Concentration

This Section is designed to equip the apprentice with the skills neccesary to succeed in the techniques and aproaches described in theis Holocron. These are basic exercises, layed out in stages, for the student to master.

On Developing Concentration

Congratulations on freeing your self from the limitations and moral expectations placed upon you by the society in which you were raised. You are standing in the chasm with mastery laying just up ahead. Like a small child though, you must first learn to walk before you learn to run. In the following assignments, you, the Dark Novice, will be guided through a very old and layered process, designed to train your mind to gradually reach that point the masters always speak of, but never explain how to reach.

As im sure you are well aware, it is of the utmost importance that the novice learn to master their mind. In visualizations, relaxation exercises, even self analysis it becomes paramount that you are able to exert your will on your mind; to still it, and guide it in the direction of your choice. As you continue down this path you will be taught to activate your Second Heart, summon elemental energies inside you, or project energies out. This Sith Grimiore is the culmination of a great many techniques and approaches that the novice will only find failure in, if he is not prepared with a calm and steadied mind.

The following process is broken down into three stages for the Novice to conquer. It serves no purpose to deceive yourself, or one of your teachers, as this will only hinder your evolution down the Dark Path. Each stage is to be completely mastered before you go on. Each exercise gives a starting time limit, then adds a minute each day. If however, you find that you are not able to succeed for the time allotted, do not go on, do not add any more minutes, just repeat the time you are currently on until you achieve success. Nothing breeds success like success. Allow your need to succeed to drive you to excel.

Step 1 : Observation of thought

Many people begin meditation or mental training by just trying to tell their mind what to do. With no previous training, and no building blocks, they assume they can just create what they will. This is a fools understanding. The Dark Knight knows that a strong house is built on a stronger foundation, slowly, efficiently, and dependably. So we build the blocks in our minds that will lay the foundation we need.

When the average person meditates, they do not realize that they have lost the presence of mind. The are no longer observing stilled thoughts. They are lost in a daydream, itself a thought, in which they can achieve what they believe. This foundation crumbles in front of them later on , as the ability to calm or center themselves, is stressed by real world problems. And so we begin the Novice training with a simple technique, Observing the mind without following our conscious into a daydream.

Read over this process a few times, even though it is simple, untill you have the idea thoroughly fixed in your mind. locate a timer and set it for 5 minutes. Sit, Lie Down, recline, it doesn’t matter what position you place yourself in. Close your eyes and watch as each thought enters your mind. Note this thought and look at the next. Do not allow yourself to follow into the thought and become lost. If you find yourself falling asleep, stop the exercise and save it for a time when you are rested and ready to train. Be careful not to follow the thought extensively, as then it becomes a day dream. Just, impartially, in the third person, observe each thought as it flows through your mind and note as much of them as possible. When the timer rings, take your journal and attempt to list everything you can remember; every flash, every thought, every image. If you have succeeded in your assignment you may add one minute to the next days practice. Continue adding 1 minute until you reach 10 minutes. As was said above, do not go on if you failed the previous amount of time, only continue if you succeeded in staying out of the thoughts, and only observing them as a third person. Now this observance exercise has turned into one also training you to remember data and information perceived only in your mind. Excelling here will insure success later as we learn Projection techniques, and how to receive knowledge through the force.

Step 2 : Focus on a singular thoughts

Very good! Now that you have broken the first link in the chain that binds your mind, you are ready to take the next step in the chasm. The next step is again, a primary skill you will rely on often, when you evolve to the techniques of the Force. This next technique is the ability to hold a single thought in the mind to the exclusion of all others. As you walk throughout life as a Dark Knight, you will be plagued with problems at work, in business or at home.

The Dark Knight does not allow these things to interfere. Work is not just an extension of the day, where the Knight brings his problems of home to work. No, for the Dark Knight all thoughts other then work are rejected and refused access to your mind. When the day is done and work has ceased, and you find yourself amongst the loving company of your family, all thoughts of work are banished. In this way the Dark Knight is always where he is, never engrossed by things that do not effect his now. Practicing this technique starts the path of Mindfulness every Dark Knight must embrace.

This exercise is also necessary for a Dark Knight to master, as summoning or directing energy requires the presence of mind to never be distracted during accumulation. The Dark Knight cannot, in any way, be interrupted by stray thoughts that may effect the direction in which his will commands the Force.

