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12 Concentration Exercises from 1918 by Brett & Kate McKay on August 8, 2012 · 84 comments in A Man's Life, Personal Development Does your mind flit from one thing to another? Do you have trouble focusing on something for more than a few minutes? Do you consequently have a bunch of half-finished projects lying around the house, and a dozen half-baked ideas still knocking around in your cranium, and thus a pile of regrets about where you’re at with those things and in your life? If so, what should you do? Now if you went to the gym and tried to lift weights only to find your arms and legs were weak and flabby, you’d start a program of weekly exercises to strengthen your muscles. Well, your mind is a kind of muscle too! And just like the muscles in your body, your brain needs weekly exercise to tone up the strength of its focus and concentration. What’s a good workout for your noodle? Well, I discovered some interesting concentration exercises in a great old book from 1918: The Power of Concentration by Theron Q. Dumont, and have shared some excerpts from the book below, along with some great illustrations from Mr. Ted Slampyak. While some of the exercises are a little goofy and you may look like a crazy person staring at an outstretched glass of water, you’ll have the last laugh as your concentration power increases to Professor X levels. Use this guide to beef up your brain, or as inspiration to invent your own concentration exercises. Now put your finger on the side of your nose and let’s get started. Concentration Exercises from 1918 The rays of the sun, when focused upon an object by means of a sun glass, produce a heat many times greater than the scattered rays of the same source of light and heat. This is true of attention. Scatter it and you get but ordinary results. But center it upon one thing and you secure much better results. When you focus your attention upon an object, your every action, voluntary and involuntary, is in the direction of attaining that object. If you will focus your

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12 Concentration Exercises from 1918 by Brett & Kate McKay on August 8, 2012 · 84 comments

in A Man's Life, Personal Development

Does your mind flit from one thing to another? Do you have trouble focusing on something for more than a few minutes? Do you consequently have a bunch of half-finished projects lying around the house, and a dozen half-baked ideas still knocking around in your cranium, and thus a pile of regrets about where you’re at with those things and in your life? If so, what should you do?

Now if you went to the gym and tried to lift weights only to find your arms and legs were weak and flabby, you’d start a program of weekly exercises to strengthen your muscles. Well, your mind is a kind of muscle too! And just like the muscles in your body, your brain needs weekly exercise to tone up the strength of its focus and concentration. What’s a good workout for your noodle? Well, I discovered some interesting concentration exercises in a great old book from 1918: The Power of Concentration by Theron Q. Dumont, and have shared some excerpts from the book below, along with some great illustrations from Mr. Ted Slampyak. While some of the exercises are a little goofy and you may look like a crazy person staring at an outstretched glass of water, you’ll have the last laugh as your concentration power increases to Professor X levels. Use this guide to beef up your brain, or as inspiration to invent your own concentration exercises. Now put your finger on the side of your nose and let’s get started.

Concentration Exercises from 1918

The rays of the sun, when focused upon an object by means of a sun glass, produce a heat many times greater than the scattered rays of the same source of light and heat. This is true of attention. Scatter it and you get but ordinary results. But center it upon one thing and you secure much better results. When you focus your attention upon an object, your every action, voluntary and involuntary, is in the direction of attaining that object. If you will focus your

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energies upon a thing to the exclusion of everything else, you generate the force that can bring you what you want.

When you focus your thought, you increase its strength. The exercises that follow are tedious and monotonous, but useful. If you will persist in them you will find they are very valuable, as they increase your powers of concentration.

It will be necessary to first train the body to obey the commands of the mind. I want you to gain control of your muscular movements. The following exercise is especially good in assisting you to acquire perfect control of the muscles.

Exercise 1: Sitting Still in a Chair

Sit in a comfortable chair and see how still you can keep. This is not as easy as it seems. You will have to center your attention on sitting still. Watch and see that you are not making any involuntary muscular movements. By a little practice you will find you are able to sit still without a movement of the muscles for fifteen minutes. At first I advise sitting in a relaxed position for five minutes. After you are able to keep perfectly still, increase the time to ten minutes and then to fifteen. This is as long as it is necessary. But never strain yourself to keep still. You must be relaxed completely. You will find this habit of relaxing is very good.

