OPEN FOCUS ATTENTION TRAINING

Open Focus is a scientifically developed system for normalising the mind and the body function. Open Focus Attention training is based on mind exercises which sound gentle and soft like guided meditation but they are backed up by EEG neuro-feedback research conducted by Dr Lester Fehmi, neuroscientist and psychologist from Princeton, US.

Open Focus Attention creates healthy space in the mind which allows you to relax and always see the big picture. It also helps the body to restore a natural rhythm. Practicing Open Focus attention empowers you to develop skills like controlling physical pain, stopping panic attacks, reducing anxiety and enhancing a performance. You can have a good, long sleep every night, instant sense of calm whenever you want, and become a lot more creative. All these can become just another learned skill like swimming or writing.

Mindfulness teaches us to pay attention to our experience so that we can interrupt habitual patterns that may not be helpful for us. Open Focus suggest not just to pay attention, but to become aware how we pay attention. Open Focus can enhance Mindfulness by bringing the idea of attention styles, showing benefits of paying attention in the diffused style and introducing the concept of attention flexibility. Please, see a full article on this topic here.

According to the four styles attention theory, pain triggers the narrow/objective attention style. The pain triggered style of attention is narrow because the pain constantly redirects the attention towards itself – ‘I cannot stop feeling this pain’. It is also objective because the pain creates an impression that the painful part of the body is separated from self (I, ego) – ‘I have this pain and I want to get rid of it‘.

In order to dissolve the pain, the attention should be shifted from the narrow/objective style to more diffused (‘become aware of the wide array of sensations including the pain‘) and more immersed (‘connect with the pain’).

This shift of attention generates strong, synchronous waves in alpha frequency in the brain areas processing the pain. Synchronised alpha brain waves can ‘slow down’ or stop brain signals responsible for pain. In scientific language this this represents a ‘top-down’ control inhibitory process. Please, see full article on the topic here.

Creativity happens when we invent something new by connecting elements of reality together in one piece. These elements could be shapes, colours, notes, thoughts, words, ideas, needs, feelings, beliefs, etc.

When your attention is diffused you become simultaneously aware of everything that you hear, touch smell, taste, think and feel, together with accessing your memory and experience. When your attention is diffused long enough the new connections happen on their own and you witness new ideas unfolding in your mind. The diffused attention style also helps to immerse with your creation and get into a Zone.

A process of generating new ideas is described in this article.