If you needed an image to understand this:

a Dark Knight, standing with hands facing each other, is calling and gathering energy. It is accumulating and he can feel its power. The Dark Knight can feel the heat accumulate in his second heart and travel down his hands. As the energy mounts to a crescendo, the Dark Knight remembers he didn’t take out the trash and there are meat fragments left to rot in it, and his house will smell disgusting. With a snap, the energy has been let loose, and it sails away from the Dark Knight and will and rejoin the force as a part of the whole. The Dark Knight has failed.

This example is extreme but it should impress upon you, the Novice, of the importance of this exercise in controlling singular thoughts. Remember that every exercise we give you is about building power, and so if you wish to accumulate this power, you will have to put in the time. Now let us get on with the exercise.

Again take whatever position is comfortable for you. Start your exercise by watching your thoughts, like you did in step 1, for few a moments. Now, choose one of those thoughts you see drifting in your mind, bring your will to bear and suppress all but that one thought. The purpose is now to hold on to a single thought or idea in exclusion of all others. By power of mind, you will suppress any thoughts that attempt to force their way into your meditations. Choose for this exercise any train of thought, or any idea according to your taste. Hold onto this thought in exclusion of all others. Vigorously refuse any thought that has nothing to do with the thought you are holding in your mind. At first you will probably only hold this thought for a few moments but eventually this will continue on. Start with a goal of 5 minutes, add a minute each day until you reach ten. As before don’t deceive yourself or your teachers., it will serve you no good in the exercises that follow. Patience, Perseverance, and tenacity, are virtues in the development of the force, and here they prove supreme. Note every experience in your journal, the more information the better.

Step 3: Absence of all thought

The next stage of awareness will be the hardest to achieve. At this stage you are developing the power of Will. Obviously a strong will is necessary to achieve any success in life, or energy use. I am not going to go into the myriad of ways of which one can develop the Iron will of the Dark Knight, I leave that to you to note in your journals. Instead we will dive headfirst into the way of evolution, now that you are fit for the next exercise, the next stage of evolution.

Now we are going to produce that actual vacancy of mind that the masters talk about. Like before, you may take any position you find comfortable, sit or lie down, and close your eyes. Start your exercise by watching your thoughts, like you did in step 1, for few a moments. Now, choose one of those thoughts you see drifting in your mind, bring your will to bear and suppress all but that one thought. Obviously don’t follow it and don’t allow yourself to enter into daydream. Hold this stage for a few moments. Now, summon the total strength of your will and suppress that one thought you were holding. Vigorously dismiss any thought that enters into your mind, leaving you with a void. Revel in the feeling of nothingness within your mind. Now, the mind is not used to the idea of void, so it is going to rebel It will do everything in its power to fill that vacuum with a thought. You must not allow this! Command your mind to end, crash your will against your conscious mind, dominate it. Now hold onto this state of nothingness for as long as possible. Like the other steps you will probably only be able to perform this for a few seconds at first. Each time you practice this exercise add one minute at a time until you can reach a full 10 minutes without thought, having not lost self control, and obviously having not fallen asleep. In your journal, detail your success, your failure, how long you managed to last, and what type of things disturbed you. The more you write in your journals with all this information the better able you will be to evaluate yourself, and your teachers will be able to evaluate you. Like anything, lying will serve you no purpose whatsoever, it will not give you power, it will not feed your ego, it will only hinder your abilities.

Step 4: Creation 1 - Visualization

Visualization is a mandatory mental technique of the Dark Knight that uses the imagination to achieve dreams, to make them come true. Used in the correct way, under the mindful will of the Dark Knight, creative visualization can be used to create success, power, and prosperity. Visualization about your different dreams and important things that you like, can attract the universal law of attraction to collaborate with you and make this possible for you. It is Power that can modify your environment, conditions and circumstances, cause events to happen or attract money, possessions, work, and more into the Dark Knights life. Visualization is the most important piece of the puzzle to achieving success using the power of the mind.

On the simple side, the ability to conjure, unhindered in the mind, a sigil seal or visualization that directs energy is of the utmost importance for the Dark Knight. As you delve further into the Dark Arts that are taught to the Sith, you will find more and more need to master the ability of visualization.

