Natural concentration is when the mind can hold a thought for a long time, when thoughts are under our own control
. Without concentration the mind goes here, there and everywhere, jumping like a monkey from branch to branch, idea to idea. When there is a natural concentration, we can control our mind and there is peace
. This one-pointed concentration on a thought, holding it for as long as we like, gradually collects strength in the mind and in the self. A strong mind is a mind that is peaceful, stable, satisfied and can remain in the deeper meaning of a thought. There is no waste caused by over-thinking, or the high speed of thought: These are the two greatest diseases of the mind these days, which is why there is so much stress
and mental breakdown. Stress can foil concentration and learning ability. Although concentration is different to memory, they can affect each other. Concentration precedes memory. If you are under stress your concentration will go for a toss, then naturally memory will be totally foiled. So meet with a counselor to take care of the stress and your memory will happily return. You can follow these simple rules in the meantime: Have a good night’s sleep, have a good breakfast of more proteins, meditate often, remain free of stress, eat a lot of fiber, nuts, avocado, exercise regularly, eat dark chocolate, do Yoga meditation
exercises, etc. You need to check out if you are stronger visual or auditory. The visual is a better mode than the auditory. However, if you combine the two modes, you will get
the best concentration. Short-term memory is a faculty of the left brain, and long-term memory is a feature of the right brain. When people are stressed, they tend to favor the right brain and abandon the left brain, where short-term memory resides. So, it is really very simple: deal with the stress and activate left brain functions. Here are a few suggestions to activate left brain function: shut your left nostril and breathe, move your eyes from right to left and vice versa for at least half a minute at a time, and do callisthenic exercises with some
form of counting, regularly. There is a new exercise called Super Brain Yoga, which is done by holding the right earlobe with your left thumb and index finger, and the left earlobe with your right hand’s thumb and index finger. In this position you must squat down and rise up and do this for five minutes every day. If your home life is full of distractions and stress, it is likely to affect your memory, adversely. In that case, I suggest that the family goes for counseling. The following foods do help too: Blueberries, walnuts, turmeric, Spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, acorn squash, green tea, oily fish, boiled egg, turkey, apples, oatmeal, leafy greens, lentils, pumpkin seeds, avocado, cinnamon, thyme, sunflower seeds, and red wine. Avoid all junk food.