Please summarize what you read. After summarizing, you can reflect on the following questions to guide the rest of your writing, but you should not just list and answer them. What did you find most interesting? Most confusing? What do you want to learn more about? Is there any information that you find dubious or that you are suspicious of? You do not need to explicitly answer these, rather, I'm interested in your summary, and ultimately your thoughts and insight on these readings.
Please list the main key words you used in your post.
This week’s reading was fairly useful as I get distracted quite often. It can be difficult to focus on something such as studying for long periods of time. Learning to increase my attention may help improve my grades, relationships, and overall well-being. Taking a small break to meditate helps retain my focus however learning to meditate while focusing on an object may help me in times where mediation is not an option (tests, presentations, physically demanding activities, etc.).
One way that will help me learn to focus my attention and that I found very interesting is the nine steps provided by Buddhist monk Allan Wallace. It takes a great amount of skill and attention to be able to concentrate on an object for long periods of time, at first it sounded like something I would never be able to do or stand. Wallace’s steps however break down attention training into manageable steps depending on time and skill level. The first step begins with just focusing on an object for a few minutes. Some people (probably me) may only be able to focus for a few seconds but each time the mind begins to wonder the book suggests gently bringing it back to focus. I think I can manage this step as well as a few more however it would take a great amount of time and effort to reach the final step, we’ll see if I ever get to that point. Another thing I really liked about this chapter was when it encouraged its readers not to get down on oneself for poor attention. Getting down on oneself is not helpful in any instance. When I get down on myself my negative thoughts and accusations consume my mind causing a poor attitude and less motivation.
Finally, I also enjoyed reading about the experiments conducted on mediation and sustained attention. Sometimes our readings are a bit dubious with little scientific support however this chapter provides many experimental support that mediation helps increase attention. One such experiment was determining whether mediation only helps attention when in the meditative state or if it helps in the normal state. The researchers used reaction time to determine the state of attention in monks and the results found that mediation improves attention in both the meditative and normal state of mind. I think that I would like to research more experiments conducted on meditation and attention as they provide exceptional scientific support.
Overall meditation is found to have multiple benefits including sustained attention. With time and practice myself and others may learn to reach such skillful attention which will benefit our lives in many ways.
Terms: Meditation, sustained attention, Buddhism, focus, meditative state of mind
This chapter focused on attention. Specifically, it focused on how to train yourself to increase your attention. Learning to increase attention can impact relationships, academic achievement, and overall well-being. I found the most interesting part of this chapter was the part that focused on Alan Wallace’s ten stages of attentional development. It takes a lot of work to be able to focus your attention for long periods of time, which is similar to how it takes a lot of practice to meditate for long periods of time. Wallace’s stages of attentional development start with small amounts of time dedicated to focus on one specific thing. If the attention shifts, you are supposed to gently remind yourself to bring your focus back. The stages increase in the length of attention given until the last stage, shamatha, is reached.
I found this chapter particularly helpful because I often find myself purposefully dividing my attention. For example, I like to play games on my phone while I watch a show on TV. I notice that this affects my ability to pay attention in other situations as well though. If I’m in a situation that I find boring or otherwise not engaging, it is really difficult for me to focus. Because of this personal experience it is really easy for me to see why attention is something that needs to be practiced.
I was fairly impressed with this chapter’s use of scientific studies. Compared to the last two chapters, there were a lot of studies used in this chapter. I think that probably has to do with the fact that there is more research done on attention. The research most likely doesn’t focus on meditation or mindfulness opting instead to focus on things like ADHD, but it is still applicable.
A large goal in my life centers on being more purposeful and intentional with my actions and words. I feel like practicing attention will play a huge part in leading me towards my goal. I’m excited to try more attention practice that this chapter discussed.
