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Cecil A. Poole
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MJ-158
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MJ-158
By Cecil A. Poole
and completely.
To thus completely dismiss from consciousness every
impression except one is a most difficult proeess to learn.
Concentrating on one thing requires practicing a technique over a long period
of time.
The circle of consciousness, that is, the state of awareness
which is composed of our sensations and thinking of the moment, is so
completely our prvate life, our personal situation at any moment, that
it is difficult to sort out or to throw any part away, or to push out
of our mind the many impressions surging through consciousness.
Even
though we may direct our attention exclusively to a problem that may
be confronting us, we are nevertheless constantly pushing back into the
unconscious or subconscious area of our being those things which we do
not wish to have intrude and bother us at a particular moment.
The circle of consciousness, then, is something which we have to
learn to control if we are to concntrate succ es sfu lly , or if we are to
be able to free our minds for the benefit of inspirational meditation.
In concentration the attention is directed toward one fixed thing which
becomes the point in the center of the circle.
Music becomes a valuable aid in concentration when it filis our
circle of consciousness.
In meditation or in concentration the background of music attempts to occupy a certain amount of our attention,
at least enough of it that certain extraneous thoughts certain ideas
that are cluttering our mind at a particular time can be forced into
the background and the music allowed to take their place.
Music
becomes to a degree the content of consciousness, but we need not
direct our whole attention to it.
It can be heard in the background
and at the same time be enjoyed, if it is music of a type that tends
to inspire and to make us calm and relaxed.
It is under those circumstances that we are in the best position either to enjoy relaxed m e d i
tation or to bring definitely before consciousness a specific problem
and direct our whole attention upon it.
In other words, music becomes a filler for our circle of consc iou s
ness; it becomes a background which tends to shut out those impressions
that might otherwise interfere with the pur function of meditation and
concentration.
The selection of music for that purpose cannot be
definitely regulated by any absolute criterion.
There are only certain
general principies.
Obviously, highly exciting music as used in the
most exaggerated form of the dance, or martial music that is used for a
military band, is not going to be the type of sound that will captivate
our consciousness to make it calm and at ease.
Background music, that
is, music which is built of simple melodies or simple themes and which
is quieting to the consciousness, is the most effective type.
This
does not mean that all music for meditation must be extremely soft in
volume, but it means that the ideal music for meditation runs more or
less evenly.
Certain themes and variations, such as the fugue and
other similar structures in music, are those which are ideal.
It is sometimes best not to consistently use music of which we
are overly fond or with which we are too familiar.
Music with which
we are familiar and the words that accompany it, if used too often,
may distract our attention from the purpose of meditation and concen
tration.
Purthermore, music of which we become very fond may attract
our attention to itself or the intricacies of its performance.
It is
therefore best to select neutral music as often as possible.
Various
compositions can be tried.
In the Rosicrucian Supreme Temple an attempt is made to select
music that is appropriate to various parts of the ritual.
No final
solution has been reached concerning the exact music that should
always be used at any particular time.
This is clearly indicated by
the fact that we are constantly looking for new music, and adding
selections of different types and moods for this use.
This music is
selected with the intention of contributing to the sense of purpose in
the Temple C o n v o c a t i o n s , and to build up, to the best of our ability,
a situation and an environment suitable for the work and worship which
is the purpose of the Rosicrucian Temple.