To make things happen, we have to add concentration and feelings to the creative visualization. This way, we are getting the most powerful tool that can help you. A good imagination will generate a creative visualization

At this point we are going to need to include another piece of equipment. called a Mala. A mala is a strong of beads used to count sutras in Buddhist training. For us, the Mala is going to be used to count disruptions of the mind.

Search around your house for six simple objects, things like a cup, scissors, book, teddy bear, maybe a beloved statue, any simple singular thing you can grab. Arrange these in a semi circle around you. As before take any position you find comfortable (I assume by now you have developed a habit in a certain position). Choose one object first, stair at it. Notice every detail, color, shape found in it. Perhaps pick it up and turn it in your hands to see every angel of this object. Now close your eyes and bring this object to mind. Draw it in absolute detail. Turn it in your mind, draw every line, see every color see every shape.. Should the image disappear in your mind pull it back up by force of will. Now as before let no thought interrupt this crystal clear image you have created. You can continue to turn it and move it but let no other thought intervene. When it does move one bead through your fingers to note the disruption. If you have a few disruptions on the first object open your eyes and select another, perform the same series of actions as detailed above. For now go no longer then ten minutes. When you can reach ten minutes without disruption then begin to add a min each time. Your goal is to work up to 5 minutes of holding your perfect visualization without disruption of each object for a total of 30 minutes of exercise.

Step 5 : Creation - Visualization Expanded

Now we enter into a realm of a bit more difficulty. Now you must take the next step of evolution and imagine objects with your eyes open. You must see the object as if it is sitting in the air directly in front of you. See the object become a tangible piece of reality. Allow your inner eyes to see these objects and allow no other distraction from your environment to interfere. Count the moment when you loose your grasp on this image, or when outside distractions catch your attention, on your malla, moving the bead through your fingers. When you reach the point where you can hold an object for 5 minutes without the slightest wavering of the mind you may consider this exercise a success. If you have reached 30 minutes of practice and still not been able to hold a single image for 5 minutes, stop practicing for the day and try again later.

Step 6: Creation 3 - the other senses

As you continue on in your training you will be expected to develop your Force senses to a point in which you receive all sorts of data. Sometimes it will be in the form of a smell, sometimes a sound, and sometimes a picture. The mind will only be able to produce the senses that you currently can produce. So the Dark Knight learns to produce all manner of sense through power of will, the clearer you can produce effects in yourself now, the clearer the information will come across later when the Force Itself offers you information.

This step is going to be broken down into individual sub steps, as they all work off each other. Step 6 is not completed until all of the sub steps have been achieved and have become close to second nature.

Section A: Now sit or lie down, adopt the previous of mind you have in the previous exercises, and with eyes open imagine you hear the ticking of a clock, or running water, or any sound of your choosing.. Like the previous stages, you will at first only be able to hold that sound for a few seconds before some outside noise overrides it or the mind begins to create memory or visualization to back up the sound. Will all of this away and only sit and listen to the sound you have created. Hear it in every detail possible, give it echo if you so chose. The step is completed when you can hold a single thought for 5 minutes without distraction. Again you may use your mala to count the distractions.

Section B: Now, sit, or lie die, and attempt to produce sensations. Hot Cold, Warm, Heavy, Light, hunger, thirst, etc… Attempt to hold on to each sensation you practice for 5 minutes. Not all the sensations you choose to focus on in your journal, and of course keep track of how many disturbances you have been plagued with. This faze can be considered completed if you have chosen at least 5 different sensations and heald each separately. Though the student is advised to continue this exercise on his own untill every possible sensation as been internalized and mastered.

Section C: Yep you guessed it, Smell.& taste. At this point you the Novice should not need me to further explain. Bring up smells and taste in your mind and create them as a reality. don’t get lost in the thoughts, count the errors, note everything you do in your journal. Do at least 5 smells and tastes, counting each one as a success when you can hold it for 5 minutes without distraction.

Step 7: Putting it together

As Force awareness is rarely a solitary experience, with overwhelming amounts of knowledge coming in at once, the Dark Knight is expected to be able to process and create multiple avenues of sensation at once. Ritual Work, and even internal energy training often requires the creation of complex visualizations utilizing all the previous skills we have practice. So this step is about creating more then one sensation at once.

Section A: Again take your position, sit or lie down, but keep your eyes open. Call to mind an image and create it in absolute detail. Once you have created this image now add its sound, hear every little noise that object habitually makes. You imagination must be so perfect as to seem like the object is really there. Now hold on to that image for 5 minutes without distraction.

