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The Lost Art of… Focus


Ernest Buckley

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The last few threads concerning U2, Apple, Mark`s Free music thread, as well as my own about Robin WIlliams and remaining relevant, all touched on this a bit and I started to notice a common theme in what others were saying and what I`ve been thinking for the last few years.

 

I guess for me it started around 2008 when I was trying to read Robert Pirsig`s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I finally got through it that year and I`ve returned to it every year since. But the one thing he kept referring to in that book was attention to detail. This attention to detail requires mental work which involves shutting out all the distractions. And as we all know (more than Pirsig ever did back in the 70s when he wrote his classic) distractions are everywhere today. Between the Internet, cell phones, 24/7 news, 500 channels, a TV in every room of the house (I only own 1 btw), and social media sites and apps such as Twitter, getting those few precious moments of pure thought/undivided focus is as uncommon as a hit song using tritones!

 

This simple idea of focusing on one thing or undivided attention is just about gone and I think it has a lot to do with the intrusion of technology into every faucet of our lives. I was reading an article recently about how opera is dying. We have an art form that lasted for hundreds of years suddenly dying in the last 20 years. Why is it no longer entertaining? The thought of sitting down and actively focusing on a performance on stage that does not have all sort of eye candy and loudness is no longer an attractive means to entertainment. Some opera companies have decided to modernize the stories into more modern themes. The music is the same but opera producers are sprucing up the opera with more modern sounding instruments, attire, and story lines. I have to find the article… Carmen as a lounge singer anyone?

 

Anyway, I really think this is the reason why so many industries are suffering and why the human condition is suffering so much as it is today. It takes a lot of work to remain focused on 1 thing for even a minute so we really have to be turned on to something to remain engaged in it.

 

Porn studies have shown that addiction is at an all time high and a practice that was once male dominant is not so anymore. 1/3 of porn viewers are now female. I bring this up because studies have shown that the Internet is the primary culprit of this. Accessibility to porn is so easy now, and the ability to switch from one image/video to another is a click away… all of this novelty releases dopamine in the brain which gives us pleasure. Unprecedented!

 

The same goes for every other little novelty in our lives: the donut, the soft drink, the Facebook status update, the tweet, checking emails, the constant breaking news alerts, etc… all give us little doses on dopamine… pleasure like never before. We get turned on quicker and easier now than ever before. If we go a few minutes without checking our emails or FB feed we start to feel irritated, like an alcoholic craving a sip, a drug abuser craving their next hit, etc… All good things must come to an end… hence, the global irritation, the thirst for novelty, for constant entertainment.

 

We have at least two generations now that are constantly getting hit up with dopamine every few seconds. How can we expect anyone to sit there and listen to a song for 3 minutes that doesn`t have loads of visual candy, hard hitting drums, breaks, swells, and a new sound creeping in every 2 bars? Modern production from the early 2000s to the present has been pre-dominantly EDM and Producer based. Mega producers like Max Martin not only write dozens of hits every year but if you actually sit down and study the production of these tracks you hear a new sound every 2-4 bars. Benny Blanco who works with Max Martin said, "You really have to grab people… and you have to hold their attention for the entire duration of the song… you start, you build things up, you bring them back down, you build them up again, you bring them back down again…. there has to be something continuously exciting to the ear, and that has to keep changing throughout the song… every time a new section of a song ends or begins it has to be BAM! a new part is coming in!"

 

Isn`t he describing in audio terms what Psychologists are telling us about the brain? Never ending novelty turns us on! It keeps us interested but not interested in anything for too long. This is why the age of singer-songwriters is long gone. Who has the discipline to sit there and listen to a 45 minute set or album from someone playing a lowly guitar and singing? Its the same old… those first 10 seconds are all the modern listener has the discipline for if even that.

 

I don`t think the record industry is at fault for not grabbing onto the technology fast enough. The art of listening has been lost because it takes work. Its also harder to listen to something that it is to watch something. People don`t have a problem sitting down for 2 hours to watch a movie because it overloads the senses whereas to get the same jolt or turn on in music requires a true effort.

