People say: "One can't help one's thoughts." But one can. The control
of the thinking machine is perfectly possible. And since nothing whatever
happens to us outside our own brain; since nothing hurts us or gives us
pleasure except within the brain, the supreme importance of being able to
control what goes on in that mysterious brain is patent. This idea is one of
the oldest platitudes, but it is a platitude who's profound truth and urgency
most people live and die without realising. People complain of the lack of
power to concentrate, not witting that they may acquire the power, if they
choose.
And without the power to concentrate--that is to say, without the
power to dictate to the brain its task and to ensure obedience--true life is
impossible. Mind control is the first element of a full existence.
Hence, it seems to me, the first business of the day should be to put the
mind through its paces. You look after your body, inside and out; you run
grave danger in hacking hairs off your skin; you employ a whole army of
individuals, from the milkman to the pig-killer, to enable you to bribe your
stomach into decent behaviour. Why not devote a little attention to the far
more delicate machinery of the mind, especially as you will require no
extraneous aid? It is for this portion of the art and craft of living that I
have reserved the time from the moment of quitting your door to the
moment of arriving at your office.
"What? I am to cultivate my mind in the street, on the platform, in the
train, and in the crowded street again?" Precisely. Nothing simpler! No
tools required! Not even a book. Nevertheless, the affair is not easy.
When you leave your house, concentrate your mind on a subject (no
matter what, to begin with). You will not have gone ten yards before your
mind has skipped away under your very eyes and is larking round the
corner with another subject.
Bring it back by the scruff of the neck. Ere you have reached the
station you will have brought it back about forty times. Do not despair.
Continue. Keep it up. You will succeed. You cannot by any chance fail if
you persevere. It is idle to pretend that your mind is incapable of |
