Attention

Shunning can be detrimental. In different societies like Australian Aborigines and Amish Farmers for instance – the worse sanction to be bestowed upon a person is shunning. Can you imagine what’s it like to be ignored by your friends and family? No one looks at you, no one answers you, no one even acknowledges you – you barely exist. The person in the community tend to become depressed and some grow to doubt their own existence. They stop taking care of themselves and little by little they disappear.

The ultimate outcome of being shunned is death although at times the person comes to accept the fact that they must already be dead – since no one pays attention to them anymore. Inter hominem esse, the latin word for “being alive” which literally meant, “to be among men,” whilst “to be dead” was inter hominem esse desinere, or “to cease to be among men.”

Attention is an important psychic energy. Just as words hold a significant amount of power, attention shapes our identity and our connection to the world.

So how do we harness the power of attention?

We are not born with the power of attention. This is something we learn. Time and effort are required to build this strength. Sadly, we live in a world where our attention is being traded as a commodity. Giant tech companies invest in grabbing our attention. Neuroscientists are being employed to ensure you never stop browsing. Our emotions flow with each post and without ever leaving the couch, we can experience intense joy, sadness, envy, and depression.

The problem is that – it is easy to blame corporations. It is too easy.

The hardest thing to recognize is that the problem is you. Sorry to pop this invisible bubble, but yes, the problem is YOU. (and me!)

The ability to direct attention belongs to us. If you look closely, everything in life requires attention – washing, showering, cleaning, cooking, working, talking, studying, and playing. From infancy, we are trained to build focus and attention. Adults read kids stories and teach small tasks. Over time, the skills are imbibed and we end up doing everything mindlessly. We wake up, go to the bathroom, brush our teeth, shower, etc…

The only way to harness this power of attention is to practice deep focus and/or attention. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Flow, wrote “Yu, Tao, or Flow are not attained by some superhuman quantum jump but simply by the gradual focusing of attention on the opportunities for action in one’s environment, which results in a perfection of skills that with time becomes so thoroughly automatic as to seem spontaneous and otherworldly.”

Flow: When a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. When psychic energy or attention is invested in realistic goals and when skills match the opportunities for action. Flow is hence attained.

This isn’t the same as our daily actions. The key takeaway here is “the perfection of skills”. Find a skill and then focus all your attention onto it. The capability of narrowing your focus onto the task without getting distracted is a mark of a person who is in control of consciousness. Mihaly expounds that attention determines what will or will not appear in consciousness. It is useful to think of it as psychic energy – that without it no work as be done. We create or destroy ourselves by how we invest this energy. Memories, thoughts, feelings, are all shaped by how we use it.

The energy is within our control – a statement that should be deeply reflected upon. It’s a responsibility that can’t be taken lightly. We can’t shed the responsibility to corporations, advertisers, and marketers whose sole goal is to increase their bottom line.

So how do we create this ‘ordered’ mental state?

The normal state of mind is chaos. If you don’t agree – stop right here and try something. Sit quietly and focus intently on your breath. Observe each inhalation and exhalation. The varying temperature, the movement of the nostrils, and the sensations in and outside your nose. Pick a small point above your lips and below your nostrils – completely focus on that.

How long did it take you to think of something else? One minute? Three minutes? An hour? *Vipassana friends probably know this well.*

Robert Greene wrote in his latest book The Laws of Human Nature, “In a world full of endless distractions, you must focus and prioritize. You must adhere to the highest standards in your work – The first thought or idea that comes to you is most often incomplete and inadequate. Think more thoroughly and deeply about your ideas, some of which you must discard. You don’t need deadlines or people telling you what to do and when to finish. Any motivation you need comes from within. You are complete and self-reliant. When it comes to operating with this inner authority, we can consider Leonardo Da Vinci our model. His motto in life was ostinato rigore, “relentless rigor.”

Similarly, in Yoga learnings, I have been told that the goal is to gain one-pointedness. If our mind is unregulated, our will power becomes weak. The more we practice, the stronger our mind becomes. It takes will power to create an ordered mental state – but will power also needs to be exercised.

* Ok, I got no will-power and after a few days I resume back on my old track – what to do? **

If that sounds like you, don’t fret. Even when you feel like you are failing, you are succeeding. The key point to remember is this (even if you forget everything else): Don’t evaluate yourself too soon. Give it time! Practice and keep working – especially when you think nothing is happening.

Beginnings can be small. Start by focusing on simple task like showering – pay attention to every part of the body that you are soaping and washing. Focus as you clean your house and cook. Don’t daydream and think about something else. Focus on your food, exercise, walks, etc. Use your daily activities to build that neural connection. Don’t get distracted and it might be a good idea to keep your phone on silent mode. Always do one thing at a time.

It’s prudent to remember the wise words of Simone Weil: “attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer.”

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