 

In my opinion, the death of music sales is not the fault of record labels. It would have happened no matter what with technology. The Internet and all of its off shoots have led to the increase in ADHD, the increase in porn addiction, the increase in obesity, and even the increase in terrorism.

 

The Internet allows every soul to see what others have. It allows other souls on this planet to see the divide, the injustice, the inequality, etc… and it feeds the anger, the fear, the resentment, and eventually it leads to the violence we`re seeing everywhere. Its good in that it exposes the atrocities committed by countries, organizations, and individuals but we have yet to learn how to make it work towards uniting and assisting the human condition.

 

I don`t have any answers but I would suggest we look at where we place our focus and the novelty`s we are giving that focus to.

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Great post Ernest.

 

For me, Meditation has been the solution. I'm fortunate that I live on a remote island where peace and tranquility are still valued by the few thousand who choose to live here.

 

A couple of years ago I went to a Buddhist Meditation weekend in a community centre that had a hockey rink among other things in it. One day during lunch I ventured into the rink where some young kids were playing hokey. I found the buzzers extremely loud but what really jumped out at me was tha loud music that was played every time there was a pause on the ice.

 

Another day during lunch I went to a flea market downstairs just to see what was going on. There was a small self contained CD player/radio making some scratchy noise in the corner of a large room. The radio was extremely underpowered for the situation and the sound was annoying. I thought the place would have been better of if it was not there at all. I got the impression that people felt like they needed to fill up the space with some kind of sound although I don't understand why.

 

When the retreat was over my friend and I had to wait for several hours before we could catch the ferry back home and she wanted to see the Johnny Depp version of "Alice in Wonderland". We had supper with a few other people who had been at the retreat and were warned that the previews being shown at the movie were extremely loud. During the previews we waited in the lobby and could hear the loud sound and see beams of light coming out from between the doors of the theatre.

 

I was quite mellow after a weekend of Meditation and the contrast made it appear to me that the loud sound was pushing on the doors of the theatre. We eventually went in and watched the show but I felt like it was an assault on my senses and was quite uncomfortable in the situation.

 

It made me realize what Ernest is talking about in the OP.

 

 

"You really have to grab people… and you have to hold their attention for the entire duration of the song… you start, you build things up, you bring them back down, you build them up again, you bring them back down again…. there has to be something continuously exciting to the ear, and that has to keep changing throughout the song… every time a new section of a song ends or begins it has to be BAM! a new part is coming in!"

 

 

That's exactly how I felt, like somebody was trying to grab me. I didn't need anything to hold my attention. I had been Meditating for two hours at a time earlier that day and was perfectly fine with my own ability to focus. In fact, I found the attempts to hold my attention to be themselves distractions.

 

When I got home the next morning I had to go out in the woods for several hours to get myself grounded.

 

 

It's like an endless loop - the very things that are being used to grab and hold our attention are causing us to loose the ability to focus our attention. As a result things get louder and louder and we get crazier as we attempt to deal with the sensory overload.

 

One of the things I like to do is walk a familiar trail in the woods in the middle of the night during a full moon. It can be a bit unnerving because of the limited ability to see (there are no street lights) so my other senses become extremely alert. I can identify the direction and the distance of the snapping twig or rustle of the bush. I believe that heightened awareness is our natural state and that our modern 'just in time' lifestyle is leading to serious problems and overly aggressive behaviour as we shut down our natural abilities to know where we are.

 

 

 

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This is exactly why I moved out into the country - - I still take time every day (barring subzero weather) to go outside and listen to the silence. It's like heaven!

 

One of the most jarring experiences of my life was hanging out in the middle of a New Mexico desert for a 10 day silent retreat… the silence was deafening. Its hard to imagine but the silence was truly louder than anything else I`ve ever heard and it took me days to get used to it. I miss that overwhelming peace.

 

Here in NYC, I ride the trains 3-4 times a week and if you`ve never been on a NYC subway, well… lets just say its loud. Today the train stopped in the middle of the tunnel and the AC unit shut down for maybe 10 seconds… there was silence. It was awkward and scary. We`ve become so conditioned to noise, we almost can`t live without it.

