The Metaphysics Of Focussing

[Victor Mgazi]

What are the metaphysics of concentrating your attention on something? Like what is actually happening in or with consciousness? How is it happening, is the such thing as will power on the meta level?

When I'd focus on a thing, for instance, everything else becomes irrelevant - almost invisible, if I can use that term. Have you noticed how things blur when you're not paying attention to them, not with sight alone but sounds and other senses as well? What would be going on in/with consciousness when that happens? Is there some sort of a mechanism to this, is it random? Right now I'm focusing on my thoughts, the world is almost non-existent. I can shift my focus to smell/scent and sound becomes almost none-existent. So what's going on? I'm not really questioning perception here, I'm more interested in the intelligence behind it or the power (will/force) that does this.

What it feels like is that I'm zooming in and out of myself as consciousness, like I'm exploring small parts of my body. It doesn't feel intentional until I focus on feeling, then it feels like I'm controlling this. Do you get what I'm saying? I know there's more to this than simple brain capacity.

[Scholar]

Other than that, find our yourself.

[mandyjw]

 

So you say almost invisible, but because there's no duality, there cannot be in your awareness both focus and nonfocus, there cannot be something you focus on, and something you ignore in exclusion. In your ignore-ance you'd actually be focusing somewhat, aware of, the thing you aren't choosing to focus on. So the mind's idea of what focus is is pretty ironic when you consider the actual experience. 

 

 

[Christer]

Can you deepen your explanation, mandyjw? 

 

 In your ignore-ance you'd actually be focusing somewhat, aware of, the thing you aren't choosing to focus on.

 

How then do one lazor in on one point, when all other points are to be excluded. The mind will flicker. Meditation is then a dual activity since, as you`re saying, one is included but the rest is excluded, yet the excluded remains in awareness.

This is very interesting.

Edited April 16, 2020 by Christer

[mandyjw]

@Christer If you were writing a paper and someone was watching a movie in the background, you might find yourself distracted. You want to focus on the paper but your awareness is drifting to the movie. But if you take away the time progression of that scenario, you see that in the moment you are either a. focused on the paper, b. focused on the movie or c. focused on the fact that you're distracted. 

So focus is always your experience, always. The mind and the illusion of time, preference, shoulds and stories create the abstract idea of being unfocused. It was never a thing. Having a concept of focus creates the concept of unfocused. 

The purpose of meditation is to reveal the experience of this focus beyond ideas of focus. 

[mandyjw]

12 minutes ago, Christer said:

How then do one lazor in on one point, when all other points are to be excluded. The mind will flicker.

Focus requires an ideal (a preferred or ideal point of focus, even including the ideal of focus itself) and time to exist as a concept. It does not exist beyond mind. 

It could be said that "focus" is creation itself. The detail that was revealed never was until that moment of what you call your focus upon it.

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound? No. 

[Victor Mgazi]

@mandyjw I get that focusing is an experience based on concept, and I get the paradox in its duality that is focused  and not focused.

But what's responsible/directing this experience? Experience itself is non existent until it appears in thought form in consciousness, because you paid attention to the thought. You see? That paying attention part, that part.. that's what I'm trying to understand. 

You can't say paying attention is an experience if it precedes experience itself. 

34 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

you see that in the moment you are either a. focused on the paper, b. focused on the movie or c.

Point b and point see don't exist until I pay attention to the concept and layer it on the.. what you call scenario of it. 

31 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

Focus requires an ideal (a preferred or ideal point of focus, even including the ideal of focus itself) and time to exist as a concept.

No, it doesn't require an ideal. The ideal requires it. Don't get to caught up in the meaning of the word, I'm just using it to point to a phenomenal in consciousness. 

33 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound? No. 

Now you're just playing in reasoning. It's not heard because it never happened. 

