#12statesofattention

[wellbodymind]

Yesterday I shared the 12 states of attention … useful tools in Biodynamic Meditation and in life. It helps to notice your own patterns of awareness and expand beyond them, as well as appreciate them. You may notice that some people are primarily visual. Some are primarily externally oriented. Some are drawn more to details. You can cultivate the states you are not so familiar with, and you will have more attentional flexibility … a key factor in appreciating life. And … there’s always more. This morning I’m focusing on another aspect of attention that’s important in meditation and in life, and that is … waiting. When you bring your attention to your central energy channel, in order to sense the Tide ascending and descending, you will usually need to wait for the sensation of internal motion to make itself known. Then you may sense something, but it isn’t clear, and you wait some more for it to clarify. It’s a process of inquiry…of being curious and deciding to investigate by bringing your attention there…and waiting for indications of the Tide to be felt. This is patience. This is allowing. This is staying with. This is life, unfolding for your awareness. Photo taken by Louise Thayer, Happy Dog Ranch. (Thanks, Louise!) #biodynamicmeditation #craniosacralbiodynamics #craniosacraltherapy #cranio #biodynamiccraniosacraltherapy #waiting #12statesofattention #patternsofawareness #attentionalflexibility #centralenergychannel #tide #sensation #clarifying #inquiring #investigating #patience #lifeunfolding (at Littleton, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoCusQHONgN/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[wellbodymind]

One of my influential teachers, Nelson Zink, investigated the 12 states of attention, which I first learned of in 2010. We have three primary ways through which we perceive: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. We have locations in which to place our attention, internal and external. The skin is the boundary. Our attention has range, narrow to broad. We come to favor a few of these states. Practicing the ones less used gives us more attentional flexibility. Since the quality of our attention is important, I thought I would share this here. When I settle my body into my sitting posture, I am using Kinesthetic, Internal, moderately Broad attention, K I B — moderately broad because I’m attending to my whole body and biofield. I tune into my central energy channel, K I N. When I feel radiance at my face, it’s K I/E B, because I’m attending to sensations at my face and the field around it. Stillpoints are K I N. Monkey mind/internal chatter is A I N. I don’t often get visual input when I’m meditating or receiving a Craniosacral Biodynamics session, but a few people who have received sessions from me have had elaborate visions, such as being showered with golden light (V/K I B). When I give sessions, I open my eyes, looking out the window into the woods and sky outside. That would be V E B. If you are curious about this, Google “navaching” and “12 states of attention” to find Nelson’s archived website and some blog posts I wrote. If you are challenged trying to sense the Tide, stillpoints, or other features in Biodynamic Meditation, you may find it helpful to access states of attention you don’t usually use. This can be very powerful! Today’s sit: breathing, posture, central energy channel, Tide, radiance at my face, cranial stillpoint, swirliness in upper abdomen, Tide. #biodynamicmeditation #craniosacralbiodynamics #craniosacraltherapy #craniosacral #biodynamiccraniosacraltherapy #12statesofattention #nelsonzink #perception #visual #auditory #kinesthetic #internal #external #narrow #broad #centralenergychannel #radianceatmyface #tide #stillpoint #swirliness (at Manchaca, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoATT1ZJ74U/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=