Sustained attention is one of the key factors in spiritual development. It is important to know where your focus is. You should guide your attention to the levels where the Source of attention is, to the inner depths of silence and order. Passing through the gates of the senses in the opposite direction from what you are used to in everyday life, means waking up your creativity, adaptability and originality.
What channels your life energy is your concentration.
But what controls your concentration is your attention.
One of the definitions of concentration is that it is a conscious and sustained focus of attention. Attention, on the other side, is the moment when you direct your being, your energy and your consciousness toward some goal. Having attention means linking yourself to your life goals.
Let us introduce a couple of related concepts. Intent is the driving force that directs our life energy toward attaining a specific goal. Our intent is very much like our will power. It is the driving force behind the realization of our goals. It may happen that in trying to achieve some goal we hit one or several obstacles. When this happens, we have run into a problem.
Obstacles are critical points where our vital energy is stifled by our own imperfections of the physical, etheric, astral or mental body. These are usually imperfections created earlier in our life, typically on occasions when we have consciously opposed the laws of nature, or when we have been discordant with the truth.
When we maintain a sustained flow of attention, we are linked with the infinite reservoir of power. In doing so, we have opened ourselves to inspiration. A moment of inspiration is a moment of instantaneous connection with the source of all knowledge, power and energy. This connection goes through our light tube — the tube of the Sunny Ray. As a rule, inspiration occurs when we don’t expect it, in the moments of tranquility, relaxation and spiritual peace.
Our vital energy, in addition to being creative, can also be destructive. In order to use it creatively it has to be focused. If it is not focused, most of the time it is being dissipated. To prevent our energy from dissipating, we have to have concrete goals in life.
Again, concentration is the power of maintaining our attention confined within a rather narrow area that serves as a focal point of our consciousness. If we always direct our attention to the next immediate goal, we can limit the tendency of the mind to wander around...
This was an excerpt from the book I Am Who I Am by Olga Rezo.