 

[Victor Mgazi]

When someone says direct your focus on something, Something big happens. Don't take that lightly. The -person - that - turns - to - look - is part of that something big. In that precise moment of turning to look there is no you that decides to turn and look, it just happens, whatever it is that happens. Can you see what I'm talking about? It's like it's all automatic but at the same time there seems to be some sort of drive or will or mechanical power to it. 

I'm talking about something that's metaphysical here. Time is not a factor nor is concept.

[Christer]

59 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

It could be said that "focus" is creation itself. The detail that was revealed never was until that moment of what you call your focus upon it.

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it does it make a sound? No. 

So by focusing, we`re creating, cause we "add more". But we want to reverse this in meditation, right?

So, you can get enough consciousness to get deeper and deeper awakenings, but getting more conscious is seeing more/adding more/creating more? 

While if you meditate on focus itself, it should reverse, strip and dissolve itself instead of adding, if I am seeing it correctly?

Two sides, both gets you to deeper states? I`m a bit confused.

Edited April 16, 2020 by Christer

[Victor Mgazi]

@Christer what kind of meditation do you do? I do mindfulness which requires you to focus on something/anything really and keep it there.

8 minutes ago, Christer said:

While if you meditate on focus itself, it should reverse, strip and dissolve itself instead of adding, if I am seeing it correctly?

Do you mean meditate on the concept focusing ? Because you can't focus on focusing itself, you need something to focus on and that already collapses in on itself.

[mandyjw]

@Victor Mgazi It's love. It's more than the mechanics of how your eyes focus on how your mind engages with a thing. It's resonating with it as yourself. 

Focus is love, samadhi

What happens to you when you truly focus on something? Not when the mind says "wow, I'm really focused" but when you're truly focused, what does that FEEL like? What is "behind" it? As soon as a thought of behind, drive, will, mechanical power comes up you've split the phenomenon in two, which is a funny strangeloop joke because focus is One. 

@Christer actual focus, is not a thought of focus. How do separation, Oneness and focus all resolve? 

 

 

 

[Visionary]

Now that's a high quality question man. 

[Victor Mgazi]

15 minutes ago, Visionary said:

Now that's a high quality question man. 

I know, I just hope there are people on this forum who are conscious enough to help me out here. 

 

21 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

What happens to you when you truly focus on something?

Everything else is not recognised, including a me.

22 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

what does that FEEL like?

Peace? I don't really feel emotions since their not being recognised. 

24 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

What is "behind" it?

Nothing

25 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

focus is One. 

Focus is one, huh.. Is that what you mean by love?  I'll have to take a look at that and see how this is. But I understand what you're saying, it's just that it's still not answering my question. As far as I'm aware, all things are of love. Love is freedom, hence all things can be.. Love is freedom for Being. Consciousness can be thought of as the body of Love and Love accepts everything by shining it's light of awareness on all. 

So I guess I'll have to meditate on that. Thanks for the input ?

[Christer]

48 minutes ago, Victor Mgazi said:

@Christer what kind of meditation do you do? I do mindfulness which requires you to focus on something/anything really and keep it there.

59 minutes ago, Christer said:

While if you meditate on focus itself, it should reverse, strip and dissolve itself instead of adding, if I am seeing it correctly?

Do you mean meditate on the concept focusing ? Because you can't focus on focusing itself, you need something to focus on and that already collapses in on itself.

I mean, meditate on the sensation of focus. As of now, I meditate 15 minutes as the first thing after I wake up in the mornings. It tends to change, to be on the fullness of "feeling of me"(how good it feels to be without a limit), hardened places in my abdominal (emotional; not very good feeling of butterflies going from abdomen up to the chest, anxiety), and to notice all my worry. Actually, I have no fixed meditation point that I do every day. It tends to change daily. 

 

48 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

@Christer actual focus, is not a thought of focus. How do separation, Oneness and focus all resolve? 

Its more like a stream. But it seems primordial.

Edited April 16, 2020 by Christer

[Nahm]

@mandyjw Nailed it. ??