Section B: Now lets take this further. Lets imagine a river, see this river moving through your meditation spot, see it in such absolute detail that it seems you can jump right into it. Add the sound of the running water complete with eddies and swirls, hear every tiny sound at this river of yours, now reach your hand into this river and feels the cool water splashing against you hand, wetting it. Hold this compound visualization for 5 minutes. As With the previous exercises you will at first probably only hold this complex image for a few moments, but eventually you will reach your goal. Track your results in your journal.

I can not stress the importance of this type of concentration exercise enough. It will become indispensable to your future training. If you begin to feel tired or strained stop the exercise. Go on later when you are well rested. At this point in your training all the previous stages should have become second nature, and sitting for 30 minutes you could run from one to another in rapid succession without a single distraction. These are foundation exercises and will forever be in your training. The Dark Knight never allows these skills to atrophy.

Congratulations on getting this far, you have truly begun to Master yourself, to create the Iron Will of the Dark Knight. This is as far as we are going to go in this introduction to mental control. If you have truly succeeded in all these exercises you are ready to begin training on the Second Heart. You are ready to pit your mind and will against the awesome power that is the Force.

On Mastering the Emotions

In 1995 a pilot study was conducted by Dr Pete A Sanders Jr and Proeffesor Larry Steven PHD of. It showed that through conscious will, the autonomic nervous finctions of the brain could be overridden, and instead, placed in direct conscious control. This study paved the way for the techniques of Emotional Control.

Where as some systems of Dark Philosophy teach one to embrace all emotion, others to ride it, and others to dwell on repressed memory for power, the Sith are taught to stimulate it at will. Long has this ability been used, but it wasn't until 1995 that it was scientifically studied and proved to be more then wishful thinking or self delusion on the part of the practitioner.

The 1995 study was not intended to prove the Siths use of manual control, it was a byproduct, as participants failed to locate the correct brain centers they inadvertently stimulated others, giving rise to the dark emotions we value so much as sith. Below we will first go through the function of the brain in emotional response, so that you may become accustomed to how it works. Later we will take you through the process of activating these areas of the brain.

This is one of the few techniques i will not be offering feedback tests for, as the only real way of monitoring brain activity is by using tools now habitually available to the Student. If you are truly interested in verifying effectiveness you can look into the DIY EEG projects floating around the Internet.

The Way of Anger

As you progress down the path of the Sith you will come upon scenario after scenario, where you will be required to focus anger, and rage, to a state of passion;to power spells and techniques. Unlike others paths of Darkness, the Sith is a master of his emotions, but mastery starts with understanding.

Anger, like the other emotions, is a physiological process. This process occurs when the brain perceives having been offended, wronged, or denied. The Major Physiological responses to anger include:

         Increase in the heart rate (preparing the person to move)

         Increase of the blood flow to the hands(preparing them to strike)

         Increases in Perspiration(particularly when the anger is intense).

The secretion by the adrenal medulla of the catecholamines(epinephrine and norepinephrine) and by the adrenal cortex of glucocorticoids(a steroid hormones) provides a mobilizing effect. In anger, the catecholamine activation is more strongly norepinephrine than epinephrine (the reverse being the case for fear). The Steroid effect, besides providing rapid matablisation of glucose (powering the muscles) also causes the body to increase testosterone levels.

The rapid processing, minimalisation of sensory data is caused by the increase in activity between the amygdala and the limbic forebrain. neuroimaging studies of anger, clearly show that the most activated region of the brain was the lateral orbitofrontal cortex. Not surprisingly this region is also associated with motivation.

Anger as Pleasure

Anger starts in the brain’s limbic system, which is the seat of all emotions. The release of adrenaline that occurs during moments of Anger, in conjunction with increased heart rate and blood pressure, can actually feel quite good, even euphoric. This is because this system, ironically, also causes the secretion of dopamine, a naturally occurring pleasure chemical that is unleashed by your brain in response to, or even in anticipation of,a positive physical stimulation.

Since you like the way you feel, you learn to repeat the behavior and your brain participates by creating consistent patterns that support your feelings. When the reward center of your brain (the septum pellicadum)is activated it patterns itself through associations of cause and effect. This means it remembers what the activity was that produced this pleasurable effect, so that next time the activity occurs it can respond appropriately.