Terms: attention, focus, Alan Wallace, Ten stages of attentional development, shamatha, mindfulness, intention
Chapter three was all about attention and how to focus your attention. It listed some of the benefits of attention including better performance, quicker reaction time, emotional wellbeing, and positivity. Sometimes it can take weeks to train your mind and have more control over your attention which can be frustrating. However, it is very important not to give up or become angry. There are two characteristics of attention and both can be practiced and improved on just like any other skill. Mindfulness is the ability to focus attention on one thing. The book gave the example of breath and breathing such as during meditation. Meta-awareness is the ability to recognize when your thoughts are traveling elsewhere and be able to pull them back in to what you are supposed to be focusing on. This is a skill that would be very beneficial to me. I hate reading and it’s mostly because my mind wanders so much that I will read entire paragraphs before meta-awareness occurs and I realize I was thinking about a million things other than what I was reading. It is weird to me because it can take minutes before I realize I’m completely spacing out. It is one of the reasons I prefer to watch instructional videos on YouTube rather than read about topics and why I avoid online classes like the plague.
The chapter also mentioned the nine stages of attention proposed by Alan Wallace and how they lead to relaxation, stability, and clarity. This can take months-years to achieve and perfect which the author didn’t think was that long; I disagree. The author actually cited a study where people practiced the steps of shamatha for five hours a day for three months which I think is a bit excessive. Even though it takes a long time, hopefully I can implement these techniques in my life as it becomes increasingly important for me to focus my attention as my classes get harder.
There were quite a few scientific studies cited in this chapter which was refreshing. One of the studies I was most interested in involved neuroplasticity associated with mediation and improved concentration. I took fMRIs of Buddhist practioners’ brains which showed the different areas of their brains activated during meditation. This got me wondering what my brain scans would look like if I had one done while reading. I wonder if there would be a noticeable difference between when I am focusing and comprehending what I’m reading and when I’m completely spacing out and unaware of it. Many of the studies cited also involved reaction time which gave me images of monks mediating in the lotus pose catching flies out of the air with their eyes closed. I would like to further explore the areas of the brain associated with reaction time and if neuroplasticity occurs in these areas after meditation. Overall, this chapter seemed more scientific to me than the others have so far.
Terms: Attention, mindfulness, meta-awareness, nine stages of shamatha, meditation, neuroplasticity, reaction time
Chapter three focuses on attention. One interesting part of the chapter was the discussion on the change in attention we have in order to complete tasks. The text talks about how when we are first learning a task we pay close attention and use the attention systems in our prefrontal cortex but after we have been trained on a specific task the area of the brain tends to become more task oriented. This has been known as the “scaffolding and storage” hypothesis. Attention is a very important part of our functioning and it has been studied a lot. In order for us to complete tasks and live productive lives we have to be able to direct our attention and then sustain that attention. It is therefore very important to have a good attention span in order to work in a professional job. I found this part to be particularly interesting because I know my boss often speaks about keeping our attention focused on the tasks at hand and not becoming distracted by all of the little things. At the same time my job requires me to always be watching and supervising the kids that are under my care.
Attention is part of the second level on the pyramid of mind training related to Dzogchen. Being trained in attention is extremely important when attempting to master Dzogchen. By being able to focus our attention we open up more mental space to use in order to help us slow down and respond more diligently rather than reactively. In Buddhist practices, they teach you to focus on simple objects.
Attention training in Shamatha has been popularized by a Tibetan Buddhist scholar. There are nine stages of shamatha and three qualities the practitioner has found of attention. They are: stability, relaxation, and clarity. It is important that you not put constraints or high expectations on yourself when training for shamatha. If you attempt to be too disciplined you end up missing the point. It is very important that you start with learning to relax. You learn to notice the tension in your body and then use a breathing exercise to help calm you down. Stability is the second quality of attention and that covers the importance of staying focused on a specific object of meditation. The last quality is clarity which expresses the need to be able to visualize clearly whatever image you might have in your mind. When you truly master clarity you should be able to think about specific points of the image in your brain and focus on them. The text says that it would take from 3-9 months of full-time training to master shamatha.
This chapter talked a lot about attention and how it looks in different Buddhist practices. It seems to be an extremely important part of meditation because you have to focus it completely until you can eventually focus on nothing. It seems so simple yet so incredibly difficult to accomplish.
