Parlor Tricks, Concentration and Attention
Topics:
“Parlor Tricks, Concentration and Attention”
“Meditation and Focal Points: Moving Closer to Your Center”
“Being Present and Creating an Open Energy”
“Changes in the Healthcare System”
Friday, June 19, 2015 (Private/Phone)
Participants: Mary (Michael) and Jason (Spensar)
“The more present you are, the less distracted you are with what is unimportant.”
ELIAS: Good day!
JASON: Hi, Elias.
ELIAS: (Laughs) And what have YOU been accomplishing?
JASON: That's a good question. (Both laugh) I’m not sure. No, actually, I think I've been accomplishing quite a bit and actually want to get into that shortly.
As far as questions go, one thing that I was wondering was, what role does someone's level of concentration – their ability to concentrate – play in the use of what you call parlor tricks? And the reason I ask is because there's been meditation teachers out there that have talked about developing certain powers when they're in retreats or when they're maintaining high levels of very concentrated states for extended period of time.
ELIAS: What I would express here, first of all, it would depend on how you are defining concentration in that context. That would be the first piece. For, if you are defining concentration as attention coupled with comprehension, that would be one factor. If you are defining concentration in relation to how I have expressed the definition of concentration, that would be different.
Now; using both definitions, I would express that if your level of concentration is being defined as your attention coupled with comprehension, and in that definition you apply that to the context of parlor tricks, that expression of concentration is not necessarily very affecting at all; and in actuality, in many situations can actually be counterproductive. For in many situations, that leads an individual into focusing their attention so strongly upon the action of the parlor trick that they actually block their ability to do it.
JASON: Wow.
ELIAS: Now, if you are using that word "concentration" in the definition of a subject matter that you hold but are not necessarily always paying attention to, that could, in both directions, be considerably affecting, depending upon what the concentration is. Therefore, if the concentration is allowing and open to surprise and open to possibilities, then that could very much influence your ability to be successful. If the concentration is skeptical and not allowing, not believing, therefore not trusting, and in the direction of logic and what is possible and what is not possible, then it can very strongly also influence the parlor trick in an unsuccessful manner.
Therefore, depending upon how you are defining concentration, if you are equating it with attention, then no, it generates little influence at all.
JASON: Interesting, and I can give you an example. There was an Indian woman, I believe her name was Dipa Ma, who I was referring to that supposedly during retreats she was able to do a bunch of different parlor tricks, but she could only do it during retreats. The comments that she made were that it requires a very intense level of concentration. And I don't think she's an isolated example of that, but –
ELIAS: Now; I would express to you that many individuals in those types of situations are using the word "concentration" in relation to its actual definition, which would not necessarily be associated with attention. It is not that the individual is focusing their attention upon a particular action, and the reason that they would express that it requires an intense concentration is that, in a manner of speaking, it does. For in a manner of speaking, to generate certain types of parlor tricks – not all of them, but certain types – it would require buffering out all other distractions, or allowing yourself to not be distracted by your attention being focused in other directions. And therefore, that would require a considerable amount of the energy and a considerable concentration in allowance to not be distracted.
Now, in some types of parlor tricks – simple parlor tricks such as tipping a table – that does not require a tremendous concentration. That requires, in actuality, very little concentration; it merely requires the individual to be open to surprise. And in that, what is meant by “little concentration” is that it matters not that the individual may be distracted in their attention. There can be other actions occurring around them, and that would not necessarily prevent them from being successful in a simple parlor trick such as that, that their attention could be diverted or could be occupied partially with other actions and they would be successful anyway.
Whereas, if they were focusing their attention upon that action of tipping the table, and let us say repeatedly expressing the words "tip the table, tip the table, tip the table" to reinforce their attention being on the table, it is very likely that they would be unsuccessful, for they are concentrating their attention on the action in a manner that is not allowing the table to tip; they are attempting to project their own energy to manipulate the table to tip.
JASON: Not allowing.
ELIAS: They do not necessarily objectively know that that was what they are doing, but that is what they are doing, and therefore they will likely be unsuccessful.
JASON: The kind of parlor tricks that would require you to be undistracted and, I guess, buffer out, as you had mentioned, what kind of tricks would that include?
