rascal wilhelmina: FOCUS ? A KEY TO SELF CONTROL

Monday, January 21, 2013

FOCUS ? A KEY TO SELF CONTROL | Atlanta Anger Management ...

You can use one or more of the seven factors below at the start of any deliberate focusing of attention ? from keeping your head in a dull business meeting to contemplative practices such as meditation or prayer ? and then let them move to the background as you shift into whatever the activity is.

You can also draw upon one or more during the activity if your attention is flagging. They are listed in an order that makes sense to me, but you can vary the sequence. (There?s more information about attention, mindfulness, concentration, and contemplative?absorption inBuddha?s Brain.)

7 Things To Help Keep Focus:

1.??Set the intention to sustain your attention, to be mindful. You can do this both top-down, by giving yourself a gentle instruction to be attentive, and bottom-up, by opening to the sense in your body of what mindfulness feels like.

2.??Relax.?Use?Conscious?Breathing. For example, take several exhalations that are twice as long as your inhalations. This stimulates the calming, centering parasympathetic nervous system and settles down the fight-or-flight stress-response sympathetic nervous system that jiggles the spotlight of attention this way and that, looking for carrots and sticks.

3.??Without straining at it, think of things that help you feel cared about ? that you matter to someone, that you belong in a relationship or group, that you are seen and appreciated, or even cherished and loved. It?s OK if the relationship isn?t perfect, or that you bring to mind people from the past, or pets, or spiritual beings. You could also get a sense of your own goodwill for others, your own compassion, kindness, and love. Warming up the heart in this way helps you feel protected, and it brings a rewarding juiciness to the moment ? which support #4 and #5 below.

4.??Think of things that help you feel safer, and thus more able to rest attention on your activities, rather than vigilantly scanning. Notice that you are likely in a relatively safe setting, with resources inside you to cope with whatever life brings. Let go of any unreasonable anxiety, any unnecessary guarding or bracing.

5.??Gently encourage some positive feelings, even mild or subtle ones. For example, think of something you feel glad about or grateful for; go-to?s for me include my kids, Yosemite, and just being alive. Open as you can to an underlying sense of well-being that may nonetheless contain some struggles or pain. The sense of pleasure or reward in positive emotions increases the neurotransmitter, dopamine, which closes a kind of gate in the neural substrates of working memory, thus keeping out any ?barbarians,? any invasive distractions.

6.??Get a sense of the body as a whole, its many sensations appearing together each moment in the boundless space of awareness. This sense of things as a unified gestalt, perceived within a large and panoramic perspective, activates networks on the sides of the brain (especially the right ? for right-handed people) that support sustained mindfulness. And it de-activates the networks along the midline of the brain that we use when we?re lost in thought.

7.??For 10-20-30 seconds in a row, stay with whatever positive experiences you?re having or lessons you?re learning. Since ?neurons that fire together, wire together,? this savoring and registering helps weave the fruits of your attentive efforts into the fabric of your brain and your self. [You change.]

Rick Hanson, Ph.D.
25 Mitchell Blvd.
San Rafael, California 94903

Used With Permission

My latest book is adapted from this newsletter and is titled?Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time. In the book, I present 52 of my favorite practices ? simple actions inside your mind ? to light up the neural networks of deep well-being and resilience.