Terminology: attention, Buddhist, shamatha, focus, Dzogchen, meditation, clarity, visualize, tension, breathing exercise, relaxation, stability, scaffolding and storage hypothesis, prefrontal cortex
Dorjee Chapter 3 focused on attention training. There are many things to focus on and without any amount of attention the overload on the brain would be detrimental to human health. Attention helps people to focus on what is relevant at the moment. Multi-tasking is done in order to achieve more in less amount of time but meditation training tries to do the opposite. Humans are always pushed to do more and meditation teaches the brain that it is okay to slow down, pause, and create more mental space. Stability and calm space allows us enough time to figure out how our mind works. If we are able to manage our attention, negative emotions won’t take over our minds as easily. If we let go of the reactive responding to whatever grabs our attention, anxiety and self-doubt will decrease and attentional performance will increase.
Attention is like a muscle or a skill, the more you practice to sustain it, the easier it will become. I liked the opposed-mindfulness example of driving a car where beginners think about everything—hand position, speed, vision—but with practice, we soon turn on ‘autopilot’. It is not mindful because humans are not present-focused or aware of the moment. Nine stages of attention training involve mindfulness and meta-awareness. Meta-awareness notices disruption of mindfulness and directs attention back to the object of meditation.
Research has found an increase of usage in the frontal lobe of the brain where attention control is located. Another change found in meditators is the ability to notice more in less time. Being a new study, I believe the science of meditation has much room to grow and will be an important aspect of the every day world in order to enhance productivity in education and in the workplace.
Keywords: attention training; meditation; mental space; stability; mindfulness; meta-awareness; frontal lobe
Dorjee Chapter 3
I thoroughly enjoyed this week's reading. The topic at hand was attention training. The chapter kept referring to mindfulness and meta-awareness when addressing this. The author kept with the theme of identifying differences between Eastern and Western schools of thought. They talked about how the Western focus on attention is to allow us to achieve more in our society, but the Eastern practices of attention are to better well-being. They also talked about the distinctions between the approaches to attention-training. The main focus though, was on how to train your attention skills in shamatha. The part that I really liked talked about reducing the importance of discipline. They say that it has been overemphasized because of our Western culture, that promotes the 'try harder' approach, which actually leads to tension which is counterproductive for meditation. I enjoyed this because of how relatable it was to me. Sometimes I start to meditate and my mind wanders, and I actually get pissed at that little voice in my head that seems to be interested in whatever is most irrelevant at the time. Then, when I have to meditate again, I am significantly less motivated because I feel like I will end up just talking to myself for twenty minutes. The book talked about all of this, and how you cannot improve your attention without improving relaxation. They identify relaxation, along with stability and clarity to be the three qualities of attention. The author suggests that when you notice your mind wandering, you stay relaxed and simply get back on track, rather than acknowledging your distraction as a sort of failure. They say that you should not keep the mentality that you must simply power through your mediation, as that makes the process less enjoyable and doesn't support the growing process. The book identified nine stages of shamatha based on the work of Alan Wallace: Mental Placement, Continual Placement, Patched Placement, Close Placement, Taming, Pacification, Complete Pacification, Single-pointed Placement, and Balanced Placement. When talking about shamtha, they used a visualization-based approach to meditation, where you are to observe and recall an image that you are to focus on while you meditate. Throughout the nine steps, they identify the ability to maintain mental images longer, with more detail, and with less focus. I haven't tried focusing on an image while meditating, but as this chapter was the most interesting one so far, I think I will go ahead and try it next time. They also identified a couple neuroscience procedures I was unaware of: voxel-based morphometry and magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which are MRI based methods used to measure changes in the brains structures, and in the neurotransmitters in the brain respectively. This was probably the coolest thing in the chapter to me. I enjoy this book significantly more than I liked Buddha's Brain, but I think I still prefer The Blissful Brain.
Terms: attention training, mindfulness, meta-awareness, meditation, shamatha, relaxation, stability, clarity, neuroscience
In chapter 3, Dorjee focused on attention and how the different types of meditation can affect it. First off, meditation is a very practical tool for addressing the bottleneck problem. This term refers to how we’re surrounded internally and externally with so many stimuli and thoughts, yet we can only process a finite amount of it while still getting meaning out of it. Having more efficient attention skills allows people to exert less effort completing certain tasks. This idea is called the scaffolding and storage hypothesis, which is an idea that I’ve noticed has been touched upon in several of the books and research articles we’ve read for this class. One thing that I liked about the section was how it discussed automatic thoughts and the urge that people have to label without truly thinking about it if something is good or bad. I know I definitely am guilty of this. Whenever a friend asks me for a favor I automatically think that I’ll hate it, even though some of the time the favor will involve doing something fun like carpooling to go shopping. Instead of having a neutral mind, I often jump to conclusions before I’ve received all the information. To me, this relates to what we read in the H&M book about how we sometimes experience more discomfort through our expectations than the real events themselves.
