Post by Mysti on Aug 6, 2007 19:45:27 GMT -5
Shaman : Before we start on the specific exercises
Shaman : are there any questions from last weeks class
spiritofthelynx : no ty
Allan2nd : no ty
EternalLighthouse : have to look it up
Shaman : np
Shaman : it is in Library
EternalLighthouse : ty
Shaman : feel free to read and catch up when you will
Allan2nd : .comm
ForestCentralTree : groups.msn.com/MysticForest Come join us!
EternalLighthouse : lol
Shaman : allan is just too fast
Shaman : ty for putting that up for me
spiritofthelynx : groups.msn.com/MysticForestLibrary/shamansclasses.msnw?action=get_message&mview=1&ID_Message=843
Shaman : SPECIFIC EXERCISES:
Shaman : 1. Concentration on a simple object
Shaman : Select your object, for example a quarter.
Shaman : It has a enough detail to get you started
Shaman : Assume an appropriate body position, relax, perform the excursion of thoughts and rhythmic breathing, and make the decision that you will concentrate for your selected period of time on that quarter.
Shaman : If you remember from last week it was one of the process we discussed
Shaman : When you decide you are going to practice for a set time period
Shaman : and on a particular object
Shaman : Now start thinking about the quarter. Think about its shape, color, material from which it is made, how it is made, what can be bought for it, and so forth.
Shaman : Keep an uninterrupted flow of thoughts directed at the quarter and send away any unrelated thought that may appear.
Shaman : Only think about the quarter
Shaman : Simply keep returning your mind to the quarter as soon as it wanders away.
Shaman : You will see some inscriptions on one side of the quarter; "Liberty", "In God We Trust", and the date.
Shaman : The year, the picture of Washington
Shaman : Think for a while about the meaning of the words, but don't permit yourself to be carried away too far from the quarter.
Shaman : When you think about "Liberty" deliberately turn your attention on that concept and think about what it means for a moment, then deliberately turn your attention to the second inscription, and so forth.
Shaman : Then spend some time thinking about the image of George Washington, then again turn your attention to the coin.
Shaman : The second task is to direct your attention to the form of the coin in order to be able to visualize it later with closed eyes.
Shaman : Look at it without strain, calmly and attentively.
Shaman : Try to memorize its form.
Shaman : Then close your eyes and try to imagine it.
Shaman : At first you probably won't succeed in visualizing it clearly, that is okay..
Shaman : Open your eyes again and look at the quarter to get a better impression of the parts that you were not able to visualize.
Shaman : Repeat this process until the time for the exercise is expired.
Shaman : You may find it useful to concentrate on only a part of the coin in order to get a good picture of it, and then to go to the next part.
Shaman : For example you can try to imagine clearly Washington's forehead, then his nose, mouth, and so forth, and finally combine all those parts together in a clear image of his face.
Shaman : If you find that you run out of thoughts about the object before the time has expired, you can elaborate on the thoughts which you already covered by going over them in greater detail.
Shaman : You may also just keep thinking the same thoughts over again.
Shaman : The purpose of the exercise is to keep your mind on the object, not to produce some extraordinary thoughts.
Shaman : Use the same object in all of your future exercises until you are able to create a clear image of it and keep that image vividly in your mind.
Shaman : This helps in two ways
Shaman : One you are familiar with the object
Shaman : Two
Shaman : it is a subconscious prod to help get you achieve the correct frame of mind
Shaman : You may spend a considerable amount of time on this, but you will find that the same can be accomplished on other objects in a very short time because you will have trained your mind to concentrate.
Shaman : Any questions or comments on this particular section?
spiritofthelynx : no ty
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Allan2nd : nty
Shaman : 2. CONCENTRATION ON READING:
Shaman : This may be done anytime, in addition to the above exercise.
Shaman : Take a small passage or a sentence.
Shaman : Decide that you will concentrate on it for, say, 10 minutes.
Shaman : Read it slowly and get the exact meaning of each word and each sentence.
Shaman : Imagine what the writer wanted to say and understand it.