ELIAS: Those would be actions that would perhaps manipulate physical objects to be moving in a capacity such as across a room, or levitation, or generating different types of actions that you incorporate very strong beliefs in relation to the actions that they are impossible, such as manipulating water to rise and maintain a still position. That is an action that you view to be impossible.
JASON: Those would be the type, I guess, of parlor tricks that this woman I was referring to was supposedly able to do.
ELIAS: Yes. And in that, these actions that you view as defying gravity or of influencing physical objects to move of their own volition, those are actions that you view to be impossible. Therefore, your beliefs in relation to them are very strong, and in that it would require a filtering out of your attention, which does require a significant expression of the energy. For generally speaking, unless you are occupying some deserted island in which there is no other creature but yourself, there are always outside distractions.
JASON: I'm not sure that I would be successful, but in the event that I wanted to practice or play around with that, is there an exercise that you could recommend to develop that ability to filter out the attention?
ELIAS: I would express that engaging and developing daily meditations is a very successful method to move in that direction. For, the more successful that you can express a meditation in which you are filtering out outside sources, that you are actually filtering out your senses to a significant degree, –
JASON: Like a visualization?
ELIAS: Perhaps, with the exclusion of one sense but filtering out all the other senses.
JASON: Okay, what comes to mind is like sometimes people will stare at a pebble or a dot.
ELIAS: Yes. And in that, if you can develop holding your attention not on that but on your beingness for longer and longer time frameworks, the more successful that you are at that action, the easier it is to place yourself in a relaxed state, buffer out outside distractions, and then turn your attention to focus upon an intention. But the tricky part with that is focusing upon an intention but then NOT focusing on it. Therefore, you focus upon an intention, you set an intention of what you want to do, and then you focus on allowing.
JASON: I'm familiar with that.
ELIAS: That is the difficult aspect.
JASON: Because that's actually the process for which people will have the spoon-bending parties, so to speak, where they'll soften the metal of the spoon so that they're very easy to bend. The guidelines they give require setting the intention and then some sort of allowing or distracting of yourself to allow it to happen.
ELIAS: That is the method. For in that, it is the matter of not incorporating all of the distractions and therefore generating an actual concentration of allowance – which is not the same as paying ATTENTION to allowance.
For, you will notice, if you experiment, whatever you pay attention to, your thought mechanism will automatically engage, for that is its function. Its function is to translate. Therefore, whatever you pay attention to, your thought mechanism will begin functioning and translating into language what you are paying attention to. You can experiment with that by attempting to use your physical senses, such as your sight, and look at an object and attempt to not identify that object. Look at a book and attempt not to think, “That is a book;” or look at the sky and attempt to not think the sky is blue or there are clouds, or the clouds are moving, or it is sunny, or it is gray. Your thought mechanism will automatically function, for that is its job.
If you are turning your attention to your hearing, and you are listening, your thought mechanism will automatically begin functioning and identify whatever it is that you are hearing, even if its identification is not of a thing. It may be identifying the type of sound, but you will think, for this is what your thought mechanism is designed for.
Now; in this, it is very different to be THINKING about allowing and doing it. That is the tricky aspect. That is the reason that I expressed, if you are familiar with meditation and you are developing that action or that art of meditation, you can become familiar with turning off the translator.
JASON: Would that be equivalent to… ? I know in Dzogchen they talk about the moment in between thoughts.
ELIAS: Yes!
JASON: And gradually expanding.
ELIAS: Yes. That is an excellent analogy.
JASON: Okay. And when we were talking about an object of meditation and I had asked about the pebble but then you started talking about beingness, were you talking about them in tandem or were you talking about the beingness as a better alternative to the pebble?
ELIAS: No, you can use the pebble as a focal point, but the point is not the pebble.
JASON: Okay.
ELIAS: The point is not to be focused on the pebble; you are merely using it as a focal point to quiet the thought mechanism. This is also the reason that when I am encouraging an individual to begin meditating, I do not encourage them to do it with their eyes closed. I do very much encourage individuals to begin the practice of meditation for very short time frameworks and to do it with their eyes open and with a focal point. Generally, I suggest a focal point that moves, for one that is immobile is less likely to hold your attention.
JASON: Something that moves, like a flame, or… ?