The section also specified how the different traditions of meditation have different anchors to improve attention. Buddhism focuses on an object, Theravada on the breath, Tibetan Buddhism on the Buddha/mantra, and Dzogchen on visualizations/mantras. Another thing that I liked was the focus on meta-awareness and how this action is necessary for meditation. The role that meta-awareness has in meditation changes over the course the stages of training. Basically, the stages involve starting out with fuzzy and forgetful visualizations, very little time being able to concentrate, and not immediately realizing when attention has wavered. Eventually, the time a person is able to stay attentive increases. Then, visualizations become crisper and meta-awareness more efficient at nipping distracting thoughts in the bud. In the last few steps, meta-awareness decreases because it’s no longer as necessary and the person becomes elated and at peace.
Something I really related to in the reading was the part about forcing yourself to meditate ‘no matter what’ and that if it’s not going well you need to try harder. Lately I’ve been struggling and having unsatisfactory meditation sessions where they seem to go no where, last fifteen minutes at best, and feel like pulling teeth. Due to this rut I’m currently in, I found it helpful how Dorjee wrote about how this negative attitude of meditation can stall the progress and wreck the rewards. The solution is to apply more relaxation techniques, like letting go of tension in the body and tension in the mind (by working on increasing non-judgmental thoughts). Overall, I found the parts of the chapter dealing directly with attention helpful for my own practice and lots of the section devoted to research a review from what we’ve learned from other sources.
Terms: bottleneck problem, scaffolding and storage hypothesis, anchors, Buddhism, Theravada, Tibetan, Dzogchen, mantras, visualizations, meta-awareness, attention
This weeks reading examined attention and how meditation can help to sustain attention. With the sheer lack of focus and scattered state that I have been in, this reading cam at the perfect time. Dorjee begins the chapter with examples of the distractions we can find in any environment from objects to sounds to other people. These distractions prevent us from being fully attentive to tasks at hand. Multitasking has become the norm practice as we try to accomplish the greatest amount of things in the shortest amount of time. Dorjee reminds us that that is the opposite of the goals of meditation. By refocusing on the present and just one task we can accomplish tasks with greater speed and ability.
Dorjee specifically examines attention through the shamatha practice and the nine steps made popular by the Buddhist scholar Allan Wallace. Focusing attention onto one object is a difficult task for anyone, especially inexperienced meditators. The book suggest using short bouts of focused attention at first. Like most skills, practice leads to improvement. By beginning with short sessions the brain will have fewer opportunities to wander. However, once the mind does wander off it is suggested that you guide it back to focus, not get upset that it wandered because everyone will fail at giving full attention. The stages of attention proposed by Wallace seem nearly impossible at this point in time. It is a slow and long process to reach the final stages of focused attention, often taking months if not longer depending on the dedication of those practicing. The end result is a greater sense of stability, relaxation, and clarity.
This chapter was riddled with citations… finally. A few of the studies noted were intensive meditation retreats more or less, and I think they sound extremely interesting. One study involved month of practicing focus and meditation for 5+ hours per day. I will most likely by researching further on one of these studies for Thursday’s blog.
