Conference turris::womannotes-v3

	I'm gonna ramble on here in no real concentrated fashion..going
on two weeks vacation after tomorrow and guess what my mind won't do
today.

	Concentration, meaning to me, the ability to focus the mind on one
area of stimulus, ignoring all others. This would be a good topic for the
Psychology or martial arts notes files....you'd get some very interesting
responses I'm sure. The martial arts or various schools of psychology are
two areas rich in documentation concerning the subjects you're interested in.

	In the Japanese martial arts there is an interesting concept 
encompassed by the word 'KIME'...meaning focus. This concept has an
interesting way of looking at the mind/body relationship when engaged in
a particular activity. Lot of Zen influence here I'm sure.

	There's a book out..."Pumping Ions" or something like that (I'll check)
and it's full of exercises to train the mind in concentration.

Mushin No Kame
-D-

	P.S. That Mushin No Kame business I think (if memory serves) means
	     'Mind like Water' and sort of sums up the Japanese martial arts
	     tradition concerning concentration. I hope I got it right and 
	     didn't insult anyones lineage by mistake...be just my luck!
	

	Alright, did some poking around in my library last night and came
up with a few inexpensive, realitively current books which cover a lot of
ground around motivation and concentration. Hope these help.

Pumping Ions (games and exercises to flex the mind)
	by Tom Wujec
	Doubleday

Peak Performance (Improving concentration and motivation)
	by David Kauss
	Spectrum Books

The C Zone (Peak performance under pressure)
	by Robert Kriegal Ph.D. and Marilyn Kriegal Ph.D.
	Doubleday

	* In my opinion the best for perofrmance in job situations

The Possible Human
	by Jean Huston
	St. Martins Press

The Mind In The Martial Arts
	by Thomas J. Nardi Ph.D.
	Koinonia Publications

**** the following are more indirectly related to human performance within
     the context of motivation and concentration  ****

Your Maximum Mind
	by herbert Benson MD
	Avon Books

Superlearning
	by Shelia Ostrander and Lynn Schroeder
	Laurel/Confucian Press Books

Make Your Mind Work For You
	by Joan Minniger Ph.D.
	

Optimim Brain Power
	by Miriam Ehrenberg Ph.D. and Otto Ehrenberg Ph.D.

    Thanks a lot...I am off to the bookstore.  

    Tests done at a University in England (Old not New!) revealed that
    the ability to concentrate is based in intelligence. Those able to
    concentrate for longer were those with higher IQ levels. This would 
    seem to indicate one can't increase ones ability to concentrate
    significantly.
    
    

    re: .4
    
    Well, to be totally accurate, the conclusion should be that the ability
    to concentrate is correlated with how well you score on Intelligence
    Quotient tests...  To score well on an I.Q. test (answering question
    after question after question), you *must* be able to concentrate, by
    definition!  
    
    The big question is whether I.Q. tests really test for intelligence
    itself...
    
    But back to the base note, I think that it is possible to improve 
    concentration.  I think it has to do more with motivation than with
    intelligence, though.  Certain people are able to concentrate more, and
    maybe that is due to biology, or with ability to be patient with work
    they don't find intrinsically interesting.
    
    Pam

Referencing 200.5 (Pam):

   You are right. It is possible to improve concentration and I know how
to do it (the development of concentration is one of the basic steps 
in the spiritual Disciplines which I follow).

   Moreover, it is easy to do, though the exercises can get a little
involved at times.

   If you are interested in more information, let me know. I will be
happy to disseminate it if there is interest (I don't do so now because
I am unsure if any information I have would be of interest to the members
of this community, and sharing it would require some effort and... uh...
concentration ;-)).

   Feel free to let me know if you are interested.

                                                          -Robert Brown III

    Please do share the information, Robert.  If not with the community,
    please send to ANN QUAYLE @MKO or XCUSME::QUAYLE.
    
    Thanks and regards,
    aq
    

Greetings:

   Because interest has been expressed publicly as well as in MAIL, I am
posting this.

   The following information is based on a variety of different sources, but
actually describes the techniques that I've developed to improve my own
concentration.  Consequently, I can safely say that they work for me. Since my
nephew indicated interest in learning the mental and spiritual Disciplines
which I had learned/developed, I have taught him some of the techniques that I
will describe below. They have worked for him as well, so I can say that I am
not the only one they work for. If you decide to use these techniques, please
let me know how effective they are for you. Someday perhaps I will write a book
on this subject (as well as many other areas in my Disciplines), and any
information I have on the experience of improved concentration can be very
helpful to others.

