forgets all about it. When the letter was given to him had he

said to himself, "I will mail this letter. The box is at the next

corner and when I pass it I must drop this letter," it would have

enabled him to recall the letter the instant he reached the mail

box.



The same rule holds good in regard to more important things. For

example, if you are instructed to drop in and see Mr. Smith while

out to luncheon today, you will not forget it, if, at the moment

the instruction is given, you say to yourself something similar

to the following:



"When I get to the corner of Blank street, on my way to luncheon,

I shall turn to the right and call on Mr. Smith." In this way the

impression is made, the connection established and the sight of

the associated object recalls the errand.



The important thing to do is to deepen the impression at the very

moment it enters your mind. This is made possible, not only by

concentrating the mind upon the idea itself, but by surrounding

it with all possible association of ideas, so that each one will

reinforce the others.



The mind is governed by laws of association, such as the law that

ideas which enter the mind at the same time emerge at the same

time, one assisting in recalling the others.



The reason why people cannot remember what they want to is that

they have not concentrated their minds sufficiently on their

purpose at the moment when it was formed.



You can train yourself to remember in this way by the

concentration of the attention on your purpose, in accordance

with the laws of association.



When once you form this habit, the attention is easily centered

and the memory easily trained. Then your memory, instead of

failing you at crucial moments, becomes a valuable asset in your

every-day work.



Exercise in Memory Concentration. Select some picture; put it on

a table and then look at it for two minutes. Concentrate your

attention on this picture, observe every detail; then shut your

eyes and see how much you can recall about it. Think of what the

picture represents; whether it is a good subject; whether it

looks natural. Think of objects in foreground, middle ground,

background; of details of color and form. Now open your eyes and

hold yourself rigidly to the correction of each and every

mistake. Close eyes again and notice how much more accurate your

picture is. Practice until your mental image corresponds in every

particular to the original.





Nature is a Wonderful Instructor. But there are very few who

realize that when we get in touch with nature we discover

ourselves. That by listening to her voice, with that curious,

inner sense of ours, we learn the oneness of life and wake up to

our own latent powers.



Few realize that the simple act of listening and concentrating is

our best interior power, for it brings us into close contact with

the highest, just as our other senses bring us into touch with

the coarser side of human nature. The closer we live to nature

the more developed is this sense. "So called" civilization has

over developed our other senses at the expense of this one.



Children unconsciously realize the value of concentration--for

instance: When a Child has a difficult problem to solve, and gets

to some knotty point which he finds himself mentally unable to

do--though he tries his hardest--he will pause and keep quite

still, leaning on his elbow, apparently listening; then you will

see, if you are watching, sudden illumination come and he goes on

happily and accomplishes his task. A child instinctively but

unconsciously knows when he needs help, he must be quiet and

concentrate.



All great people concentrate and owe their success to it. The

doctor thinks over the symptoms of his patient, waits, listens

for the inspiration, though quite unconscious, perhaps, of doing

so. The one who diagnoses in this way seldom makes mistakes. An

author thinks his plot, holds it in his mind, and then waits, and

illumination comes. If you want to be able to solve difficult

problems you must learn to do the same.