ELIAS: Correct. Generally, I suggest a candle. But when I suggest a candle, I do not suggest that the individual merely stare at the flame; no, but that the individual use the candle as a focal point in the manner of using their sense of sight to move their attention to the body of the candle and feel their body to be similar to the body of the candle, the wax of the candle, and to view the flame as their mind. The flame is always moving. It is always changing, it is always moving, it changes color, it changes size, it changes direction. In every second it is moving, and also is your mind. It is always moving. Therefore, this is a natural expression.
But the flame is always affecting of the body of the candle. It is always affecting of the wax. It is always interactive with the wax, and it is always affecting it. It does not melt the wax immediately all at once. It generates a steady pace and melts the wax in increments, and this is what you do with your awareness.
Most individuals may use the word “awareness” but do not necessarily know what that is. Therefore, I use the word "their mind," for you do not necessarily equate your mind with your brain. Therefore, in that, individuals understand more clearly if they are viewing the flame to be their mind and the candle to be their body, which they are not separate.
In that, it gives the individual a moving object to focus on. It also engages your thought mechanism in a natural manner but not in a distracting manner, for your thought mechanism will translate the candle and the flame, and it will generate translations in relation to you perceiving yourself to be, or feeling yourself to be, the same as the candle and the flame.
But with no other input, that is as much as your thought mechanism can translate, unless you become distracted. Therefore, you are not denying that aspect of yourself. You are not expressing, "I cannot think, I cannot think." The more you express "I cannot think," the more you think. Therefore, you are not denying that natural expression of yourself, but you are also not giving it much information to translate. Therefore, you will also know very quickly when you begin to drift, for you will begin thinking about other subjects than the candle or the flame, and you will notice that very quickly, and then you can redirect yourself again back to the flame and to the candle.
In that, it does require practice, especially in your culture, for you have not been encouraged to engage this type of action from birth. I would express in many eastern cultures, the individuals are encouraged to engage this practice from infancy. Therefore, it is easier for them to engage it.
JASON: A couple questions – and I love this idea, so thank you – but a lot of my time I'm in areas where open flames are discouraged. (Laughs) At my house it's fine, but in an area where an open flame is not really an option, is there a second object that you would recommend, or another object?
ELIAS: Yes. I would express that you can generate the same action with an artificial candle, an electric candle, one that looks like a candle and incorporates a top that is shaped like a flame and that lights but that is not an actual flame.
JASON: Okay.
ELIAS: And let me express to you, I would suggest, if you want to develop meditation practice, that you begin at your home in the morning before you are engaging any other activity, therefore very soon after you arise in the morning, for at that point you have not yet tremendously engaged your attention, and at that point it is easier to begin. And I would suggest that you begin the practice with five minutes. If you can hold your focal point, and you can hold with your thought mechanism not drifting for a period of 30 to 45 seconds at a time, that is a success.
I would express that it is likely that with a period of five minutes, it is very likely that you would require redirecting your attention at least five to seven times. But the more you practice, the less times you will have to redirect and you can add time. I suggest that when you can successfully hold for one entire minute, you can increase the time rather than five minutes to seven minutes. Increase the time only by two minutes each time you increase. Otherwise, your attention tends to drift more and you will likely experience frustration, and that is counterproductive.
JASON: And the beingness component of that is just being aware of yourself and your body sensations and presence?
ELIAS: I would express that eventually, the experience of being supersedes physical feeling. Initially, yes. Initially, yes, it would be a matter of being aware of your body and its presence and perhaps what you are feeling. Eventually, it is no longer a manner of what you are feeling. It will not be a matter of what you are feeling OR thinking, that you will be present. And therefore, you will be aware of yourself and everything around you and also simultaneously not necessarily paying attention to any of it.
JASON: Right, using all the peripheral type of attention.
ELIAS: Correct.
JASON: Okay. This is great.
One thing I was wondering, with practicing like that, how does that influence your energy when you're practicing like that or being… ?
ELIAS: I would express it incorporates a tremendous effect on your energy, and it incorporates an affectingness throughout your day, throughout the entirety of your day, even five minutes. For, what that does is it moves you closer to center, and the closer you move to being centered, the more aware you become. And the more aware you are, the more you only pay attention to what is genuinely important, unless you are distracted by expressions that are not important.
JASON: Okay, that's great. Thank you for that.
ELIAS: You are very welcome.