Terms: meditation, shamatha, attention, focus, Buddhism, stability, relaxation, clarity
This weeks reading was all about attention, this is a topic that interests me a lot. One of the hopes in taking this class was to possibly increase my ability to focus. When meditating I have always used visualization but never focusing specifically on an object. I think that this might help me to be able to meditate better because I still get distracted very easily. Reading about the nine stages that Alan Wallace came up with for shamatha attention training was one of the most helpful parts out of all the readings that we have had for me. I always find myself trying to meditate for a certain amount of time but always get distracted. After reading this part I’m going to try to shorten the length of my meditations but increase the amount of times I meditate. Hopefully by doing this I can hone the skills needed to better meditations. The next part in the reading was then about how in meditation you develop three qualities of attention. Those were relaxation, stability, and clarity which the book then explained each one in more detail. When the book discussed how people could become stagnant in their meditation practice it really made me think of my own meditation practice. I tend to overthink when I meditate on things and tense up and stressed if I get distracted. A part of the reading mentioned how breathing and yoga practices can help one to meditate was something that I have been thinking of doing recently. I don’t think I’ll do yoga but most likely just normal stretching while regulating my breathing. This section had some good scientific information that I found helpful, when there are more citations I tend to see the readings as more believable. I did recognize a few articles that they cited because attention has been a topic that I researched more on when it came to Thursday assignments. The last section of the reading was a good review I thought on breathing techniques since I know when I repeatedly do things I sometimes cut corners or ignore basic but key parts of what is happening. Overall this was one of the better chapters that we have read not only because the content was interesting to me but it also gave some good scientific information.
Key terms: attention, meditation, visualization, shamatha, relaxation, stability, clarity, breathing exercise, yoga
Chapter three focuses on attention training. I enjoyed reading this chapter because it was relevant. I’ve sat in front of my computer numerous times in attempts to start this blog but my attention goes elsewhere. Even now I’m struggling to stay off Facebook and Pinterest. The very beginning of the chapter interested me. It talked about all of the potential distractions. Distractions like the TV in the background, the conversations of those around me, the changing of temperature in the room as the heater turns on. Having these distractions pointed out is weird to grasp. I notice all of these things in my environment but I don’t notice them as distractions but they are. There is only so much information our brains can take in and process at once. This is referred to the “the bottle neck problem.”
Something I appreciated about this chapter was that it referenced in detail and discussed research and results that have been done on attention training and mediation. Mediators were divided into two groups: one that meditated 19,000hours on average and the other that meditated twice that. Brain scans were taken regularly and it was found that focusing on attention continuously becomes effortless and uses less brain activity. There is a lot of research done on attention training that support these findings but significantly less on well-being. This differs from Buddhists views of attention training.
Buddhist believes that the importance of attention training helps our everyday functions. It also helps us to complete tasks faster and with fewer errors. If we are able to manage our attention more efficiently, negative emotions do not take over our mind easily. I am an extremely emotional person. Happy tears, sad tears, always some tears daily. I have never considered my emotions to be linked with my focus and attention. I’m interested to see what research there is, if any that supports this.
Terms: Attention training, Buddhists, well-being, distractions, Meditation, the bottle neck problem
This chapter seemed much more legitimate to me, perhaps it was the section on research. However, given the state of our society and our need for constant, immediate entertainment, the subject of attention is particularly intriguing.
For example, the chapter discussed how increased attention and mindfulness leads to greater well-being. Well, our society is not all that great at paying attention and we also have a rampant spread of depression and other mental disorders that seems to be much more common than years ago (though, admittedly, that could be due to the lack of diagnosis or people admitting to the issue). While I don’t see how it would be beneficial to spend hours in meditation on one object (we need to be doing something, sometime, right?), clearly we could benefit from being able to sustain attention for longer than we do. Actually, I was interested in going through the pieces of shamantha until I looked a little more closely and realized I probably wouldn’t make it past stage two or three any time soon. And I have no desire or interest in putting in enough time meditating that I can get good at doing it for hours.
The chapter also discussed a few pieces of why increased attention is important. One of them was it would contribute to better work performance. Should, for example, an individual actually be able to work on the same project for 8 hours straight through (albeit with a lunch break and the necessary legal breaks), the amount of stuff we could get done would be astronomical. Thinking about it only in terms of student government, where I manage several students, I think it would solve our problems. We have a lot of work that needs done. Reports to be read, recommendations to be written, events to be planned, replacements to be trained, etc. If they could all work on that without getting on Facebook every ten minutes, that would be ideal. Even though I work for long stretches of time, I cannot stay on the same project for long. I bounce back between emails, homework, reading that report or writing that recommendation to keep entertained. I’m not sure how that relates to productivity, but it’s how I tend to work. I’m fairly certain, though, that if I could focus for longer periods of time than I could get even more done.