Exercise 2: Fix Gaze on Fingers

Sit in a chair with your head up and your chin out, shoulders back. Raise your right arm until it is on the level with your shoulder, pointing to your right. Look around, with head only, and fix your gaze on your fingers, and keep the arm perfectly still for one minute. Do the same exercise with your left arm. When you are able to keep the arm perfectly steady, increase the time until you are able to do this five minutes with each arm. Turn the palm of the hand downward when it is outstretched, as this is the easiest position. If you will keep your eyes fixed on the tips of the fingers you will be able to tell if you are keeping your arm perfectly still.

Exercise 3: Fix Eyes on Outstretched Glass

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Fill a small glass full of water, and grasp it by the fingers; put the arm directly in front of you. Now fix the eyes upon the glass and try to keep the arm so steady that no movement will be noticeable. Do this first for one moment and then increase it to five. Do the exercise with first one arm and then the other.

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The purpose of the above exercises is to gain control over the involuntary muscular movement, making your actions entirely voluntary. The following exercise [is designed] to bring your voluntary muscles under the control of the will, so that your mental forces may control your muscular movements.

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Exercise 4: Concentrate on Opening and Closing Fists

Move your chair up to a table, placing your hands upon it, clenching the fists, keeping the back of the hand on the table, the thumb doubled over the fingers. Now fix your gaze upon the fist for a while, then gradually extend the thumb, keeping your whole attention fixed upon the act, just as if it was a matter of great importance. Then gradually extend your first finger, then your second and so on until you open the rest. Then reverse the process, closing first the last one opened and then the rest, and finally you will have the fist again in the original position with the thumb closed over the finger. Do this exercise with the left hand. Keep up this

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exercise first with one hand and then the other until you have done it five times with each hand. In a few days you can increase it to ten times.

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The chances are that the above exercises will at first make you “tired,” but it is important for you to practice these monotonous exercises so you can train your attention. It also gives you control over your muscular movement. The attention, of course, must be kept closely on each movement of the hand; if it is not, you of course lose the value of the exercise.

You may think these exercises very simple and of no value, but I promise you in a short time you will notice that you have a much better control over your muscular movements, carriage and demeanor, and you will find that you have greatly improved your power of attention, and can center your thoughts on what you do, which of course will be very valuable.

No matter what you may be doing, imagine that it is your chief object in life. Imagine you are not interested in anything else in the world but what you are doing. Do not let your attention get away from the work you are at. Your attention will no doubt be rebellious, but control it and do not let it control you. When once you conquer the rebellious attention you have achieved a greater victory than you can realize at the time. Many times afterwards you will be thankful you have learned to concentrate your closest attention upon the object at hand.

Let no day go by without practicing concentrating on some familiar object that is uninteresting. Never choose an interesting object, as it requires less attention. The less interesting it is the better exercise will it be. After a little practice you will find you can center your attention on uninteresting subjects at will. The person that can concentrate can gain full control over his body and mind and be the master of his inclinations; not their slave. When you can control yourself you can control others. You can develop a Will that will make you a giant compared with the man that lacks Will Power. Try out your Will Power in different ways until you have it under such control that just as soon as you decide to do a thing you go ahead and do it. Never be satisfied with the “I did fairly well” spirit, but put forward your best efforts. Be satisfied with nothing else. When you have gained this you are the man you were intended to be.

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Exercise 5: Concentration Increases the Sense of Smell

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When you take a walk, or drive in the country, or pass a flower garden, concentrate on the odor of flowers and plants. See how many different kinds you can detect. Then choose one particular kind and try to sense only this. You will find that this strongly intensifies the sense of smell. This differentiation requires, however, a peculiarly attentive attitude. When sense of smell is being developed, you should not only shut out from the mind every thought but that of odor, but you should also shut out cognizance of every odor save that upon which your mind, for the time, is concentrated. You can find plenty of opportunity for exercises for developing the sense of smell. When you are out in the air, be on the alert for the different odors. You will find the air laden with all kinds, but let your concentration upon the one selected be such that a scent of its fragrance in after years will vividly recall the circumstances of this exercise.

