Attention & Focus · “You Become What You Hold”
Segno's Concentration Exercise
To train sustained single-pointed concentration on a chosen subject, then deliberately relax the will into a receptive, passive state so that fresh ideas, solutions, or impressions arise — and to capture them in writing.
Segno’s concentration in 6 lines: Alone, in a comfortable chair, head straight. Rest eyes closed a moment, then fix gaze on a small object 3–4 feet away. Hold one chosen subject in focused thought for 15–30 minutes. Then relax the will completely and let the mind go passive to receive ideas. Write down whatever arises, immediately. Daily, ideally an hour, or at night before bed.
What it is
A. Victor Segno — a turn-of-the-century Los Angeles palmist and founder of the American Institute of Mentalism — taught a structured daily concentration drill as the practical core of his system.
Unlike pure stillness meditation, it has two deliberate phases: an active phase, in which you focus the will hard on a single chosen subject (a problem, a goal, or a person), and a passive phase, in which you relax the will entirely and let the now-quieted mind receive new ideas.
Segno framed the received ideas as “mental messages” arriving via thought-force from other minds; stripped of that metaphysics, the practice is a clean concentrate-then-incubate routine with a built-in capture step (notebook beside you).
The Method
Segno specifies the procedure in Chapter VI, “Solitude and Concentration”:
- Retire to solitude. Go alone to a quiet room where you will not be interrupted. Segno held that “all great deeds are born in solitude” and that concentration is impossible amid distraction.
- Sit correctly. “An easy position in a comfortable chair should be taken: the head held quite straight so that the blood supply will not be cut off from the brain.” Upright head, relaxed body.
- Rest the eyes, then fix the gaze. “The eyes should then be closed for a few moments to rest them.” After resting, “the sight must be centered upon some small object three or four feet distant” — a single small point to anchor attention.
- Choose and hold one subject (active phase). Direct your thoughts onto the one thing you have chosen: “the subject on which he desires information, or of the person he wishes to influence.” Think of it, analyze it, turn it over — keep the will engaged on this single object only.
- Sustain for 15–30 minutes. Hold this focused projection of thought “for from fifteen to thirty minutes.” Whenever attention drifts, return it to the object.
- Relax the will (passive phase). Then deliberately let go: “he should relax the Will and allow his brain to become passive, so that it may receive the new thoughts.” Stop trying; become quiet and open. Ideas, solutions, and impressions are expected to surface in this released state.
- Capture immediately. Keep “a note book and pencil handy, so that the new ideas as they come may be written down.” Record them as they arrive — don’t trust memory.
- Practice daily, an hour if possible. “They should spend one hour each day in concentration. If no other time is available, it can be done at night before retiring.” Consistency is the point. (Sourcing note: all quoted phrases are from Ch. VI of the 1902 edition. The two-phase active/passive structure and the durations are Segno’s own.)
Source & Lineage
A. Victor Segno (1870–c.1925) published The Law of Mentalism in 1902 through his American Institute of Mentalism in Los Angeles, and built a large mail-order following via the Segno Success Club. → (New Thought / Mentalism).
His “concentrate then receive” structure draws on the broader New Thought emphasis on the directed mind and on the era’s fascination with telepathy and thought-transference (cf. Thomson Jay Hudson, the SPR).
The practice is closely related to Troward’s mental-cause work and to later “creative incubation” advice in Napoleon Hill and others.
The Traditions' versions
Incubation / creative problem-solving — the modern, validated cousin: focused effort, then disengagement, then insight. Segno’s two phases anticipate it.
- Concentration meditation (dharana) — single-object fixing of attention; Segno’s small-object gaze is functionally the same trataka-like anchor.
- Troward / mental science — hold the desired idea, then release it to “the subjective mind.”
- Silva Method / “going to level” — focus then receptive imagery, with note-taking of impressions.
- Quaker / contemplative “waiting” — active turning toward, then passive listening.
Common refinements
Skipping the passive phase. People grind in the active phase and never release — which is precisely when insight comes. The relaxation is not optional.
- No anchor object. Without the small fixed point, attention scatters in the active phase. Use it.
- Multitasking the subject. One subject per session. Switching defeats the loading effect.
- Not capturing. Ideas evaporate fast; the notebook is integral, not an afterthought.
- Treating impressions as oracles. Record them, then evaluate them rationally later — don’t act on them blindly.
- Forcing the receptive phase. If you strain to “receive,” you re-engage the will; let go genuinely.