________________________________________________________________________________

			THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONCENTRATION
				      By 
			       Robert Brown III
				    7/25/90

   The ability to concentrate is an important and often misunderstood ability.
While it is true that such factors as motivation and intelligence (as described
in WOMANNOTES) do have influence over one's ability to concentrate, my model of
concentration holds that it is actually a skill that can be developed
regardless of a person's state of mind or the form of intelligence that that
mind has. Please note my use of the words "form of intelligence"; my model of
intelligence (human or otherwise) does not follow any of the conventionally
held beliefs about what constitutes intelligence. This, however, is a subject
for another discussion.

   Concentration is described as the ability to "focus" the mind on one or a
few things. A person's ability to concentrate is often measured by the amount
of time that a person is capable of holding a single thought in hir mind. This,
however, is a somewhat limited view of what concentration actually is. In order
to get some understanding of the techniques that I will later describe, we must
first examine a somewhat broader definition of concentration.

   In my Lore, concentration is a state of mind. It is a mode of existance that
humans as a whole do not adequately make use of. The spiritual teachings of the
East all describe it as "one- pointedness"; that is a situation where the mind
stays in one place (at one "point") and does not flit from thought to thought
as it normally does. But the term "one- pointedness" often implies that it is
some difficult mode of thought that we must strive to achieve. That is why I
use the term "state of mind"; I am trying here to convey that when you are
concentrating on something you are actually in a special state of consciousness
which, once you learn what it is like, you will be able to achieve quickly and
easily.

   To illustrate just how easily you can enter such a state, stop a moment from
reading this message and think about what you're doing now. Were you very
interested in this subject matter before you started reading it? If so, has
your interest waned at all since you started reading it?

   If not, then for the time it has taken to read this far, you have been in a
state of concentration.

   Ignore for the moment the fact that your interest has motivated you to read
this far (I've already acknowledged that motivation does effect concentration).
Examine how you feel right now. Are you relaxed or tense? How does your mind
"feel" at this time? How does your body feel? Are your thoughts wandering from
place to place, or are they centered on this subject that you're reading about?
How are you processing the words you read? Is your mind generating pictures to
represent my words? Are my words represented as sounds to you? As feelings?
What is the state of your mind RIGHT NOW?

   Whatever that state is, remember it. You'll soon discover how important it
is in learning how to concentrate.

A few things to note before getting to the actual tehniques:

   Before actually attempting to develop concentration, there are a few things
you need to know about yourself. I have learned that people process their
thoughts, memories, and experiences in certain ways depending on which sense
they depend on in certain situations. Many systems for developing concentration
ignore this; for this reason a great many people find it difficult to use them
effectively.

   Most people are visual; that is, they think of things in terms of pictures
and images. There is, however, a large minority of people who are Kinesthetic;
they think in terms of sensations and emotions. The third and rarest type of
person is Auditory; they think in terms of what they hear. While people in
general do not depend solely on visual, kinesthetic, or auditory processing for
all their experiences, they often have one primary sense which they use for
specific experiences -- including the experience of the state of concentration.

   You will notice that when I was asking you about your concentration
experience I asked questions about images, feelings, and sounds. Those
questions were designed to reach whatever sense(s) you use primarily when you
concentrate. Your experience of the concentration state probably included all
of your senses to some degree, but it is possible that one of your senses was
being used more than the others. Be aware that my techniques will require the
use of sight, sound, and feeling, but they are flexible enough so that you can
emphasize whichever sense(s) you use primarily. If you are more visual, then
emphasize the visualizations. If you are kinesthetic, emphasize the feelings
which I will tell you to evoke. Use all three senses, but emphasize the sense(s)
that you normally favor.

   Note also that I say sense(s). The reason for this is that some people have
one sense as their primary sense, but under certain conditions favor another
sense. For example: I am primarily a visual person, but I tend to be
kinesthetic in a lot of situations. My nephew, on the other hand, is auditory
but is visual when concentrating. My own concentration exercises were visually
oriented but with strong kinesthetic/emotional undertones.

			     Preliminary Exercises
				   (stage 1)

   There are many ways of approaching the concentration state -- as many as
there are people on Earth. But the most effective systems for developing
concentration are the ones which require the seeker to start from where she is
and move forward from there (one of my favorite sayings is "evolution not
revolution"). That is what these preliminary exercises are intended to do.

