Do You Use Focus?

Focus...Do You Use It?  Do you find it difficult to hold a focus for long?

Perhaps you've heard it said that if you can hold a single thought for 17 seconds it becomes a material reality...can you do that? Have you tried? Many people are doing well if they can focus on a thought for even 4 seconds!

How can you improve your focus-ability? Practice. Practice doing what? Meditation. Yes, meditation holds the power to increase your ability to concentrate, focus.  Modern scientific research proves that regular meditation actually changes the brain! "Focused attention begins to build new neuronal circuits that, once established, will automatically activate those parts of the brain that involve motivational activity. And the more that activity is repeated, the stronger those neural circuits become." ("How God Changes Your Brain" by Waldman and ) Literally, with practice, the structure of the brain's cells alters.

How do you motivate yourself to meditate? Desire. Desire for a better quality of life, a problem solved, a new opportunity etc.

By now Silva Method Graduates are already recognizing the pattern: Jose Silva knew and taught that Faith is necessary to achive goals. Faith is comprised of three parts: Desire, Belief and Expectancy.

Desire - the conscious choice - comes first...after all, if you had no desire for something different you wouldn't even be thinking about doing something, having something or experiencing something other than what you already have! Desire is almost always considered the 'driver', the power behind change. It's the potent force which brings about whatever you're goal may be.

Belief is next.  If you believe change can happen, it can. With enough desire and focus, it does!

Some people have layers of beliefs. By that I mean that on the surface, the conscious level, their belief is that they can have it (whatever 'it' may be). They deserve to have 'it'. They then expect to have it because they deeply desire it. Yet, too often, 'it' never arrives.

Expectation "reflects our neurological propensity to believe that we can, and will, accomplish our goals. It's "different from hope because it give you the inner conviction that your goal is attainable,even if it seems irrational."

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Herbert Benson "relaxation response" Harvard, early 1970s,
Progressive relaxation, Zen and yoga, relaxation phase of hypnosis and TM all show decreased oxygen consumption, slower respiratory rate, decreased heart rate and (other than hypnosis) decreased blood pressure.
"...meditating on any form of love...appears to strengthen the same neurological circuits that allow us to feel compassion toward others."