Additionally, the chapter mentioned increased literacy, which in my not so objective opinion is incredibly important. Literacy as a whole is of paramount importance. Without an ability to read, education is impossible, online navigation is incredibly difficult, getting a job is next to impossible. With increased levels of attention, that would be significantly easier. Also, our society as a whole is not too big on reading, which is unfortunate. Should all of us take greater priority in reading and free reading, our level of knowledge would increase dramatically. Even fiction lends a greater understanding of people, which is VERY necessary. Granted, my opinion is incredibly biased, but you get the idea. I think it’s important.
Another interesting piece the book didn’t mention is how increased attention could benefit our relationships. For example, in many conversations we are always attached to our phones, computers, iPods, etc., and we don’t take the time to pay attention to the person with whom we are talking. If we do this, our close relationships should improve exponentially, which also has a potential effect on psychological well-being.
In other words, there are several important aspects of increased attention and how it could relate to our society and psychological well-being.
Terms: well-being, attention, shamantha, Buddhist practices
The third Dorjee chapter focused on our focus (ha). Mainly what I gathered from this chapter was how to train my brain in holding my attention and strengthening my focus. I’m starting to understand why some other students might not like this book as much, because it really does seem to go in circles of information. It is to the point, as in it doesn’t give you a lot of fluff behind theories and such, but it also takes the author quite some time to get their idea out. It was a little frustrating this chapter because I felt like I was reading “We can train our attention so that we aren’t as susceptible to random stimulation” like 10 times. Aside from that, I don’t think I have any other complaints. I do enjoy this book just a little more than our previous one.
Attention is what we direct mental energy towards whether it is intentionally or not. I’ve defined attention as just the use of mental capacity because it helps me understand that attention isn’t always controlled, and that we have a limit of it. Attention is not infinite, and if it was, our thoughts would be quite scattered and really hard to understand. Western Psychology has recently caught on to the fact that controlling your attention could have an effect on well-being; however the use of attention training is different from Tibetan Buddhist uses to our American uses. The western use of attention training seems to gravitate to being a quick fix or just a fix in general. We seem to want to apply this mental training after problems have occurred, rather than prior to problems existing (from what I understand this is what the monks do).
The book talked about two different kinds of attention that we focus on using meditation. The first is mindfulness and the second is meta-awareness. The Tibetan definition of mindfulness is the ability to direct the attention onto something. The example given in the book was the focus on our breath, but I like to think of it as the focus onto something simple and keeping the attention centered on that one thing. I think that the benefits of mindfulness could really help with mediation in general because it can help you focus and ignore the fleeting thoughts and other stimuli that can disrupt meditation. Meta-awareness was new to me and I didn’t really understand it a first but it makes sense. Meta-awareness is the ability to notice when your attention changes. It’s like a second level of attention because it monitors the base level of attention and allows you to recognize change. This really interested me and is probably what I will look further into for this week’s exploration blog post.
Terms: focus, attention, mindfulness, meta-awareness, meditation
Chapter 3 focused on attention based aspects of meditation. There was a lot of repeated information over the ability to be able to redirect the attention back to your original focus gracefully after noticeably becoming distracted. Attention is divided up into 2 subcategories; one is our ability to guide our attention to what we need or want to focus on, two is dedicated to our senses (touch, taste, smell, etc..). This chapter explains that attention is centered on all we do and is a main determinant of our work performance. One aspect that interferes with our focus of attention is multitasking. We are all guilty of participating in trying to multitask which provides proof of how scattered our attention is. Multitasking is brought on by the sense of time, and there not being enough of it. We feel rushed to get things done in a quick manner leading our performance to be sloppy rather than precise and neat. With that being said, this is where meditation can come in handy while also enhance our abilities. Not by teaching us how to get things done faster and keep up with time, but rather in a way that allows us slow our minds down and create more room for mental space. In Buddhist context, attention training is described as "clam abiding" or "shamatha". They use techniques that involve the ability to shift attention, maintaining focus, and when noticing a distracting being able to guide your attention back to your original focus. Another important aspect of attention training lies within friendliness and non-judgment. Have a positive attitude of acceptance towards all stimuli and after the acknowledgement being able to guide your attention back to its main goal of focus.