[Forestluv]

@Victor Mgazi Quite often, it seems “unfocused” is a negative thing, filled with distractions from “what I want”. Another way to frame this would be in terms of contraction (focusing on a point and excluding other points) and expansion (inclusion of many points). In a hyper-focused contracted state, organization of points is not a factor (since there is contracted focus on one point). However in an expanded state, organization becomes a much factor since there is the inclusion of many points. In some minds, such as ADHD, this disorganization can be very uncomfortable and annoying. Yet in other minds, this expanded state can be a playground as various points are discovered, observed, explored and integrated. It can be a magnificent realm of exploratory creativity. This is a form of a “flow state” of consciousness.

In terms of observing mechanisms, I’ve found a meta state of awareness to be quite illuminating. It’s easy for the mind to get engaged with theorizing and learning about other people’s theories. Yet self experimentation and observation is highly insightful. And the beauty is, one doesn’t need to buy expensive equipment, attend workshops or graduate from a University. We already have everything we need and it is free and always available Now. That is our direct experience. A meta view of one’s own dynamics of focused contraction and expansion goes deeper than any theory written. 

My mind is generally oriented toward expansion. Throughout my life, I’ve been considered “scatter-brained” or having ADD. My ex gf described my mind as a “popcorn machine” in which kernels are constantly popping (into thoughts). This generally manifested in a disorganized appearance: random thoughts that seemed unrelated. Jumping from one topic to another. Inability to stay on task. There were many negative consequences for practical life. For example, I had difficulty maintaining a conversation as I would jump all over the place. As well, I was a very slow reader. Often I would read just one page and then spend 10 minutes with thoughts dancing around. I couldn’t pay attention through a 1hr. video or class lecture. In a practical sense, a lot of time was wasted. . . Thi can be frustrating and there is a strong desire to be able to focus. . . However, when trained and mastered this trait can become a super power ability. Rather than getting distracted from point to point, a trained mind can allow various points to arise and a meta view can see how various points are connected in a big picture. This can also allow for creativity. 

On the other end of the spectrum would be hyper-focused. This is not the natural state of my mind and takes effort. Often, I have a desire to “focus” on the task at hand to function well in life. Yet there is another type of contracted “focus” which complements expansion. A single point of focus can be within a larger sphere of points. As you wrote, it is like filtering out all other points “outside” our point of focus such that they no longer exist. Yet there is also expansion “within” a point. When focused upon a single point, that point can expand into many points. For example, imagine hiking through nature and noticing how the various life forms interact with each other. Then imagine focusing on a single point on a flower. Everything outside the flower dissolves. Yet, when concentration is strong enough that single point can expand. . . . Infinitely. . . . As well, hyper focus on a single point (such that the single point is the only point that exists), collapses into no point - since there is no longer a second point of reference. This is an avenue toward a realization of Nothing = Everything.

I would also add that there seems to be an eternal awareness/presence of Now - regardless of mental activity. The Now awareness is present when the mind is busy with disorganized thoughts. The Now awareness is present when the mind has one single point of focus. They key in realizing this is transcending attachment/identification/immersion, particularly with thoughts. For me, this has been one of the keys in training the mind. . . . Imagine a camera lens that can zoom in and out with graceful fluidity. . . Imagine a google maps in which you can zoom in for details and zoom out for the big picture. This allows for the mind to observe multiple dimensions of interconnectivity. For example, we could zoom in to focus on the streets of Brooklyn, New York. Then we could zoom out to a map of the United States. We can hold the image of the streets of Brooklyn in our mind and see how it is inter-connected to other boroughs of NYC (a 3D dimension depth).  We can also see in the big picture map of NYC is inter-connected with other cities such as Boston and Philadelphia (a 2D dimension). We can go further by integrating a 4D dimension of time lapse movies of NYC.  And we can continually zoom in (focus in) at various levels to observe more details and then zoom out to add in those details. This allows for the creation of an integrated, holistic map. This in turn allows for deepening of understanding (focused zooming in) and breadth of understanding (zooming out). 

