Week 17 Concentration
Everything was ticking along nicely, and then……
Helping adults reconnect with their creative inner child and reignite their creative imagination was my original idea 18 months or so ago now. After many months of planning I ran a trial course which went really well. Everyone felt motivated and inspired and their constructive feedback was extremely helpful, allowing me to refine timing issues and feel confident that I had something of value to offer the world. One client was able to make some life changing decisions after taking the time to stop the crazy hamster wheel of life and get creative, one developed a strong desire to learn to play the saxophone and is carrying on with instrumental lessons, 
and another younger client was really inspired to recycle and make her own 21st birthday tea light decorations from the techniques she learnt on my course. Everything looked really encouraging and then……..Thick MUD! I felt stuck! How did I have such a strong desire, the courage to walk away from my main source of income, the determination to study and learn, and construct a course I felt sure would really help people only to be stuck in the mud?
‘Concentration does not mean mere thinking of thoughts, but the transmutation of these thoughts into practical values; the average person has no conception of the meaning of concentration. There is always the cry “to have” but never the cry “to be”; they fail to understand that they cannot have one without the other, that they must first find the “kingdom” before they can have the “things added.” Momentary enthusiasm is of no value; it is only with unbounded self-confidence that the goal is reached.’ (Haanel 17:11)
My concentration on what steps to take next has run into several weeks and began to feel rather disconcerting. Holding the dream concept I still believe in my heart to be right, and allowing the Universe to guide my path has even felt at times as though I were being lazy while I waited for inspiration. humdy dum….humdy….dum……..
‘Vibration is the action of thought; it is vibration which reaches out and attracts the material necessary to construct and build. There is nothing mysterious concerning the power of thought; concentration simply implies that consciousness can be focused to the point where it becomes identified with the object of its attention. As food is the essence of the body, so the mind absorbs the object of its attention, gives it life and being.’ (Haanel 17:21)
Spending time considering what you want and staying open to where the Universe leads is not easy when the bank balance is on count down! But what I want, as discussed last week, is to feel happy and harmonious. It does not matter whether I have money in the bank, my own house or anything else if I am truly happy inside, in the world within. If you have been following mine or any other blogs by this years amazing MKMMA class you couldn’t fail to understand that ‘The world without is a reflection of the world within’. One thing that made a big impression on everyone who helped me with my trial course was just how tiring yet relaxing being totally engrossed in creative concentration was. The faces of my students was wonderful and amazing to observe. How often do we stop and really focus in these days of instant everything and touch screen technology?
‘….you should be so interested in your thought, so engrossed in your subject, as to be conscious of nothing else. Such concentration leads to intuitive perception and immediate insight into the nature of the object concentrated upon.’ (Haanel 17:6 in part)
‘If you concentrate on some matter of importance, the intuitive power will be set in operation, and help will come in the nature of information which will lead to success.’ (Haanel 17:22)
Having been away from teaching children on a daily basis for a little over 6 months now, I began to realise I miss the vibrancy and enthusiasm they brought. I remembered one of my 13 year old pupils at school saying “Oh I’d love to do something like that” when I explained my course idea to her. Another 15 year old private pupil at home who has been watching my ideas progress and develop over the last 18 months and has been amazed. Her exact words were “you make my art teacher look boring!” 🙂 Although encouraged by the lovely compliment, at the time I did not connect them with a need within her. I have also witnessed my own daughter and niece suffer under the pressure of a top heavy academic environment. 
As I began to join the dots and link these seemingly isolated incidences together, I was inspired to post an enquiry on my Facebook business page with regards to home schooling groups. I received encouraging replies and then a direct message asking if I would be interested in teaching online for homeschoolers. Teaching music theory online was something I’ve had in the back on my mind for months, but had no idea how to go about it!!!!
My bow and arrow were ready, was it just that I was aiming at the wrong target? Despite the encouraging trial course with adults, is it actually young people the Universe wants me to focus on first? A few days ago a woman I had emailed before New Year rang me and during our conversation she told me how her son is struggling at school also due to dyslexia and the pressure to achieve certain grades. Another 15 year old whose desire to learn is being crushed.
Can I help redress the academic balance and give young people somewhere to switch off from school and enjoy doing some creative thinking and creative arts? Do kids really feel content just playing games on their computer or chatting to friends on Facebook? Are we in danger of failing them with our current education system? The ‘Red Pencil’ syndrome as Mark J likes to call it! Is the emphasis on academia, multi choice papers and right or wrong answers crushing the intuitive, creative insight within our adults of tomorrow?
The future of our world is in the hands of our children! Teaching children to think for themselves, to experiment and explore through creative play is a vital element that is missing from the lives of many.
‘All of us are dynamos, but the dynamo of itself is nothing; the mind must work the dynamo; then it is useful and its energy can be definitely concentrated. The mind is an engine whose power is undreamed; thought is an omni-working power. It is the ruler and creator of all form and all events occurring in form. Physical energy is nothing in comparison with the omnipotence of thought, because thought enables man to harness all other natural power.’ (Haanel 17:21)
I just love this little guy! :D……….If you are interested in receiving information about the next MasterKey Class starting September 2015 please sign up below and I will email you the launch details later in the year. Apart from an initial confirmation email I promise not to email again until the launch. 🙂 No spam here, and that’s a promise.