The more the brain is instructed to experience pleasure from disturbing emotions, the more the anger and pleasure grow together as friends. For a Sith, this is the ideal state to be in. But we are not spastic adolescents unable to control our emotions, we are in fact the opposite. A Sith learns to activate and deactivate the emotions on will. Both approaches are structured around the same theory, the theory of conscious stimulation of autonomic process.

Emotional Brain Centers

The Limbic System is a grouping of co dependant organs and cells important in Anger, these are the Hippocampus, Hypothalamus, and the Amygdala. Together they help regulate emotions and memory. The Hippocampus controls "common sense", things to do and not to do for self-protection. The Amygdala is a warehouse of emotional memories that can only react based on previously stored patterns. The Amgydala is the center for the identification of danger, determining what is/is not safe; It is this area that primarily controls your Anger.

Now we are going to cover the Septum Pellucidum. The Septum Pellucidum is the brains Happy place. Although it is mainly a fluid filled sack, it is connected to the hypothalamus which is the control system for the entire Limbic brain. Activating the Septum pellucidum results in a calm and mellow energized feeling that can best be described as an inner smile.

So in the Sith quest for control of ourselves, our absolute mastery, we focus on these two areas with gently focus to willing stimulate the systems we seek.

Accessing the Brain Centers

Before we learn where to stimulate you have to learn how to stimulate the Brain centers. The brain centers, as we have discussed are physiological points in the human brain where autonomous stimulation releases the chemicals we commonly call emotions. However, as specified, these are normally controlled without conscious thought. The Sith student must now change, autonomic to intentional.

The first step of knowing what to do is knowing what not to do. Do not try, force, or over concentrate. A lighter form of focus is required. You must gently focus your concentration not forcing your concentration.A good example is the difference between staring at an object intently, or noticing movement in your peripheral vision. Whenever you force or over concentrate on something, the mind falls back into its default settings, to what is called your voluntary nervous system.

This keeps your mind stuck in your muscles and your physical senses, things normally under conscious mental control. Instead of this we relax our focus, we gently stimulate and the autonomic functions became conscious. Allow yourself the time to learn this, don't try and force your ability to do so, for it will never work, as over focus has a deadening effect on the brain.

Focus on the Amygdala/Septum Pellicidium-Touch Points

To plot the geographical location of the septum pellicidium, the brains joy center, you measure approximately 1 1/2 inches above your brow in the center of the forehead. This same point is habitually associated with the 3rd eye chakra, Ajna.

the easiest technique to locate the Septum Pellicidium is with touch points

         Place your middle finger at mid forehead between the eyes and 1 1/2 inches above the brows.

         at the same time touch the center of the side of your head with your thumb

         mentally extend a line inward from each finger

         feel where the lines would intersect in your head

         try also middle finger on forehead and thumb at top center of head

         alternate, thumb on top center and thumb on side center several times.

         Note how you can feel or visualize where the three lines would intersect, this is the septum pellicidium.

This process is to be repeated for the Amygdala placing middle finger at nose and thumb in side of head (should correlate with ear cavity)

Note your results in your journal

Focus on the Amygdala/Septum Pellicidium-Sliding Up

If visualizing the intersecting points is not working to terribly well for you you can also try this version.

         gently place a finger on the bridge of your nose

         shift the focus above the eyes by following the finger as it slides up to the nose.

         Press lightly when you reach the center of the forehead and travel inward with your awareness.

         feel for the location that gives you the greatest "ahh!" feeling

Reverse this order starting at the brow and bringing the finger down to the tip of the nose, turn inward in the same way and look for the feeling of aggravation or anger.

Switch back and forth and note the results in your journal.

Triggering the Natural Mood Enhancers

Once you know how to get there, the next step is to learn to fully activate it. Merely guiding your awareness to the area begins to triger the process. Projecting a thought to stimulate the Septum or Almygdila completes it. That thought can be a feeling, an image, a word, or even just knowing.

Some people prefer the visualization or stroking the area with their consciousness, some like to bath the area in a light of their choice, some "push a button" some tickle it with a paint brush, the point here is that finding the way in which you personally stimulate the area with thought its part of the personal journey.

If you choose a visual approach remember that you don't have to actually see anything specific, just find an image that works to initiate the control.

Try various methods of visualization, auditory commands (think peace and anger) and any other method you can come up with. Note these in your journal and your results.