[Victor Mgazi]

@Serotoninluv I find this very interesting as I can relate with experience about some of the things you've said.

1 hour ago, Serotoninluv said:

Yet in other minds, this expanded state can be a playground as various points are discovered, observed, explored and integrated. It can be a magnificent realm of exploratory creativity. This is a form of a “flow state” of consciousness.

That's been me my whole life ? 

1 hour ago, Serotoninluv said:

Yet self experimentation and observation is highly insightful.

This is very true. 

 

1 hour ago, Serotoninluv said:

A meta view of one’s own dynamics of focused contraction and expansion goes deeper than any theory written.

It's what I've been noticing. I'd keep on trying to get to the bottom of things only to realize later on that I'm already there, embodying this very truth that I was investigating. 

1 hour ago, Serotoninluv said:

when trained and mastered this trait can become a super power ability. Rather than getting distracted from point to point, a trained mind can allow various points to arise and a meta view can see how various points are connected in a big picture. This can also allow for creativity. 

That makes so much sense. Would the connections feel made or discovered? I always feel like I'm merely discovering the big picture.

1 hour ago, Serotoninluv said:

On the other end of the spectrum would be hyper-focused. This is not the natural state of my mind and takes effort. Often, I have a desire to “focus” on the task at hand to function well in life. Yet there is another type of contracted “focus” which complements expansion. A single point of focus can be within a larger sphere of points. As you wrote, it is like filtering out all other points “outside” our point of focus such that they no longer exist. Yet there is also expansion “within” a point. When focused upon a single point, that point can expand into many points. For example, imagine hiking through nature and noticing how the various life forms interact with each other. Then imagine focusing on a single point on a flower. Everything outside the flower dissolves. Yet, when concentration is strong enough that single point can expand. . . . Infinitely. . . . As well, hyper focus on a single point (such that the single point is the only point that exists), collapses into no point - since there is no longer a second point of reference. This is an avenue toward a realization of Nothing = Everything.

I find this very very interesting with a need to explore that. At some point does the duality between expansion and contraction collapse, or is it more of a flux in a dynamic state of mind? 

1 hour ago, Serotoninluv said:

 

I would also add that there seems to be an eternal awareness/presence of Now - regardless of mental activity. The Now awareness is present when the mind is busy with disorganized thoughts. The Now awareness is present when the mind has one single point of focus. They key in realizing this is transcending attachment/identification/immersion, particularly with thoughts.

Yes, there definitely is. I'm embodying this awareness right now. The reason I couldn't know this before is because of the conditioned state of mind, beliefs were clouding my awareness and I couldn't see through the fog of thought-stories. I am no longer attached but the mind is still conditioned, I'm not sure what it will take to untangle it. 

THANK YOU ? 

[Forestluv]

31 minutes ago, Victor Mgazi said:

@Serotoninluv 

At some point does the duality between expansion and contraction collapse, or is it more of a flux in a dynamic state of mind? 

Nice question and a cool area to explore.

The imagery of expansion and contraction appeared, perhaps in an effort to articulate a subjective experience. To me, the underlying direct experience prompting the imaginative expression to articulate itself is the key orientation (and is beautiful). This orientation is different than a mind trying to figure out what it’s like and build concrete models.

As I reflect on the experience that sourced the imagery, I would say both manifest. All dualities collapse into Nothing/Everything. As well, all dualities have and infinite number of inter-connections. . . . For example, I once did a meditation focusing on a candle flame. The mind got so hyper-focused that every other thing not a candle flame dissolved. Then there was “no thing”. There was no longer a thing called a candle flame because there was no thing not a candle flame to contrast it with. The duality then collapses and there is simply One ISness that is Nothing/Everything Now. So I would say hyper focus can lead to a realization of the dualistic collapse into One/Nothing/Everything/Now,. Hyper focusing into “no thing” is the same ‘place’ as hyper expanding into “every thing”. I would say it is a legit practice to deep realization, yet it’s not how my mind is naturally oriented. Tbh, I was on a low dose of 5-Meo and I think I got lucky.

