Further Thoughts on the Three Stage Process

Alan Watts once described the mind as “the focus of conscious attention”. I may not have used the word “mind” here but this infers, at least to me, that there is only one source of attention and we are all openings allowing it access to this particular frequency range. I do recall him using an analogy similar to this “openings” metaphor.

As I mentioned in Choice and Appreciation, “focused attention generates an energetic flow in the direction of my intent”. For me it seems that the more attention is paid to something, the more “energetic mass” coalesces around that focal point. This mass, just like a celestial body, develops a gravitation that is amplified based on its volume. As I saw in the interview with Jeff, the same holds true for collective attention. Thus attention brings energy to bear on a particular point and the more human beings that have their attention on something in common, the more energy it has and the more gravitational force it generates. This gravitation is what helps hold our repetitions, our habits, in place. In Jeff’s book he says “Maybe selves are not things; maybe they are habits that are embraced as our self.” What I am suggesting is that habit formation all starts with attention, that habits are the mechanism used to hold attention in place here and the more attention we apply, the more facility we have – thus consciousness has – to create in and to appreciate this place, personally and collectively.

Language is both how we “talk to ourselves” and to others so is instrumental in all kinds of identity anchoring. In his book Jeff says “Our language, both in the form of sentences in our heads and those we use to communicate with others, are actually commitments to a shared view of reality.” [First, I’ll point to the word “commitments” and note that functionally I see this as similar to my use of the word “Choice” and Don Miguel Ruiz’s use of the word “Agreement”]

Think about times when you’ve had an argument with someone and what your mind does in the aftermath. Immediate experiences like that tend not to remain in our memory, as the experience itself is a rush of energy too high to hold on to. Almost immediately we repeat, first to ourselves and then typically to others, a verbal description that we call “what happened”. I’ve notice in my own mind that even though I’m aware of this process, I am often unable stop the continual repetition until some aspect of mind is satisfied that the story is anchored; it is “what really happened”. This repetition process is itself a habit, and this one is a habit that creates habits. It is a creator of our “view of reality”. We may let go of some habits in Stage 1 of Jeff’s process but the habit of forming habits remains.

I would argue that all of experience is immediate but I will leave that discussion for another time. To state the obvious, the description – the choice of words – is not the same as the flow itself but we use these descriptions to act as anchoring for “our” focused attention upon a particular experiential flow. And perhaps that is what habit forming does. It provides one particular point of attention (ours) a relatively stable “platform” from which it can interact with this particular world and the other manifestations of consciousness that are experienceable here. Whatever it is that is the “source of attention” has made this window (us) as one way to engage in, and with, life as it is manifested here. Our view of reality is a functional, though pliable, container of sorts by which our particular portal of “attention” is given access. We could, in part, be seen as a mechanism that focuses the source of attention.

Now let’s take a look at how this propagation pattern spreads to “others” and that, to a great degree, is by sharing. Sharing focuses collective energy and is part of the mechanism for collective attention to generate “collective habits”. The 3^rd stage in Jeff’s process is what we use for individual focusing – our “own” evolution – and sharing it is a propagation method for collective focusing – collective evolution. Sharing also assists in spreading practices for Stage 1 and at least evoking Stage 2 experiences. [In some ways Stages 2 and 3 move naturally on their own once a regular practice of Stage 1 is established. Habits are, by their very nature, sticking points]. The better our ability to share coherently in language (Stage 3) our experiences in Stage 2, the more the gravity of focused attention draws in broader groups of individuals, a collective We. Over time the increased mass of attention, and its increasing gravity, makes its wavelengths more accessible to more and more people. This collective action points to the possibility that we are a component in a mechanism of a larger We, or what Jeff refers to as a Meta Being that is emerging. The clearer our articulations are for others, the more access this new being has for its volume of that “source of attention” to be brought into focus here and is thus easier for “others” to sense, resonate with and participate in its intent.