ATTENTION

‘
The very first moment you have an opportunity to lose your attention – you will!’
G.I. Gurdjieff

Levels, Degrees and Qualities

At t
enti
onhassometi
mesbeencall
eda“li
vi
ngsubs
tance,
”withma nydi
ff
erentlevelsand
gra
da ti
ons.“At
tenti
oncanbemeasuredl
i
keawine,l
ikesi
lk.I
tma ybeverycoarse,oritmay
bev eryf
ineandsuppl
e.
”At t
ent
ionhasal
sobeencomparedtoli
ght.Jus
tli
keli
g ht,
itcanbe
absent(dar
kness
)orverydi
m.Itmaybenarrowl
yfocus
ed,dif
fusedandscat
teredorv ery
bri
ght.

Attentionisadi scr
imina t
ingpowerwhi chdeter mi
neswhi chelement sont hes creenofc ons-
ci
ous nessbe comef ocus
edupona tanypa rt
icul
art i
me.F orinstance,i
ns i
tuationsofda ngeror
phy s
ica l
sur vi
val at
tenti
oni sautoma ti
cal
lydirectedbyt heinsti
ncti
v e/
mov i
ngc enter.“When
wes pea kof‘ at
t enti
on’inor di
narylif
ec i
rcums t
anc es
,itisadistantderivat
iveoft hea wes ome
attention resi
dingwi t
hinouri nsti
ncti
vec enter.Amoment ’sthoug htaboutthei ncrediblycom-
plexa bil
ityandpoweroft heinsti
ncti
vec entertomoni torallofourv i
talf
unct i
onsa ndt ok eep
adjustingf r
ommomentt omoment( topreservet heoptimalphy si
ologic
alstate)shouldg iveus
abenc hma rkaga i
nstwhicht omea s
urethequa l
i
t i
esanda tt
ributesofthea t
tent i
onwea reabl
e
tobr i
ngt oourt houg hts
, f
eel i
ngsanda ct
ions.”

Somes
piri
tualteachingsdist
inguis
hfiv
elevel
sordegr
eesofa
ttent
ionpos
sibl
eforahuma
n
bei
ng:
• Noa tt
ent i
on,ina t
tenti
on
• Dispersed,dis
tractedorundi r
ect
eda t
tent
ion
• Captiv
eori dent i
fi
eda tt
ention
• Direct
ed, concentratedorone-poi
ntedatt
enti
on
• Open, freeorc onsci
ousa t
tenti
on

Scienti
fi
cst
udi
eshaveshownthatmostpeopl
ec anonlyf
ocustheira
ttenti
onononesi
ngle
thi
ngf orl
esst
hatt
womi nutes
.“Theordi
narypersonhasnoatt
ention–af l
oati
ngat
tent
ion–
onemomenther e,nex
tmomentt her
e.Theirat
tenti
onisal
waysdivert
edf r
omonepointto
another.”

Ourdegreeofa tt
entionc hangeswhenourint
erestschange.“Wheremya t
tenti
ong oes
,I
go.I
ng enera
l,mya ttentionisnotroot
edinanythi
ng; i
tcanbeheldbys omethingoutsi
deme.
Ihav
etof i
ndther ootofmya ttent
ioni
nmy s
elfi
nordert oobserv
emy selff
romi nsi
de.”For
mostpeople,a
ttentiona nditsvari
ousqua
li
ti
es,l
evelsandpos s
ibi
li
ti
esi
sa nunex aminedphen-
omenon:

1
 Wha tdowek nowofoura t
tention?F romwher edoesi tcome?Wha tisit
sor igi
n?
Wea reobviousl
yuna blet oans wert hes eques ti
ons.Y etwef eel t
hatt hisveryex tr
a-
ordinaryphenomenon, thisfor ce,thi
sener gy,i
spartofCr eat
ion.E veryhuma nbeing,
atbirth,rec
eivesac ertainqua nt i
tyoft hisvital
forcea nd, i
nthec ourseofhi sorher
existence,i
twillbethei ntegra t
orofa l
l t
hingswi t
hina ndev erythi
ngma nif
es ted. .
.
Atnomomentc a nwel i
v ewi thouta ttention.E v
eryda ywedoal ls
ortsoft hings.
Yes,butwi t
hwha tattention?Wi thwhatov erl
ayofdr ea ms?Ourmani f
estations
revea lt
hecontac tweha v ewi thoura ttent i
on.Qui teof tenwef ai
ltonot ic
et ha twe
ha v
enone, thatwea r
ei na t
tent i
ve, t
ha tweha veactedi nv a
riouswa yswi t
houtbei ng
presentt oal
lthes emoment sofourl i
v es.Mos tofthet imeoura tt
ent i
onisc arried
alongbyout erev ents
.At ri
flec apturesit; i
tisnotfree. (1)

Norma ll
yourattenti
oni snotfreeorvol
unt ary.“I
tisoflowqua l
ity,withoutpower ,
and
fl
owspa s
s i
vel
ytowa rdstheouts i
de.Butthisa t
tenti
onha sthepossibi
li
tyofbeingtransformed,
ofachi
evingapurerqual it
y.”Direct
edandc onsci
ousattenti
onrevea l
saspectsofouterorinner
real
i
tythata r
eusua l
lyignored(andhencei nvi
sibl
e)byournor mal,undirect
eds ur
faceatten-
ti
on.“Int
ent i
onal
lydirectedattenti
onimpliesthepresenceofac hoiceforanindivi
dual;as i
t-
uati
onwher ealt
ernativesarerecogniz
eda ndadec is
ionisma deast owher etheattenti
onisto
beplac
ed. ”

Whenattention i sdirected( orbrought)t othedev elopingimpr es sion, pr

operties
thatar ei ntri
nsict otheper ceptionbeg int obenot ic
ed.F orex ampl e,whent here
i
sl i
ttl
eornoa t tenti
onpr esenta tthepoi ntofi ncomi ngimpr essions ,thetreetha t
youma ybeg l
a nc i
nga tasy oul eavet hehous e, i
sjusta nindisti
nc tobj ect.When
attention ispres ent, t
hec olorsoft hebar ka ndl i
mbsma ybenot iced, aswellas
thev ariedl i
mbs tr
uc t
ure, theba sicleaff ormst hatcha racteri
zet hes peci
esoft ree,
thes hadesofg reent hatar epr esent .Gent lemov ement soft hel ea vesands ma l
l
l
imbsi nduc edbyal ightbr eez ema ybenot i
ceda ndt hec ont r
a stbet weent he
greenl ea vesa ndt hel ig
htbl ueoft hesk ybey ondma ys tandout .Int hisactof
paying attention and noticing, t
heper c
ept ua lexperiencei ts
elfha sbeg untobe
explored.Al loft hepr oper tiesaret here, withintheper ception, butha dbeenun-
noticedunt il
a ttentionent eredandapr ocessof‘ taki
nga par t
’ or‘s eeinginto’t
he
i
mpr es sionwa si ni
ti
a ted.(2)