Exercise 1: 

   Sit or lie in a relaxed position. It does not matter what position you sit
(lie) in, as long as your body is relaxed and comfortable. Also: it is best to
do this and all other exercises when you are not tired or sleepy, since
sleepiness and tiredness always impair concentration regardless of how good you
are at it.

  Once your body is as relaxed as possible and your mind alert, close your eyes
and simply pay attention to your thoughts. Watch them, listen to them, feel
them. Those unfamiliar with the way the mind tends to work will be amazed at
how varied their thoughts are and how quickly their minds tend to move from
place to place.

   Stay in your relaxed position, paying attention to your thoughts, for a
minimum of ten minutes and a maximum of a half hour. Note that the only effort
that you will have to make is that of staying attentive. This effort should be
minimized if you simply let your mind wander where it will; in my own
experience I found that my thoughts tend to manifest according to the senses I
favor (images and feelings); it was easier for me to pay attention to them if I
allowed my images to flow.

   Perform this exercise once a day for about a week.

Exercise 2:

   Make all the preperations you did in Exercise 1, but instead of letting your
mind wander where it will, select a subject from the many thoughts that your
mind generates and gently direct your thoughts to remain within that subject.
In other words, if your mind wanders to the subject of birds and you decide to
stick to that subject, then you are free to think about seagulls, how you felt
when you were around your pet parrot, birds you've seen, birdsongs,
mythological birds, or anything else related to birds. You must not allow your
mind to wander to cars, houses, or that jerk who put the last sexist entry in
WOMANNOTES.

   What usually happens is that the mind associates different things and from
its associations wanders from subject to subject. Taking the example of birds
further, your mind may go to and from the subject in the following way:

   Wish the sun would come out... the sky gets so blue... beautiful clear
   skies last week... birds were singing... Tweety bird is really funny...
   (think about the puddy tat)... my cat is the most amazing person... yeah,
   cats are people, too!...

   What I propose is that you select a subject from the "stream of
consciousness", and as gently as possible stick to that subject. Thus:

   Wish the sun would come out... the sky gets so blue... beautiful clear
   skies last week... birds were singing... Tweety bird is really funny...
   (think about the puddy tat)(caught it! back to birds)... birds are so 
   little... wait, there are large birds, too!... (think about Big Bird)...
   My son loves Big Bird... Sesame Street-- (nope, back to birds)... I love
   to watch birds on a summer day...

   This should give you an idea of what I mean.

   You may be wondering about the subject that you should choose, since it
would appear that a general subject might be easier to stick to than a more
specific one. You needn't worry. With the associative properties of the mind,
nothing is too specific. Everything you think of has associations. A seemingly
specific thing like that big black rat you saw last Thursday has a wealth of
associations attached to it -- like your (unpleasent) feelings about rats, any
previous experiences you had concerning rats, rats you saw on television, the
squeaking sounds that you might have heard, or even things other people said
about rats!

   Whatever subject you choose, you will, with a minimum of effort, be able to
follow a chain of associations attached to that subject. If I was writing about
something else, I could discuss in depth the psychological benefits that you
can gain by following chains of associations. I shall, however, "concentrate"
on the subject at hand ;-). I will leave it to you to explore this area for
yourselves.

   The goal of this exercise it to enable you to keep your mind on one subject
(chain of associations) for a minimum of five minutes. What you'll find in the
beginning is that you'll be able to stick to the chain for a few seconds, or
maybe even for a minute, but your mind will tend to resist staying even on one
subject and you'll find yourself changing the subject. Don't worry; just note
how long you were able to stick to your first subject, then let your mind run
free for long enough to pick a new subject. Keep doing this until (a) you can
stick with a subject for five minutes, or (b) a half hour has passed. Continue
doing this exercise once a day for two weeks or until you can consistantly stick
with a chain of associations for at least five minutes.

   If you wish, you can improve your ability by gradually increasing the time
that you can keep your mind on a subject. For the purposes of these exercises
five minutes will do, though going for ten minutes will make the next exercises
much easier. I, myself, am capable of doing this (on average) for about 42
minutes (but then, some of my Disciplines require deep concentration for
prolonged periods of time. For basic concentration development this prolonged
ability will not be necessary for you).

Exercise 3:

   Upon completion of the previous exercises, you should notice an increased
ability to sustain your attention in everyday situations. This should serve as
an indication that your ability to concentrate is developing. But in this
exercise you will achieve the first glimmerings of true concentration.