JASON: That's definitely something I'll be working with and talking to you about in the future.
ELIAS: Splendid!
JASON: One of the things we had talked about the last time we talked was paying attention in an accepting and appreciative way, even to just doing it by intention. And I played around with that, and I had some interesting experiences, including one time… I find it particularly easy when I'm traveling and my normal distractions are not available to me, because when I'm traveling either in a plane or on an train, I usually won't read. A lot of times I'll just sit there (laughs), so I'll be more present than normal. I find it very easy in those circumstances, or easier than normal, to be aware of my energy and to create intentionally.
ELIAS: I would express that in itself is a meditation.
JASON: Agreed, agreed. (Laughs)
ELIAS: Therefore use that as an example or a guideline when you are employing the other meditation.
JASON: Okay. Yes, that's good with the beingness and the… Yes. It's when I'm in my familiar settings that type of attention is rarer. (Both laugh)
I had an experience the other day when I was working with this acceptance and appreciation where just everything was going right. Like if I was looking for a cab, one immediately showed up. I got on a very crowded train with a ton of people and I expected to stand, and I immediately found one of the only available seats, so everything was going right.
The other thing I noticed, which I wanted to see if there's a correlation is, I seem to catch more eye glances of the people around me, so if I'm moving through a train station or a crowd, it seems that I have more… I don't know if you call it witnessing or where you catch people's eyes.
ELIAS: Yes.
JASON: Is that related to being present?
ELIAS: For you are being more present, and in that, you are generating an open energy. And in that, you become, in a manner of speaking, metaphorically, a beacon. Other individuals notice you.
JASON: And that's a result of being more present?
ELIAS: Definitely.
The more present you are, the less distracted you are with what is unimportant. And therefore, the less dense and heavy you are, the lighter you become. And the lighter you become, your energy becomes very easy, and other individuals, without even thinking, are automatically drawn to that. It is a moth to the flame.
JASON: Okay, that's very interesting, too. (Laughs) It’s a lot of fun.
ELIAS: Yes! And in that, they generally will express eye contact, for they want to connect directly to you.
JASON: And what I found is a very… at least a good feedback mechanism – maybe not always feedback, because I don't want to create expectations or go into a situation with expectations, but it's something I guess I can consider.
ELIAS: Yes! I would agree. I would be very encouraging of you, my friend. This is an excellent direction to be practicing with.
JASON: I guess the one thing I was wondering was, and I've experienced this before, is I didn't know if it was related to the mental gymnastics of intentionally being accepting, which I'm not sure is a real acceptance. I don't think it is. (Laughs)
ELIAS: I would agree.
JASON: Okay. (Both laugh)
Along the lines, though, I do notice that within acceptance there's a perception or a type of perception that is created I want to ask you about, and that's the idea of where you're merged or immersed or absorbed into what you're looking at.
ELIAS: At times.
JASON: Okay.
ELIAS: Not always.
JASON: Okay.
ELIAS: But at times, yes. Now, there are time frameworks and situations in which you may be accepting in a genuine capacity but also be aware of almost the reverse of a type of removal of yourself.
JASON: Okay, the “no self” experience.
ELIAS: Mm… not entirely. It is…
JASON: I mean that's what I'm calling it, but I guess maybe it's not descriptive enough.
ELIAS: It isn't awareness of yourself, but what it is, is at times you may be expressing a genuine acceptance, but you may also be aware that you do not incorporate an understanding. And understanding is not a requirement for acceptance, but in those situations in which you are aware that you do not necessarily understand but you are genuinely accepting, you will feel a type of removal of yourself in the capacity of involvement. You will be aware of that removal of yourself, that there is no involvement. There is a connection in that acceptance, but there is no involvement in it, and that will feel different. Therefore at times, you are correct, you will feel connected and almost merged with what you are accepting, and at other times you will feel connected but you will also feel that removal of yourself in which there is no involvement.
JASON: Okay, but the accepting is regardless of whether…
ELIAS: Yes.
JASON: Okay. (Pause)
ELIAS: Understanding is the expression that you generate when you incorporate the same or similar experience, or when you HAVE experience. Experience is what allows you that framework of understanding. Without experience, you can generate… (sighs) a facsimile of understanding, therefore you can generate a type of intellectual understanding, which is not a genuine understanding. It is more accurately an intellectual evaluation.