T hefac
ttha tmos tpeoplehav everyl
itt
lec ont
rol
ov ert
heirat
tent
ionbecomesa pparent
whent heyattemptt oobs er
v ethemselvesasamea nsofself
-st
udyands el
f-
knowledge.“ Aft
er
onlyamomentofs elf-
obser
v at
ion,yourattenti
ongetscaughtupint
houg ht
sa ndfeel
ings
aboutwha tyouha v eobserved,ands oi
tg etstak
enawa yfr
omy ourobserva
tion.
”Ouri na bi
l
ity
tocontroloura t
tentionisusual
lyunrecognized:

Attenti
onisthewea ponforinnerwork,t
hetool
forinnerwork.Iti
sabsol
utel
y
i
ndi s
pensable.Anda tt
hes ametime,wehavequit
edi s
tor
tedideasofourpower
overa t
tent
ion.Thisist
oal argeext
entbeca
usewek nowf r
omourex peri
ence
thattherearema nyoccasi
onsinourli
veswhenweha vetheimpressi
onthatwe

2
 arepayi
nga ttenti
ontothes amet hingforal ongt i
me, andwec al
lthisconcentra-
ti
onofattention;buti
fyoubeg i
nt owa t
c hthepr ocesscloselyandyoua rehones t
withy
ourself,youwills
eet hatthisisnotc oncentrati
onofa t
tenti
ona tall
.Itis
att
ent
ionbei ngdrawninac ert
ainwa y.Ma ybetherei saniniti
alef
for tt
opla c
e
theat
tention,butverysooni tgetsdrawna ndheld.T hereisnoc ontroloveratten-
ti
on.Youma yalsoseethatwea resomet imesta ughttot urnourattenti
ont owa r
ds
somethi
ng ,butunfort
unatelywear enevert aughttot akeoura t
tentionawa yfrom
somethi
ng ,andthisi
sjustasmuc hapar tofthec ontrolofa tt
enti
ona sdirecti
ng
att
ent
ioninades i
reddir
ection.(3)

Cons ciousattent
ionisauni quelyhuma ncapa ci
tyandt hequal i
tyofoura ttenti
onisthek ey
toinnerg rowthanddev el
opment .ProfessorofphilosophyJ acobNeedl ema nspeaksofhisown
experienceofc onsc
ious l
ywor kingwi t
ha t
tention:“Lookinga tsomet hinginmy sel
fwithouttry-
i
ngt oc hangeitorjudg eitwa sits
elfaforce,anener gytha tha dana cti
onuponwha twa sseen.
Andi ndeed, s
omet i
mesi tha dat ransf
orminga cti
onuponmyent irestat
eofbei ng
.S uchwa s
thepowerofpur eat
tent i
on.I bega ntounders t
andt hata tt
ent i
ona ndself
-observat
ionwa s
i
tselfanins t
rumentofc hang e,butc hangeofak indonec ouldnev erha v
eima gi
nedor
expec t
ed.Cha ng ei
nt hedirectionofhuma nsensiti
vit
y ,
pr esence,being.”

Ihada lreadyseensomething oft heimpor tanceofa tt

entionduringmya tt
empt s
atthepr a c
tic
eofs el
f-
obs erv a
tion.I couldunder st
andt hroughex peri
encet hat
ourli
v esa rewhattheya rei nlargepa rtbecaus eoft hewea knessofa ndpa ssi
vi
ty
ofoura t
tenti
on.Wea retaken, ourattentionist aken,swa l
lowedbyours treams
ofautoma ti
cthought;wec onstantlydisappea rintoouremot i
ona lr
ea c
ti
ons ;we
aretak enbyourf ear
sa ndde sir
es ,
ourpl easuresa ndpai ns,byourda ydreamsa nd
i
ma gina ryworri
es.And, bei ngtaken, wenol ong erexis
ta sI,myself,
here.Wedo
notli
v eourl i
ves;weare lived andwema yev ent ual
lydiewi t
houtev erha v
ing
awa k
enedt owha twer ea l
lya r
e–wi t
houtha vinglived.(4)

Developing Attention and Awareness

I
nt a
lkswit
hhisst
udent
s,Gur
dji
effst
res
sedt
hatwi
thoutthedevel
opmentofthepowerof
at
tenti
onreali
nnerworka
ndtrans
formati
onwasi
mpossi
ble.Inthewor
dsofhispupi
lOlg
ade
Hart
ma nn:

Mr. Gur
dji
efftol
dusv eryseri
ousl
ythata tt
entionisabsol utel
yindi
s pensablefor
anywor kwewi s
hedtodowi t
hhim.I fwedi dnotunder standthat,nothingcould
bri
ngust otheaimforwhi chweca metohi m.Al lofust herealreadyfeltthatwe
weremor ethanjus
tabody .Wek newt hat‘somet hi
ngel se’wasinus ,andwe
wishedtoknow:wha tis t
hat?Wha thavewet odowi t
ht ha t
?Howc anwec all
toit?Howc anwebr i
ngi tout?Howc anwer elyoni tandnotdependonl yont he
body ?Allt
hiswasreall
yabur ni
ngquestionforus ,andMr .Gurdji
effma deitc l
ear

3
 t
hatifwedi
dn’tst
udyat
tenti
on–notst
udyi
ntheor
dinar
yway,butputt
inga
llour
a
ttenti
onondevel
opi
ngthatatt
ent
ion–wewoul
darr
ivenowher
e.(5)

