As I mentioned in my previous post (http://nitasbookclub.blogspot.com/), the restructuring of the brain is critical in the renewal of the mind. I am following up with a few posts to give some simple and practical exercises that help integrate and focus the brain in different ways. These exercises are taken from Curt Thompson's book, The Anatomy of the Soul, which I quoted from last week.
This suggested practice in this post is an "attention exercise" designed to train the brain to concentrate and focus:
"While sitting comfortably in a chair, take a deep breath and then allow the focus of your attention to find the center of the room (not the center of the floor or ceiling, but the center of the entire room's volume). Maintain this for about 30 seconds. Then, without interruption, allow the focus of your attention to shift to an area on the wall opposite where you are sitting; allow your attention to remain there for approximately 30 seconds. Next, again without interruption, allow the focus of your attention to return to the center of the room, holding it for 30 seconds. Then, without using your hands as a visual guide, allow the focus of your attention to shift to the space in front of you, the distance from you at which you would hold a book to read it, holding this space in your attentional frame for 30 seconds. Finally, allow the focus of your attention to return to the center of the room, holding it for 30 seconds."
Thompson encourages this to be practiced daily as often as one can do it. More frequent, shorter sessions during the week will do more for the prefrontal cortex interconnectedness than longer, less frequent sessions in a week.
"This demonstrates to my patients that they actually can control their attention, while illustrating how difficult it can be to create something and then focus on that same something in your mind. The 'center' of the room is an example of this and can be challenging at first. This exercise is a good beginning meditation practice..."
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