The half-wordly and half-spiritual man who wants to lead a spiritual sensual life eventually brings about a conflict between the laws and forces of the two planes of being.  He is overwhelmed with pain and at last with cries of suffering, disease and loss, he is made to open his eyes.  Understand the world for what it is but do not lower your soul to the point of being attached to its small thoughts, things and ways.

HOW TO CONCENTRATE OBJECTIVELY.

(a) In all undertakings whether of small or great importance shut off all thoughts and ideas except such as have any immediate and direct bearing upon the thing in hand.  Pay attention.  Bend all the energies of your mind and will upon it till it is completed to your satisfaction.  Divert your attention from one thing to another only when you sanction by a resolve and understand why you do so.  Your daily work which you must choose according to the special bent of your mind, will present you opportunities.

(b) Control impulse.  Suppose an idea enters your mind.  Compose yourself quietly before carrying out its purport.  Consider it.  Turn it over in your mind.  Contemplate it.  Weave your mental energies around it, as it were, till at last the idea with your final decision stands out clear-cut and well-defined.  Then proceed to act it out physically with your mental concentration cutting a way for you straight on to the execution of your designing.  This is forethought.

(c) In perfect concentration time vanishes.  In working out a design on which you have set your heart dispense altogether with the element of time and work at it concentratedly for days, months and years with confident expectation of success.

(d) Take a picture, representing a landscape, the interior of a building, an assembly of persons, a square, a triangle or a more complicated geometrical figure.  Look at it well.  Then lay it aside.  Close your eyes.  Reproduce the picture mentally in detail.  Then repose your mind on the same image to the exclusion of all other thoughts.  This is a more fixed and meditative method and will sharpen the mind wonderfully.  It will also develop the power of conscious Mental Imagery.  The key to Objective Concentration is Conscious Attention, remember.

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE MENTATION.

These terms imply two different distinct functions of the human mind.  The active function performs the volitional, voluntary thinking.  It is the conscious focusing of the mind on some mental problem.  Banishing from the mind all thoughts and ideas not in harmony with your special subject of study implies Active Mentation.  This function is used by the active, wide-awake man in his busy and energetic moments.  It is the key to the development of Will-Power and a vigorous intellect.  You are conscious of effort