is certainly more difficult to achieve; patients should prac-
tice ignoring distractions, at first in solitude, and finally when sur-
rounded by people, noise, etc. In this way, they gain confidence in
their ability to concentrate at will. This ability becomes complete when
they are able, through concentration, to put a stop to anxiety, or over-
come a phobia.
Now let s assume that our patients have acquired this ability: the
next step is to ask them to concentrate on an idea.
Concentrating on ideas
In this exercise, patients are asked to develop an idea in their
minds. For example, they may try to resolve a problem, or prepare a
written summary of something they read, or listen to a conversation
or lecture for a predetermined period of time, without allowing them-
Chapter 8 Page 62
selves to get distracted. To do this they must instantly stop all other
thoughts from entering their mind, except those which are directly
related to the subject at hand.
Patients will start to see practical results only gradually, after a
number of failures. The allotted time period should be very short at
first, so as not to discourage them, and the activity should be treated
as a simple exercise and not some kind of test.
The most common error patients make at the beginning is to won-
der if they are really concentrating properly during the exercise. This
self verification naturally interrupts their concentration, and patients
start worrying if they are able to concentrate at all. It should be ex-
plained that they will not be really concentrated unless they approach
the exercise as simply as possible.
This series of exercises cannot be directly controlled by the at-
tending physician (except the one which involves concentrated read-
ing, where hand application will produce a series of regular wave
vibrations). For the rest, we have to depend on what patients tell us,
and leave them to judge their own progress.
However, there are a number of other exercises which can be veri-
fied through hand application, since the curves obtained from them
are very characteristic.
One example is Concentration on Tranquility.
We ask patients to try and establish a sensation of mental calm, of
psychological and physical tranquility in their minds. To do this, they
will mentally evoke an idea or thought which represents those feel-
ings. For example, one person might think of a peaceful landscape,
Chapter 8 Page 63
another of a particularly soothing piece of music, another of some
elevated moral concept like compassion, or a prayer, etc. Once the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]