Sel
f-
devel
opmentr equi
resaf
reeandconsci
ousat
tenti
ontha ti
sn’
tcapturedorf
rag
me nted.
“Ourhabi
tualat
tent
ionismuchtoofl
eet
ing;i
thasnosta
bili
ty,noconti
nui
t y
.Inthi
sworl
d
whereweleadourli
v es
,weneedamuc hmor est
abl
eattent
ion.Thisatt
entioni
sli
keali
ttl
e
f
lamethattr
iestoholdit
sownintheworld.
”

Norma l
l
yweha vever
yli
ttl
econt
rol
overourattent
ion,
butiti
sposs
ibl
etoenha
ncethe
qual
it
yofa t
tent
ionandtodevel
opi
ttoahigherandfi
nerlev
elwherei
tbecomesvol
unt
aryor
cons
ciousatt
ent
ion:

Ineedt ol earntha ta t
tent i
onc anma ni
festi nac ompl etel
yuns tabl e, vagrantma n-
ner.F orex ampl e,inmyi ntel l
ectualfunc t
ioningt hev agrantattent ionl etsitselfbe
swepta l
ongbyev ery thi
ngt ha ta
t t
ractsit:wor ds, ima ges,memor iesa ndev er y
eventinmyda yc ans weepi tup, eac hinitsownwa y .I goouti ntot hes treet; t
he
shopwi ndows ,thepeopl e, c onstantlytaket hisa ttent ion.Ithasnomor es tabil
it
y
thanabut ter
fly.Goout ,tak eawa l
kwi tht heint ent ionoft hinkinga bouty ourown
aff
airs.Adogbar ksa tyoua ndt akesa llyoura ttent ion. ..andwha tta kespl acein
theintell
ec talsota kespla cei ntheemot ional andmov ingfunctions .S omet imes
whenapr obl
emofg reatdi fficul
tycomesup, mya ttent i
onc anbec onc entra t
ed,
condens ed;itsqual i
tyc ha ng es,i
ta cquiresmor efor ce, i
tissust
a inedbya nel eme nt
ofdes i
reori nterest.Nol ong ervagrant, i
tisca ptur ed; anes peciallys trongmot i
ve
hasta kenov er.T her eis,howev er,av erydi ff
erentk indofa tt
ent ion, a nattent i
on
thatismor econs ci
ous ,mor ev ol
unta ry.S omet imes ,onr a r
eoc ca sions ,Idiscover
theta s
teofi t.Ifthisoc cur sinmyt hought ,I s
eet ha tmyt hinki
ngbec omesc l
ea r
.
Andi fthisoccursinmyf eeling ,Iknowt hef eelingofbei ngc ompl et elyf r
eef rommy
habitualemot i
ons.Asf ormybody ,Icana l
soex per ienc einanewwa ywha tishap-
peninga titslevel.(6)

Consci
ousattenti
onisanagentoftr
ansf
or mati
onandc a
nbedev el
opeda ndr ef
ined.“ We
dohavesomepowerofa t
tenti
on,atl
eastont hesur
fac
e,somec apac
it
yt opointthea tt
enti
on
i
nades i
reddir
ec t
ionandholditt
here.Alt
houg hi
tisfr
agil
e,t
hisseedofattenti
onisc onsci
ous-
nessemergi
ngfroms l
eepwithi
nus .
”T r
ansformati
onrequi
resatotalat
tenti
ont hataris
esfrom
al
lpart
sofourselves–body,mindandfeel
ings.

Forreali
nnerdevel
opmentt oocc
ur,thequal
i
tyofourattenti
onmus tbehonestl
yobserved,
thens tr
engthenedandrefi
ned.“Bemor eandmoreawareofy ourla
ckofa t
tent
ion.Inthe
bes tofcas
es,weloseitandfi
nditagai
n,butweresi
gnourselvest
ooeas i
l
ytohav i
ngsolit
tl
e
attenti
on.Wemus tconsta
ntlyas
kourselv
eswhereourat
tentionisgoi
ng,whereisthi
sforce,
towa rdwhatisitat
tra
cted.”

4
 I
nea c
hofust herei sthisextra
ordi
naryinstrument,thea t
tenti
on.F orav er
ylong
t
ime,Icannotsa ytha tIgovernmya t
tention.I hav
et oseetha tateverymoment
i
tista
kenbyonet hingora not
her.Ineedt oex er
ci
s ethepos s
ibi
lit
yofk eepingit
moreonmy self,i
nmy s
elf,whi
leconti
nuingt heouterworkt hatisexpectedofme.
Sel
f-
perf
ecti
ngi sli
nk edt otheperf
ecti
ngofoura tt
ention.Ourc apacit
yf orinner
att
enti
onprovidesamea sureofourbei
ng .(7)

Bygat her
inga ndc ol
lecti
ngone’ satt
entionitispossi
bl
et oret urntoac alm,obs
ervingcentr
e
ofa warenessr at
hert hanidentif
yingwi t
hev erypassi
ngthoug ht, emotion,sens
ati
onora ct
ion.
Instea
dofbei nga tthemer cyofex ter
nalorinternali
mpa ct
sa nda ss
ociati
ons,t
herewill
bea
mi ndf
ul presencet hatholdsthereinsofa t
tention.“Theini
tialeffortistofreemya t
tenti
on
fromident if
icati
on.I needt ofi
ndt heeffortthatwil
lall
owt hef or mati
onofac ent
ralcore,a
mor establec enterofg r
av i
tyofmya t
tenti
on.”

Whenthelevelofat
tent
ionisstr
engthened,itbecomespos s
ibl
etog ai
nadeg r
eeofc
ont
rol
overt
herel
entl
esspullt
owa r
dsinatt
enti
ona ndf or
getf
ulness–theretur
nt osl
eep.“Ac
ent
ral
at
tent
ionmaybedr awnindif
ferentdi
recti
ons,butital
wa ysret
urnstothecenter
.”

