The diffuse/immersed attention style

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Unborn babies are fully immersed with their mums while living inside their bumps. They are perfectly connected and it is hard to say whether they are two or one.

For a long time little babies do not recognize that these strange things moving in front of their eyes are their hands. They do not see where they start and end. They do not know if the noises they hear are coming form inside or outside of their heads. They cannot focus and everything what they see is blurred. The are living in the diffuse/immersed attention style reality.

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Open Focus – flexible attention

 

Then they grow up and learn that everything (including them) has a name and is separated. They gradually develop self awareness and objectivity.

They build various relationships with the world. They have their first opinions, they like/dislike something/someone. At the same time they can still easily immerse playing with a little car or a little doll. They absorb knowledge about the word being receptive on many levels at the same time. They are naturally narrow/diffuse//immerse/objective flexible living in Open Focus.

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The narrow/objective attention style drift

 

Then, mainly at school, they learn how to focus on line after line they read, they write or they calculate numbers. They are slowly but inevitably pushed towards the narrow attention style combined with objectivity.

They are taught how to analyze, draw conclusions, set targets, be precise and correct. They spend a lot of time in the narrow/objective style which slowly becomes their natural and often preferable attention. They forget how to immerse, to let things happen, observe without naming, admire without looking for purpose and rules. They live in their heads separated from the world and even their bodies.

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The narrow/objective attention style grip

 

Then, as adults, some of them become completely stuck in the narrow/ objectivity, having so many important things to do, targets to meet, goals to achieve.

Exposed to stress and frustration which comes with this style. Too busy to connect to others, to the present, to themselves. Under a slow drip of greed, jealousy, hatred, they fight for power, money and attention of others becoming increasingly anxious and depressed.

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The natural, evolutionary journey from the diffused/immersed to the narrow/ objective quadrant starts early in life. This process continues. It is similar to your muscles slowly becoming specialized in some particular movements, being less and less able to retrain. You can hardly stop it but you can slow it down and become balanced.

If you feel frustrated with your life, exhausted, miserable and sorry for yourself, if you feel your life is lacking something it is probably lack of balance. Balance of your attention. Try an Open Focus exercise to feel for yourself how diffusing attention feels like. You will love it.

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