🔼: [[💡 Dharana]] #### Focus & Concentration Focus is our ability to pay [[⭐️ Attention]] to something. Concentration is our ability to stay with it. The two are vital components of our [[⭐️ Attention]], our most precious resource. - [[🔑 Motivation follows Focus]] - [[🔑 Focusing on something can increase the likelihood of the outcome]] - [[🔑 The mind can only hold so much]] - [[🔑 Attention is like a spotlight; Awareness is like candlelight]] - [[🔑 Multitasking fractures our Focus]] - [[🔑 We are what we practice]] ##### Effortful Concentration A [[💡 Parts|Part]]-driven limited internal resource which can be strengthened through various practices. The effortful focus that gets strengthened is that of a [[💡 Parts|Part]], often noticed as a kind of mental contraction or grip. We can usually sense this part in the head and behind the eyes when we're trying to focus on something and ignore distractions. ###### Effortful Concentration and "Distractions" Traditional [[🕯️ Meditation 🧘]] practices which strengthen the Effortful Concentration [[💡 Parts|Part]] teach us the same steps: 1. Hold our attention somewhere (usually a [[💡 Meditation Anchor|meditation anchor]]) 2. Notice when we've been pulled away or distracted 3. Gently and kindly bring our attention back to our object of focus > [!Example] > When we want to read, we direct our mind to the text. > Then we hold our attention on the text. > Then we can get [[🛡️ Distracting|distracted]], so we involuntarily release the text. > Then we direct our mind toward the distraction. > Then we continue to hold the distraction in our mind until we notice we’ve become distracted. > Then we release the distraction. > Then we re-direct our mind to the text and hold our attention there again. > [!tip] Problems with Effortful Concentration > By understanding how Effortful Concentration works, we can use various techniques to both strengthen it and mitigate distractions. A great number of mediation practices specialize in this, at least as they're ordinarily taught. They are somewhat effective, but they cause a lot of inner-conflict or even [[💡 Polarization|polarization]] because we're often [[💡 Blending|blended]] with a focusing part who's wrestling with other [[💡 Parts|Parts]] and brute-forcing them out of the way, which I generally don't advise and do not teach. This can even turn into something like [[🛡️ Spiritual Bypassing]]. > > <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9_HSPFqHOu0?feature=oembed" height="113" width="200" style="aspect-ratio: 1.76991 / 1; width: 100%; height: 100%;"></iframe> ##### Effortless Concentration A [[Qualities of Presence ☀️|Quality of Presence ☀️]] which rises naturally during a [[Flow State]] or an [[🕯️ Unblending|unblended]] state and requires no effort to maintain because [[💡 Parts|Parts]] are relaxed or trust us to handle things. It’s experienced as a kind of [[☀️ Calm]], open groundedness or an absorption – a relaxing in and with, rather than constriction around. [[🔑 Presence is effortless and always here]]. %% [[💡 Samadhi|Samadhi]] %% ###### Addressing Parts During Concentration Practices [[🔑 Parts can use our minds and bodies to get or distract our attention]] — either deliberately or accidentally through their interests, concerns, fixations, or preoccupations. When we find ourselves pulled away from our object of focus (and we definitely will), we can acknowledge the [[💡 Parts|Part]] who did the pulling – these are [[🕯️ Mindful Moments]]. Sometimes we’re lost in thought for a long while before noticing it, which tells us we were [[💡 Blending|blended]]. Sometimes after we do realize it, we might feel annoyed, or like we're a bad meditator, or forcefully snatch our attention away from the thought and back to the anchor — *that is also a [[💡 Parts|Part]]*. [[🔑 Presence is effortless and always here|🔑 Presence is effortless]] and can [[🔑 All Parts are welcome exactly as they are|🔑 welcome all Parts exactly as they are]]; it is parts who effort. To treat our thoughts and feelings as something to be moved away from or ignored, as is ordinarily taught in many eastern traditions, is a mistake. 