Shaman : If some scene is described, imagine it clearly.
Shaman : Then think about it.
Shaman : Analyze what the writer stated.
Shaman : Is he or she correct?
Shaman : Do you agree with the statement?
Shaman : What do you think about it?
Shaman : What are your experiences regarding the same topic.
Shaman : Be critical and analytical
Shaman : What were the writer's motives?
Shaman : Why do you disagree with him/her?
Shaman : The important thing is that you again keep an uninterrupted flow of thoughts directed at the passage for a determined period of time.
Shaman : The passage should be short.
Shaman : The idea of the exercise is to develop the habit of sharp thinking and not to acquire knowledge by reading a lot in a fast manner.
Shaman : Just like when you first learned to read
Shaman : you read word by word and tried to understand it as you were reading
Shaman : Questions or comments on this exercise?
spiritofthelynx : n ty
Allan2nd : nty
Shaman : okay then
Shaman : three more exercises
Shaman : 4. DELIBERATE DISTRACTION OF THOUGHTS:
Shaman : This sounds like it goes against all I have been saying but be patient and it will be explained
Shaman : The idea behind this practice is to train your mind to learn voluntary distraction of thoughts.
Shaman : You can train yourself at any time with this practice, as much as you want during the day.
Shaman : It is good to do it at least several times per day.
Shaman : The exercise is quite simple.
Shaman : You consciously distract your attention from something that attracts it.
Shaman : For example, some pleasant or unpleasant sight attracts you or stimulates your imagination.
Shaman : Say to yourself, "I don't want to think about it." and then focus your attention on something else.
Shaman : The same can be done with any other stimuli, such as:
Shaman : : refusing to listen to some pleasant music, distracting yourself from some memory, or some fantasy activity.
Shaman : There is nothing wrong with enjoying pleasant sights or listening to music.
Shaman : This exercise should be considered as simply another tool for training the mind.
Shaman : The psychologist call this suppression
Shaman : It is a source of strength for the person who is able to do it.
Shaman : The conscious process of suppression has nothing to do with "repression" which is an unconscious process by which traumatic or unpleasant experiences are kept from emerging to the surface of consciousness.
Shaman : Just wanted to clarify that point before it came back to haunt me
Shaman : Any questions or comments on this exercise?
Allan2nd : nty
Shaman : The fifth and most important exercise.
Shaman : 5. DO EVERYTHING WITH FULL ATTENTION:
Shaman : You must strive to be concentrated on everything you do.
Shaman : The effect of exercises will be lost if you do one thing and think about something else.
Shaman : There must be harmony between doing and thinking.
Shaman : That is, if you do something you should give it full attention.
Shaman : You should not think about other things, or of something that you will do in the future, or something that happened to you.
Shaman : For example: if you shave, think only of shaving;
Shaman : ; if you read something, think only of what you are reading;
Shaman : if you eat, give full attention to eating, and so forth.
Shaman : It may take a long time to develop this habit, but it is a very necessary one.
Shaman : You will find that after you practice an exercise of concentration in the morning you will be more attentive and concentrate on everything you do during the day.
Shaman : Your mind will develop what psychologists call a "set" of concentration, or a concentrated attitude, which will persist a long time after the exercise.
Shaman : Any questions on this exercise before I get into some final comments?
Allan2nd : nty
spiritofthelynx : nty
Shaman : The above instructions should be read, reread, studied and committed to memory.
Allan2nd :
Shaman : They may look complicated, but they are actually simple to perform in practice.
Shaman : Although they are simple, proper performance will require great persistence until the habit is developed.
Shaman : Regular practice is a lesson in self-discipline which will strengthen your ego and aid in the rapid development of your ability to concentrate and visualize.
Shaman : You will find that regular practice of each one of these exercises will increase your abilities to practice the other ones.
Shaman : I am going to end class here since there is just the three of us.
