Cheltenham Group Meeting 20/05/10 Attention

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fiona
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Cheltenham Group Meeting 20/05/10 Attention

Postby fiona » Sat May 22, 2010 4:42 pm

Cheltenham Group Meeting 20/05/10
Subject: Attention and Self-Observation, referring to a mix of papers that included C and Pewsey 10/10 and E group 10/04.
Responses/Examples were varied:
• I used to think attention was the only thing I could practice in the Work. When I worked as a college lecturer, it was being present all the time with students. Now, as an example, I practice things like giving attention when I lock doors, etc. so I don’t need to check! Practising giving attention stops my mind from wandering.
• I recognise in myself two kinds of attention. For instance, today as I was painting a fence, I had to give attention to the materials I was using and the job in hand. At other times, by remembering Param-Atman, a different kind of attention comes, related to love.
• For me, real attention is when the mind is quiet and non-distracted.
• I wonder about the story of the arrow maker and single-pointed attention. I understand attention as having an awareness of all that is around one, yet the arrow maker failed to notice the king.
• There is a test given to pilots. Familiarising them with a particular sound, they are then placed in a stressful situation and told to respond to that sound when they hear it. But they identify with the stress, failing to respond. It’s the stress that stops them from realising the whole picture. One needs to be centred, because one would then be in a relaxed state.
• I relate giving attention to the lens of a camera. How you focus is related to the micro or macro lens. Being in a state of passive attention is like having a wide angle. It’s an awareness – just watching. Someone added that it’s also being quiet.
• So it’s a state?
• Someone else said that attention comes to you when there is an accumulation of Sattva.
• There are triggers; for example, remembering Param Atman. Prasad helps – there is an initial impulse. It starts with an emotional feeling.
• Attention is an act of love. For example, listening to someone and giving respect.
Attachments
Paper_10_10.pdf
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E Group 10_04.pdf
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