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The object of these exercises is to develop concentrated attention, and you will find that you can, through their practice, control your mind and direct your thoughts just the same as you can your arm.

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Exercise 6: Concentration on the Within

Lie down and thoroughly relax your muscles. Concentrate on the beating of your heart. Do not pay any attention to anything else. Think how this great organ is pumping the blood to every part of the body; try to actually picture the blood leaving the great reservoir and going in one

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stream right down to the toes. Picture another going down the arms to the tips of the fingers. After a little practice you can actually feel the blood passing through your system.

Exercise 7: Concentrating on Sleep

What is known as the water method is, although very simple, very effective in inducing sleep. Put a full glass of clear water on a table in your sleeping room. Sit in a chair beside the table and gaze into the glass of water and think how calm it is. Then picture yourself getting into just as calm a state. In a short time you will find the nerves becoming quiet and you will be able to go to sleep. Sometimes it is good to picture yourself becoming drowsy to induce sleep, and, again, the most persistent insomnia has been overcome by one thinking of himself as some inanimate object–for instance, a hollow log in the depths of the cool, quiet forest.

Those who are troubled with insomnia will find these sleep exercises that quiet the nerves very effective. Just keep the idea in your mind that there is no difficulty in going to sleep; banish all fear of insomnia. Practice these exercises and you will sleep.

Exercise 8: Practice Talking Before a Glass

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Make two marks on your mirror on a level with your eyes, and think of them as two human eyes looking into yours. Your eyes will probably blink a little at first. Do not move your head, but stand erect. Concentrate all your thoughts on keeping your head perfectly still. Do not let another thought come into your mind. Then, still keeping the head, eyes and body still, think that you look like a reliable man or woman should; like a person that anyone would have confidence in…

While standing before the mirror practice deep breathing. See that there is plenty of fresh air in the room, and that you are literally feasting on it. You will find that, as it permeates every cell, your timidity will disappear. It has been replaced by a sense of peace and power.

The one that stands up like a man and has control over the muscles of his face and eyes always commands attention. In his conversation, he can better impress those with whom he comes in contact. He acquires a feeling of calmness and strength that causes opposition to melt away before it.

Three minutes a day is long enough for the practice of this exercise.

Exercise 9: The Eastern Way of Concentrating

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Sit in a chair with a high back in an upright position. Press one finger against the right nostril. Now take a long, deep breath, drawing the breath in gently as you count to ten; then expel the breath through the right nostril as you count to ten. Repeat this exercise with the opposite nostril. This exercise should be done at least twenty times at each sitting.

Exercise 10: Controlling Desires

Desire, which is one of the hardest forces to control, will furnish you with excellent exercises in concentration. It seems natural to want to tell others what you know; but, by learning to control these desires, you can wonderfully strengthen your powers of concentration. Remember, you have all you can do to attend to your own business. Do not waste your time in thinking of others or in gossiping about them.

If, from your own observation, you learn something about another person that is detrimental, keep it to yourself. Your opinion may afterwards turn out to be wrong anyway, but whether right or wrong, you have strengthened your will by controlling your desire to communicate your views.

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If you hear good news resist the desire to tell it to the first person you meet and you will be benefited thereby. It will require the concentration of all your powers of resistance to prohibit the desire to tell. After you feel that you have complete control over your desires you can then tell your news. But you must be able to suppress the desire to communicate the news until you are fully ready to tell it. Persons that do not possess this power of control over desires are apt to tell things that they should not, thereby often involving both themselves and others in needless trouble.

