1. "Unnecessary words, unnecessary thoughts, unnecessary movements, gestures, actions – all these are large or small deviations from the path. ... The thought breaks away from the main thing and spreads to the sides. Any unnecessary and purposeless waste of energy is unacceptable. If you collect everything that is wasted in this way, then counting can terrify the most frivolous consciousness. ...Show commensurability in everything. It makes a lot of things easier. But the main thing is the concentration of all the forces of the spirit in striving for a single goal." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1955, 423]
2. "Like the bow of a ship cutting waves,.. so the sword of the fiery consciousness of the risen spirit dissects with the solidity and concentration of its aspiration everything that hinders in this ardent striving for Light." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1952, 82]
3. "Like compressed gas, the collected energy is a force. A hydraulic press operating on compression can give tremendous force. So are the scattered human energies gathered together. A device operating with compressed air can only work if the pressure is sufficient. Take away the concentration, or the compressiveness of the air, and its power will spread fruitlessly. The same thing happens to a person. ...Great people were in the world, but they did not exchange themselves for trifles. And they lived, and worked, and had families, but still remained great in spirit..." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1955, 375]
4. "The concentration of the energies of the microcosm inside itself, energies usually directed towards various external objects and phenomena, gives it the strength and durability of a piece of steel, and calmness turns this piece into a ball – a symbol of balance – almost inaccessible to external influences. Balance... is always preceded by inner composure. Usually the energies of the spirit are directed in different directions. Even a strong army can be weakened by dividing it into parts and scattering it over a large area, especially the strength of the spirit, because every phenomenon that strongly attracts the spirit requires spending some part of energy on it. There are times when it is necessary to resist at all costs, and then the dispersion of psychic energy is unacceptable. Then a person absorbs all his energies sent everywhere in order to concentrate them inside into a single monolith of the spirit. ...Such concentration gives the highest degree of protection and maintains balance. The power of action is possible only under the condition of such concentration, which precedes action and without which true action is impossible." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1956, 50]
5. "Promiscuity must be contrasted with the selection and concentration of both external and internal. You can learn this concentration of will from thousands of little things." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1955, 380]
6. "It is necessary to distinguish hotness from burning. ... Hotness gives impetuosity and fussiness, while burning may not outwardly manifest itself in the usual sense, but gives composure and restrained clarity in movements." [Еxcerpts by Boris Abramov from the book "Aspiring Heart" 1953, 223]
7. "We must learn at any moment to focus the energy of the spirit by the order of the whole consciousness. The dispersion of consciousness is unacceptable. The concentration of consciousness will be a shield from the chaos of external conditions." [Facets of Agni Yoga 1958, 152]
8. "Aspiration is combined with the concentration of energy. The restless fire is not directed, the torn flakes fly in all directions at the will of the wind. Only the ultimate condensation of energy corresponds to true aspiration." [Еxcerpts by Boris Abramov from the book "Aspiring Heart" 1954, 260]
