(2) It may seem impossible at first thought, but you have seen people so absorbed in what they were reading or thinking that they heard nothing, although you addressed them directly. They are simply abstracted from all else, and are thinking of one thing--to the exclusion of everything else. They entered this state of abstractedness unconsciously. To do so intentionally, you go by the law of indirectness. For instance, take sight; concentrate your vision and your whole attention upon some object, real or imaginary, until soon the sense of HEARING becomes dormant. A little practice will enable you to study, think or sleep, regardless of noise.

(3) Having mastered hearing, begin on SIGHT. You have known people who walked on the street, looked at you and passed by without recognition, although they knew you well. A person deeply thinking on some subject, neither sees nor hears, but uses the mental sense entirely. The method is to let the eyes be open, but concentrate the thoughts on hearing or feeling.

(4) After getting control of your sight, take up the TASTE. Take some tasteless thing on the tongue, abstract the mind to something else until the taste becomes dormant. Then take something with more taste to it, abstracting the taste, until by this gradual process you can make the sourest pickle sweet.

(5) Finally take some light odor, and hold it before the nostrils, abstracting the attention from the sense of smell, by hearing or seeing, etc., until by practice you can pass through the foulest odor without inconvenience or notice.

Sit or stand absolutely motionless, except your breathing, for one to five minutes at a time. Do this often.

Practice closing each finger in rotation; then, when all are closed, open one at a time very slowly, keeping the attention fixed on what you are doing. Keep all the other fingers still, save the one you are exercising with.

Inhale gradually for ten seconds, then exhale in the same way and time.

Look steadily at some point or object for a minute without winking the eye, keeping your attention fixed on the object.

Look at a picture critically, then close your eyes and mentally reconstruct it.

Close your eyes and construct the face of a friend, feature by feature.

Fix your attention on a hand or foot, hold on it the idea of heat and continue until the hand or foot feels warm. Then try cold; then try pain.