So now I have seen that its possible to gain a state of focus and have defined the areas that need looking at. The problem areas, so to speak, its time to elaborate on the actual state of being focussed.
Yes! Being focussed.
It can be achieved on demand and, needless to say, through practise.
As described before, I dont focus on some thing, rather I focus on a non-thing, the essence of which I determine for my self. The focal point is my sole private domain. One of the parts of my self that I cant share (and the fact that we cant share ourselves completely makes us unique in a true sense but thats a discussion for another time).
So. Achieving a state of focus through practise and patience brings me to a point where I am focussed.
In that state of focus I learn to deepen my focus by going through the several stages of learning how to retain the focus. Going through a myriad of shifting kaleidoscopes and remaining truly focussed is my aim. On achieving some degree of focus (its an ongoing quest) I realise that "I am". Once I am, the empowerment overwhelms me. Remaining in balance things dawn on me, suddenly I have additional tools at my disposal. I can shift my focus at will. I move my focus to my breathing. While holding my focus there, I decide my next point of focus is to watch some thoughts, and the next instance I am observing thoughts occur in the secure knowledge that they are merely thoughts and have no bearing. Then I decide to imagine a tapestry and the next instant I am looking at an intricate weaving of lines and waves, which I can bend to my desire.
My Self has the power to shift focus at any time. Tiny instances of planning precede each move and whammo! they happen. This is the true power of conciousness. The ability to make anything happen.
Nice to remember all those envisioning techniques, they are closely aligned. The mind is at the disposal of the Self. The mind is not the master, it is the worker. It needs a master. It desperately seeks a master... but Im getting off topic... or am I?
In acknowledging that there is a 'new' level of conciousness or awareness or I could say, in submitting to the acquisition of the Self, I have opened up a realm of possibilities.An area of conciousness that slowly grows to become home ground. I feel safe and can rely. Unperturbed by what I dont allow into my world.
Back to main post
20090904
Focus: Part 4: The antipode to focus: distractions
This is going to be an interesting part to the 'focus' series.
Distractions. The most annoying, difficult things to deal with in the quest for focus.
Keeping the mind focussed on one thing, or more precisely on a non-thing, is one of the hardest things to do.
Where is the point where I lose the focus and where is the point that I realise that Ive lost the focus and return?
The mind (and plenty has been written about this) has a tendency to wander off. It will follow every little lead, some more than others. So its notoriously hard to keep in check, let alone keep tabs on.
Distractions are things that happen in our environment that take our attention. Its probably important to distinguish between external and internal distractions at this point.
Internal distractions are the ones Im most concerned with.
External distractions such as sounds and images are much less controllable and will need to be left alone.
I can live with those and still hold my focus. Internal distraction are the ones I want to check.
In my attempts to gain focus I will, without any doubt, have images, thoughts, associations etc. come into my mind and occupy it. The mind is only capable of focussing on one thing at a time. Multitasking is possible but is done the same way as with computers, giving every process a little bit of time in series. So one task, then the next process, then the next line of thought etc.
Now this is where awareness or Self comes in. Notice the upper case Self (not the same as the awareness of self or self awareness[lower case self]). My awareness is NOT my mind. My awareness is a separate layer of conciousness that can percieve much more. The mind is a tool. Awareness is a state of being that observes. That's all awareness does, it percieves. It is the Self taking note. If I take action after observing something then I can employ my mind to calculate what the best action is, or I can allow my mind to dwell on previous actions undertaken after similar observations. The point here is that the awareness or Self does not take the action.
So in the same way when thoughts, images, sounds are attacking our focus attempt, Self has the ability to observe these attacks. And again, all the Self does in this instance is observe.
So this is how I deal with distractions. I observe them. While I observe them, I know they are vying for my attention but its my choice whether I grant them time.
