Attention | ||
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Concentration
Concentration has its place, but in terms of
meditation and combat, it is not desirable.
A more appropriate skill is 'attention'.
Attention
Attention is the ability to have awareness without shutting out everything
else.
It is about being one with the moment; present and alert.
There is no process of isolation or exclusion.
You are being mindful.
Attention span
Technology has shaped consciousness. We have become an easily distracted society
with very short attention spans.
Stagnation, intellectual decline and an increase in apathy are the unfortunate
side-effects of a reduced capacity to pay attention.
Spacing out
Modern people are seldom fully present. They try to 'multi-task'. Even when
there are no obvious, visible distractions, they somehow manage to be elsewhere.
These same people worry about Alzheimer's disease...
Looking is narrow
Looking is focussed and narrow. Seeing is expansive and open. Meditation is the
condition of being present, of seeing without impediment.
You are very much in the immediate moment: feeling, seeing, experiencing. There
are no thoughts and no worries.
Selective attention
By seeing, you receive a greater amount of information and you can
subconsciously process it quickly. Looking is selective, choosing to see only
what you have decided to see.
This narrowing of attention is concentration, focus - and involves shutting out
one thing in favour of another. Looking is necessary when you want to be
selective, but seeing is preferable overall.
Fixation
Attention is not fixation. Your aim is to be in the moment, not to become tense.
Remain calm and expansive, open and receptive. But continue to notice things.
Attention is very different from
what is usually called concentration. Concentration is usually associated
with a state of over-tension manifested by a furrowed brow and interference
with breathing, almost as though one were trying to hold everything in place
so as to be able to focus totally on a certain aspect of one's surroundings.
(Michael Gelb)
The myth of multi-tasking
Focussing can cause anxiety. You address one concern and ignore another. The
more concerns you have, the harder it is to address them all skilfully. This
approach is like juggling.
Instead of going with the flow and feeling what is happening, you are trying
desperately to catch one ball whilst keeping all the others still up in the
air.
Multi-tasking
Multi-tasking is jargon acquired from the computer industry. It is the
process where a PC rapidly flicks between activities whilst giving the
illusion of continuous presence.
People can multi-task, but at a price (stress and loss of competence).
'Single-tasking' produces far better results and does not adversely affect
mental health.
Attention/focus
Sometimes it is beneficial to look at the individual details and address
them in depth. At other times, you must consider the overall event and feel
the essence of what is happening, the flow.
Quality
Keeping your mind on what you are doing is excellent. It improves quality.
Distraction
People are conditioned to think that they are missing out on something. Our
culture is saturated with advertising specifically designed to encourage
insecurity and restlessness.
Sometimes, it is good to be distracted, to notice unexpected possibilities,
to wander off in new directions.
However, there is a danger with distraction: the more distracted you become,
the less competent you are.
Learned helplessness
Modern culture has honed distraction to a high level; with countless
diversions designed to off-set boredom.
Individuals who are impatient and aggressive, greedy and acquisitive you are
essentially at war with yourself.
Thought
Awareness is all about noticing things. Being conscious of what is happening
all around you, in this immediate moment.
It is not possible to be fully conscious of the moment and simultaneously
have thoughts chattering away in your head.
The moment
Thoughts are a consequence of memory, the past. The emergent moment cannot
be commented on as it is happening. You can only think about something after
it has occurred.
The emergent moment
Meditation is beyond all exercises and methods. It is about being here. Not
chattering away in our heads. Being present occurs when you stop seeking,
looking, pushing and struggling.
You are present in the here and now. Totally present, not caught up in
memories, anxieties and thinking. There are no conscious thoughts in your
mind.
Eventually, no method, exercise, discipline or practice is required.
You
cannot practice tai chi with the rational mind. The most difficult thing for
beginning students is that they try to make the movements with their minds and
they cannot. The movements are too complicated. The flowing of the hands, the
correct timing, the bending of the knees, the breathing, the balance; all this
cannot be controlled by the mind.
The pianist cannot think of each note as she plays it, it must simply be there.
Just leave the body alone. When we do not interfere with it, the body moves with
the tao spontaneously.
(John Lash)
Page created
7 August 1996
Last updated
16 June 2023