In All of life, and on the spiritual path – the path of awakening beyond life and then eventually in life – one hopes to be and feel successful in ones endeavors. In the teaching of Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan, he offers a challenge and a clue to success in ones life. And in a way this is also a warning. He says that to learn to meditate is not enough. In order to be successful in your life, you must learn to concentrate. Concentration is the key. This is also true in the development of the capacity to heal.
The following is an exercise to increase ones capacity to concentrate – to keep one’s mind steady and one’s glance steady on an object, over time. Out of this exercise, when done over a period of time, you will find you have the ability to sustain a healing presence, a presence that in itself will transform and heal.
The exercise:
Choose a location where you can sit with your spine straight and place an object that is pleasing to you in your line of sight, or draw a simple shape (a square, triangle, circle or diamond), and place that in front of you.
Choose an amount of time – for example, one minute or five minutes. The number of minutes is less important than choosing a doable amount of time. Start slowly, and steadily build up the length of time for this practice. Too much too fast will only confuse the mind and strain the will.
Take a deep breath in, and as you breathe out let your glance rest on the object you’ve chosen. Say to yourself ‘I will concentrate for ‘x’ minute/s’. Breathe evenly and keep your glance and your attention on the object. If your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your task. Do this for the amount of time you’ve chosen.
When you get to the time allotted, stop. Say to your self ‘I just increased my capacity to concentrate.’
Now turn your attention to your heart. Put your attention on your heart and hold your mind steady and your glance steady, with a feeling that this is helping you. Let that which is in the depth of your heart, the place where your heart touches the Divine heart, infuse your being. Hold steady with the attention on this place in your heart. When it is enough, stop and rest in your experience.
Do this exercise each day for three weeks, then rest one week. Then do it again After three cycles look back on your life. Notice any changes.