   Make all the preperations that you did in the previous exercises. Relax.
Close your eyes. Let your mind wander. Then, instead of selecting a thought and
sticking with a chain of associations, select a thought and HOLD IT. 

   Allow no associations in. If one imposes itself on your consciousness,
let it pass and gently bring your mind back to the thought. DO NOT try to keep
intruding thoughts out; the effort to do so creates undesirable tension and
tends to make it harder to hold your mind still. This and all other exercises
should be performed in a positive spirit, with the emphasis more on keeping the
thought you've chosen as opposed to trying to keep other associations/thoughts
out. Simply stay relaxed and don't try too hard. You'll find the exercise
easier to master that way.

   For this exercise, try keeping your mind on one subject for five minutes. In
the beginning (of course) you won't be able to, but as in the previous exercise
simply choose another thought and hold it. Perform this exercise once every day
for a half hour or until you have achieved concentration for five minutes. When
you are able to consistantly concentrate on a selected thought for five
minutes, you have the option of increasing the time to ten, then fifteen, etc.
That is up to you.

   As I stated before, the exercises described above are preliminary. They seem
complicated because of all the description that I've given, but they are really
very simple. Perform them and you will be able, within six weeks, to achieve a
level of concentration that will be very helpful to you.

   But they are only preliminary. If people had any idea of how the mind can
truley concentrate, most would probably freak out!

   Unfortunately this note is already incredibly long; it is probably best to
end it here rather than go into the next stages of exercises now.

   I will, however, continue this in a later entry, if interest continues and
my time permits.

   As for these exercises, please feel free to comment, ask questions, or
relate experiences using them.

                                                         -Robert Brown III

.-1
>   I will, however, continue this in a later entry, if interest continues and
>   my time permits.

Yes, please post a little more.  My concentration -- perhaps even
the IQ -- seems shot to hell lately.  

Also, I've been doing some free association in the last year, much
like the "bird" thought train described in .-1, trying
to discover how I feel about things (psychoanalysis in the
privacy of your own basement).  And something quite odd 
has often happened.  A Eureka moment happens,
a surprising insight reveals itself ... in the form
of a Rock and Roll song!  What's odd is ... I am
profoundly non-musical (I bought two records in my
entire life) and I DISLIKE most rock and roll.

For instance, one day I decided to think about winter coats, 
all the coats I ever owned, or loved, or remembered, or that 
occurred to me as being memorable .... which lead to a memory 
of shopping with my mother in Sears, 1951, ... and then, 
the song "I ran all the way home, just to say I'm sorry ..."
burst into my mind ... as I simultaneously realized, for
the first time in life, that I was sometimes a miserable child 
to be a mother of.

The "coat" epidsode was such a session of concentration!
WHY my mind speaks to me in rock and roll totally befuddles me.

Anyone else getting insights in a non-favorite medium?
Or care to comment about free association and the flavor 
in which free association announces insights?

 Meigs

Greetings:

   Since continued interest has been expressed, my entry continues...

________________________________________________________________________________

			THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONCENTRATION
				   (Part II)
				      By 
			       Robert Brown III
				    8/23/90

   In my previous entry 200.8, I described what I called preliminary exercises
which, once you have begun to use them, should have developed within you the
beginnings of real concentration ability.

   I say beginnings, but for you they may be sufficient for everyday life. You
should have found, after six weeks, that your concentration on work and other
things you do will already be improved. You should be better able to apply your
will to keep your mind where you want it to, and your productivity as well as
your ability to utilize your mental faculties should also have improved.

   Unfortunately, you may find that your control will not be as great as it
could be. You will still find yourself affected by your mood, by your interest
in what you are concentrating on, and by the senses that you favor
(kinesthetics, for example, may sometimes have difficulty concentrating on
consistantly visual things if they are not totally interesting).

   In other words, you can concentrate now, but you have not fully attained the
Concentration State, which I touched on in my previous entry when I described
concentration as a "state of mind".

   The exercises described in this entry are designed to enable you to develop
your Concentration State and to begin to learn how to enter it at will.

			       Stage 2 Exercises

   The development of the Concentration State, like the development of
rudimentary concentration, can be approached from a variety of directions. The
direction I've found to be the best one is through the use of external objects
such as cups, geometric shapes, music, soft things like pillows, or any
other object that stimulates the sense that you favor when concentrating.