There is a very subtle area of conciousness where this balancing act takes place. There is no attachment to what is taking place. It is devoid of attachment. It is the area where I experience full empowerment of my ability to fulfill my human potential. The sweet spot. When I am in that zone, I know, and like any skill, I practise and become adept and deepen.
Part 5: Finale
Back to main post
Distractions. The most annoying, difficult things to deal with in the quest for focus.
Keeping the mind focussed on one thing, or more precisely on a non-thing, is one of the hardest things to do.
Where is the point where I lose the focus and where is the point that I realise that Ive lost the focus and return?
The mind (and plenty has been written about this) has a tendency to wander off. It will follow every little lead, some more than others. So its notoriously hard to keep in check, let alone keep tabs on.
Distractions are things that happen in our environment that take our attention. Its probably important to distinguish between external and internal distractions at this point.
Internal distractions are the ones Im most concerned with.
External distractions such as sounds and images are much less controllable and will need to be left alone.
I can live with those and still hold my focus. Internal distraction are the ones I want to check.
In my attempts to gain focus I will, without any doubt, have images, thoughts, associations etc. come into my mind and occupy it. The mind is only capable of focussing on one thing at a time. Multitasking is possible but is done the same way as with computers, giving every process a little bit of time in series. So one task, then the next process, then the next line of thought etc.
Now this is where awareness or Self comes in. Notice the upper case Self (not the same as the awareness of self or self awareness[lower case self]). My awareness is NOT my mind. My awareness is a separate layer of conciousness that can percieve much more. The mind is a tool. Awareness is a state of being that observes. That's all awareness does, it percieves. It is the Self taking note. If I take action after observing something then I can employ my mind to calculate what the best action is, or I can allow my mind to dwell on previous actions undertaken after similar observations. The point here is that the awareness or Self does not take the action.
So in the same way when thoughts, images, sounds are attacking our focus attempt, Self has the ability to observe these attacks. And again, all the Self does in this instance is observe.
So this is how I deal with distractions. I observe them. While I observe them, I know they are vying for my attention but its my choice whether I grant them time.
There is a very subtle area of conciousness where this balancing act takes place. There is no attachment to what is taking place. It is devoid of attachment. It is the area where I experience full empowerment of my ability to fulfill my human potential. The sweet spot. When I am in that zone, I know, and like any skill, I practise and become adept and deepen.
Part 5: Finale
Back to main post
20090812
Focus: Part 3: Concerns when focussing
In Part 1 and Part 2 I sort of introduced the whole focus thing and more or less the concept behind it.
Now Im about to launch into what happens when busy focussing.
Focussing... Yea!
It's a full time job. It takes _all_ concentration.
Once Ive found the point to focus on, it becomes illusive almost immediately. It escapes me. I chase it.
It takes continuous effort on behalf of the Self to maintain.
Now! where did that word Self creep in?
Oh... that's merely the higher self, your upstairs watchman. That self is keeping tabs on your awareness.
Oh dear... another term to explain. Awareness.
I wont bother. If youve read this far youll know what it means.
To maintain the focus, I need to trust. I know that through persistence the image will come.
The image that Im looking for is the one that takes up all my concentrated efforts, absorbs my thoughts and lifts me to a place where I no longer think. It emerges unannounced from my focal point. Hold on to the handrail and keep both feet on the escalator.
Im using my powers of concentration to hold the handrail and feel the escalator beneath my feet. There are new thoughts circling, they are ready to take hold but I hold. I hold on to the rail and I hold off.
It all becomes confusing. The thoughts accumulate. My mind drifts off to something that happened today. Im caught up. There it comes, denial, confirmation, obstruction.
The Person upstairs notices and takes control. There's a firm push. The mind is back to focussing on a non-thing.
The cycle repeats with ever diminishing circles till there is calm. Over and again the clouds of thoughts spray my vision with deafening concepts and through steadfast persistence I have a hold, calm returns.
The calm makes place for well being. Wow! That feels good. And it was so simple, all I did was persist in concentrating on my focal point.
