When
the circle of light is large, no particular effect is noted by the
hand. When, however, the circle is as small as it can be made you feel
a sensation of warmth which, if continued long enough, will really
burn the hand. That small circle is the sunlight _in concentration_.
The rays of sunlight, instead of being scattered, are centered. They
burn the hand because they are full of power--powerful.
By way of example: Let the different rays stand for inattention and
the tiny circle of light for concentration. The former has little or
no power; the latter is full of power. This very well illustrates what
happens, both when our thoughts are scattered over a large area, and
when they are brought together--concentrated--in a small circle. The
first listening indeed which should claim our attention is not
tone-listening, but listening to what is said to us. No one under a
good teacher ever learns well who is not attentive and obedient. And
then _listening_ and _doing_ are inseparably joined. Tone-listening
makes us self-critical and observant, and we are assured by men of
science that unless we become good observers in our early years, it is
later impossible for us.[16]
In the previous Talk we spoke about listening to all kinds of sounds,
particularly those out-of-doors. In this Talk we shall speak only of
real music-listening. You know, now, that music born out of the heart
is the thought of a good man.
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