We often talk about it: directing our attention. Focusing. First of all, what exactly is attention? We can see attention as a conductor, just like copper is for electric current or fiber optics for light. Attention directs the power and potential of Consciousness towards something.
However, Consciousness is all-encompassing, because everything is manifested from and within Consciousness. Nothing exists outside Absolute Consciousness. At least, this is the paradigm we assume on selfknowledge.today.
Reflective consciousness
But within ourselves, we experience consciousness as that which is reflective and makes us experience and perceive the world. This is our individual reflective consciousness that ‘happens to us’ every time we wake up in the morning (in our beds) from our sleep. We can understand well that at night, during our deep and dreamless sleep periods, we do not experience reflective consciousness. We do not experience our ‘being’. This state of mind is of great significance: in our lives, if we become older than 80 for example, we spend more than 120,000 hours in this state of mind without reflective consciousness, where we therefore do not experience consciousness. This is such an evident but also incomprehensible situation that to date no person on earth has been able to explain what deep sleep really is, what its purpose is, and what it essentially does to us. I will come back to this in another article.
Daily Consciousness
So now we are considering our awareness during the day: our daily consciousness. In this, we pay attention to situations and things. We direct our attention to something, meaning we give our consciousness to it. In this way, we direct our light of consciousness onto something. Attention serves as a conduit because without it, we cannot be aware of something. The object of our attention usually lies outside us: a situation, an object, or an interaction with someone else, and so on. In this way, we pay attention to our external world. But this object of attention can also lie within us: a thought, a feeling, or a vision, and so on. Then our attention goes inward, and we give consciousness to our inner world.
Directing attention is, in fact, comparable to directing a spotlight: where we focus the spotlight is where the light of consciousness shines. That’s why what we focus on grows; consciousness provides strength. Everything else, which at that moment doesn’t receive our attention, doesn’t fall within the light of consciousness, meaning we are no longer aware of it. We only experience and perceive what we focus our attention on. What we don’t focus on disappears from our experience and perception. This is crucial to realize!
Giving something our full attention means that we cannot spotlight many things at once. In this sense, monotasking is essential. When we multitask, meaning doing multiple things simultaneously, like this in between, adding that, listening to music, checking the smartphone in hand, and so on, our attention is fragmented, divided, and scattered. Everything receives very little attention and thus very little light of consciousness. We are in a lucid sleep. This causes us to become internally confused and unfocused, and we function poorly, below our potential level. Our senses are only used to a limited extent. We then have a ‘noisy’ mind where all sorts of things pop up at inappropriate moments, and inner silence is hard to find. It’s a mental mess, actually.
Scattered Attention
It’s a trend nowadays to multitask, which explains why many people have lost the path to inner silence and freedom. People are no longer anchored within themselves and let their attention be distracted by all sorts of things, in all directions, without consciously choosing to do so. The mind, as a result, becomes chaotic and unclear, and this has led to much confusion and lack of clarity in the world. It’s a wonder that so many things still go right. Scattered attention fosters identifications, leading to internal stress, boredom, disinterest, and insensitivity. Hence, today, we unfortunately encounter little compassion, empathy, understanding, and appropriate dedication. However, we see plenty of dedication stemming from identification, but this kind of dedication is ego-driven, maintains the ego, and promotes mutual division; and, of course, inner division at times when these identifications aren’t buffered.
Captured Attention
Due to numerous identifications and collective societal trends, our attention is often captured. This is the intense focus that completely engrosses us. We might completely lose track of time and become unaware of our surroundings and what’s happening in them. We sometimes don’t even realize that we should eat or sleep. We forget appointments and neglect things without being aware of it.
When our attention is captured, we, in essence, are no longer present. Our self-reflection disappears, and we are effectively being lived by what holds our attention captive. This leads to addictions to continuous behavior or specific actions. Prime examples are non-stop gaming or being unable to resist checking the mobile phone. Even simply watching TV usually falls into this category. It can even lead to inner disarray and feelings of nervousness if the devices we rely on malfunction.