Iti
sonl ybywor k
ingt obepr esenttha tmya t
tentionwi lldevelop.Wheni thasa
betterqua l
ity,Is
tr uggl
et ok eepitfromwea kening,It r
yt oprev entit
sbeingta k
en.
Itr
ybutc annot,andI t
rya gain.Ibeg intounder standwha tthisrequir
esfromme
eveni fIc
a nnotdoi t
.Int hes truggl
ewher eIcomeba ckandt heng oagai
nt owa r
ds
ma nif
estation,Iseet hatwhenmya t t
ent i
oniscompl etelytaken, iti
senti
relylost
tome.Buti fi
tdoesnotg ot oof ar
,itc anbepul l
edba ck, asbyama gnet.Intha t
mov ementofmya tt
ention, Il
earns omet hi
ngofi tsna t
ure.I wi l
lhavetog oto-
war dsma nifest
ation,andI wil
lalway slosemy sel
funl essmya ttenti
ongoesbot h
towa rdsl
ifea ndtowa r
dst heins i
de.(8)

Dir
ecteda tt
entionisli
keaf i
net ool orinstr
umentwhi chc anbeus edforei therther ightor
wrongr eason.T hereisasay i
ng:‘From the same food the hornet produces poison and the bee
produces honey.’Henriett
eL annes ,
as tudentofGur djief
f, s
tressedt heimpor ta nceoft histool
forinnerde vel
opment :“Icannotdoa nythingexcepttr ai
nmya ttent i
on,andi fI thi
nkt hatt hi
sis
notenoug h,I a
maf ool.Toper f
ec tone’sa tt
enti
oni stoper fectones elf
.”

I
nma nys pi
rit
ua l
tradi
tionsspecifi
cmet hodsa reempl oyedtoanc hortheattent
ion.Someof
t
hes emet hods,suchasrepet i
ti
on,v i
sua l
i
zati
onandc ount i
ngexerc
isesaremor eappropri
atein
mona s
ti
cs etti
ngs,whilepa yi
nga t
tentiontot hesensa t
ionsofthebodyma ybemor eeffec
tive
i
nt hec i
rcums tancesofev ery
da yl
ife.Gur dj
ieff:“Att
entionisgai
nedonl ythroughconsci
ous
l
a borandi ntenti
ona ls
ufferi
ng ,
throughdoi ngs ma l
lthi
ng svol
untar
ily.
”Thr oughouthis
tor
y ,t
he
r
ol eofa tt
ent i
ona ndit
sdev elopmenta ndrefinementha sbeena nintegr
a l
pa r
toftheworld’s
spiri
tualteachings:

Thepathtoachangeint
hesta
teofconsc
ious
ness,t
oas t
atei
nwhic
hcons
cious
-
nesst
rulyex
ist
s,i
s,ac
cor
dingt
oallr
eli
gi
ousteac
hings,
throug
hsus
tai
neda
tten-

5
 tion.I ndifferentteachi
ngs,theideaofs ustai
neda t
tenti
ont akesdi fferentf orms
(pra yer,concent r
ati
on,medita t
ion)
,butt hebasicdis
cipl
i
nei spr oba blyt hes ame.
Anhones tattempttoma i
ntai
nc onstantattent
ionona nyonet hi ngqui cklys hows
howdi f
fi
cultitisandhowf arf r
omourus ualsi
tuati
on.InChr i
stianity, itisde-
scribeda sc onstantprayer,
butnots implya nautoma t
icrepeti
tionofphr a ses.In
Gur djieff
’stea c
hing,sel
f-r
emember ingpla ysacentra
lrol
e–t hea ttemptt obe
awa reofones elfatthesamet i
measonei sawa r
eofoutsideimpr essions .T he
mos ta c
cessibleapproachtot hi
sisthroughma intai
nedawa renes soft hes ens a-
tionofone’ sbody .(
9)

T
hestat
eofafi
ner,deepera
ttent
ionc
anbedev
elopedwi
ths
tea
dypr
act
ic
eandc
ert
ain
s
peci
fi
cspi
ri
tua
lexer
cises
:

Wemus ta c
ceptt hatthestateofdi spersi
oni snor ma lsol onga sweha veal i
mi ted
capacit
yt oconcentrate.Weha vet orepea ta ndr epea tc omingt oac ollecteds tate.
Onlyrepet i
ti
onwi ll
leadtos hor teningt hetimer equiredf orpr epar a
tionandi nc rease
thetimea vail
abl
ef orpractice.T her ewa sanex ercisetha twa ss pecif
icall
yc r
ea te d
f
orc omi ngt oac oll
ecteds t
ate.I beg i
nbyr epr esentingwi t
hal lmya t
tentiontha tI
ams urroundedbya na t
mos pher eex tendingay a r
d,mor eorl es s
.T hisatmos phe r
e
i
sdisplac eda c
cor di
ngt othemov ement soft het hinking.I conc ent r
ateallmya tten-
ti
ont opr eventthea tmos pher efromes capingbey ondi tsli
mi ts.T henI drawi tin
consci
ous l
y,asthoug hsuckingi tin.If eel
,thr oug houtt hebody ,theec hoof“ I,”a nd
sil
entl
ys a y“am.”I experienc ethet ota ls
ens ationofbei ng.(10)

Oneoft hepr i
nc i
palmet hodsoff ocusinganddev elopinga t
tent ioni stoc onsci
ous l
ypl a
c e
awa r
enes sons pec i
fi
cpartsofourbodya ndthebr ea thi
ngpr oces s.Gener a l
ly
,wea r euna ware
ofourbr eathi
nga ndpa yl
ittl
ea ttenti
ont oourphy sica l
bodyunl esswea reexperienc ingpa i
n,
dis
comf ort,physicalexert
ionorc ert
a i
nemot i
ona lsta t
es.Howev er, thislat
terlevel ofawa re-
nessisapassive resultofphy siologicalproces
s esandnotac onsc i
ousef forttodir
ec tthea tt
en-
ti
ona ndr emainpresent.T hepr a cti
cesoffoll
owi ngt hebr eatha nds ens i
ngthephy sicalbody
openupawor l
dofnewpos s
ibilit
ies:“Theg ra
dual inc r
ea si
nga wa renes sofone’sbeing t hatre-
sul
tsfromt hec ont i
nualeffortt odi r
ectthea t
t enti
ont of oll
owing( sens i
ng)thebrea thand
sensi
ngt hebody ’smov ement sa nds tat
esthata ccompa nythisef fortl eadstosucc es si
vedis-
coveri
est hatconc ernthemi rac ulouslif
epr ocessestha ta r
eper pet uallytak i
ngplac e.”

