The human mind can only focus on one thing at a time, although it has the ability to jump back and forth with unbelievable speed. But, attention on a single object, for any length of time, will concentrate all of the knowledge you possess about the thing and enable you to combine, associate, catalog, classify, and qualify the differing pieces of information. Thus, new knowledge and insights, never before understood or considered, may be obtained. With just a little effort, willing attention can be a wonderful substitute for genius, and will usually accomplish more in the end. Thinking about one thing while doing another, however, is the surest road to ruin. You can only do your best work when you "forget yourself" and focus upon only the task at hand.

Not only basic comprehension and intuition are dependent upon the faculty of attention, but memory, too, is affected by one’s ability to attend to the events at hand. That is why imbeciles and idiots, with little or no attention span, have poor memories and comprehension difficulties. If it is possible for an idiot to develop his or her focus and concentration, he or she can become an instant genius.

If you possessed only one sensory faculty, your perception of the world would be very singular. But, add another organ of sensation and your knowledge of the universe will also double in quantity and, perhaps, quality. Add yet another, and the world would seem to explode with sensual possibilities. And, so on.

During the early stages of Life and evolution, organisms possessed only the sense of feeling. Then, as more complex forms developed, other senses came into existence; taste, smell, hearing, and sight; each marking a distinct advance in the upward spiral of Life. And, when human beings developed their higher senses, as evolution dictated we must, wiser and greater beings were created. The stage became set for the appearance of Spirit in the physical realm.

Only through your physical and psychic senses do you perceive your world. Therefore, it is important to keep these senses as sharp as possible. The following exercise will help you to hone and refine your attention and the focus of all input you receive through your senses. It may seem like an overly simple practice, but do not skip this exercise. You will be amazed at how much you either do or do not see, hear, smell, taste and feel.
 
 

Place an object on a table in front of you. It does not matter too much what the object is, as long as it is something of a rather complex nature, such as a painting or an intricately engraved and lacquered box. You may use a plant, or a piece of fruit, if you wish to include the senses of smell and, perhaps, taste to this exercise.

Now, pay close attention to the object’s shape, contour, size, color, individual parts, mechanizations, etc. Let your eyes roam over its surface, listen for any sounds it might make, and smell the aroma of its material. Reach out and run a hand gently over its surface, paying specific attention to its texture and temperature. Study it with each of your senses. Obviously, if the object is either toxic or particularly foul, you will want to bypass the taste test.

After only a few seconds, remove the object from your sight. You may need to remove it from the room, if it is pungent or too large to easily conceal. Then, take up a piece of paper and pencil, writing down as many observations about the object as you can. How big was it? Did it have an odor? What color was it? Did it feel smooth or bumpy? Write everything and anything that comes to mind.

When you have completed your list, look at the object again and see just how much information you either missed in your initial observation or forgot, once the object was gone from your field of awareness. You may get a surprise. Either you noticed far more than you would have ever suspected, or you forgot nearly everything as soon as it was gone.

Try a variation of this test by entering a room, glancing around for only a second or two, and walking out. Then, write down your observations. Or, try this exercise with a friend and compare your notes. Make a game out of it. See who can score the most correct observations.
 
 

There are countless worlds all around us, yet unseen and unheard by our present states of consciousness. Perhaps they exist just beyond that part of the spectrum visible to our eyes and just above the range of our hearing. The lowest visible light vibration is 450,000,000,000,000 pulses per second, while the highest is nearly 750,000,000,000,000 per second. The lowest note audible to the human ear vibrates at about twenty (20) beats per second, while the highest audible note vibrates at almost thirty-eight thousand (38,000) beats per second. Above and below these figures, there are countless other rates which are not perceptible to the human sensory organs, either physical or psychic. Through concentrated practice, it is just possible that the human race can open itself up to the entire spectrum of Life in the Universe of Universes.