I would also say there is the experience of expansion and contraction in flux - similar to yin and yang. Or we could say that form and formless are in dynamic flux. Yet there is an ISness the comes ‘prior’ to calling it “expansion” or “contraction”. It’s more like it appears and the mind then thinks “Oh, my mind was just expanding” or “my mind was just contracting”. The imagery of Yoga comes to mind. On the in-breath is expansion and the out-breath is contraction, which is balanced and in flux with each other. I’d say this is a pretty good descriptor of the subjective experience. It seems like the mind is in a flow of expanding and contracting. This can have practical value, yet there is also many more distinctions we could add. For example, it seems to be that there are many “levels” or expansion and contraction within a linear depth dimension. As well, it seems like the two often integrate in which the mind gets a bit confused at is seems sorta a expansy-contracty mix. Then I need to be mindful of which direction to go. I can let that go and be like “Who cares what it’s called, let;’s experience it”. If my mind gets too caught up in creating constructs of the experience, the experience dissolves. . . However, my mind also likes creating constructs - so afterwords I’ll may contemplate like “What was occurring was like an inter-connection between expansion and contraction. Was it a mix between two dynamics? Or is the inter-connected hybrids? Was intuition, energetics, creativity apparent?”. Then some imagery may appear that is reflective of the ineffable insight and I may get excited. As if that which is ‘prior’ to the imagery expressed itself as imagery. It’s like divine cognition. One of the joys of consciousness exploration. 

[Visionary]

6 hours ago, Victor Mgazi said:

I know, I just hope there are people on this forum who are conscious enough to help me out here. 

Sorry, I didn't take the time earlier to completely read the comments and write my own answer. Here it goes:

Rumi speaks of "quivering like a drop of mercury". The intelligence behind it moves like mercury. Have you ever seen how this looks like?

Cynthia Bourgeault (The Heart of Centering Prayer) says the following:

" If you can still recall mercury from the time before ecological concerns drove it out of widespread household use, you'll remember the curious way it behaves when you remove it from its container and let it organize itself on a flat surface. It can either act like a liquid and spread out in a puddle, or it can hold its own shape as a drop, rolling about like a Weeble. Your attention is much like that. In its liquid form it connects subject and object. In its solid, "Weeble" form, it is a tensile field of vibratory awareness, within which you can be conscious of the whole without having to split the field into the usual subject/object polarity. It is actually a higher energetic state. The Tibetan Buddhists call it rigpa: " pure awareness" .

Can't get anymore metaphysical than this lmao.

So this is actually about attention viewed from objectless awareness. The drop does not necessarily reflect on being, it rather reflects being. It does not need to be paid attention to, as it is the subject of attention (not the object). 

So very simply put, it would be objectless awareness minus attention. This whole thing I would call Love. 

@mandyjw

Awesome answers

[Victor Mgazi]

12 hours ago, Serotoninluv said:

To me, the underlying direct experience prompting the imaginative expression to articulate itself is the key orientation (and is beautiful).

Yes

12 hours ago, Serotoninluv said:

Or we could say that form and formless are in dynamic flux.

I find this more accurate from my experience.

12 hours ago, Serotoninluv said:

It’s more like it appears and the mind then thinks “Oh, my mind was just expanding” or “my mind was just contracting”.

In "objective" awareness that very 'my mind was just doing so and so' is inseparable from the isness. It all, the isness, happens as a unit with consciousness both preceding it and succeeding it. 

12 hours ago, Serotoninluv said:

As if that which is ‘prior’ to the imagery expressed itself as imagery. It’s like divine cognition.

Yes, it's as if the isness knows about consciousness and how it's always there, this attempt to express it in its being. Hence, the term flux in form and formlessness is appreciated. Divine cognition it may very well be.