Thedev
elopmentandcont
rolofat
tent
ioni
sapr
ecur
sort
osel
f-
remember
inga
ndt
hea
tta
in-
mentofhi
gherst
atesofc
onsci
ousnes
s:

Gur dj
i
effbroughtatea c
hingoftheFour thWa ythatca
llsf
orconsciousworkrather
thanobedience.Af undamental i
deaisthatinourordinar
ystateev er
ythi
ngtakes
placeinsl
eep.Andi ns l
eepwec anseenothing.Wec annotdir
ectourl i
vesbyour
ownwi ll
.Wea reentir
elydependentoni nfl
uencesfr
omout si
dea ndens l
avedby
theautoma ti
creacti
onsofourf unct
ioning.Iti
sac omplet
eslaver
y .Thereisno
higherpri
ncipl
e,noc onsci
ouspr i
nci
ple.Ma nha st
hepos s
ibi
l
itytoa wakenfrom

6
 thissleep,toa wa k
ent othehigher,to be.T hemea nsisthea tt
ention.Ins l
eept he
attentionistaken.I tmustbef r
eeda ndt ur
nedi nanotherdirecti
on.T hisisthe
separa ti
onof“ I”and“ me.”Itisthea cti
v ef
or c
eoppos edtot hepa ssi
ve,thes t
rug-
glebet weent heyes andtheno.Themobi l
i
z at
ionofthea t
tentionisthef i
rststep
towa rdthepos si
bi
li
tyofs el
f-
remember ing.Wi thoutadiff
erenta t
tention,wea re
obligedt obea utoma ti
c.Wi t
ha nattentiont hatisvol
untari
lydirected,weg oto-
wa rdc onsci
ous ness
. (
11)

Conscious Attention and Inner Growth

Thepowerofattenti
onisali
ber
atingf orc
e.“ I
nnergrowthrequiresthemobili
zat
ionofour
attenti
on.Whent hea tt
enti
onbeg
inst oa waken,werea l
i
zethatitcanbec omemores t
abl
e,
l
es sli
keacor
kforev erbobbi
ngbac
kt ot hewa ter
’ssur
face.
”Itispos s
ibletomovefromas t
ate
ofdistr
act
edattenti
ont oamorestable,unifi
edattent
ionwhichintegratesbody
,mindand
feeli
ngs:

Ma i
nt ena nceofac ons ciousa tt
ent ioni snotea s y.T hemov ement ,theobl igat i
ons
ofda y-to-dayex i
stence, compl etel ydi stract
.Wi thnoba seofoper ation,nohome
i
none’ sor gani
sm, thea ttent i
ons erv esrandomt houg hts,feelings,a ndappet ites
whichc onfli
ctandt yr
a nni z
eea chot her.S ensat i
onofpar t
sort hewhol eoft he
bodyc a na nchorthea ttent ion, pr ov i
dei twi t
hak i
ndofha bi t
at .Thes tr
uctur e, be-
comi ngmor esensiti
ve, helpst ouni fya tt
ent i
on, soi tislessliabletov eerintomen-
talcha nnelsthatcons umei tspower .Int urn,per cept i
onsa nds ensa ti
onsa requi ck-
ened, insightsaremul tipli
ed.Openi ngt othef or ceofa ttent i
onev ok esas ens eof
whol enes sandequi li
brium.Onec ang limpseapos sibil
ityofas ta
teofa wa renes s
i
mmea surablysuper i
ort ot ha toft her eactivemec ha nism, ana warenes stha tt rans-
cendsone’ sautoma ti
cs ubj ect/obj ectmodeofr espons e.F reelyflowi ng,thec on-
centrat i
ve,transf
or mingef fe ctofc ons ciousa tt
ent ionbr ingst hedi spa ra
tetempos
ofthec enterstoar el
a tivel
ybal a nc edr elati
ons hip.Thoug ht ,feel
inga ndsens ation
areequi l
i
br a
tedundert hisv ibra nt ,ha rmonizingi nfluenc e.(12)

Consciousa t
tenti
onopposest
hepul loftheautomati
ccondit
ionedfunct
ioni
ngofthemi nd.
“Allmythoug hts
,emoti
onsanda c
tionsc anbeheldundermya t
tenti
onwi t
houtexc
ludingor
condemni nganythi
ng.Forthi
sIneedac erta
ini
nnerspac
ea nda nat
tenti
onthati
sfree.Itis
onlyinas ta
teoffreeat
tenti
onthattrues eei
ngcanappear
.”

Ineedt odevel
opav ol
untaryattenti
on–t hatis,
ac ons c
iousatt enti
on–whi chis
st
rong ert
hanmya utoma ti
sm.I mustf eelthelackofr el
a t
ionbet weenmymi nd
andmybody ,andseet hatthi
srelati
onr equiresavol untaryattentionma i
ntai
ne d
onbot hpart
s. ..Onlyac onsci
ousa t
tent i
on,whichi stheopeni ngt oahigherforce,
hasthepowert opr evai
loverthea utoma ti
sm.Butf orthisthea ttenti
onmus tal-
waysbeoc cupiedvoluntari
ly.Ac onsciousforcecannotbea utoma ti
c.Theatten-
ti
onc anbestrongerordimi ni
sh,butt hemomentwheni tceasest obev ol
untary,

7
 i
tistaken.Themomentiti
snolongervolunta
r i
l
yturnedt
owar
dthisr
elat
ion,t
he
energ
iessepar
ate.I
becomefragmenteda ndtheautomat
ismt
akesover
.T he
openi
ngt oahig
herfor
cemustbecomec onstant.(
13)

Voluntaryat
tenti
ondoesnota ppearautoma t
ica
ll
ybutonlythroughthef
ocusi
ngwhi c
h
providet heneces
saryener
g ytos usta
intheattenti
on.“ Acol
lec
tedstat
eisast
ateofcoll
ect
ed
attentioninwhichtheatt
entionisa swholeaspos s
ible.Thi
sstat
edoesnotcomea boutbymy
thoug htresol
vi
ngtobec ol
lectedinor dert
oobt ai
ns omethi
ngbetter
.Itcomesbyseeing–
throug hthevis
ionofmydisper s
ion,ofthelackofattenti
on.”

