Yet, so much effort and progress has been made over the past 5,000 years in focusing the power of the mind through Yogic principles. To achieve self-mastery is to fully concentrate in the present, and focus on your primary objective.

Wishful thinking, visualization, affirmations, positive thought, mantra, japa, and prayer, are very powerful methods. Each one of these methods, can carry any one us, toward our objective. They are more powerful, when practiced in combination with each other.

However, many people do not take action. Some people take action without practicing any of the above-mentioned methods. If you practice visualization, affirmations, positive thought, mantra, japa, prayer, and take action, you have a better chance of reaching your objective.

What holds us back from taking action? The truth is - there are too many thoughts going on in our heads. It has been speculated that the average person has 5,000 to 65,000 thoughts per day. The exact number is not really worth debating. Suffice to say: we have many thousands of thoughts per day.

No wonder we have difficulty taking action. That much thought is a serious distraction. In Yoga, the mind is compared to a monkey, but now we realize that we are dealing with a troop of monkeys. It takes a lot of practice to tame the mind.

Anyone who is successful in a leadership role is living proof that you can put aside distractions and accomplish goals through intense focus. How can we get rid of confusion and distractions? Confusion stems from living life without a plan. A written plan of the day, week, month, and year, is your template toward progress. Some will say - time spent planning is a waste of time.

If you are going to construct a house, you will need a plan, and you will most likely have to hire professionals to help you. The same principle applies in our daily lives. Now, let's say we have a young student, who is restless and easily distracted.

One suggestion would be for him or her to do Surya Namaskars (Sun Salutations) in the morning, eat a Sattvic diet, and meditate before bedtime. In the morning, the mind is restless because the body craves physical activity.

Surya Namaskars, for at least 20 minutes, will enable the body to exercise first, and to relax later. This will bring about mental focus. For children: Running, swimming, soccer, biking, or any aerobic sport, which uses energy, will enable the body to relax and the mind to focus.

Is this a complete cure for concentration? Not entirely, but it is one major leap forward. If people practiced the above-mentioned Yogic principles, they would easily be in the top ten percentile of achievement within their current field.

Copyright 2008 - Paul Jerard / Aura Publications