   The basic technique that you will use is to stimulate your primary sense
(those who do not know what I am talking about here should read my previous
entry 200.8), concentrate on that stimulus, and pay close attention to what you
experienced when you concentrated on the stimulus. By paying close attention to
your experiences, you will learn to duplicate them without the stimulus --
first by recreating the stimulus in your mind, and then by evoking the state
you were in directly. When you reach this point, you will have experienced the
Concentration State for yourself, and will have learned enough about it that
you will, over time, be able to evoke it at will.

   Before beginning the exercises, you must determine what kind of tool(s) you
will wish to use. The tool you use will depend on your primary sense.

   If you are primarily visual, choose some object that is simple yet is
pleasing to your eyes. This could be anything from a stone (or quartz chrystal)
to a burning candle to a glass that you don't normally use (note: it is
important that any object you choose for these exercises be used EXCLUSIVELY
for these exercises, so as not to confuse the Subconscious in everyday
situations). In the beginning of these exercises you will wish to be in a quiet
place and place your object on a table or desk where you can easily look at it
while sitting comfortably.

   If you are primarily auditory, then you'll need to select some kind of
simple, repetitious music, a tape of natural sounds, or if you can, pick a
place where you can be where you will consistantly be able to listen to sounds
that please you. Note: I do NOT recommend any rock songs, loud "funk" music,
or, for that matter, any kind of popular tunes. I recommend certain forms of
Jazz, parts of Classical pieces (not symphonies), or New Age music.

   If you are primarily Kinesthetic, then select an object that is pleasing to
the touch but which does not overstimulate you emotionally. Kinesthetics can
often use the same kinds of objects that visuals can; the difference here is
that a Kinesthetic might prefer something soft and fuzzy like a stuffed animal,
or hard and irregular like a stone. The emphasis here is on your tactile sense
as opposed to your vision.

   Once you have selected what you wish to use, you are ready to begin.  Rather
than go into too much detail about the specific things a visual, kinesthetic,
or auditory must experience during concentration (If/when I describe the Third
Stage exercises here, I will explain how I, who started off as a visual when
concentrating, learned the auditory and kinesthetic experiences!), I will try
to keep this entry as short as possible by giving a general description of the
exercises that is applicable to everyone. To that end, I will use the word
"tool" to describe whatever you have chosen for your exercises.

Exercise 1:

   Prepare in the usual way. Relax yourself and calm yourself. When you are
satisfied that you are relaxed, look at/listen to/feel your tool.

   Focus your mind on the tool that you are experiencing. The tool must occupy
your whole mind, in much the same way that your selected thought occupied your
mind in the Stage 1 exercises. Allow no stray thoughts to interfere with your
concentration on your object. Stray thoughts that interfere should be allowed
to pass and you must gently bring your mind back to what you are seeing/
hearing/feeling.

   Your mind will probably try to wander initiallly, because you are doing
something new. Another reason for your mind's attempt to wander will be that,
to be honest, it will be unused to staying still when you are using your
senses. But this will pass, especially if you have disciplined your mind
through the preliminary exercises. It will, relatively quickly, learn to be
still when you are concentrating on your tool.

   Your goal of concentration here should be fifteen minutes initially, because
you should, by now, be finding it easier to concentrate on things and you will
find that concentrating on the stimulation of your primary sense is a lot
easier than concentrating on a thought. In theory, you could have used this
series of exercises before the previous ones, but if you had you would have, in
the long run, found it difficult to develop a true Concentration State. The
next exercises will, hopefully, convince you of the truth of what I say.

   I do not believe that it will take more than a week to achieve your goal of
fifteen minute concentration on your object, especially if your mind is used to
concentrating. If, however, after a week you still have difficulty, you should
perform this exercise and the next one together in sequence.

Exercise 2:

   The previous exercise was intended to familiarize your mind with the tool
that you have chosen, and to get it used to concentrating on that tool.
This exercise is a form of transition; using your object (in a certain way),
you will take your mind from the basic practice of concentration to the
Concentration State. Consequently, this exercise comes in two steps. You MUST
master Step 1 before attempting Step 2.

Step 1:

   Relax in the usual way. Have your tool available for reference, but do not
use it unless you have to (if you are one of those who had difficulty mastering
the previous exercise, then you should perform Exercise 1 to your best ability,
then set aside your tool and do this exercise). Instead of concentrating on
your physical tool, you must REMEMBER what that tool looked/sounded/felt like.
Try to reproduce the tool in your mind. The better and more precise the
reproduction, the more successful you should consider your session to be.