Thi
st ypeofa t
tentiondoesnotc omebec aus eitisma dec aptive,notbyf orc ing–
Icannotma keitappea r, j
ustasI c
a nnotf or celov etoappea r.At tentionc omes
wheni tisneeded, wheni tiscal
ledbyaf eelingofnec essity.IfI r
ea l
l
ys eet ha tI
donotunder stand, t
ha tIha v
elostt hedi rec t
iona ndt hemea ningofmyl ife, then
atthatv er
ymomentmya tt
enti
oni sc all
edt obeher e.Wi t
houti t,Iwi l
lnev erbe
abl
et obewha tI a
m.I donotha v
et henec essaryener gy .ButwhenI f
eel thi s
absolutenec essit
y, t
hea t
tenti
ona ppea rs
.S oIha vet oc omet othef eeli
ngofl ack,
ofnotunder st
a nding,notk nowing. . .Icanda ydrea ma sI wa lkalongar oa d.But
whenI havet owa lkoni ce,onas l
ipper yf rozenpa th,Ica nnotdr eam.I needa ll
mya ttenti
onnott of al
l down.Itist hes amei nsidemy self.IfIha venor ea l interes
t
i
nmy self–ifIk eepthink i
ngI ca
na ns werev erything ,andpr et endtha tIa ma bl
e–
Iwill
c onti
nuedr eaminga ndtheattent ionwi l
lnev erappea r
. (14)

Afr
eeandopena ttent
ionisnotfixedorboundbyjudgement,eval
uati
onorc omparis
on.In
t
hewor dsofJeannedeS al
zma nn:“Couldmymi ndperc
eivewit
houtrecognizi
ngandna ming,
t
hati
s,withoutseparati
ngtobes omeonewhol ooks,j
udgesandk nows?F orthi
s,Iwouldneed
a
na t
tenti
onI donotk now,ana tt
entionneversepa
rat
edfromwha ti
tobserves,
all
owinga
t
otal
experiencewithoutexcl
udinga nyt
hing
.”

I
tisonlywhenI excl
udenot hingtha tIamf reetoobs erveandunder st
a ndmy self
.
Whenmybr ai
nc anbea c
ti
v e,sensiti
ve,alivei
nas t
a t
eofat t
entiv
ei mmobi li
ty,
thereisamov ementofa nex t
raordinaryqua l
it
yt hatdoesnotbelongj usttot he
thi
nk i
ng,thesensati
onort heemot i
on.I tisawhol l
ydi f
fer
entmov ementt hat
l
ea dstotrut
h, t
owha twec annotna me.T heattenti
oni st
ot a
lwithouta nydis tr
ac-
ti
on. ..Ibegintoseethatr ealknowi ngispossibl
eonl yinthemomentwhenmy
attenti
onisfull
,whenc onsciousnessf i
l
lsev er
ything.Thent hereisnodi st
inction;
onet hi
ngisnotmor ethana nother.Ther eispureex i
stenc
e.T hec rea
t i
vea ctis
thev i
si
onofwha tta
kesplac e.Ilearntowa tc
h. (
15)

Whenatt
entionisdevelopedanda wakenedwea reabl
etorespondmor eeffec
ti
v elytothe
requi
rementsandex per
iencesofli
feanda pproa
chhigher
,morerefinedst
atesofcons ci
ous-
nessandbei
ng.“ IfIwerefull
yali
ve,ever
yt hi
ngwouldbeful
l
ya l
i
v earoundme, asitreall
yis.
Wha ti
sneededf oronetoex per
iencetha
t?Adi ffer
entki
ndofattenti
on,act
ive,c
ollected.
”

8
 Thequal i
tyofoura ttent ioni sr eflectedi nt hequal ityofourr ea lk nowledg eofour -
selv
es .Whenoura t
tent ioni sa utoma ti
c,apr isonerofourownment al,emot i
ona l
andphy si
cal assoc i
ations ,alloft heex terna landi nter nalimpr es sionswer eceive
arefrag ment ed.Whenoura tt ent i
onr ea c
hesal evel ofgenuinea warenessofour -
selv
es ,impr essionsa repa rti
c ular l
ya l
iv eandpenet r ating.. .Thi sques ti
onofa tten-
ti
oni sv eryser i
ous ,butourex per i
enc er ema insl imi ted.Inusac onsciousa t
tention
i
smi ssing.Onl ys ucha na t
tent i
on, thr ought hequa lityofitsmov ementofener gy ,
canhold together t het hreees sent i
al pa r
tsofourbei ng :t
houg ht, bodya ndfeeling.
Weg enera ll
ybel ievet ha tattent i
onc omesonl yf romourt hink ingc enter,alt
houg h
thereex istswi t
hinuspos siblel ev el
sofat tentionc omi ngsimul taneous lyfromour
i
ntell
ec t,ourbody ,
a ndourf eel i
ng .Atc ertainmoment swes ee, thoug hperhaps
dist
ant l
y ,
tha tthisa ttent i
on–f reerbuts ti
ll i
nsuf ficient l
ydev elopedi nus–i sthe
keytoag rea terinneropeni ngi nwhi chl esshea vy ,finerener giesc omet ogether.
Theseener giesc onferl if
e, l
ight , andwa rmt honouri nnerwor ld, inthes ervi
ceofa
GreatRea l
ityint heuni verse, jus tast heS unc onf erst heset hi
ng sont heE arth.F or
thosewhos eekt oa wa kent owha ttheyt r
ul ya re, thisnewa t
tent ionha smor ev alue
thana ny t
hingel sei nt heirlives . (
16)

Eventhemos tmunda neev ent

sofl
if
eholdthepossi
bi
li
tyofexer
cis
ingac ons
ciousat
tenti
on
tha
tha ssi
gni
fi
ca nt,t
houg hunsus
pect
ed,v
a l
uefori
nnergrowthanddevelopment:“Not
hingis
worthwhil
eunles si
tisl
ivedinthemoment.Ouraimmus tbetobepresenttoourliv
es,nott
o
besolvi
ngimagina r
yproblemsthatdi
st
anceusfromreal
it
y.”