Genuine understanding is generated by experience. Without experience, you cannot generate a genuine understanding. But – understanding is not a requirement for acceptance. It is not a requirement for most expressions. It is not a requirement for support; it is not a requirement for encouragement; it is not a requirement for accepting.
JASON: Mm-hm. A question about being present and the change in energy associated with that is that I notice that it does take a certain amount of time that I would have to be present or change my energy before I notice anything different in my reality, before things seem a little easier or things are going really smooth. (Laughs)
ELIAS: I would express that is dependent upon the situation.
JASON: Okay.
ELIAS: I would agree with you in some situations and some expressions, and I would express that at some situations and in some time frameworks it can BE immediate, that you will notice an immediate difference. Such as, you can be interactive with another individual, and if you change your energy by BEING very present, there will be an immediate response or reaction with the other individual.
Or, this is always a fun game (Jason laughs) to experiment with individuals that you are very familiar with, such as a family member, close friend, a partner, and in that, to be away from the dwelling for a brief time framework and then return with a very specific type of energy, such as projecting an energy of the past or anticipating the future. Walk in the door and engage the individual and observe their reaction. And then, in another time framework, you leave the home, you return home and you intentionally walk through the door and be very present, and watch the reaction of the individual.
JASON: That's interesting that you say that. Just the other day I was just playing around with my attention in the morning, and it was something that required some effort and some strain (laughs), what I was attempting to do, and within minutes I was involved in a big argument with the wife. (Laughs)
ELIAS: Ahh! This is what I am expressing. At times, it may require some time before you actually see a difference in your reality, but it depends very much on the circumstance and what you are actually doing, for at times you will see an immediate difference – dependent upon what you are doing.
JASON: Okay, this is … All my personal, serious questions are past, and I don't mean serious-serious; that’s not the right answer. But with the remaining few minutes, I was just curious if you could talk about a couple of broader topics which seem to be of interest lately is how things are changing during the Shift. I focus in my job on the U.S. healthcare industry as an analyst, and I'm curious if you have any comments on how healthcare will change during the Shift. Because it's very expensive. It's a financial burden every year more and more for more people, the way it's currently practiced.
ELIAS: And in that, as you move farther and farther into the objective aspect of this shift, you move closer and closer to restructuring exchange, and in that, restructuring and eliminating money, and that incorporates a TREMENDOUS affectingness in relation to the healthcare industry. For as it is presently in your country and in many countries, your healthcare industry, in every aspect of it, revolves around the exchange of money. And if you eliminate that one factor, the entire industry would require being reconfigured, which it will.
But everything in your world is being reconfigured. (Laughs)
JASON: Are there any changes within healthcare to look for sooner than the elimination of money?
ELIAS: Yes. For if you pay attention, I would express that, once again, individuals are perceiving that they are being forced in directions, and individuals in positions of what you term to be authority are feeling threatened and therefore exerting more authority, which, in turn, generating the domino effect of individuals feeling more forced and therefore, less free. And in that, they are already rebelling, and that likely will merely increase and increase.
[The timer for the session rings]
I would express that metaphorically, the masses are likely to turn on the lion. When the masses are being held at bay by the lion's roar, the lion continues to hold control, but when the masses turn and are not afraid of the roar, the lion is only one entity and the masses are many.
JASON: Is that sort of a resentment against the high prices in healthcare?
ELIAS: I would express that it is more than merely the cost. It is much more than that. It is dissatisfaction with a system that is ineffective, and it is also a matter of individuals beginning to value themselves more and not agreeing to be dictated to.
JASON: Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Maybe I'll explore that in the future or not, otherwise. Those types of topics are not of… They're interesting, but they're more interested in, obviously, the energy projection, and getting to know self is more pertinent.
ELIAS: Definitely.
JASON: Well, thank you very much, Elias. This has been great. This has been really good.
ELIAS: (Laughs) As always, another challenging and exciting conversation. (Both laugh) I shall greatly be anticipating our next meeting.
JASON: Take care.
ELIAS: And offering my encouragement to you continuously in your new practice of meditation.
JASON: Thank you.
ELIAS: (Laughs) To you in great lovingness, my dear friend, as always. Au revoir.
JASON: Goodbye.
(ELIAS departs after 61 minutes)
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