In the process of deconstructing the working mechanism of our attention there’s a crucial question relating it to every aspect of our behavior: what determines the direction of our focus in the stretch of a certain amount of time? We constantly swap the objects of our attention; switch from the outer world to our inner self; change the degree of concentration. What logic does this ceaseless broken line follow? (more…)

If outer attention communicates with the objects outside the windows, inner attention, being its alternative, deals with the images on the opposite wall (chapter V.3.). These images differ in kind. The products of our memory are essentially photographs – they hold literal impressions of our past. The ones reflecting our imagination would be more like sketches of dream images, or comic books. They combine familiar fragments into unfamiliar configurations, and bear the mark of our individuality. (more…)

This post is a direct continuation of chapter V.4.

3. The Reality of the Abstract. Resorting to the past feeds our strength for dealing with the present, and directs us in shaping the future. “History teaches everything, including the future”, wrote Alphonse de Lamartine in the 19th century. This truth applies to individual human beings as well. It becomes possible because the past, through our memory, contains a very valuable asset: our experience. (more…)

This post is a direct continuation of chapter V.3.

2. The Imaginary Reality. Imagine an ant crawling up your neck, or a lemon wedge being shoved into your mouth. Almost instantly you begin feeling the maddening tickle or the tart taste, yet without having any contact with the irritant itself. By introducing to your inner attention a couple of imaginary facts your sense memory tricks your body into experiencing the sensation so that it starts reacting “in real”. (more…)

If exercising outer attention is like walking down a corridor and receiving sensations from what is outside of its windows (chapter V.2.), our inner attention could be compared to turning to the opposite wall and communicating with the photographs, drawings, and paintings hung on it. (more…)