Attention: Our Most Precious Resource

Where do we place our attention during our practice?

Why is it important to consider this?

This is the question that is coming up for me this morning after I finish my morning sadhana and sit in contemplation about what to write & share on today. In this essay, I will dive into this topic.

May it serve as a reminder that sadhana is a highly personal process of experimentation, contemplation, investigation, and the intentional direction of attention. We can learn to format our mind and the energetic pathways beneath the mind that drive our experience of life. This is a general description of the process of self-transformation. Any path that leads to successful transformation of the individual whereby their experience and perception of life becomes somehow different, is a path of inner growth. Out-dated conditioning and dysfunctional patterns -- ways of thinking, feeling and being -- become completely eradicated or their energy is sublimated into a different state. The result is the same -- a new and hopefully "higher" way of operating. The idea is that if we can imagine a life, we can create it. So if we can imagine joy, we can create the inner environment where joy is present. This ultimately is a mastery over and manipulation of the forces within us, and yet are also all around us. Forces beyond the mind and beneath the mind that are mirrored out in the cosmos. Our mind is merely a vehicle and formatting device for these raw energies and it is through our mind which our perceptions are formed. Paying attention to how the mind creates our experience of life is an important step in this process of self-transformation, and it is through our sadhana that we get to "see under the hood", so to speak, at what is happening within. When we learn how important our attention is, we will no longer squander this precious resource on garbage input by consuming into our mind the myriad of choices with low nutritional-mental value. Furthermore, we will begin the process of gradually training our mind to be attentive of the energies we want to cultivate more of in our life. This is sadhana.

Lest we not forget that sadhana is often translated to mean "practice" but a more accurate or precise translation is something like "the way of attainment". Through sadhana -- in the context of this post, Hatha Yoga sadhana -- we learn how to direct our attention in and through the body, becoming aware of the energetic pathways flowing within us. According to the yogis, understanding of these energetic pathways is the key to liberating the mind from its constant grasping for things outside of oneself. Yoga is meant to bring about liberation of the individual from the cycle of karma and bring the soul back into alignment with the Source, and is both a description of the means behind this process and the final result. The state of Yoga, as described by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras, is citta vrtta nirodhah -- "the cessation of the fluctuating activities of the mind." This leads to tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam , where "the Seer rests in its own True Nature." That is to say that if we cease from the constant wonderings of the mind then Consciousness -- the Light that comes through us an animates our world, including our bodies and minds --- rests in its seat. Through this process we become aware of who, or what, we truly are.

As one begins on the path of yoga, this may happen gradually and in stages. We might experience fleeting moments or glimpses of the Light, an yet return back to a busy and distracted mind. We might have monumental, cataclysmic spiritual experiences that leave us feeling totally blasted open and One with All things, only to descend back into the human experience minutes, hours, days, or weeks later. In some instances, historically speaking, we can see examples of humans who have "gone all the way" and remained there, absorbed blissfully into the Oneness of the Supreme and yet still operating (mostly) their bodies on the Earthly plane. I say (mostly) in parentheses because there ARE examples of sages who've gone all the way and, despite still being in a body, their soul is so far removed from the world that they seemingly needed help taking care of their own physical needs. May we not forget that the spiritual journey of rejoining with the cosmos is not for the feint of heart as it can lead to psychosis, instability, and apparent insanity while at the same time promising eternal happiness, joy, and fulfillment. These are real things.

For most of us, I don't think that we will plunge of the deep-end so easily. The conditioning on the mind has its grip so strongly on the world that for many of us, true, lasting and a stabilized enlightenment may be something that exists only in fantasy. Yet the potential is still there. And let's also remember that this process happens on a spectrum anyways, in that we can gradually upgrade our minds and thinking to be more attuned and harmonious with the cosmos in our everyday lives, so that we can yet live out the spiritual ideals of yoga and religion despite remaining quite plainly human. This is not a bad thing. Perhaps we enjoy the experience of duality and the relative world, of human relations and the drama of mundane existence. However it may be wise for us to never forget the Supreme Reality and the inherent Oneness of Creation, as through our remembrance of the fundamental Nature of Life we may be able to learn how to live more satisfying lives. Even if we are hell-bent and determined to reach enlightenement in this lifetime, which may be our karma or it may not, we walk the path regardless and experience the gradual shift in our individual perception. Over time and gradually, the individual perception broadens to perceive the greater and higher truths of life which have nothing and everything to do with the individual. This expansion of our View helps us to step outside the box of the conditioned mind and into the realm of the Infinite. Unless and until we expand our View, we remain trapped by the illusion of our own mind and assume that what we perceive is "real". This is the paradox of the path -- set out to achieve enlightenment and you might go crazy; do nothing and you remain crazy. The choice is yours.

What does all of this have to do with attention?

