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The Art of Focus

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How does disease form in the body?

There are many different answers to this question and in a sense, they would all be correct. You could say disease comes from diet. The mind gets stuck in the habit of eating foods that lower the immune system and starve the cells to a point where they begin to malfunction. They then become cancerous or susceptible to viral attack or parasitic over growth. You try to stop eating these foods, but every time they come to mind you realize you must have them because you are mentally addicted.  This is one way disease can form in the body.

The other main way a person finds themselves diseased is through the chemicals their own body produces in response to the thoughts that run through their minds. Every time you have a thought, your body responds by releasing hormones and neurotransmitters. A neurotransmitter is chemical that the brain creates to send information through the nerve cells in your body. We are still discovering new neurotransmitters. It's possible that there are as many possible strings of neurotransmitters as there are thoughts. The neurotransmitters and hormones actually bring your thought to the cells of your body and affect the way they feel. When you are sad, your heart cells are sad, your kidney cells are sad, your whole body has received the information of sad. If you allow degenerative feelings to occupy a great deal of your time, your body will eventually destroy itself. It is inevitable! These hormones and neurotransmitters actually take your thoughts from the mental and manifest them in the physical! So you must learn to be careful.

The other main way it is said that a person comes to be diseased is through a genetic predisposition. I suppose we all come into life with strengths and weaknesses, but these can usually be compensated for. If I live in the downtown area of a city, I am more predisposed to being run over by a bus than I would be if I lived in the country, but I would still have to stand in the middle of the road for this to happen! My advice to you, if you are genetically predisposed to some affliction, is to get out of the road. Take excellent care of your body and even better care of your mind, because they are one and the same. If you do not share the same mindsets and thought patterns of the people in your family who are sick, you do not send your body the same information. Your body will actually have a different chemical make up. Do you see the implications of this? Your mind creates your body! This is a scientific fact.

Every time you have a thought, your mind is creating your body. Once the mind has created a condition in the body, however, that condition is highly influential on the functioning of the mind. Ask anyone with chronic blinding physical pain how they're doing mentally and you will seldom hear positive news. So once again we see that the body and the mind are inseparable. One is a part of the other and we must address it this way in our self-treatment. As we use the Heal Thyself Series to bring the body into alignment, we must also bring the mind into balance. It is the only way to get where you want to go. It is the only road to physical Freedom.

How do we bring the mind into balance?

In most cases, the mind has been allowed to be out of control for so long that we are numb to it. We don't even notice half the things it says or the images of fear it constantly produces. Therefore our primary task is to become aware of what our mind is up to. We must become an observer, a stalker of ourselves. We must become supremely aware of our tendencies in life and the mental images that set our tendencies in motion. A smoker who has given up cigarettes may be clean for months, then suddenly, an image of smoking a cigarette in a bar will come to mind. He might not even notice the image. He just suddenly knows he has an uncontrollable longing for a cigarette. He then gets into a battle of will power, which is usually a losing battle, because it just puts your attention that much more fiercely on what you do not want. However, if he, as a passive observer had clearly seen the image pass through his mind, this might not have been the case. He would see how his mind, through irrational and obsessive habit was simply in need of retraining. Better yet, every time he comfortably, as an observer, said no to that image of smoking, the less power it would have over him. Eventually he would be free of the largest disease causing habit in the world just by being aware. Can you see how big this is? Everything in your life is riding on your ability to stay awake to what patterns your mind is creating for you to live through! This life can be Heaven or Hell. It is actually your choice if you choose to be awake.

Once you're awake as an observer of your mind, it is just a matter of making conscious choices towards what you want. If you want health, don't make choices that lead towards disease and don't look at the thoughts that make you feel ill. Just turn your attention away towards what you actually want. When the habitual mind tries to turn your attention back to that which you do not want, as an observer, intercept it, drop it, and put your attention back on where you actually want to go. There is no need for blind faith here. Look at this logically and you will see that it is truly this simple.

Here I must tell you that awake to what your mind is doing does require a certain amount of clarity that can only come from daily practice. When you go out in the world, with all its hypnotic stimuli, it is too easy to fall asleep. There is too much movement. Therefore, you first must master being aware without all the stimulation. You do this by sitting still in a quiet room where no one will bother you. This is time you set aside every day to wake up the observer inside of you. This is a time to allow the thoughts of your mind to burn them selves out. There should be no pushing or pulling; just observation of the mind.

     2. Scratch the skin just between your eyebrows and a half an inch above. The feeling that lingers when you take your hand away is what it feels like to place your attention up there. You are to softly keep your attention on this area as you sit in stillness. This is the area of the pituitary gland. By keeping your attention there, it will stimulate the gland to release hormones that will help to silence the mind and relax the body. This area is also called the third eye.

     3. Keeping your attention on the third eye, pay attention to your breath and allow your eyes to gaze at a spot on the floor in front of you.

     4. This puts you into the position of passive observer. From this position you are completely relaxed and attentive. From here you wait in complete stillness for the mental images that will try to pull you out of your passive observer position. When they come up, do not engage in them. You simply observe their message and allow them to leave when they are finished. What will happen is there will be a sort of parade of images that passes through your mind. If you do not get involved, but simply remain a passive observer, a point will come when all the images of that moment will have passed and you will be left with a sublime silence. This silence is where true health comes from. This is the silence that makes sleep rejuvenating. This silence, over time, creates joy, relaxation and comfort in the body in such a way that the information to the cells is one of perfect health and abundance! This silence also brings the greater clarity necessary to be able to watch your mind as you go out into the world.  How long it takes to find this silence is individual. Through practice, however, it will come.

There is no end to what you can learn from practicing this. This will improve your work, your relationships, everything. Give it a try and see. Start with 15 minutes a day. When you can do this comfortably do 15 minutes twice a day. If you can do this well for an hour a day or more, you can begin to unravel all your suffering and find true freedom! You will bring inspiration and joy to those around you. This clarity you gain is a focus that comes from not being scattered by your mind's wanderings. This focus has the power to heal your body through giving you the awareness to adjust your mindsets and make new choices that are not contingent upon the habits of your past!

This is the Art of Focus and its possibilities are limitless. Those who apply this information will enrich their lives in ways they could never understand until they tried it consistently. Combine this with the Heal Thyself Series and you will attain your goals for Freedom! I look forward to seeing you blossom!