If you are in the habit of getting excited when you hear unpleasant news, just control yourself and receive it without any exclamation of surprise. Say to yourself, “Nothing is going to cause me to lose my self-control. You will find from experience that this self-control will be worth much to you in business. You will be looked upon as a cool-headed business man, and this in time becomes a valuable business asset. Of course, circumstances alter cases. At times it is necessary to become enthused. But be ever on the lookout for opportunities for the practice of self-control. “He that ruleth his spirit is greater than he that ruleth a city.”

Exercise 11: When You Read

No one can think without first concentrating his thoughts on the subject in hand. Every man and woman should train himself to think clearly. An excellent exercise is to read some short story and then write just an abridged statement. Read an article in a newspaper, and see in how few words you can express it. Reading an article to get only the essentials requires the closest concentration. If you are unable to write out what you read, you will know you are weak in concentration. Instead of writing it out you can express it orally if you wish. Go to your room and deliver it as if you were talking to some one. You will find exercises like this of the greatest value in developing concentration and learning to think.

After you have practiced a number of these simple exercises read a book for twenty minutes and then write down what you have read. The chances are that at first you will not remember very many details, but with a little practice you will be able to write a very good account of what you have read. The closer the concentration the more accurate the account will be.

It is a good idea when time is limited to read only a short sentence and then try to write it down word for word. When you are able to do this, read two or more sentences and treat similarly. The practice will produce very good results if you keep it up until the habit is fixed. If you will just utilize your spare time in practicing exercises like those suggested you can gain wonderful powers of concentration. You will find that in order to remember every word in a sentence you must keep out every thought but that which you wish to remember, and this power of inhibition alone will more than compensate for the trouble of the exercise. Of course, success in all of the above depends largely upon cultivating, through the closest concentration,

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the power to image or picture what you read; upon the power, as one writer expresses it, of letting the mountains of which we hear loom before us and the rivers of which we read roll at our feet.

Exercise 12: Watch Concentration

Sit in a chair and place a clock with a second hand on the table. Follow the second hand with your eyes as it goes around. Keep this up for five minutes, thinking of nothing else but the second hand, This is a very good exercise when you only have a few minutes to spare, if you are able to keep every other thought in the stream of consciousness subordinate to it. As there is little that is particularly interesting about the second hand, it is hard to do this, but in the extra effort of will power required to make it successful lies its value.

Always try to keep as still as possible during these exercises.

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1 Blake August 8, 2012 at 8:30 pm

Great article, and particularly helpful for me, because I have difficulty holding on to the various ideas that pop into my head. I will try these exercises and see how they help.

2 Wayne August 8, 2012 at 8:52 pm

Despite how odd these are I loved it. Whether it works or there’s an enormous amount of placebo effect working here; I’m going to use the exercises.

Thanks for the plethora of interesting posts lately, fellas.

3 Todd August 8, 2012 at 10:25 pm

Once I started taking contract work and working from home I lost a lot of concentration that I thought I would have gained compared to working in big office with 140 people. So I need to dig into some concentration exercises.

Although it seems that some of these are less “exercises” to concentrate, as they are maybe tools to help transition into concentrating on the next task.

4 Bob August 8, 2012 at 10:26 pm

I wonder how widely used these were, back in the day. And, if this sort of thing was generally encouraged, I wonder if it helped prevent the epidemic of ADD – related problems we seem to be experiencing these days. Thanks for sharing.

5 bradley nartowt August 8, 2012 at 10:40 pm

I find classical music to be immensely helpful in concentrating.

6 Dylan August 9, 2012 at 12:37 am

You guys are really pounding out the great posts lately. The brain is like a muscle, you have to train it!

7 Matthew August 9, 2012 at 1:58 am

Ask and ye shall receive, I have been looking for a way to control my wandering mind and voila, here is an excellent place to start. Thanks guys!

8 Adam Ryan August 9, 2012 at 3:11 am

Reminds me a lot of Chi Kung and zazen. Love it! Sometimes we struggle in the west with the ideas of emptiness associated with the eastern methods of meditation. I can see how these might reach a broader audience.