I achieved that on my own without help from anyone or anything. I can do it again, whenever I wish.
It took me years to achieve what can be achieved in seconds.
There is no arrival yet, there is only the journey to the mountainous peak.
So all those thought buzzards circling me day and night, the regime has ended, there's a new order.
On to part 4
Back to main post
Now Im about to launch into what happens when busy focussing.
Focussing... Yea!
It's a full time job. It takes _all_ concentration.
Once Ive found the point to focus on, it becomes illusive almost immediately. It escapes me. I chase it.
It takes continuous effort on behalf of the Self to maintain.
Now! where did that word Self creep in?
Oh... that's merely the higher self, your upstairs watchman. That self is keeping tabs on your awareness.
Oh dear... another term to explain. Awareness.
I wont bother. If youve read this far youll know what it means.
To maintain the focus, I need to trust. I know that through persistence the image will come.
The image that Im looking for is the one that takes up all my concentrated efforts, absorbs my thoughts and lifts me to a place where I no longer think. It emerges unannounced from my focal point. Hold on to the handrail and keep both feet on the escalator.
Im using my powers of concentration to hold the handrail and feel the escalator beneath my feet. There are new thoughts circling, they are ready to take hold but I hold. I hold on to the rail and I hold off.
It all becomes confusing. The thoughts accumulate. My mind drifts off to something that happened today. Im caught up. There it comes, denial, confirmation, obstruction.
The Person upstairs notices and takes control. There's a firm push. The mind is back to focussing on a non-thing.
The cycle repeats with ever diminishing circles till there is calm. Over and again the clouds of thoughts spray my vision with deafening concepts and through steadfast persistence I have a hold, calm returns.
The calm makes place for well being. Wow! That feels good. And it was so simple, all I did was persist in concentrating on my focal point.
I achieved that on my own without help from anyone or anything. I can do it again, whenever I wish.
It took me years to achieve what can be achieved in seconds.
There is no arrival yet, there is only the journey to the mountainous peak.
So all those thought buzzards circling me day and night, the regime has ended, there's a new order.
On to part 4
Back to main post
20090805
Focus: Part 2: Focus points
Im a camera... focus on what?
A good article is about the writing... not about the content.
Bad content, well written, can be a pleasure to read.
Is this about content or about engagement... another paradox?
In part 1 I outlined the common inclination to be productive. To get something done.
I established that it isnt what I do or why I do it, its more a matter of doing it.
Now, in this second part, Ill attempt to delve more deeply into that undefined area of 'doing'.
I like doing a particular activity because Im able to achieve a good feeling. In that activity more so than others.
Ive learnt to do a particular thing really well because I enjoy doing it, I guess thats where my talent lies.
I will pursue those things that give me the joy of feeling productive more and more, getting ever closer to the thing that is most pleasing, that which I am best at, that which my talent allows me to excel at.
A series of assertive statements. They show that it is clearly the act of being engaged that brings about the feeling of growth. Growth as an extrapolation of regeneration and pleasure (Hey, not merely sensual!).
So... in my quest to achieve this state I have methods, I have observations, I have rational considerations. I have tools.
I find real-world examples distracting, Id much rather read a sentence over and over to grok it.
So.. here we come to the point. The focus point. Nice Segway...
Ill be honest. Up to some not-clearly delineated time ago, I was distracted. Ok Ill be even more honest. I am.
Then it dawned on me. Focus!
Bringing the senses into array, getting them aligned, with a clear view to...
What exactly?
Well... nothing actually!
As I kind of established before... its not what I focus on... Its the act of focussing...
So throw away the points...
What do I focus on then?
Well... nothing actually!
So with nothing I mean something. But not something concrete. Not God, although if that works for you, great!
Itll be something abstract, so it is something but its so abstract, its nothing...
Now the task is to find that abstract non-thing in my minds eye. Then once Ive found it. Never let it go. Kind of like a sweetheart, but as Sting says. If you love someone set them free...