Oneha sma nyopportuniti

esinone’ slif
et odev el
opcontrol ofa t
tent i
on.Ifyou
pausetoc ons
iderthethingsyouha v etodoev eryday,It
hi nkt haty ouwill
fi
nd
thatti
meanda gai
nonedoe sthing swi t
hj ustsuff
ici
entattent i
onandener gyt oget
by;inotherwords,one’sstanda r
di st hel owes tpossi
blesta nda r
dt hatwouldnot
resul
tindisas
terorfail
ure.Itisv eryint erestingtotrytodowel ls
ma l
lthi
ngs,a c
cord-
i
ngt ogoods t
anda r
ds.E ver
yda yweha vet hisopportuni
ty.T heses malldai
lythings
wer epeatagai
na ndagaindon’ tseemt oha v emuc himport ancea ta l
l,
butev eryone
ofthemcan ha v
ei mportanceifwel ooka tthema samea nst oa nend.Nooneof
themneedbeuni mportantfromt hispoi ntofv iew,butwef orgettha twea r
es ur-
roundedbyoppor tuni
ti
esl i
kethis .(17)

Consc
iousat
tent
ionisf
reea ndnotmec hanic
albecausei
tcanbeconst
antl
yadjust
edin
ordertoma i
ntai
nit
spurit
ya ndforce.“Inbecomingacti
ve,
theatt
enti
onacqui
resafiner
qua l
it
yandbecomesc a
pableofg r
aspingwhatistaki
ngplac
eonotherlev
els
,wher evi
brat
ions
hav eadif
fer
entwavel
ength.”

Att
enti
onopenst hedoort
ohigherl
evel
sandsta
tesofc
onsci
ousnes
sandbei
ng.“Waki
ng
sl
eep,pr
esence,consci
ous
ness
:thesea
rethest
agestha
tma r
kma n’
ssl
owcli
mbtothef
ulf
il
l-
mentofhisposs
ibil
it
ies
.”

9
 Amanc ant hink,feel andwor kwitht hei ns trument sgiv
ent ohi mf ort hesepur -
poses, usingt hema utoma tical
lyfromf orceofha bi
t,wit
houtbei ng‘cons cious’ that
hethink s, feelsorwor ks .Hek nowsi t; buthedoesnotex perienc eit
.‘ Tobec on-
sci
ous ’isf i
rs ttoex per i
enceones elfasonewhok nowsthisiss o,tointroduc ei nt o
mec hanic al functi
oni ngs uchaqua li
tyofa ttent i
ont hata‘sensa t
ionofbei ng’ ma y
ari
sea ndper sist
,wher ea l
lthephy s
ical andps ychicprocessesofwhi c hma ni sthe
centreunf oldt hems el
vesa tthatmoment .T henhebeg instober elativel
y‘ pres ent
tohims elf.’Thes ens at
ionwhi chthis‘ pres enc e’evokesinhimt hrowsanewl ight
ontheev ent sinwhi chhei sinvol
v eda ndc ons ti
tutesas t
atec all
ed‘ self-r
emember -
i
ng .
’Int hiss tatehec anc omeg r
adua llyt os eehi sfunct
ionsa stheyr eal l
ya rea nd
sobeg int rulyt oknowhi ms el
f.Onl yag rea tdea llat
er,i
nt hes tateof‘ objective
conscious nes s,
’canama nhopet oa t
ta intoat r
uek nowledg eoft hewor lda ndt o
l
iveont hehi ghestl evelwhi chafewmay ,per ha ps,beabletor ea ch.(18)

Asthequali
tyofa t
tenti
ondevelopsandma tures
,newpos si
bil
it
iesofi
nnerg rowthemerge.
“I
nthisnewrel
a t
ionshipofi
ndiv
idual a
ttent
ionandahi g
herimpersonalcons
ciousness,
ama n
orwoma ncanbec omeav ess
el,
servinganotherenerg
ywhi chcana c
tthr
ought heindi
vidual
,
anenergywhic
ha tthes a
met i
met ransf
ormst hemateri
ali
tyofthebody.
”

Huma nityca nbeg int ooc cupyi t

spr operpla c
ewi thi
nt hec hainofbeingonl y
throug hani nnerwor kwhi chwi thintheindi v
idualhuma nbeingma ybes ubsume d
undert heg ener al
t erma t
tention.T hema nylevelsofa tt
ent i
onposs i
bleforma n,
upt oandi nc ludinga na t
tent i
ont hatintraditi
onal t
eac hi
ng shasbeent ermedS pi
ri
t,
areher er ang eda l
ongady na mic,verti
cal c
ont i
nuumt hatreachesfromt hel evelof
biologicalsust enanc e,whi chhuma nsrequirefortheirphy sicalbodi
es, upt othein-
compa r
a bl
yf iners us t
ena ncet hatwer equireforthei nnerg rowthoft hes oul.This
fi
ners ubs t
a nc eisobt ainedt hroug hthediges t
ionof“ thefoodofi mpres si
ons ,
”a
dec epti
v el
yma tt
er-of-factphr asethatev entuall
ydefinest heuniquelyhuma nc os-
mi cobligati
ona ndpot entiali
tyofc onstantlyandinev er y
thingwor k
ingf oranobj ec-
ti
veunder standi ngoft heRea l
. (
19)

Atitshi
g hestl
ev el ofrefi
nement ,cons ciousatt
ent i
onprov i
desac onnectionbetweenthe
r
ea l
mofde nseri
nf l
uenc esa ndhi g
her,mor esubtl
ef ormsofener gy.Gur dj
ieffpupi
lWill
i
am
Segal
:“Openi ngtot hef orceofa tt
enti
onev ok
esas enseofwhol enessa ndequili
bri
um.One
cangli
mps eapos sibili
tyofas ta
teofa wa renessimmea s
urablysuperi
ort othatofthereact
ive
mechanism, anawa renes swhichtranscendsone’ sautoma t
ics ubj
ect/objec
tmodeofr esponse.
Thetransf
or mingef f
ec tofc onsci
ousatt entionbri
ng sthedi
s paratet
emposoft hecenter
stoa
r
elati
velyba l
ancedr elationship.Thoug ht,feeli
ng,ands ens
inga reequil
ibratedunderthe
vi
brant,harmonizingi nfl
uenc e.”

Attenti
onisthequintess
enti
almediumtor ev
ea lman’
sdorma ntener
g i
esinhimsel
f.
Whenev eronewitnessesthesta
teofthebody ,t
heinter
pla
yoft houghtandfeel
ing
,
thereisaninti
mati
on, howeversl
ight
,ofanothercurr
entofenergy.Throughthe
simpleactofatt
ending,oneini
ti
atesanewa l
ignmentofforces...Cl
earedofall
in-

10
 ternalnoi
se,consciousatt
ent
ionisa
ninstr
umentwhi
chv i
bra
tesl
i
keacrys
tala
tit
s
ownf requency.Itisfreet
orecei
vethesi
gnal
sbr
oadcasta
teachmomentfr
oma
creati
veuniverseinc ommuni
cati
onwithal
lcr
eat
ures
.(20)

I
nordertoper f
ormitsfunc
tiona samediati
ngbridgetohigher,subtl
e,spi
rit
ualenergi
es,
a
ttent
ionmus tbecomeimpersonal anduni
versal
inna t
ur e.“I
tssourcesurr
oundedbymy s
tery
,
a
ttent
ioncommuni cat
esenergiesofaqua l
i
tythatthemi ndcannotrepresent.Oneneedst obe
a
tthes er
vic
eofc ons
ciousatt
ention;oneprepar
esf ori
tsa dv
entthroughac t
ivest
il
lnes
s.”