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9 Richard August 9, 2012 at 3:42 am

Mindfulness training is outstanding for focusing and relaxation. This field is all the rage in modern psychology and I recommennd it highly to anyone wanting to live more in the moment. Don’t let the name fool you, it has been validated by modern science (MRI scans etc) and gears your brain to be more positive and focused.

10 Gareth August 9, 2012 at 5:34 am

Thanks for the article, It’s always good to be reminded that concentration needs practice.

11 J Sellers August 9, 2012 at 8:11 am

I wonder what a typical sequence through out a week would one perform these would. All 12 three times a day? 4 days split? Everyday? What do you guys think?

12 Joe F August 9, 2012 at 8:35 am

I wanted to read this article, but I lost my concentration…

13 De Luke August 9, 2012 at 9:06 am

I started reading the article, but then there was this fly on the wall… I’m sorry, what was I saying?

14 F.C August 9, 2012 at 9:39 am

I shall begin doing these every day. I sorely need more concentration discipline.

15 Ian August 9, 2012 at 10:07 am

Got beat to the ADD jokes. I really need this and similar training. At work I’ll have ten different tabs open in my web browser and wonder why I’m a pile of insanity by the end of the day.

16 Pow August 9, 2012 at 12:15 pm

Its amazing how many of these principles are taken from the Bible. “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” -Proverbs 16:32 “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” – Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” – Colossians 3:23-24 Unlike many Eastern practices, God, in the Bible never tells us to empty our minds but rather to fill them with the knowledge of God by meditating (thinking deeply) on the things of God, on eternal things, the things of Christ (Colossians 3:1-4, Philippians 4:8-9).

17 Doc August 9, 2012 at 12:15 pm

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I am having real trouble printing this. I would like to copy it and share it with my students…most of them, heck, all of them could use it. Unfortunately, the print link “Gnarly Dude”s me! :)

Ideas?

18 Matt August 9, 2012 at 2:16 pm

I have delt with “ADD” all my life and no one has ever told me this! They only want to sell you drugs to solve the problem. I am going to do these and let you know how much better I get than with medication lol

19 curtis carpenter August 9, 2012 at 2:20 pm

concentration or focus as it is also called is a highly important thing becuase if you cant focus at anything you really cant do that much or really just about anything. Thats why i value and taking such a big interest in the profundity and Autodidacticism of this artical!

20 Robert August 9, 2012 at 4:09 pm

The Spartans used to do similar style focus exercises to control Phobos.. the fear. Supposedly, controlling the involuntary fight/flight mechanism, to where there is only fight.. Mental toughness if you will.

21 Andy B August 9, 2012 at 4:33 pm

Pow – comment #16 – in my opinion you give unduly credit to the Bible. Where is the proof that 1) this data originated from the Bible and 2) the Bible was the original source of the passages’ wisdom.

22 Skyler August 9, 2012 at 5:59 pm

These are all pretty great. I can’t wait to try the water glass exersize tonight, as I have been having a lot of trouble sleeping!

23 RTB August 9, 2012 at 7:33 pm

These are great techniques.

And none of them are taken from the Bible, nutbar. Your quotes have nothing to do with this, except one happens to bash eastern religions, which have been practicing concentration techniques for longer then the Bible has existed. You have a strange hobby.

24 Dave August 9, 2012 at 9:57 pm

@RTB I thought most of Pow’s comment was a stretch (to say the least), but that’s no reason to call him a nutbar. The quote from proverbs was even in the article.

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25 Claude August 10, 2012 at 12:09 pm

Proof I need to try these? This took me alot longer to read than it should have because I had to stop and look at my phone and ipod, adjust some items on my desk for no reason, and re-read paragraphs because my mind wondered off.

I can never sit still and i have trouble falling asleep at night because of it.

Thanks for the arti…. OOOOO something shiny!

26 Ron August 10, 2012 at 4:50 pm

@Andy B The passages Pow quoted are good evidence that the Bible at least confIned those principles. As for evidence they originate with the Bible, I suppose you would have to locate an older manuscript that contains any of the same wisdom.