If we let our attention be ‘captured’ for a short while, it’s not a big deal. It’s often a result of enthusiasm or passion for something we value. During such times, we can excel in what we do. But it uses a lot of energy. As a result, when we come out of that captive attention, we might feel exhausted or empty. We’ve consumed too much subtle energy. And this isn’t favorable for our inner development and a true awakening. If we remain aware of all the identifications that can ensnare us, causing our attention to be captured, we prevent ourselves from becoming captive and maintain control over ourselves. Our actions don’t become less adequate as a result; on the contrary, they gain more depth and quality, executed with the right amount of energy consumption. And this open attention has nothing to do with ‘control’, which some people might assume.
Focused Attention
Can’t we do two things at once? Yes, we can. We can learn that. But only in self-remembrance. Then it’s possible to broaden our attention bit by bit while acting (while practicing). Our attention then expands, allowing more and more to fall within its scope, simply because we guide our consciousness better. This way, our light of consciousness increasingly shines on multiple relevant things around us. The attention is still singular, from a perceived inner self, but now it encompasses much more and doesn’t flit about. Thus, we can perform multiple actions simultaneously because they fall within the same focused attention.
This full attention-focusing – from self-remembrance – is a celebratory affair because experiencing yourself in truly conscious action is celebratory. All our senses are then fully open. We are naturally happy at moments when we have full attention for something. Then we are truly awake! Genuine attention connects us with the situation and the action within it. Genuine attention in self-remembrance makes the distinction between ‘me’ and ‘the other’ disappear. This is essential identification: it’s a becoming one with ‘what is’. We then experience our true Essence: Sat-Chit-Ananda – the Vedic term for Existence Consciousness Bliss. Then, we have an advaita experience that can make us realize that non-duality is more than just a paradigm.
Source and River
Attention is the conduit of Consciousness. And this Consciousness, when directed and recognized by attention, is both the source and the perceived manifestation combined. However, our individual ego-consciousness claims both, arising from identifications born out of unconsciousness. In essential identification, there’s unity between myself and what’s perceived. Source and what’s perceived are One. The source is the river.
Consciousness – our source – always exists, even during our sleep. It can’t be otherwise because it is one, infinite, and indivisible. It can’t not be. If there’s one daily period when Consciousness in us is fully active (i.e., free and unhindered), it’s during our deep sleep. More on this, as mentioned, later.
Silent Attention Exercise
This silence exercise is called “falling silent.” This can happen within a few seconds, followed by one or two minutes of pure silence, experienced without any further distractions, by connecting our attention fully with the senses. This exercise has a tremendous influence on our level of alertness throughout the day if we decide to perform this exercise in between all activities. That is, after concluding one activity and before starting the next. This ensures that the energy (Guna-quality) from one activity is not carried into the next. We might then practice this dozens of times a day.
Sit or stand relaxed and feel the pressure points (ground, chair, clothing, air) on your body. Feel the body as a whole and the flows within it, the breathing, the blood circulation, and the energetic sensation of ‘life’. Remain in this state for a while. This is a ‘feeling perception of yourself’.
Then direct your attention to sight. Look at one point and, without moving your eyes, see the entire periphery. Thus, have a ‘broad’ view and perceive only shapes and colors without meaning. Remain in this state without leaving the feeling perception of your body.
Then taste your flavor. Smell the scents around you.
Next, focus your attention on listening, while maintaining the feeling perception of yourself, your body, and your sight. Not only listen to nearby sounds but let your hearing extend as far as possible. Only hear sounds and don’t attach any meaning to them.
This is neutral sensory Perception without any further additions. In this full perception through the senses, there is no room for thoughts or judgments.
After a while, you’ll also perceive an immense silence and space behind the ‘movements’ in the body and sensory perception. That Silence, behind all movement and sound, is always present. That Silence is the ‘space’ in which all movement arises and dissolves.