Well, we just started a new course on Tantrik Hatha Yoga which began earlier this week and I've been thinking a lot about the teachings from this tradition. The Hatha Yogis emphasized mastery over one's life-force, which was cultivated via mastery over one's breath. Pranayama is often mis-translated to mean "breath control" or even more inaccurately "breath work" but the real Sanskrit roots of this word point to it meaning "restraint (or extension) of the life-force". In practical application, when one does their "breath work", the result is an enhancement to the circulation of life-force energies in the body, what we know of us prana. When the prana is circulating internally, the desire for breath from the "outside" ceases, because there is simply no need. We can think of breath as a sort of denser form of prana. Unless the prana remains in the body, when it is restrained or extended, then there will be a hunger for breath to provide the necessary prana for primal life functions. The yogi, through the means of Hatha Yoga, learns to capture this essential life-force through various techniques and manipulates it such that it is retained and controlled.

When we think of attention, we often hear the statement "where attention goes, energy follows." This is a foundational teaching and understanding the implications of this can be incredibly transformational. What we place our attention on grows in our awareness. We essentially "feed" that which we are attentive of, with the Light of Consciousness. Consciousness (or Light) is the fundamental energy behind and beneath all existence. From the Light the Son is born, the "Son" being the world of form. The metaphysical teachings in the Bible are useful to contemplate and they have parallels in the teachings of Tantra. We may find it helpful to consider how our perceptions form and who, or what, gives them fuel to "live". Perceptions, after all, are a formatting of the energy of Light. Undifferentiated Awareness -- that is, Pure Consciousness -- must come into form somehow and some way. Although we may not pause to think about this, the spiritual significance is real. If I can control my attention, then I can control my experience of life, simply by adjusting the flow of Consciousness into form. We become like the co-creator in the process of Creation. This appears simple on paper yet, in practice, requires vigilance, perseverance an determination.

Vasana is a Sanskrit term that is introduced in the Yoga Sutras and offers us some clarity around what we are dealing with. Vasanas are like deep mental and energetic groves that correspond to patterns and habitual modes of operating. They are comprised of samskaras, which literally means "same action" (sama = same, kara = action or activity). Neurobiologically we are looking at the process by which the nervous system wires neurons to format the countless operations of the body-mind. Just as we don't to re-learn how to walk every time we wake up (although it took us many months when we had a completely nubile nervous system), we also don't need to re-learn how to formulate our beliefs. They simply are there, pre-formatted, so that our attention can be free to focus on other things. If we had to re-learn how to walk everyday, our attentional energy would be totally wrapped up in this task and we would barely have any left over for other activities. This formatting of energy can work to our advantage or disadvantage. If we have vasanas installed that are less "optimal" in the sense that our repetitive thoughts or ways of thinking are inhibiting our experience of a joyful, free life, then a process of spiritual purification will begin by unraveling these outdated software programs to free up this stored energy for usefulness elsewhere. This is where attention comes into play.

When we begin to place our attention, consciously, on that which we desire, the energy flowing through us starts to amass around that object of focus. Yogic and Tantrik meditation often has the practitioner focusing their attention on objects of divine origin; the focus is centered on ideas, ideals, or 'things' which have a higher vibration than the objects of the "lower mind". Objects of the "lower mind" correspond to things which have no eternal value -- notably, objects of sense gratification. When we begin to look into the "higher mind", we see that there are ideals worthy of attention but are far subtler in their form. Meditating on joy can be more difficult when my environment is giving me evidence of a world of sorrow, or my body is in pain. The denser and worldly 'things' are often quicker to capture attention and draw us down into the mundane plane. These 'things' are like demonic forces which separate us from our essential Nature and trap us in the drama of the world. The teachings of Yoga constantly remind us that the world we see "out there" is merely an illusory play of the mind-stuff (citta vrtti) and that the One Reality and Supreme Being is obscured by our ignorance. The mental demons which humanity is clearly plagued with cause us to descend into the violent game of survival and selfishness, which is ultimately a function of the ego that has lost its contact with the Source. This may simply all be a product of mis-directed attention. The idea is that, if we knew we could place our attention on what we truly want, then why would we ever be so focused on, and wrapped up in, the hellish dimensions of human existence?

The yogi is one determined to free themselves from the mire of human suffering by taking control over the mind and reigning in its ever-distractive tendencies. This means confronting our own shadows and the inherent evils within us -- the impurities and demonic energies that lie underneath the surface within all of us, inherited character traits of our genes and karmas. All the destructive forces I see "out there" or in the "other" are, from a metaphysical standpoint, present inside of me to some degree or another. This means looking at the world as a place to set myself free and not a problem to solve, or a war to fight. The real battlefront is inside. Noticing where my attention goes when I allow it is a good first step in the direction of this freedom I am seeking.

In a future essay I will explore how attention manifests practically in the stages of development in Hatha Yoga. For now, this is enough.

Om Namah Sivaya

-GI