Concentration and Healing

The power of concentration is the first thing necessary to develop healing power. The healer must be able to hold steadily the thought for the cure of his patient whenever he requires. Concentration is most difficult, but if this is accomplished, there is nothing that one cannot accomplish. It is useless to try and cure the patient by any process, however successful and good it may be, if there is no power of concentration. The work of the mind in healing is much greater than in anything else, for it is using the power of the mind on matter; and matter, which has been a disobedient slave of the spirit for ages, through the mineral, through the vegetable, and even through the animal kingdom always rebels against being controlled.

...The concentration of a healer should be so developed that not only when sitting in meditation and closing his eyes can he visualize the desired object, but that even with his eyes open he should be able to hold fast the picture that his mind has created in spite of anything that may be before his eyes. In healing it is necessary to know what picture one should hold in one's mind. If the healer should happen to hold the picture of a wound, he would help the wound to continue instead of being healed; and so if he thought of pain it might perhaps be continued more intensely by the help of his thought. It is the cure that he should hold in mind; it is the desired thing that he must think about, not the condition...

Sending Thought to a Distance

The greater development in healing power is to be able to send power to a distance. No land nor sea can prevent power being sent by the mind... As for external action a physical movement is necessary, so for a mental action the motion must be caused by one's mind... As it is necessary to develop the power of the voice by practice, so it is necessary to develop and practise the power of the mind...

There are three things necessary in sending thought to a distance: first, faith in the theory; second, self‑confidence, meaning confidence in one's own power; third, the power of concentration. However great the power of concentration may be, without self‑confidence it is of no use; and self‑confidence without faith in the theory is powerless. Healing at a distance is the last stage at which a healer arrives after long experience in healing, and attempting this at the beginning would naturally result in failure. Work gives experience, and experience gives confidence; and faith becomes firm when it is built by experience and strengthened by confidence.

The mastery of Fikr helps a healer to hold the thought of the patient before his mind, and it is Fikr that helps to heal a patient from a distance. Breath, so to speak, is an electric current that can be attached anywhere; distance makes no difference. A current of breath so established puts the ethereal waves in space into motion, and according to the healer's magnetic power the space between the healer and the patient becomes rifled with a running current of healing power. There is no doubt that spiritual evolution is the first thing necessary; without this the mind power of a healer, however strong, is too feeble for the purpose.

We see that the mind is creation. In concentration it is more so; and as deep the concentration, so deep and divine is the power of mind. And when the mind touches the Divine through deep concentration, then it is not only this one who concentrates that creates, but it would not be an exaggeration to say that even God creates through him who concentrates. Therefore, apart from attracting the spirit of the Lord, of the Messiah, or of the Saviour, the soul creates the Divine Healer and Saviour, with all natural powers and blessings. A devotee's concentration has never been in vain.

How We Develop Concentration

Concentration is an exercise to train the mind to hold a certain object steadily, without wavering; and by the power of concentration there is nothing in the world that cannot be attained. But concentration is a very difficult exercise to accomplish; for the nature of the mind is such that when the mind takes by itself something, worry or trouble or a grudge against someone, or insult, it holds it without any effort; but when one desires to hold an object in mind for the sake of concentration, the mind acts like a restive horse. Once concentration is mastered, one has mastered life on earth.

Very few people can hold a thought, but many are held by a thought.

Concentration may be divided into three stages: Command, activity, and control. First, the will commands the mind to become active and create the desired object. Next, the mind immediately carries out this command by constructing the desired object, according to its capability, and thirdly, the will holds the further activity of the mind as a master rider would hold the reins of his horse, to stop it from taking any further steps from the place where he desires it to stop.

By concentration is meant the grouping together of the fine atoms on the model of the objects seen by our external eyes, so as to form upon our mind a picture of objects which is seen by our eyes in the external world. It is difficult at first, because the mind has never been controlled, therefore it is not accustomed to obey. It becomes tired when holding any thought grouped of fine atoms. But when the feeling is holding the thought, then it is held fast even against the desire. For the atom is the outcome of vibration, and when the vibration holds it, the atom is held. It is just like steel with a magnet. Therefore, concentration is developed by holding an object by the help of feeling. In this is the mystery of all devotion.

A (longer) Basic Concentration Practice

Select an object (something that draws you) to concentrate on. It may be a fruit, flower, crystal, gemstone, candle flame, a symbol of the five‑pointed star and crescent moon together, or the Sufi symbol of the heart and wings.

Sit with a straight spine, cross‑legged on the floor or in a chair. Set your intention. Allow the breath to become rhythmic (use the breath to release any tension).

Step 1: Five minutes with eyes open: Focus a steady gaze on the object. Be observant. Note both the detail and the whole. Engage your mind with interest, curiosity, and feeling.

Step 2: Five minutes with eyes closed: Keep your eyes steady. Touch the forehead and then extend your hand to arm’s length if this helps. Keep your breath steady and rhythmic. Hold the visual image in your mind’s eye.

Step 3: Five minutes with eyes closed: Imagine multiple forms of the image. For the first month, do just steps 1 and 2. Change the object every week. You may wish to extend the daily time by one minute increments, though this is not required. You can go up to 30 minutes for each step (same duration for each step).

For the second month, do all three steps. Note how your awareness of concentration and your experience of the process of concentration is appearing in your life.

Practice: Concentration in Five Stages

Choose a still scene on which to concentrate: perhaps a landscape, a tree or plant, or an indoor ‘still‑life’.

1. For 5 minutes, with open eyes, let your attention focus and rest on the scene, allowing any thoughts to dissolve in the primacy of this concentration. Maintain open eyes with as little blinking as you can naturally manage.
2. For 5 minutes, with eyes closed, see the scene on the inner screen of your mind.
3. For 5 minutes, maintaining your inner attention on the scene, allow your focus to be diffused so that you perceive the energy of the scene beyond its physical appearance.
4. For 5 minutes, maintaining your inner attention on the scene, allow your focus to be diffused so that you experience as omnipresent the eternal meaningfulness of the scene.
5. For 5 minutes, perceive simultaneously with all levels: with the physical eyes, in memory, the meaning, the presence.

If your schedule allows, you can increase the concentration time to 10 minutes for each stage, and later to 15 minutes.