Shaman : Next week we will continue
Allan2nd : ty shaman for class
Shaman : Any questions or comments before I close class officially?
spiritofthelynx : nope ty
Allan2nd : nty
Shaman : Okay
Shaman : Thank you for coming
Shaman : are there any questions from last weeks class
spiritofthelynx : no ty
Allan2nd : no ty
EternalLighthouse : have to look it up
Shaman : np
Shaman : it is in Library
EternalLighthouse : ty
Shaman : feel free to read and catch up when you will
Allan2nd : .comm
ForestCentralTree : groups.msn.com/MysticForest Come join us!
EternalLighthouse : lol
Shaman : allan is just too fast
Shaman : ty for putting that up for me
spiritofthelynx : groups.msn.com/MysticForestLibrary/shamansclasses.msnw?action=get_message&mview=1&ID_Message=843
Shaman : SPECIFIC EXERCISES:
Shaman : 1. Concentration on a simple object
Shaman : Select your object, for example a quarter.
Shaman : It has a enough detail to get you started
Shaman : Assume an appropriate body position, relax, perform the excursion of thoughts and rhythmic breathing, and make the decision that you will concentrate for your selected period of time on that quarter.
Shaman : If you remember from last week it was one of the process we discussed
Shaman : When you decide you are going to practice for a set time period
Shaman : and on a particular object
Shaman : Now start thinking about the quarter. Think about its shape, color, material from which it is made, how it is made, what can be bought for it, and so forth.
Shaman : Keep an uninterrupted flow of thoughts directed at the quarter and send away any unrelated thought that may appear.
Shaman : Only think about the quarter
Shaman : Simply keep returning your mind to the quarter as soon as it wanders away.
Shaman : You will see some inscriptions on one side of the quarter; "Liberty", "In God We Trust", and the date.
Shaman : The year, the picture of Washington
Shaman : Think for a while about the meaning of the words, but don't permit yourself to be carried away too far from the quarter.
Shaman : When you think about "Liberty" deliberately turn your attention on that concept and think about what it means for a moment, then deliberately turn your attention to the second inscription, and so forth.
Shaman : Then spend some time thinking about the image of George Washington, then again turn your attention to the coin.
Shaman : The second task is to direct your attention to the form of the coin in order to be able to visualize it later with closed eyes.
Shaman : Look at it without strain, calmly and attentively.
Shaman : Try to memorize its form.
Shaman : Then close your eyes and try to imagine it.
Shaman : At first you probably won't succeed in visualizing it clearly, that is okay..
Shaman : Open your eyes again and look at the quarter to get a better impression of the parts that you were not able to visualize.
Shaman : Repeat this process until the time for the exercise is expired.
Shaman : You may find it useful to concentrate on only a part of the coin in order to get a good picture of it, and then to go to the next part.
Shaman : For example you can try to imagine clearly Washington's forehead, then his nose, mouth, and so forth, and finally combine all those parts together in a clear image of his face.
Shaman : If you find that you run out of thoughts about the object before the time has expired, you can elaborate on the thoughts which you already covered by going over them in greater detail.
Shaman : You may also just keep thinking the same thoughts over again.
Shaman : The purpose of the exercise is to keep your mind on the object, not to produce some extraordinary thoughts.
Shaman : Use the same object in all of your future exercises until you are able to create a clear image of it and keep that image vividly in your mind.
Shaman : This helps in two ways
Shaman : One you are familiar with the object
Shaman : Two
Shaman : it is a subconscious prod to help get you achieve the correct frame of mind
Shaman : You may spend a considerable amount of time on this, but you will find that the same can be accomplished on other objects in a very short time because you will have trained your mind to concentrate.
Shaman : Any questions or comments on this particular section?
spiritofthelynx : no ty
<DIR> <DIR>
8EternalLighthouse has left the conversation.
</DIR></DIR>
Allan2nd : nty
Shaman : 2. CONCENTRATION ON READING:
Shaman : This may be done anytime, in addition to the above exercise.
Shaman : Take a small passage or a sentence.
Shaman : Decide that you will concentrate on it for, say, 10 minutes.
Shaman : Read it slowly and get the exact meaning of each word and each sentence.
Shaman : Imagine what the writer wanted to say and understand it.
Shaman : If some scene is described, imagine it clearly.
