The Empowerment of Concentration
To concentrate means different things to different people . If I were to tell you not to think of a pink elephant in a green room, it’s the first thing you would do! Our minds are being bombarded each day and hour with outside stimulus through tv and other media to the point of almost forgetting the self. It’s funny, there is a lot of talk about the future and how robots will be taking over, well the funny part of that is that we are already turning ourselves into robots. We have some people trying to contemplate/meditate when they cannot even concentrate... plus they try to be mindful! So we need to slow down and recognise which comes first and to be mindful of all - concentration, contemplation, meditation. It can be very helpful if you make a mind map on the subject or step by step guide.
In Shaolin we are taught that concentration is no. 1. We concentrate on our hands and feet. Once we have achieved this, we then contemplate on our achievement, and once we have completed all of this, we then become mindful of all. So, to concentrate enables us to contemplate; to contemplate enables us to meditate; and to achieve all enables us to be mindful of all. Your concentration must be of high quality. The word ‘fu’ in Kung Fu has many meanings, one of which is ‘that which comes from the heart’ or ‘high quality.’ The practice of thinking through the heart means our concentration is achieved with the positive chi, or more simply - heartfelt. The yin/yang symbol teaches us that there are both hard (material world) and soft (spiritual world). Inside the hard there is soft and inside the soft there is hard. The material world fades into nothingness through black holes. Quantum physics tells us that even black holes fade into nothingness. This is not nothingness, it is at this point the universe returns to pure consciousness. We are part of the process. The more conscious we become, the more conscious the universe becomes. Once we learn to live through the heart and not the mind, all knowledge will show itself to you. Concentrating through the heart will bring peace and tranquility to your life. It will eliminate wars and destruction.
The word ‘fu’ also means ‘stop fighting’. The Shaolin trained to protect others and nurture life. they dedicated their lives to others. Their kindness, their compassion and their acceptance of all life were legendary. Learn to concentrate, to contemplate and meditate on the universal law, the will and the way. Bless you in your work. This is the empowerment of concentration