Mindfulness and its relationship with stress
management is another aspect our culture is becoming more familiar with. Not only is it gradually being accepted and taught in educations systems but it has also made its way into health care. Mindfulness is linked to our prospective memory. Secular mindfulness is a type of mindfulness that teaches the individual an awareness of what is going on with the mind as well as the body, in addition, provides areas of training in emotion. Emotion awareness or the enhancement of our autonomic mental habits, help us figure out how to react and function in relation to our well-being. It also teaches us to take a step back, consciously analyze our thoughts and understand that sometimes they are not real or as big as we have believed them to be. Meditation changes area of the brain that is linked to attention control such as the frontal lobe. These changes caused by the practice of meditation allow mediators to react more in shorter periods of time and tend to startle less because of their enhanced consciousness than non-meditators.
Terms: Attention, multitasking, shamatha, mindfulness, emotion, autonomic mental habits, well-being, frontal lobe, secular mindfulness
In chapter 3, Dorjee discusses attention and attention training. One of the problems with attention is the “bottle neck problem”. The bottle neck problem occurs when people try to process massive amounts of information in their brain. I learned about the bottle neck problem in my cognitive psychology class. In class we did an experiment that showed how multitasking can be detrimental to an individual attention. Some people multitask because they believe that are getting more things finished faster and more efficiently, but, in fact, multitasking does the opposite. In class we ran an experiment to test concentration and attention. There were three people to a group. One person had to listen to the other two students read an article. One student read an interesting article and the other one read a boring article. The individuals read the articles at the same time at three different intervals. In the first interval the listener had to listen to the boring article only while both articles were being read. In the second interval the listener had to listen to the interesting article only while both articles were being read and for the third interval the listener had to try and listen to both of the articles being read at the same time. At the end of the experiment the listener rated how well he or she was able to listen and focus on the article(s) during the different intervals on a scale from 1-10. Surprisingly, it was really hard to drown out the noise of the undesired article and it was even harder to listen to both of the articles being read at the same time. This experiment was a huge eye-opener because it showed me how difficult it was to focus my attention on two things at once.
Currently the function of attention is divided into two main subcategories. The first aspect of attention is the general ability to direct attention towards what we need or want to focus on. In contrast, there are more specialized attention systems dedicated to restricted types of stimuli, separate system, attending to sounds, images, smells, touch and, to some extent, emotions. Despite this conceptual division between the function of attention, in a person’s everyday lives the involvement of both the general attention system and the specialized systems is closely intertwined and coordinated. The involvement of the general and more specialized systems varies with attention training and practice. Due to the complexity of attention, a great deal of research has been dedicated to studying the enhancement of cognitive performance through attention training. Such research almost exclusively focuses on how to reduce errors resulting from lapses of attention and how people can focus for longer duration and perform faster in a task. This kind research can disbunk the myth about multitasking.
According to Dorjee, the aim of attention training in meditation context is not to be able to do more in less time but actually the opposite. The goal is to create more mental space, to learn to pause, to slow down, to let go of the indiscriminate reactive responding to whatever grabs our attention in the moment. Research shows that attention training involved in meditation actually does result in better attentional performance on standard psychological and neuroscientific tasks despite this not being its purpose. To train attention in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition the practitioner would often focus on a statue or an image of a Buddha, recite a mantra or combine visualization and mantra recitation. In the Dzogchen tradition, the foundational practices stabilizing attention also involve visualizations and mantra recitations. More advanced practices work more closely with mental patterns unfolding in the mind and use them as a means of developing attention skills whilst also deepening the practitioner’s insight into the nature of the mind.