Shaman : Then think about it.
Shaman : Analyze what the writer stated.
Shaman : Is he or she correct?
Shaman : Do you agree with the statement?
Shaman : What do you think about it?
Shaman : What are your experiences regarding the same topic.
Shaman : Be critical and analytical
Shaman : What were the writer's motives?
Shaman : Why do you disagree with him/her?
Shaman : The important thing is that you again keep an uninterrupted flow of thoughts directed at the passage for a determined period of time.
Shaman : The passage should be short.
Shaman : The idea of the exercise is to develop the habit of sharp thinking and not to acquire knowledge by reading a lot in a fast manner.
Shaman : Just like when you first learned to read
Shaman : you read word by word and tried to understand it as you were reading
Shaman : Questions or comments on this exercise?
spiritofthelynx : n ty
Allan2nd : nty
Shaman : okay then
Shaman : three more exercises
Shaman : 4. DELIBERATE DISTRACTION OF THOUGHTS:
Shaman : This sounds like it goes against all I have been saying but be patient and it will be explained
Shaman : The idea behind this practice is to train your mind to learn voluntary distraction of thoughts.
Shaman : You can train yourself at any time with this practice, as much as you want during the day.
Shaman : It is good to do it at least several times per day.
Shaman : The exercise is quite simple.
Shaman : You consciously distract your attention from something that attracts it.
Shaman : For example, some pleasant or unpleasant sight attracts you or stimulates your imagination.
Shaman : Say to yourself, "I don't want to think about it." and then focus your attention on something else.
Shaman : The same can be done with any other stimuli, such as:
Shaman : : refusing to listen to some pleasant music, distracting yourself from some memory, or some fantasy activity.
Shaman : There is nothing wrong with enjoying pleasant sights or listening to music.
Shaman : This exercise should be considered as simply another tool for training the mind.
Shaman : The psychologist call this suppression
Shaman : It is a source of strength for the person who is able to do it.
Shaman : The conscious process of suppression has nothing to do with "repression" which is an unconscious process by which traumatic or unpleasant experiences are kept from emerging to the surface of consciousness.
Shaman : Just wanted to clarify that point before it came back to haunt me
Shaman : Any questions or comments on this exercise?
Allan2nd : nty
Shaman : The fifth and most important exercise.
Shaman : 5. DO EVERYTHING WITH FULL ATTENTION:
Shaman : You must strive to be concentrated on everything you do.
Shaman : The effect of exercises will be lost if you do one thing and think about something else.
Shaman : There must be harmony between doing and thinking.
Shaman : That is, if you do something you should give it full attention.
Shaman : You should not think about other things, or of something that you will do in the future, or something that happened to you.
Shaman : For example: if you shave, think only of shaving;
Shaman : ; if you read something, think only of what you are reading;
Shaman : if you eat, give full attention to eating, and so forth.
Shaman : It may take a long time to develop this habit, but it is a very necessary one.
Shaman : You will find that after you practice an exercise of concentration in the morning you will be more attentive and concentrate on everything you do during the day.
Shaman : Your mind will develop what psychologists call a "set" of concentration, or a concentrated attitude, which will persist a long time after the exercise.
Shaman : Any questions on this exercise before I get into some final comments?
Allan2nd : nty
spiritofthelynx : nty
Shaman : The above instructions should be read, reread, studied and committed to memory.
Allan2nd :
Shaman : They may look complicated, but they are actually simple to perform in practice.
Shaman : Although they are simple, proper performance will require great persistence until the habit is developed.
Shaman : Regular practice is a lesson in self-discipline which will strengthen your ego and aid in the rapid development of your ability to concentrate and visualize.
Shaman : You will find that regular practice of each one of these exercises will increase your abilities to practice the other ones.
Shaman : I am going to end class here since there is just the three of us.
Shaman : Next week we will continue
Allan2nd : ty shaman for class
Shaman : Any questions or comments before I close class officially?
spiritofthelynx : nope ty
Allan2nd : nty
Shaman : Okay
Shaman : Thank you for coming