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The quiet art of attention

(billwear.github.io)
865 points billwear | 1 comments | 13 Oct 24 15:01 UTC | HN request time: 0.192s | source
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desertraven ◴[14 Oct 24 13:12 UTC] No.41837215[source]▶
In regard to watching the mind, one thing I’ve observed is a little strange, and I was hoping to get other’s experiences.

I like to watch the movement of my attention. Nothing abstract, just to observe where attention is aimed - it takes a mere 30 seconds of watching.

What I’ve noticed, is it moves around, seemingly without my input, and lacking any conscious intent (a concept the blog post makes a point to reclaim).

The light of attention shines throughout the physical scene, but it is sensorily multidimensional. It might move to the pain in my back, or the sound of the frogs, or the mug on my desk, a random memory, or more relevant to the article, the latest arising thought.

I am watching this movement of ‘my’ attention, and yet I seem to be playing no part in the neither the objects of attention, or the movement of attention itself.

This isn’t to say I cannot decide right now to move my hand in front of my face and observe it, but this arising of intention is itself mysterious too.

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eightysixfour ◴[14 Oct 24 14:02 UTC] No.41837634[source]▶
Sam Harris makes the point that this, our actual observable experience, is the strongest argument against free will.
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1. andrei_says_ ◴[14 Oct 24 14:51 UTC] No.41838079[source]▶
One of Advaita’s (nonduality) pointers is to observe one’s choices and find this independent/free will we believe we have.

I’ve watched my choices for about a decade now and have not been able to find anything like independent choice.

Everything I observe is dependent on something else (genetics, conditioning, environment, external or internal event), or a manifestation of a preference, currently active desire, emotion, thought or need.

Once I noticed that these are all spontaneous or predetermined I can no longer see the concept of “free will” as anything but an unpacked box containing a bunch of phenomena.

Another pointer of Advaita is that our brains tend to hold a view of a free will universe, or a pre-determined universe - which is a limit of the mind not the universe itself :)