Terms: attention, attention training, The bottle neck problem, multitask, general attention, specific attention
Attention training (Chapter 3):
In this chapter Dorjee focuses on how to maintain our attentional focus, and how to enable it using meditation. “The first aspect of attention is the general ability to direct attention towards what we need or want to focus on (Dorjee pg 62).” He splits our attention systems into two, one for generalized attention and the other for more specific, sensory, attention. Through meditation Dorjee suggests that these attention systems become streamlined and synchronized, providing a more attentive individual. The reason that attention training is so critical is because we use attention every day, it plays an important role in what ever we do, and what ever we learn. To learn new information, or skills requires attention, no matter what learning style you are using. This attention allows you to store the information accurately and successfully into your memory. Dorjee makes an interesting comparison; “Just like a wild horse, without attention training the mind goes wherever the imminent impulse of attention takes it; we are not really able to guide the mind and often don’t even notice that it is out of control (pg 63).” This quote shows that meditation allows us to calmly focus our attention on one thing for a longer period of time with less distraction, ultimately allowing for a streamline focus on a particular stimuli. However, while reading this section of the book I couldn’t help but make a comparison that I see in my daily life as a gymnastics coach. As we age do we inherent, learn, evolve, to be more focused? Do you ever notice how kids are so energetic, and overly distracted; probably causing the severe over diagnosis of ADHD in kids? Why is it that we as adults do not maintain the same dismal abilities to focus? While Dorjee does not answer this question in the reading he does continue to suggest that meditation builds ability to focus. Dorjee even states that meditation is not for increased productivity, like so many Western societies have adapted it towards, but rather the slowing, and calming of life. Dorjee says that meditation is intended to decrease productivity “the aim of attention training in the meditation context is not to be able to do more in less time but actually the opposite” (pg 64). This unattractive notion of meditation makes it seem as if those who meditate for hours on end really don’t accomplish anything in the form of worldly productivity. However, they are accomplishing a great deal, they are maintaining a high degree of focus on a single stimuli, or idea. This intensive form of meditation allows them to alter their brain and increase their happiness and productivity. Dorjee later goes on to state that meditation does increase productivity despite it not being the purpose of mindfulness training. Meditation allows us to view our actions with another perspective, this unique viewpoint allows us to see behaviors that are harmful to our existence, and serve no purpose. Meditation gives us the opportunity to defeat these mental habits and emit happiness, and productivity. While we may which to change ourselves through the meditation journey, acceptance is one of the key concepts within meditation. You’ve got to be able to accept yourself as who you are, accept the world you live in, and accept what you cannot change. Meditation may allow you to view aspects of your behavior, but it does not give you the necessary tools to change your personality. This form of acceptance transfers beyond ourselves, and it produces a less judgmental, and a more friendly person. In western psychology meditation has been used for these perspective viewpoints to help those suffering from depression, or anxiety by using MBSR (Mindful Based Stress Reduction), and MBCT (Mindful Based Cognitive Therapy) these treatment tools allow others to gain self-produced coping methods, and aids in the reduction of anxiety. Both MBSR and MBCT are westernized adaptations of meditation techniques form other religions, and societies that have been sanitized to meet western culture, and be used successfully in treatment. After this introduction to MBSR and MBCT Dorjee concludes the chapter discussing the more religious aspects of meditation, and giving instructions on meditation practices.
Terms: MBSR, MBCT, Mindfulness, Attention,
The main focus of this chapter was all about attention. As we know attention is a basic part of the mind that helps us deal with an overload of information. In the western society attention is labeled as important for functioning but is connected to training of attention to be able to perform tasks faster and with more accuracy. On the other side of the argument, Buddhist beliefs show that refined stable, and serviceable attention is more essential for our own well-being. Stability of attention is also connected with emotional status. In this sense, if we can control our attention, negative emotions won’t interfere as easily.
The two basic parts of attention development are mindfulness and meta awareness. Mindfulness was talked about in the previous text as well so we already have a good understanding of this. In this chapter they use the Tibetan Buddhist definition which is the ability to sustain attention on an object. This can be like a white noise or our breathing. Meta awareness is described as being able to tell when you fall off of mindfulness, which is then used to direct yourself back to the point of your original attention. I like to think of meta awareness as a restart button, which just brings a person back to their meditative state. This training of attention is not the main focus but rather a stepping stone used to achieve a better examination of the mind. There is some research out there already about the effects of this and the examining of portion of the brain that control our attention that have been changed through training, but more will be needed to get a better insight in to the Buddhist attention training and affects.
Terms: attention, Buddhism, well-being, emotion, mindfulness, Meta awareness