HAVING ONLY ONE THING ON YOUR MIND

In spite of how easy it may appear to have only one thing on your mind at one time, it is an extraordinarily difficult task. Great athletes can sometimes do it, I'm told. Perhaps great scientists and thinkers can too. But ordinary folk like you and me have to be trained.

If you think I'm exaggerating, try this simple test:

Think of an egg. Just an egg. Nothing more. Not about hens or egg cups or prices. Close your eyes, visualize an egg, and for two minutes think only of that egg. With no other thought coming into your mind.

Right, close your eyes.

You thought it was going to be easy, didn't you. You thought of how you had to concentrate. You wondered if you were sitting the right way and whether your two minutes were up. You congratulated yourself on how easy it was. And you probably thought a hundred other thoughts. You see, the human mind finds it almost impossible to concentrate on only one thought for any length of time. Unless it's trained.

Athletes understand this. The heavyweight boxer pounds away at a punching ball for hours on end so that he no longer has to think about punching, so that he will no longer be distracted by the pain and exhaustion. The marathon runner treads the same steps, day in day out, so that she never has to consider the act of running or the pain, but can focus her consciousness on her internal timing clock. You practise the Calm Technique every day of your life so you never have to think about thinking, so you can focus your consciousness on 'being'.

No doubt you've heard of the 'runner's high', where the runner experiences a trance-like state, a great feeling of psychological wellbeing, and moments of deep personal insight. It is the same during the Calm Technique. And other similarities continue: the experienced meditator feels deprived if a day's meditation is missed, just as the runner is frustrated when denied the daily run. Both the meditator and the well-tuned athlete develop an increased capacity to cope with and enjoy life, and by becoming more healthy, eliminate stress from their lives. However, the Calm Technique does it more effectively, and is considerably easier on the feet!

HOW LONG DOES ALL THIS TAKE?

The biggest problem the twentieth century Western student has to overcome is impatience. Western culture and attitudes are geared towards the immediate result, thw overnight success. The advertisinf and magazinw mentality of our age, where information is continually telegraphed in short entertaining bursts, and where the spectacular always triumphs over the substantial, has affected our capacity to approach a subject with the depth and determination it often deserves. Our attention spans have been severely reduced. Our ability to persevere with a course of action or thinking, once embarked upon, is similarily affected.

Thissdvertising and magazine mentality has produced a proliferation of self-improvement courses (this one included). Many people have the desire to improve, but lack the willingness to persevere. Consequenly they flit from one superficial solution to the next, hoping for an easier way out, a big result for a small involvement, instant success or nirvana. Consequently, many self-improvement devotees tend to fall into extreme categories like the fanatics or the dilettantes.

The Calm Technique does not lend itself to fanaticism; there is insufficient mystery surrounding it. But I fear it could be an ideal playground for the dilettante: it has definite short-term potential where practical results can be realized, and it can also be resurrected with considerable success after long periods of abstinence. But, as the greatest benefits the Calm Technique has to offer are reserved for those who persevere, part-time involvement will only realise a fraction of its true potential. Dedication, perseverance and regular practice will bring profound long-term results which far outweigh any immediate improvements.

The benefits will be obvious from the first time you use the Calm Technique. They may be subtle but, at the very least, they will be relaxing and enjoyable. After a couple of weeks, you'll have a definite feeling of calm and wellbeing, you'll be more at ease with yourself and the world. If you smoke, overeat or drink to excess, you'll probably begin to feel the urge to wean yourself from these bad habits. (Note: This is not to suggest that the Calm Technique is s smoking/eating/drinking cure. It can help, but it's not a cure in its own right. Still, as you get more in touch with yourself through the Calm Technique, you'll find it more desirable and much easier to rid yourself of these habits.)

After a few weeks, when the improvements and the benefits aren't as obvious as they were in the first few days, you'll probably start to feel a bit impatient. The standard dilettante approach at this stage is to decide things aren't happening fast enough, and stop or seek yet another 'solution'. But the solution lies in your persistence. There is no meditation or self-improvement technique in existence that will produce dramatic results overnight. The Calm Technique can change your life dramatically, but it takes time. As meditation in itself has no goal, it can have no end. At no stage in your life will you ever be able to say, 'I've made it', because the process is ongoing. Like physical exercise, the Calm Technique should be a lifetime commitment.

--This excerpt was taken from The Calm Technique by Paul Wilson