   In my experience, I have found this to be a VERY difficult thing to do
perfectly. It will be difficult because your mind, which is always the enemy of
concentration, will be trying to inject its own "stuff" into the object you are
reproducing. If, for example, you are "looking at" a cubical object your mind
will try to distort it, change its color, and/or add things to your cube.
Musical sounds will be distorted; some will be forgotten, others exaggerated.
Tactile sensations will change, be forgotten, or will be confused with
remembered sensations. As always, reject the distortions of your tool that your
mind offers, and keep working to reproduce your tool in your mind, briefly
looking at/listening to/touching your tool if you need to remind yourself about
its details.

   Try to reproduce your tool as perfectly as possible, and hold that
reproduction in your mind for five minutes. Later, gradually increase the time
of concentration to ten minutes. You can later try to increase it further, for
your own edification; my Disciplines require me to be able to hold such
concentration for at least a half hour.

Step 2:

   Once you can reproduce your tool in your mind, and hold that reproduction
for ten minutes, you should now select other tools, look at/listen to/feel
them for a minute or two, then reproduce them in your mind. Practice with a
variety of tools.

   After a time (to be determined by how ready you feel), you must try to pay
 more attention to your process of concentration. In other words, tell yourself
before concentrating that you will remember, as much as possible, what the
experience of concentration was like. After your sessions, try to recall your
experience of concentration and remember, as much as possible, what it was like
for you to concentrate. Spend at least ten days doing this.

Exercise 3:

   Relax. Clear your mind as much as possible. When you are ready, remember all
that you can about your experience of concentration. Do not concentrate on any
tools or reproduction of tools. Fill your mind, as much as possible, with
everything you can remember about what it was like to concentrate.

   Recall the entire experience as much as possible. Remember all sensations.
Call up the experience and keep your mind focussed on it for as long as
you can.

   What did it feel like? What form did it take? What was the inner silence
like? BE in the experience. Let the experience fill and dominate your entire
consciousness. BE a person who is concentrating for as long as possible!

   When your thoughts finally move again, check the time. Did you lose a few
minutes? Did you reproduce the experience of concentration perfectly for two
minutes? One minute? Thirty seconds?

   If so, then pat yourself on the back. You have just achieved the
Concentration State.
______________________________________________________________________________

   This Note is even longer than the last one! I am somewhat embarrassed, but
it had to be somewhat longer in order to reach this stopping point.

   There are still a few more things to cover. If interest continues and time
permits, I will continue this in another entry.

                                                      -Robert Brown III

> 200.8 by RANGER::R_BROWN 

>   ... you will, with a minimum of effort, be
> able to follow a chain of associations attached to that subject. If I
> was writing about something else, I could discuss in depth the
> psychological benefits that you can gain by following chains of
> associations. I shall, however, "concentrate" on the subject at hand
> I will leave it to you to explore this area for yourselves. 

What benefits? I'm familiar with free association in psychoanalysis
and other flavors or therapy, but I get the feeling you
are referring to something else.  Hmmm, maybe I've just grooved
the word 'insight' so that 'insight' surprises me here.
What do you mean?     Meigs

Greetings, Meigs:

   I was originally going to comment on your previous entry (200.9), but my
last entry was too long already so I decided not to (long entries are often
difficult to... um... concentrate on. ;-)).

   There definitely is a difference between the techniques I touched on in
200.8 and the methods normally associated with psychoanalysis and "free
association". The difference is slight and subtle, but very important.

   In free association (as you know) the mind is pretty much allowed to wander
where it will, though you are often helped and guided by a psychologist. My
pre- concentration development exercises can be used to consciously explore
subconscious attitudes, beliefs, and associations -- increasing your self-
knowledge,while under your complete control, without the need of outside
guidance. The methodology of Free Association, in its pure form, is similar to
the first of the Stage 1 exercises I described in 200.8 (though its intentions
are different), but the techniques I touched on in the second exercise requires
that you consciously pick a subject and concentrate on all that you associate
with that subject. When used to develop concentration, this helps train your
mind to stay in one area, as a prelude to attaining real concentration where
your mind stays on one thing. But if you adapt it for psychoanalytical
purposes, making your mind concentrate on the associations you have with a
thing makes it more likely for you to learn completely how you feel about
something and what you think about it. This is much more efficient than free
association because (a) you consciously choose the subject and the associations
you "trace", and (b) your sessions are more intense because your mind, in its
resistance to anything that would keep it still, will bring up more information
about the subject in a shorter period of time.