@RTB It’s interesting how you jumped to the conclusion that pow was ‘bashing’ eastern religion. From his comment it sounds like he was making a pretty benign comparison.

27 Lesley August 10, 2012 at 11:06 pm

Really great post. As a community manager I’m always consuming a ton of information, so it can be difficult to concentrate when it comes time to switch gears. Perhaps I just need to unlock the power of the nostril. :)

28 Alan August 11, 2012 at 3:56 am

I think just a couple of these would be a lot more effective. If I were the gambling type I’d bet a lot of money that NONE of the readers here will actually try every one of these.

Half of them, maybe.

I’ll go further and say that I’d be surprised if as many as 10% of the readers tried ANY of them. Heck, I can’t be bothered; there’s just too many

29 BHW August 11, 2012 at 4:13 am

Great article, although it seems that the intent was missed by some as evident from the above posts. I’ve noticed a prejudice by some whenever a comment is made about Christianity or the Bible. These individuals cannot restrain themselves, nor have the self-discipline to refrain from making childish and ignorant comments, that have no place amongst gentlemen.

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There was a time when men could and would meet to discuss, politics, philosophy and theology with a sense I decorum. This art has been lost and devolved to individuals posting comments like “nutbar” or assailing an individual for making a comment about the Bible.

Maybe we could use an article on proper decorum in an age of drive by comments in a world of anonymity.

30 Jeff August 11, 2012 at 6:17 am

The article is a great help. Thanks!

31 Glier August 11, 2012 at 11:02 pm

Doc, copy the web address of this page and go to joliprint there you can convert it to pdf and help in printing or shearing

32 JT August 12, 2012 at 12:02 am

Tried the chair exercise trying to not to move, it got difficult after I started getting tiny itches on my legs then they moved up to my arms but as soon as the five minutes was up and I broke focus the itches disappeared

33 Chris August 12, 2012 at 10:31 am

I’m glad to see that somebody else has stumbled across this author. Theron Q Durmont is a pseudonym of the prolific William Walker Atkinson who has written dozens of occult books under various names. If you want to blow your mind read Mystic Christianity by Yogi Ramacharaka (another pseudonym).

34 Chris August 12, 2012 at 10:37 am

Oh and you are all right…this information was in the bible and was also around before the bible. It’s called eastern occultism, of which Jesus was the master. Where did you think he went between the ages of 13 and 30? Why didn’t John the baptist, his own cousin, recognize Jesus at the river? Because Jesus became a traveling mystic and studied and taught abroad.

35 Fred August 12, 2012 at 5:38 pm

Great article! These principles were taken from the Bible, I believe. At least, the Bible contains similar principles, such as training the mind to think and meditate on God’s Word.

I used to be able to concentrate on school subjects for hours. Now I get so scatterbrained when I try to read or focus on a problem. I need more practice in concentrating on one thing. Thanks Brett!

36 ilu August 12, 2012 at 7:57 pm

Bible? These concepts were in heavy use all over the world thousands of years before the Bible.

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37 Max August 13, 2012 at 11:35 am

Hey, I was wondering if we’ll take a group of exercises for each day, how many exercises you would suggest… And how long…

I guess I’m quiet interested… Great article BTW!

38 Claudiu August 14, 2012 at 1:34 am

You will love this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcOwpzJuShA

39 Walter August 14, 2012 at 10:00 am

I’ve been reading these articles for about a year now and I really am thankful someone came up with the idea for TAOM. The power of the internet at its finest. Thank you.

40 John K. August 16, 2012 at 12:27 pm

I have to say, I love how well timed your articles are. Just wanted to share two things; one of my favored quotes and an exercise I use quite often, and helped a great deal.

“I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who overcomes his enemies.” – Aristotle

There is a stance called the Horse Stance which not only strengthens your muscles but your will, also. I highly recommend it. Over time, your legs and concentration will adapt.