Its there. Oh man! Its there. Its each to their own to discover this. May take a while...
There are no shortcuts but there are handrails. For example a spot on the wall...
Yea. I guess you could call it meditation...
When I came across it. I knew it. It was so simple really.
So on to part 3 where I talk about the tricks your mind has up its sleeve when you try to focus.
Back to main post
A good article is about the writing... not about the content.
Bad content, well written, can be a pleasure to read.
Is this about content or about engagement... another paradox?
In part 1 I outlined the common inclination to be productive. To get something done.
I established that it isnt what I do or why I do it, its more a matter of doing it.
Now, in this second part, Ill attempt to delve more deeply into that undefined area of 'doing'.
I like doing a particular activity because Im able to achieve a good feeling. In that activity more so than others.
Ive learnt to do a particular thing really well because I enjoy doing it, I guess thats where my talent lies.
I will pursue those things that give me the joy of feeling productive more and more, getting ever closer to the thing that is most pleasing, that which I am best at, that which my talent allows me to excel at.
A series of assertive statements. They show that it is clearly the act of being engaged that brings about the feeling of growth. Growth as an extrapolation of regeneration and pleasure (Hey, not merely sensual!).
So... in my quest to achieve this state I have methods, I have observations, I have rational considerations. I have tools.
I find real-world examples distracting, Id much rather read a sentence over and over to grok it.
So.. here we come to the point. The focus point. Nice Segway...
Ill be honest. Up to some not-clearly delineated time ago, I was distracted. Ok Ill be even more honest. I am.
Then it dawned on me. Focus!
Bringing the senses into array, getting them aligned, with a clear view to...
What exactly?
Well... nothing actually!
As I kind of established before... its not what I focus on... Its the act of focussing...
So throw away the points...
What do I focus on then?
Well... nothing actually!
So with nothing I mean something. But not something concrete. Not God, although if that works for you, great!
Itll be something abstract, so it is something but its so abstract, its nothing...
Now the task is to find that abstract non-thing in my minds eye. Then once Ive found it. Never let it go. Kind of like a sweetheart, but as Sting says. If you love someone set them free...
Its there. Oh man! Its there. Its each to their own to discover this. May take a while...
There are no shortcuts but there are handrails. For example a spot on the wall...
Yea. I guess you could call it meditation...
When I came across it. I knew it. It was so simple really.
So on to part 3 where I talk about the tricks your mind has up its sleeve when you try to focus.
Back to main post
Focus: Part 1. The will to get stuff done
Part 1. The will to get stuff done
Procrastination: Enemy or Ally?
Mortality: My real driver.
Some people might argue that procrastination is necessary, the idea being that for creation to take place, there needs to be incubation/percolation.
I wont go any further into that, since to me, its a distractive line of thought.
It fits in with the greater school of thought that is more concerned with justifying existing behavioural patterns than transcending and improving.
Having said that, I do believe that the creative process hinges on processing time. To be creative I need to have time to reflect.
I want to get stuff done!
What's stopping me from taking a task and finishing it.
Man, I become so overwhelmed with things to do. And thanks David Allen. You really helped me.
Everybody wants to get stuff done.
So, Im thinking, I guess if I can more cleanly define what gives me that good feeling when Ive done something that Ive planned for a while, I can more easily make that happen.
Theres no problem with involvement with a task. The problem lies somewhere in the before processes.
With the problem I mean that which impedes us, prevents us from doing what we know needs doing in order to feel fulfilled. Once Im up and running, Im good. Nothing can stop me.
Ive had that moment where I was so engaged with what I was doing, I felt intensely satisfied. I guess my urge is to feel that again and hence my will to produce/(re)generate.
Feelings fade. Maybe Ill have a revelation and maybe it'll have a lasting impact for say a week, and there are ways to extend that time but in the end, its a feeling and feelings fade.