You experience, right now, the neutral Observer in a non-dual state of mind.
In this exercise, internal perception integrates with external perception. This is ‘being in self-remembrance’, where optimal use is made of the self-reflective capacity available to humans.
You will notice that at the beginning, the attention, like a ‘searchlight’, ‘sways’ between the different sensory perceptions, and the inner awareness of the body may not be constant or even disappear. This will become more consistent as this exercise is practiced more frequently. It is truly a practice! From the start, this won’t bring the full depth and emptiness. Our mind is too scattered for that. This exercise will slowly but surely purify our mind by reducing rajas and increasing sattva. Therefore, disciplined ‘effort in relaxation’ will be needed to practice this exercise daily many times (every time we remember it and preferably before each new activity/task) to achieve fully integrated silent attention, which is the beginning of the realization of Self-consciousness.
Cyber Shrimp | © 2024 
Michiel Koperdraat
Directing attention, it seems so simple
We often talk about it: directing our attention. Focusing.
First of all, what exactly is attention?
We can see attention as a conductor, just like copper is for electric current or fiber optics for light. Attention directs the power and potential of Consciousness towards something.
However, Consciousness is all-encompassing, because everything is manifested from and within Consciousness. Nothing exists outside Absolute Consciousness. At least, this is the paradigm we assume on selfknowledge.today.
Reflective consciousness
But within ourselves, we experience consciousness as that which is reflective and makes us experience and perceive the world.
This is our individual reflective consciousness that ‘happens to us’ every time we wake up in the morning (in our beds) from our sleep. We can understand well that at night, during our deep and dreamless sleep periods, we do not experience reflective consciousness. We do not experience our ‘being’. This state of mind is of great significance: in our lives, if we become older than 80 for example, we spend more than 120,000 hours in this state of mind without reflective consciousness, where we therefore do not experience consciousness. This is such an evident but also incomprehensible situation that to date no person on earth has been able to explain what deep sleep really is, what its purpose is, and what it essentially does to us. I will come back to this in another article.
Daily Consciousness
So now we are considering our awareness during the day: our daily consciousness. In this, we pay attention to situations and things. We direct our attention to something, meaning we give our consciousness to it. In this way, we direct our light of consciousness onto something. Attention serves as a conduit because without it, we cannot be aware of something.
The object of our attention usually lies outside us: a situation, an object, or an interaction with someone else, and so on. In this way, we pay attention to our external world.
But this object of attention can also lie within us: a thought, a feeling, or a vision, and so on. Then our attention goes inward, and we give consciousness to our inner world.
Giving something our full attention means that we cannot spotlight many things at once. In this sense, monotasking is essential. When we multitask, meaning doing multiple things simultaneously, like this in between, adding that, listening to music, checking the smartphone in hand, and so on, our attention is fragmented, divided, and scattered. Everything receives very little attention and thus very little light of consciousness. We are in a lucid sleep. This causes us to become internally confused and unfocused, and we function poorly, below our potential level. Our senses are only used to a limited extent. We then have a ‘noisy’ mind where all sorts of things pop up at inappropriate moments, and inner silence is hard to find. It’s a mental mess, actually.
Scattered Attention
It’s a trend nowadays to multitask, which explains why many people have lost the path to inner silence and freedom. People are no longer anchored within themselves and let their attention be distracted by all sorts of things, in all directions, without consciously choosing to do so. The mind, as a result, becomes chaotic and unclear, and this has led to much confusion and lack of clarity in the world. It’s a wonder that so many things still go right.
Scattered attention fosters identifications, leading to internal stress, boredom, disinterest, and insensitivity. Hence, today, we unfortunately encounter little compassion, empathy, understanding, and appropriate dedication. However, we see plenty of dedication stemming from identification, but this kind of dedication is ego-driven, maintains the ego, and promotes mutual division; and, of course, inner division at times when these identifications aren’t buffered.