   Please note, however, that these methods are not intended to be a substitute
for psychoanalysis. There are some situations where my methods will be useful,
but there are others where a therapist will be the most helpful.

   As you concentrate on the associations relating to a specific thing, you
will be amazed at the insights that you will gain on how you think and the
inner potentials you have.

   For example, in your entry 200.9, you state that you are nonmusical and that
you diskike most rock- and- roll. Yet in one of your "free association"
sessions, you gained insight about yourself in the form of a rock- and- roll
song! Your experience is not unusual; what it indicates is that despite your
dislike of most rock- and- roll, some songs that you have heard are able to
express aspects of your Self that you are not consciously aware of. Why that is
is a good subject for further exploration.

   My own experiences may be helpful here. The Summer of 1976 was a very
difficult time for me emotionally, because of many different unpleasant things
that were happening. I was just beginning to learn about the mind's
capabilities; one night I was using chains of associations to learn some things
about certain self- destructive behaviors I engaged in.

   I will not describe the associations I followed, because they are very
personal. I do, however, remember them very clearly. At one point I "hit"
something which unleashed a lot of memories and emotions at once. These
memories and emotions formed themselves into a poem which continued to haunt me
for days afterward until I wrote it down.

   This in itself wouldn't seem unusual -- unless you knew that before that
night I had absolutely no interest in poetry at all! I had been exposed to it
in school, but I considered it a "sissy" artform that used a lot of
unnecessarily flowery language to describe nothing. That deep- seated memories
and feelings would express themselves in poetry was, for me, weird in itself.
That I would actually compose a poem, almost instantly, really "freaked me
out".

   But things didn't end there. In the space of about a month, I found myself
composing and writing poem after poem. They described, most poignantly, what I
was going through that summer. I, who had viewed poetry with contempt for so
long, wrote an entire book of poems. And when my musical compositions developed
(that's another story) I actually found myself using poetry to write lyrics!

   To this day, I am very interested in poetry of all kinds, because from that
night I learned just how expressive poetry can be. The few people who have
read my poetry are those who had expressed interest in my experiences in 1976
-- and after reading the poetry they looked at me and said: "I understand. I
understand completely".

   In relating the above experience I am not necessarily saying that you have
hidden talents for music, or that you may have a secret love for rock- and-
roll which you do not consciously acknowledge (these are possible, but you'd
have to determine this for yourself). I am saying that rock- and- roll music
may have "gotten" to you in ways that you may not be aware of, and suggesting
to you that despite your dislike of it your mind, on some level, uses it to
express things deep inside of you.

   A suggestion: perform a procedure similar to the one I described in Exercise
2 in my entry 200.8. Relax your body and mind as much as possible, and tell
yourself that you will concentrate on rock- and- roll and what it means to you.
Think of something that you associate with rock- and- roll and keep it in your
mind.

   Your mind will resist. It will move to something else you associate with
rock- and- roll. It'll probably stay on the subject for a while, but eventually
it will try to move to something else. Don't let it. Do the things I suggested
in 200.8: allow the mind to think of whatever it wants to -- as long as that
thing is related to rock- and- roll. Let yourself experience your feelings
about it.  Let yourself remember experiences you've had related to it. Let some
of the rock songs flow through your mind. But stay on the subject of rock- and-
roll.

   I'm sure you'll be amazed at what you discover.

                                                         -Robert Brown III

Poetry story, and other info, very interesting.
Thanks.  I am mulling all of this over. :)

Curious, too. A friend tossed a number of NLP books
at my husband and I, and these books talk about
quite a bit about internal representation. Mine 
is almost totally visual.  I have to exert conscious
effort to bring in sound.  

And when an NLP book said and think of the way
the image smells, I nearly fainted.  Rarely have
I ever :) :) smelled something I was thinking about.
Even the idea seems comical.

Anyone care to comment about internal stuff besides
image and sound. These *other* ways of thinking/sensing
seem almost like science fiction to me.

I'm enjoying this.       Meigs

    What's so funny about smelling an idea?  That smells fishy to me,
    if you'll pardon the expression.  Like something's rotten in the
    state of Denmark.
    
    --bonnie

>    What's so funny about smelling an idea?  That smells fishy to me,
>    if you'll pardon the expression.  Like something's rotten in the
>    state of Denmark.
    