So to relive that feeling I need a redo, to repeat what I did the first time. Become intensely immersed in my activity.
So much so that I dont remember where I am, who I am or what the reason is.
I love that. It revives, revitalises, replenishes.
So it doesnt matter what Im doing, its about intent. Not why Im doing it. Only that Im doing it.
The will to get stuff done is all about revisiting feelings of intense satisfaction that once lived are never forgotten, always prized and pursued to the end.
These feelings are not induced through a particular activity or specific motivation. They come about through some wonderful combination of curiosity, will to live and caring.
Part 2 deals with focus points.
Back to main post
Procrastination: Enemy or Ally?
Mortality: My real driver.
Some people might argue that procrastination is necessary, the idea being that for creation to take place, there needs to be incubation/percolation.
I wont go any further into that, since to me, its a distractive line of thought.
It fits in with the greater school of thought that is more concerned with justifying existing behavioural patterns than transcending and improving.
Having said that, I do believe that the creative process hinges on processing time. To be creative I need to have time to reflect.
I want to get stuff done!
What's stopping me from taking a task and finishing it.
Man, I become so overwhelmed with things to do. And thanks David Allen. You really helped me.
Everybody wants to get stuff done.
So, Im thinking, I guess if I can more cleanly define what gives me that good feeling when Ive done something that Ive planned for a while, I can more easily make that happen.
Theres no problem with involvement with a task. The problem lies somewhere in the before processes.
With the problem I mean that which impedes us, prevents us from doing what we know needs doing in order to feel fulfilled. Once Im up and running, Im good. Nothing can stop me.
Ive had that moment where I was so engaged with what I was doing, I felt intensely satisfied. I guess my urge is to feel that again and hence my will to produce/(re)generate.
Feelings fade. Maybe Ill have a revelation and maybe it'll have a lasting impact for say a week, and there are ways to extend that time but in the end, its a feeling and feelings fade.
So to relive that feeling I need a redo, to repeat what I did the first time. Become intensely immersed in my activity.
So much so that I dont remember where I am, who I am or what the reason is.
I love that. It revives, revitalises, replenishes.
So it doesnt matter what Im doing, its about intent. Not why Im doing it. Only that Im doing it.
The will to get stuff done is all about revisiting feelings of intense satisfaction that once lived are never forgotten, always prized and pursued to the end.
These feelings are not induced through a particular activity or specific motivation. They come about through some wonderful combination of curiosity, will to live and caring.
Part 2 deals with focus points.
Back to main post
Focus, they say...
Focus.
This post is all about focus.
An outline for an article on focus.
Let me get right into the idea...
I had some enlightening moments...
Focus is the secret and yet its such a well known term. As with many pearls of wisdom, this is yet another paradox, and continues to be so...
parts:
This post is all about focus.
An outline for an article on focus.
Let me get right into the idea...
I had some enlightening moments...
Focus is the secret and yet its such a well known term. As with many pearls of wisdom, this is yet another paradox, and continues to be so...
parts:
- Part 1: The will to get stuff done
- Part 2: Focus points. focus on what? A good article is about the writing... not about the content. Bad content, well written can be a pleasure to read. Is this about content or about engagement?
- Part 3: Concerns when focussing. Am I concerned about the outcome (in which case the outcome becomes my focus; bad!) or about the job at hand (I dont care about the outcome; I want involvement, timelessness; given this I trust/know the outcome will be top class)
- Part 4: The antipode to focus (distractions)
- Part 5: Shifting levels of focus
20081216
everythings already been done
It takes push and gusto to create. Its easy to be discouraged by whats been done before. Like coming up with a name for a blog. Anything I can think of has already been taken. Holding on to that vein that is my vein, that aint easy. Hey myvein, good name. Another distraction. Already taken. A lot of blogs are stagnant. They smell of once-only activity. Many are from 2004. Another example of not be led by others. I go through enough trials just following myself. Do I experience life as a trial? No. But there are obstacles.
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