Attention

2024-09-27T21:52:44+08:00 | 2 minute read | Updated at 2024-10-08T23:27:58+02:00

@ Gibster

Attention & concentration may not help you

Some thoughts and writings from today on attention:

Most beginning meditators start with concentration meditation which involves directing your attention to a single point of focus; an object, a sound, a sensation, or the breath.

This can be very helpful to feel what focused awareness is. Yet, this type of meditation is also hard to maintain as it is inherently dualistic - it is an activity of the mind. There is the subject (you) and object (breath for example), a process of control and active effort to direct the mind, and ego involvement - maintaining focus and dismissing distractions, reinforcing the sense of an active doer and having an active goal. Basically it’s really a nice practice to remind yourself that you have not awakened yet :)

Attention, by its very nature, is directed toward objects - it’s an act of focus, of doing. But resting in consciousness isn’t about doing; it’s about being. When attention is applied, it pulls you into the activity of the mind, creating separation and reinforcing the idea of something to attain. In trying to rest in consciousness, using attention becomes counterproductive because it keeps you engaged in effort. True rest in consciousness comes when attention is released, allowing you to simply be without the need to focus or achieve anything. This is why (for example) a soft and wide gaze can help - it releases attention.

Meditation is not about doing more, but about doing less!

Previous page You are aware

Next page Letting go

You’ll find writings on non-duality, self-realization, Zen, Tantra and related topics here. My aim is to make these profound subjects approachable and digestible. I’ve found much of the literature abstract and inaccessible; understanding should be within everyone’s reach.

I’m a self-development addict; it’s fascinating to take yourself as the research object. I’ve explored various self-development trainings and retreats: primal therapy, shadow work, breath work, menswork, concentration meditation, etc. In the last decade, my main teachings come from Rinzai Zen under various teachers (mostly indebted to Jun Po Dennis Kelly Roshi - my most important teacher), and Tantra (various schools).

Always open to feedback and questions!

Love Gibster ❤️