Inqui et,tens i
on-freemoment s,ma n’sstruc tur eisopent oener gyflowswhi ch
areor dinaril
ybl oc ked.I nt urn, t
hes eener giesbl endwi thpr eviouslyr eceived
ma terial
s ,t
os erv et hehi gheri nawor dles s,na mel essex cha nge.At tentionisnot
onlymedi ati
ng ;itist ransmi t
ting .Gi vi
nga ndr eceivi
ng ,Gods pea kstoma n.Re-
cei
v i
nga ndg ivi
ng , ma ns peak stoGod.J us ta sma n’
ss tructureneedst obev ivi
-
fi
edbyt hei nfusionoff inervibr ati
ons ,thos ev er ys amev i
bra t
ionsr equi rethemix-
i
ngofc oar s
ema t erialfortheirma intenanc e.Wi thoutt heupwa rdtr ans miss
ion
ofener giest hroug ht hei ntermedi aryofc ons ciousa ttent i
on, theuni v ersewould
giv
ei nt oent ropy .I nma n,thes ma l
lestdef or ma tionofaba la
nc eda t tenti
onc l
oses
downt histwo- wa yc ommuni cation.Al one, themi ndc annotmai ntaini t
.Ar elax
e d
body ,too, i
sneeded.Mi dwa ybet weenmi c ro-a ndma cro-cos mos ,ma nha shis
partt opla y
.Ret urni ngt othebodyi sages tureofopeni ngt ot hea t
t entionwhich,
beck oned, i
sr eadyt os erveitsc osmol og i
ca lfunc tion.(21)

Atit
shighestlevelofdevelopment,consci
ousattenti
onispureperceptionofthi
ngsasthey
a
re,dir
ectandi mmedi ate,c
ompl eteandwhole.“Itisanattent
ionwhichwi llc
onta
inever
y -
t
hingandrefusenot hi
ng ,t
hatwillnottak
es i
desordema nda nythi
ng.Itwi l
lbewit
houtpos-
s
essi
veness,withoutavidit
y,buta l
wayswithasinc
er i
tytha
tc omesfromt heneedtorema i
n
f
reeinordertok now.”

Vis
ion,innerv i
si
on,i
st heliber
ationofa nenerg
yt hati
sbeyondthinki
ng.Iti
sa
tot
ala warenessofli
febec ausetoseei stoembracetotal
it
yatthev er
ymoment .
Wec annots eepartbypa rt,l
it
tl
ebyl itt
le,ov
ertime. ..
Visi
on,ontheotherhand,
i
sobs ervati
onwi t
houtt hought,withoutthesecuri
tyofwordsornames .I
nas t
ate
ofpureper cepti
on,thereisnomor eai ma ndnoa tt
empttorespond.Ones i
mply
l
ivesthefact.(22)

References

(1) Henriette Lannes This Fundamental Quest (San Francisco: Far West Institute, 2003), p. 58.
(2) Keith Buzzell Explorations in Active Mentation (Salt Lake City: Fifth Press, 2006), p. 106.
(3) Hugh Ripman Questions and Answers Along the Way (Washington, D.C.: Forthway Center
Press, 2009), p. 127.
(4) Jacob Needleman What is God? (New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2011), p. 257.

11
 (5) Thomas and Olga de Hartmann Our Life with Mr. Gurdjieff (New York: Penguin Books,
1992), p. 45.
(6) Richard Guillon Record of a Search (Toronto: Traditional Studies Press, 2004), pp. 112-
113.
(7) Henriette Lannes This Fundamental Quest (San Francisco: Far West Institute, 2003),
p. 125.
(8) Jeanne de Salzmann The Reality of Being (Boston: Shambhala, 2010), pp. 43-44.
(9) Christian Wertenbaker Man in the Cosmos (United States of America: Codhill Press,
2012), pp. 179-180.
(10) Jeanne de Salzmann The Reality of Being (Boston: Shambhala, 2010), pp. 188-189.
(11) Jeanne de Salzmann The Reality of Being (Boston: Shambhala, 2010), p. 22.
(12) William Segal “The Force of Attention” in The Inner Journey: Views From the Gurdjieff
Work (Jacob Needleman, ed.) (Sandpoint, Idaho: Morning Light Press, 2008), pp. 332-333.
(13) Jeanne de Salzmann The Reality of Being (Boston: Shambhala, 2010), p. 221.
(14) Jeanne de Salzmann The Reality of Being (Boston: Shambhala, 2010), pp. 217-218.
(15) Jeanne de Salzmann The Reality of Being (Boston: Shambhala, 2010), p. 36.
(16) Henriette Lannes This Fundamental Quest (San Francisco: Far West Institute, 2003),
pp. 58-59.
(17) Hugh Ripman Questions and Answers Along the Way (Washington, D.C.: Forthway Center
Press, 2009), p. 128.
(18) Henri Thomasson The Pursuit of the Present (Aurora, Oregon: Two Rivers Press, 1980),
p. 25.
(19) Jacob Needleman “Introduction” in The Inner Journey: Views From the Gurdjieff Work
(Jacob Needleman, ed.) (Sandpoint, Idaho: Morning Light Press, 2008), p. xxvii.
(20) William Segal “The Force of Attention” in The Inner Journey: Views From the Gurdjieff
Work (Jacob Needleman, ed.) (Sandpoint, Idaho: Morning Light Press, 2008), pp. 332-333.
(21) William Segal “The Force of Attention” in The Inner Journey: Views From the Gurdjieff
Work (Jacob Needleman, ed.) (Sandpoint, Idaho: Morning Light Press, 2008), pp. 332-333.
(22) Jeanne de Salzmann The Reality of Being (Boston: Shambhala, 2010), p. 208.

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