Captured Attention
When our attention is captured, we, in essence, are no longer present. Our self-reflection disappears, and we are effectively being lived by what holds our attention captive. This leads to addictions to continuous behavior or specific actions. Prime examples are non-stop gaming or being unable to resist checking the mobile phone. Even simply watching TV usually falls into this category. It can even lead to inner disarray and feelings of nervousness if the devices we rely on malfunction.
If we let our attention be ‘captured’ for a short while, it’s not a big deal. It’s often a result of enthusiasm or passion for something we value. During such times, we can excel in what we do. But it uses a lot of energy. As a result, when we come out of that captive attention, we might feel exhausted or empty. We’ve consumed too much subtle energy. And this isn’t favorable for our inner development and a true awakening.
If we remain aware of all the identifications that can ensnare us, causing our attention to be captured, we prevent ourselves from becoming captive and maintain control over ourselves. Our actions don’t become less adequate as a result; on the contrary, they gain more depth and quality, executed with the right amount of energy consumption. And this open attention has nothing to do with ‘control’, which some people might assume.
Focused Attention
Can’t we do two things at once?
Yes, we can. We can learn that. But only in self-remembrance. Then it’s possible to broaden our attention bit by bit while acting (while practicing). Our attention then expands, allowing more and more to fall within its scope, simply because we guide our consciousness better. This way, our light of consciousness increasingly shines on multiple relevant things around us. The attention is still singular, from a perceived inner self, but now it encompasses much more and doesn’t flit about. Thus, we can perform multiple actions simultaneously because they fall within the same focused attention.
This full attention-focusing – from self-remembrance – is a celebratory affair because experiencing yourself in truly conscious action is celebratory. All our senses are then fully open. We are naturally happy at moments when we have full attention for something. Then we are truly awake! Genuine attention connects us with the situation and the action within it. Genuine attention in self-remembrance makes the distinction between ‘me’ and ‘the other’ disappear. This is essential identification: it’s a becoming one with ‘what is’. We then experience our true Essence: Sat-Chit-Ananda – the Vedic term for Existence Consciousness Bliss.
Then, we have an advaita experience that can make us realize that non-duality is more than just a paradigm.
Source and River
Attention is the conduit of Consciousness. And this Consciousness, when directed and recognized by attention, is both the source and the perceived manifestation combined. However, our individual ego-consciousness claims both, arising from identifications born out of unconsciousness. In essential identification, there’s unity between myself and what’s perceived. Source and what’s perceived are One. The source is the river.
Consciousness – our source – always exists, even during our sleep. It can’t be otherwise because it is one, infinite, and indivisible. It can’t not be. If there’s one daily period when Consciousness in us is fully active (i.e., free and unhindered), it’s during our deep sleep. More on this, as mentioned, later.
Silent Attention Exercise
This silence exercise is called “falling silent.” This can happen within a few seconds, followed by one or two minutes of pure silence, experienced without any further distractions, by connecting our attention fully with the senses. This exercise has a tremendous influence on our level of alertness throughout the day if we decide to perform this exercise in between all activities. That is, after concluding one activity and before starting the next. This ensures that the energy (Guna-quality) from one activity is not carried into the next. We might then practice this dozens of times a day.
In this exercise, internal perception integrates with external perception. This is ‘being in self-remembrance’, where optimal use is made of the self-reflective capacity available to humans.
You will notice that at the beginning, the attention, like a ‘searchlight’, ‘sways’ between the different sensory perceptions, and the inner awareness of the body may not be constant or even disappear. This will become more consistent as this exercise is practiced more frequently. It is truly a practice! From the start, this won’t bring the full depth and emptiness. Our mind is too scattered for that. This exercise will slowly but surely purify our mind by reducing rajas and increasing sattva. Therefore, disciplined ‘effort in relaxation’ will be needed to practice this exercise daily many times (every time we remember it and preferably before each new activity/task) to achieve fully integrated silent attention, which is the beginning of the realization of Self-consciousness.
© Michiel Koperdraat