Divided Attention

Divided Attention

What characterizes divided attention is the fact that a part of the energy of consciousness is directed toward ourselves, to maintain the sense of “I am.” I'm reading a book. I’m aware of the pages in front of me, and simultaneously of the fact that I am here. In other words, I remember myself. I remember that I am included in the scene.

The possibility of remembering oneself is, as we will see, much more revolutionary than it seems the first time one hears about it. Selfremembering, the third state, is a rare and precious spiritual condition. Without it there is no contact with reality. Every spiritual teaching, in its own way, describes how to achieve this state. Over the centuries, various teachers have devised methods to recreate this state, designed for the particular difficulties their students faced. Each era, each nation, each group, each individual has its specific difficulties, its most recurrent forms of sleep.

Let’s imagine that we have a son who is pathologically shy, and we want to help him gain more self-confidence. What is the right method? There isn’t just one. We can come up with multiple solutions: take him on a holiday in the woods, enroll him in a singing course, talk to him, have him visit a therapist, help him strengthen his body with sports, give him a dog, leave him alone for a while. All are possible methods. We have to see who he is, why he is shy, how he can receive our help, what we are capable of, and so on.

The fact that for another child a certain swimming course has worked wonders does not necessarily mean that it will be the same for him. Likewise, the fact that Gurdjieff suggested exercises based on attention to the body, such as concentrating on the left foot and right hand at the same time, does not mean that that is the only method, or the best, or the one that will suit me specifically.

Remembering oneself is definitely more satisfying than being asleep, overwhelmed by the multitude of ‘I’s. But, if that is so, why don't we choose to be present all the time? Because it requires a certain kind of effort.

Just as we are, without a conscious strategy and specific actions, in other words, without the help of a school, we naturally tend to be asleep. Sleep is our usual condition.

Sergio Antonio, "A Question of Presence"