41 Gene August 16, 2012 at 7:54 pm

Great topic! I practice Tai Chi to supplement Tae Kwon Do and meditation alongside concentration and control are very important. Now I am much more able to see who is in control and who is not physically, in a conversation, or in the workplace. Concentration techniques do not need to be complicated, just practiced!

42 Miguel August 17, 2012 at 5:36 pm

I scrolled down to post this comment before I read the article. … I think i need a little more practice in this subject!

43 Mel August 17, 2012 at 6:07 pm

Great Article…I will surely use some of these exercises

44 Steve August 17, 2012 at 6:48 pm

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Love AOM…thanks Brett for this article!

45 mitch scott August 17, 2012 at 10:43 pm

This book is the best no bull simple yet intelligent book on tightening up the will I’ve ever read.I truly can’t thank you guys enough for exposing me to its existence.

46 Chad August 19, 2012 at 2:40 pm

Whoa, when I saw the clock watching exercise I thought “No way! I thought I thought of that !” But my exercise is to watch the minute hand. At first you swear you can’t see it move, but if you look at the negative spaces and points of contact the minute hand has with the numbers and dashes, you will see it is in fact moving steadily and noticeably. But you have to concentrate.

47 Peter August 25, 2012 at 9:38 pm

Definitely AoM is question of good article after good article, but this, is one of those that I find more useful.

On the other hand, I’d like that comments won’t be closed after a while, mainly because it’s only after put them into practise that you eventually could come back to them and add something of really value, moreover, many people outside of the community could add interesting opinions and thoughts without necessarily belong to the community.

48 jim August 26, 2012 at 2:57 pm

Great post and a particularly timely one for me. I’ve been having trouble finding motivation to complete my tasks over the past few weeks. I have researched furiously on the topic of “managing one’s life” in the hopes of reigniting my fuel of motivation that gave me power to reach my goals. In the end I’ve realized that my search is nothing but a cry for a short cut to the end of nowhere. I’ve realized that the only path that lead to success is hard and painful work. The ability to keep one’s focus under control is the key to unlock the door of a room of unlimited fuel and motivation which lead you to your final success. I will add these exercises to my morning routines and hopefully I will reconnect with my inner soul and to wake him up for this long and hard but rewarding journey to success.

49 Bubba August 28, 2012 at 12:31 pm

Great site and extremely valuable since the ‘Art of Manliness’ has all but gone the way of the wind.

50 Lmil September 3, 2012 at 11:38 am

Other books before the bible, hmmmm, lets see; “in the beginning”, when there was no light, or earth, or other books dammit! These 12 excercises are for folks who might WANT to practice concentration techniques. Why not take a turn at gaining self control instead of lambasting others with your apparent LACK of it. He that has control of himself is stronger than a mighty city.

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51 Jeremy September 21, 2012 at 11:08 am

Often times I find it difficult to control my attention. But I’ve noticed that the key to concentrating on the task at hand- especially when it’s a task that I’m not fond of- is to just take action. When we take action on a task our subconscious sort of laser focuses in on the task at hand. As we find solutions to our problems, we become excited, and when we’re excited we work with uninterrupted concentration.

52 Rajeev November 13, 2012 at 12:32 am

I always had this problem of not being able to concentrate on one single thought or work. These simple exercises i think will work. I am gonna try a few… thanks guys

53 MKlap November 29, 2012 at 4:04 pm

I’ve read this book “The Power of Concentration” by Dumont that includes all of this exercises (in the book there are actually 19 of them in chapter 14). After reading it, all my actions and thoughts became much more concentrated! It’s been a week since I’ve practiced these exercises and I think I have improvements! You should definitely read it!

54 Sanket January 24, 2013 at 12:16 pm

Zzz.. y cant i concentrate to watch this article :P

55 subhas February 18, 2013 at 2:01 pm

the ideas are good ones.liked it. thank you

56 Roudrajjal March 5, 2013 at 2:13 am

Really a great article, I found this amazing. I was seeking for some true tips and thanks i got it here.

