Newly learned facts are retained best when no new mental activity follows the period of acquisition. The new memory material must figuratively "settle down," and is apt to be lost if it is stirred up by other mental engagements.

ATTENTION AND INTEREST

We have already seen that in order to have memory, we must first have an impression. The first step in acquiring an impression is attention. The word attention comes from two Latin words meaning to stretch toward. We must stretch our mind toward the fact or object we wish to remember. If we are interested in the fact or object, giving attention is easy; if not, it is more difficult, and it becomes necessary to bring our will-power into play to keep the attention centered, or else find something to which the object is related, that we are interested in. The part played by interest in the mechanism of memory is an exceedingly important one. In itself, the average railroad time-table is a rather uninteresting object, but when one begins to plan a trip, and wants to know the time of arrival and departure of trains, that same time-table takes on a very decided interest. If one is interested in one's work, not only is it easier to do that work than something in which one is not interested, but one will be more successful in it than in the uninteresting work.

A cardinal principle to be observed in developing the power or habit of giving attention is to attend to only one thing at a time. It is one of the laws of mind that its attention can be directed to but one thing at a time. Some may apparently attend to two or more things at the same time, but accurate psychological investigation of this phenomenon has shown that in reality the mind is rapidly oscillating from one object of attention to another.

LESSON III

CONCENTRATION AND ASSOCIATION

The word concentrate comes from the Latin, and means literally to center together. "In concentration, the consciousness is held to a single image; the whole attention is fixed on a single point, without wavering or swerving. The mind-which runs continually from one thing to another, attracted by external objects and shaping itself to each in quick succession-is checked, held in, and forced by the will to remain in one form, shaped to one image, disregarding all other impressions thrown upon it.

"At the beginning of concentration, two difficulties have to be overcome. First, this disregard of the impressions continually being thrown on the mind. The mind must be prevented from answering these contacts, and the tendency to respond to these outside impressions must be resisted; but this necessitates the partial direction of the attention to respond to the act of resisting, and when the tendency has been overcome, the resistance itself must pass. Perfect balance is needed, neither resistance nor non-resistance, but a steady quietude so strong that impressions from outside will not produce any result, not

even the secondary result of the consciousness of something to be resisted.

"Second, the mind itself must hold as sole image, for the time, the object of concentration; it must not only refuse to modify itself in response to impacts from without, but must also cease its own inner activity wherewith it is constantly rearranging its contents, thinking over them, establishing new relations, discovering hidden likenesses and unlikenesses. It has now to confine its attention to a single object, to fix itself on that. It does not, of course, cease its activity, but sends it all along a single channel. Water flowing over a surface wide in comparison with the amount of water, will have little motor power. The same water sent along a narrow channel, with the same initial impulse, will carry away an obstacle. Without adding to the strength of the mind, the effective strength of it is immensely increased. Imposing this inner stillness on the mind is even more difficult than the ignoring of outside impacts, being concerned with its own. deeper and fuller life. To turn the back on the outside world is easier than to quiet the inner, for this inner world is more identified with the Self-that part of our being which directs the activities of the mind. But keep at it and success will reward your efforts.

"When the mind loses hold of its objectas it will do, time after time-it must be brought back, and again directed to the

object. Often at first it will wander away without the wandering being noticed and the student suddenly awakens to the fact that he is thinking about something quite other than the proper object of thought. This will happen again and again, and he must patiently bring it back-a wearisome and trying process, but there is no other way in which concentration can be gained.

"It is a useful and instructive mental exercise when the mind has thus slipped away without notice, to take it back again by the road along which it traveled in its strayings. This process increases the control of the rider over his runaway steed, and thus diminishes its inclination to escape.

"Consecutive thinking, though a step toward concentration, is not identical with it, for in consecutive thinking the mind passes from one to another of a sequence of images, and is not fixed on one alone. But as it is far easier than concentration, the beginner may use it to lead up to the more difficult task.

"The universal complaint which comes from those who are beginning to practice concentration is that the very attempt to concentrate results in a greater restlessness of the mind. To some extent this is true, for the law of action and reaction works here as everywhere, and the pressure put on the mind causes a corresponding reaction. But while admitting this, we find on closer study