1. Sometimes [[💡 Parts|Parts]] are just daydreamy. They're wondering about or interested in something – a meal, a conversation, a song, something without much urgency or emotionality. We can ask those [[💡 Parts|Parts]] for space to continue with what we're doing for the next x number of minutes (depending on the length of the practice), and they will often say yes. We then naturally become [[💡 Focus & Concentration#Effortless Concentration|effortlessly focused]]. 2. Sometimes the [[💡 Parts|Part]] is actually concerned about something. A worry, an important task, something that was forgotten and needs attending to. When this happens we can ask the [[💡 Parts|Part]] whether they would be willing to give us this time to continue the practice with the promise of hearing them out immediately after. I like to meditate with my fingers on a keyboard and type whatever the concern is. I notice the [[💡 Parts|Part]] relax because they know they're "on my calendar" and won't be forgotten. 3. Some [[💡 Parts|Parts]] may be feeling agitated or spaced-out during the practice, and that may trigger [[🛡️ Criticizing]] [[💡 Protector Parts|Protector Parts]] or make them want to stop or avoid the practice. [[🛠️ Concentration Course-Corrections]] can help them feel more energized or relaxed and make the practice easier. Minor course-corrections make quite the difference here. We can also generally lower our [[💡 Cognitive Load|Cognitive Load]]. 4. Sometimes our [[💡 Parts|Parts]] need our attention right this second, in which case we can stop and move to [[🕯️ Part-Tending]]. We're likely to find ourselves effortlessly focused on whatever Part most needs our attention. 5. [[Become absorbed]] in the object of focus. 6. Try 5+ minutes of focusing on a [[🛠️ Yantras|Yantra]], then move back to the original object of focus. %% Our mind feels remarkably different depending on what kind of concentration we're approaching a practice with. | | Effortful Concentration | Effortless Concentration | | :-----: | :---------------------------------------: | :-----------------------------------: | | Direct | we point our attention at something | a coming to, glancing at, noticing of | | Hold | grasping, holding, constricting around it | a presence, being with, absorption in | | Release | the grasp is released | an easeful turning away | %% ##### Preserving and Honing Focus Focus is a limited and exhaustible resource. We can only really focus on one thing at a time, and the more stimulated we are (the further away we are from [[⭐️ Rest and Restoration]]) the more difficult it is to do that. Focus also filters out distractions, and the more distractions there are the more our focus is spent. Preserving and honing our focus requires a blend of [[⭐️ Life Curation]] and [[Practices 🕯️]]. We’ll be naturally more engaged in everything we do over time. ###### Life Curation External Distractions - Delete the apps we don’t really use - Set time limits for what we use too much - Turn off all unnecessary notifications - Make display grayscale - minimal UI Internal Distractions - Many internal distractions are worth remembering but aren’t urgent. It’s surprising how powerful just noting them down can be. [[🛠️ Want To-Do List]]; time blocking chores, work, exercise, and hobbies to avoid the temptation to “multitask” - While time-blocking, we would be wise to consider our expected energy levels throughout the day and how long each task is likely to take - Be mindful of the fact that that the tasks we most enjoy can be so absorbing that we work on them past their allotted time ###### Practices - [[🕯️ Doing Nothing]] - [[🕯️ Meditation 🧘]] - [[🧘 Samatha Meditation]] & [[🧘 Vipassana (Insight) Meditation]] - [[🧘 Trataka (Fixed Point Gazing)]] - [[🧘 Pratyahara]] - [[🧘 See, Hear, Feel]] - [[🧘 See, Hear, Feel Good]] - [[🧘 Microcosmic Orbit Meditation]] - Counting the Breath (inhale, count 1, exhale count 2, inhale count 3, etc. up to 10, then start over) - [[⭐️ Rest and Restoration]] - [[⭐️ Sleep]] is absolutely essential. When we don’t sleep, everything else gets worse. We’re much more likely to eat poorly, we’re more distracted, and more distractible. We’re more emotionally and temperamentally sensitive, our [[💡 Window of Tolerance|Window of Tolerance]] shrinks. [^1]: [[👤 Loch Kelly|Loch Kelly]] - Effortless Mindfulness | Elevating Consciousness Podcast #30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeuya9OjR04 40:53