NOTES - MORE ABOUT "ATTENTION"
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER INTO AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY
This piece will evolve as I add more notes and put together what is in the other relevant pieces that are linked to by the main discussion piece (see link in the sidebar).
See right after these notes an actual application in a real situation...
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"My experience is what I agree to attend to." - William James
"Since what we pay attention to is what forms our experience of life, if we choose what to focus on in life we can get so much more out of life. I suggest you choose with all your heart and effort to "live a focused life!". The BuddhaKahuna
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You can "train" your attentional skill and engrain in your brain more power to direct attention and/or ignore what is irrelevant and/or even false.
Indeed, neuroscientists report that the practice of meditation actually changes a portion of the left prefrontal cortex that is related to happiness. That portion actually has a function of screening out automatically more of the nonsense/negative thoughts, so you're not experiencing many of the potential crappy thoughts. That region also helps us strengthen our resolves (so willpower doesn't wilt so fast) and generates many of the happy chemicals (positive feeling neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, serotonin, glutamate) - and this allows one to not have to pay attention or even to have the primitive brain offer up bad thoughts as it reduces... See A More In-Depth Summary Of Why Meditation Works - And How It Works!. Note that much of meditation is "practicing directing one's attention", but that it also can include directing it to good thoughts (compassion, kindness) and discounting (some to zero) thoughts as being merely thought (just bits of biochemically based data put together, but not something "real"). See A Thought Is Just A Thought, An Emotion Is Just An Emotion.
Note that meditation actually, by being repeated, causes rewiring of the brain. See Rewiring The Brain - Very Practical And Very Doable! - You can actually do this mechanically in very doable actions that don't require some epic mind manipulations (i.e. it's neither hard nor indefinite in effect).
this is called rewiring
Choosing vs passively experiencing what you pay attentio to, staying focuse on the right things, stop being a "Reaction" to stuff that happens to you, create a "work of art" (Gallagher) of life
we often focus on one thing and ignore another...let our attention be monopolized by bottom up attention grabbers . focusing not on the past, so can focus on taking care of business in the present...
William James "our greatest weapon aginst stress is our ability t o choose one thought over another"
I, a human being, need to put more attention on stuff that has me "feel better" - and/or distracts me, such as counting the passes in the invisible gorilla video. Surely I can do better on purpose intentionally rather than just allowing passively for it to happen randomly...
lots of interferences fill the pipeline, less able to think fast on any one thing, limited cognitive load The Law Of Attentional Priority (pipeline principle). This is why, because they have focus on other things and/or on their lack of ability to be socially cool or accepted miss so much that could make them cool, miss feedback and signals and information to process in that area - but they do get alot in the area that they focus in - and they could get more if this was managed so that they live in a more balanced way and also because one can't think well if they are in fear...
APPLYING THIS IN AN ACTUAL SITUATION
OK, so let's say I have something to do that I dread doing, as my imagination anticipates that it will be painful to do (or require sacrifice of something else I "need"). How do I redirect my attention to what will have me "feel" better while I am doing it and also feel less of any negative thought effect.
No, willpower is not the answer.
We need to, unfortunately or fortunately, look deeper first before we make conclusions that are higher up the ladder/chain of cause and effect.
All this "attention" stuff is, of course, like everything else, from an evolutionary workability. As the generations passed, the genes related to being able to pay attention to what matters for survival naturally survived more than the ones where the gene was not as good, as they got eaten more often.
So, if I have to spend several days catching up all my corporate taxes, experiencing confusion and some frustration as I look for all the info (and perhaps might not find it = "fear"), I will not be able to do the more fun stuff of writing and following my whims. I will, however, get something done that I need to get done. (I don't owe any taxes, as I've run negative numbers while building the site and buying all the books, supplies, services, equipment needed. And that is not a problem at all, as it is minor and of virtually zero effect on my wealth.
So, since my experience is the sum total of what I pay attention to and then how I interpret what I "see", I must alter
1. What comes to my attention, the inputs
a. Input good stuff on purpose that takes up attention unit and adds to the "good" pile
Make it "louder" in terms of "volume" of demanding attention units.
Handle proactively the "bad" thoughts that come in automatically
and/or reprogram those thoughts in the first place so that they don't arrive
Make the automatic system to protect me a bit less paranoid or less sensitive by doing things that assure it that I am actually safe and not in danger of dying of boredom or whatever....
It's OK that I have to do this. I knew I would have to. This will take less time this way also, as I can bundle certain functions and not have to "re-set-up" over and over again. There is nothing to actually fear if I don't meet the "demand" deadline from the state - so they could fine me if I am late, but that will only occur if I cannot find something quickly enough. I am giving myself a pretty good amount of time to do this, so I should be able to get additional information if I am stuck.
There is nothing to fear as this is, though appearing large in the present time, minuscule compared to my entire life, not even a discernible blip in life. And the "no fun" part will soon pass and this will soon disappear even from the rearview mirror of life.
There is no shame here. I am not a "small" person subject to immense threat from a "big" person/entity.
I can schedule it out better, including some things that I can insert that will "fill" me up more.
I can stimulate my dopamine (a little) by listening to really nice music.
I am getting organized. That is good. That is beneficial.
I am simply handling those necessitates of life. I committed to this, so I need to do what supports it and/or is required in it. This is absolutely neutral - except that I have received benefit from it and I know it has been worth it, so I am grateful, ovearll, for having done it