:) :) 

bonnie,

... perhaps if I had grown up in Denmark. Seriously, I feel that
I am missing something to be so totally visual in my mind.  
Certainy the most intense intellectual effort of my childhood 
had to do with religion, Catholicism, theology, sin, goodness, 
value, and martyrdom. Yuk. Really.

I started off young thinking about things that, to my current
self, are grim and do not lend themselves to much sensuality.

Any other mono-visuals out there who wonder why you don't
smell the roses.       Meigs

    What you're talking about is very common, Meigs, and I was under
    the impression that the latest research indicated that while one's
    basic mode of perception was more or less innate -- children from
    a very early age express a preference for learning visually or
    orally, and interest or disinterest in music -- you can learn to
    view things in another way.  
    
    Or, to put it another way, you can learn to hear the resonances
    among images as well as see them.  You can look at a hot flaming
    exchange and smell the scorched terminals and the crackling static
    as well as seeing the angry words.  
    
    It's mostly a matter of practicing.  Of looking at something
    ordinary and asking yourself, "How can I perceive this ordinary
    place, event, item in a new and different way?"
    
    One class I had recommended sitting down with paper (a journal or
    notebook preferred) and picking up the object nearest you on your
    desk.  Describe it.  How does it feel?  Is it heavy or light or in
    between?  Is it smooth, rough, fluffy, cold, hot, bumpy?  Hold it
    against your cheek.  Does it feel different there than it did to
    your fingers?  Hold it under your nose.  Can you smell it?  What
    does it smell like?  Does it remind you of anything you smelled
    before, a place you've been, perhaps?  Hold it to your ear.  Does
    it echo?  Does it dull other sounds?  Lick it.  (You might want to
    make sure no one's watching for this part.)  What does it feel
    like to your tongue?  What does it taste like?
    
    Another exercise they gave us was to set an alarm for 20 minutes. 
    Then write for 20 minutes about the quality of the light in the
    room.  It doesn't matter what you say or how you say it, the only
    rule is you have to keep writing, you have to keep your pencil
    moving over the page, you can't go back to cross out, revise,
    reread, or put in commas, and you have to write for the whole 20
    minutes.  It was fascinating.  Since I'm not primarily a visual
    person, I thought I had nothing whatsoever to say about light, but
    I found insights and connections that I didn't know I had!  I
    guess you might want to take something that mostly appeals to
    another sense for your subject -- the smell of coffee brewing, for
    instance, or the music that's on the radio at the moment.
    
    --bonnie

    I used an exercise when I was teaching writing. The purpose was to
    make the writer concentrate on description and properties that aid
    in describing an object/place/happening. Each exercise was only
    a paragraph or two.  Students edited their own efforts two weeks
    after writing them. 
    
    Describe a windy day on the campus plaza. Use only images that
    reinforce the idea of wind.
    
    Describe the river valley as a series of colors.  (Note: trees are
    not simply green, the water is not simply blue.)
    
    Provide directions from one building on campus to another as if
    there are no signs and buildings do not have names.
    
    Describe this piece of music (I'd usually play a tape loop of a
    Bach piece).  Most students wrote about visions the music evoked,
    some wrote about emotions, one wrote a short biography of Bach.
    I always hoped for and never received a description in terms of
    odor -- besides the comment that classical stinks. 
                                      
          Margaret

bonnie,  -*
>     Or, to put it another way, you can learn to hear the resonances
>    among images as well as see them.  You can look at a hot flaming
>    exchange and smell the scorched terminals ...
    

crunch tinkle crunch tinkle crunch ...

Took a walk last night. Thru a town made of aluminum foil.
Objects bent and dented easily.  Saw the grass, by default. 
Walked on it, by default. Saw it bend, by default.  
Then I turned the sound On by wondering what the grass 
sounded like as I walked on it.  It sounde like:

   crunch tinkle crunch tinkle crunch ...

And I could Feel it crunching too. Didn't have to turn on
the "feel."  When I heard the crunch-tinkle, the crunchy
gritty sensation came too.

Nothing works in this world because it is all aluminum.
Dull silver lights and glare.  I get a hint of a 
metallic smell.  

>    One class I had recommended sitting down with paper (a journal or
>    notebook preferred) and picking up the object nearest you on your
>    desk.  ...

found the aluminum town by doing ^^^that^^^ with a playground
slide while driving home.  After putting the slide down, sometime
later, found myself in the aluminum town.  

   crunch crunch     This is fun.  :) :)