Developing Concentration
The following advice on this particular subject will be found helpful to
those contemplating the formation of development circles, and the
unfoldment of their latent powers of mediumship; it is from the pen of
an earnest student of this subject, and one who is himself a competent
medium. This person says: "One of the most important prerequisites for
success in the development of mediumship along spiritual lines is the
ultivation of the power of concentration. In the early days of the
movement the would-be medium was advised to be 'passive,' and passivity
was often construed into self-effacement. We are now learning to
distinguish between receptivity and docility, between apathy and
aspiration. A medium is not, and should not be willing to become a mere
irresponsible tool. For intelligent and beneficial association with, and
inspiration from, the people of the higher life, a certain degree of
abstraction is necessary. To cut one's self off from ordinary
conditions, to retire into the sanctuary of one's own inner
consciousness, to 'enter the silence' as it is sometimes called, is
helpful training for the preparation of conditions favorable for the
manifestation of spirit-power. The Quakers were true spiritualists in
this sense, and evidently realized the need for the concentration of the
soul's forces and their withdrawal from the outer plane, preparatory to
the descent of the spiritual influence that moved them to speak.