57 gaurav March 5, 2013 at 8:42 am

thanks man. These exercises are greatly useful.

58 jisso March 6, 2013 at 1:19 am

thank you so much for this excellent and practical advice for improving my concentration.i believe that i can do this …

59 Rohit March 17, 2013 at 9:39 am

Good one… i will try ….:)

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60 Dharan March 18, 2013 at 11:32 am

Need more information

61 sanket galande April 9, 2013 at 12:33 am

i am not able to concentrate during studying. i want some tips to learn any subjects

62 urvashi April 9, 2013 at 12:37 am

one of the most well written article with a practical approach. would surely practice these tricks. Hope it works for me. its amazing!!!!

63 Max April 15, 2013 at 9:41 am

A simple and yet effective way to concentrate is to count to 100 slowly. Think it’s to easy, try 1000 now!

“Concentration comes out of a combination of confidence and hunger.” Arnold Palmer

“Concentration is my motto – first honesty, then industry, then concentration.” Andrew Carnegie

64 vrishank April 21, 2013 at 11:39 pm

finally , i got the hidden answers of my open questions . It had been a lot of troublesome for me to focus in one direction of thoughts . this article will improve m concentration power. hope for the sucess

65 josue May 2, 2013 at 9:30 pm

thanks for the article I am going to try the excercises

66 akash May 6, 2013 at 4:57 am

ya its working it is a goood ……

67 akshaya May 19, 2013 at 1:22 am

seems that it’ll really work. i am gonna try this.

68 chinmay May 21, 2013 at 10:37 am

jst read these exercises… n it really seems to be gr8… will definitely try these out… thanks a lot for posting these…!!!

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69 Nikhilesh Bebarta May 24, 2013 at 10:10 am

Hmmmm…. these suggestions sounds pretty practical.. nd obviously helpful.. I did use it nd felt good … A BIG THANKS !!

70 Nikita Das May 27, 2013 at 11:37 am

I tried it, it was quite effective.

71 Rob June 14, 2013 at 12:07 pm

it’s awesome man!!!! thanks for sharing…

72 Pushp mahajan June 26, 2013 at 6:50 am

‘These exercises helped me a lot .” Really these exercises are very effective.

73 Kamini Singh July 6, 2013 at 2:51 am

Seems helpful ! I badly need this.

74 ibti Simle July 18, 2013 at 11:16 am

thanks for sharing hope it’ll work :)

75 Jeromey July 20, 2013 at 9:57 pm

First time i’m hearing about Exercise 2: Fix Gaze on Fingers. Very interesting.

76 Ketan July 25, 2013 at 9:38 am

let us see if it works!!!!! i’ll try my best….n keep faith ;)

77 Alexandra July 30, 2013 at 12:34 am

It really works! This is amazing…. .

78 Kim July 30, 2013 at 7:50 am

to Alexandra, Can you tell more about this; what did you do, for how long and what do you experience now?

I really hope this works, I have big troubles with concentration loss.

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79 Bruce Williamson August 7, 2013 at 11:26 am

The article sounds a lot like Mindful Meditation.

80 astro August 7, 2013 at 11:57 am

most of those are Yoga concentration techniques and have been proven to work very well.

81 Benjamin Jones August 7, 2013 at 12:19 pm

Read: Franz Bardon: Initiation Into Hermetics.

82 jerry August 7, 2013 at 2:21 pm

Learning to concentrate effectively takes time and remedial work…if you are in a hurry continue at not being able to concentrate. As a Marine in a combat zone I learned the value of concentration the fist time I was shot at by someone I should have seen but didn’t. I lived. Now I value concentration above many other attributes.

83 Caleb August 8, 2013 at 10:29 pm

I found immediate benefit in these exercises. Great stuff, and especially applicable in this age of information overload. I look forward to observing advanced benefits as I continue them.

84 Aarya August 12, 2013 at 11:06 am

thank you for this article…its amazing