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This is exactly why I moved out into the country - - I still take time every day (barring subzero weather) to go outside and listen to the silence. It's like heaven!

 

I escaped the subzero weather by moving to a temperate rainforest so I am able to spend time outside any time I need to.

 

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This is exactly why I moved out into the country - - I still take time every day (barring subzero weather) to go outside and listen to the silence. It's like heaven!

 

There's a reason why I go into such remote places, whether it's the Himalayas, the California desert, or other places. It's not the only reason at all, but it's a big reason.

 

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Silence is scary for some.

Back in the 1980's, I participated in a Native ceremony.

I went into a Sweat Lodge ( temps over a 120 f), fasted for 4 days. I was up 12,000 ft in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. No one around for many many miles, I was all alone for that time and stayed up for two days because a Black Bear was near by. When I woke up, The bear walked by me, I could have touched it and could smell it.

Then I wandered back into the area where they were having the Ceremony, did another few rounds in the Sweat Lodge.

To me, that keep me focused and humbled...... I think it was that Bear that came by me and showed me mercy.

I do believe Human Technology is dehumanizing peoples senses, killing their social skills and ways of interconnecting with others. Ride a bus, subway or fly in an airplane. No one is talking to one another, they just have their faces in the latest tech gadget. Soon, people will become strangers even to them selves.

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Silence is scary for some.

Back in the 1980's, I participated in a Native ceremony.

I went into a Sweat Lodge ( temps over a 120 f), fasted for 4 days. I was up 12,000 ft in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. No one around for many many miles, I was all alone for that time and stayed up for two days because a Black Bear was near by. When I woke up, The bear walked by me, I could have touched it and could smell it.

Then I wandered back into the area where they were having the Ceremony, did another few rounds in the Sweat Lodge.

To me, that keep me focused and humbled...... I think it was that Bear that came by me and showed me mercy.

I do believe Human Technology is dehumanizing peoples senses, killing their social skills and ways of interconnecting with others. Ride a bus, subway or fly in an airplane. No one is talking to one another, they just have their faces in the latest tech gadget. Soon, people will become strangers even to them selves.

 

Thats a great story about the bear. I think you reached that place where there is no division, just pure oneness. Its reachable but only when we disconnect from the noise. I think one also has to quiet the mind to reach that point where there is no judgement or fear. Thats why the bear walked right by you, it didn`t sense anything from you but pure being, like a tree or a mountain.

 

Getting to that point is difficult, especially when one is surrounded by noise...

 

I think most people, myself included, fear silence because it means something is wrong. When I`m alone, I keep the TV and radio off. The silence is cleansing.

 

But when I`m around others, there are two dynamics at play. I`ve been around very spiritual/holy people and the silence is comforting. I think our own inner dialogue dictates how silence affects us. A quiet peaceful mind will welcome and thrive in silence around others but a disturbed/noisy mind will become quite uncomfortable and do anything to avoid it.

 

Then there are people who just cannot shut up. They talk out of habit and its impossible to have conversations with them. I think this is also a lack of focus because they`re really not listening to you, they just want to say what they have to say. Its almost as if they have diarrhea of the mouth. These are probably the most disturbed souls I`ve encountered. I cannot imagine the inner workings of their minds. Then again, I`ve been there so I can imagine it but I don`t want to go there anymore so…. why focus on it?

 

You mention technology de-humanizing our senses… I really think thats an accurate description of whats happening. We are losing the components that make us human… communication being one. I also think the amount of information coming in de-sensitizes us and we can no longer tell whats truly important from whats truly garbage. So we waste our days own non-essential tasks… FB updates, tweets, following all the news, the sports scores, texting, checking emails every 10 minutes, etc…

 

We`re slowly losing touch with reality and whats truly important because we are no longer focused on reality or what truly makes us feel alive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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... I think you reached that place where there is no division, just pure oneness. Its reachable but only when we disconnect from the noise. I think one also has to quiet the mind to reach that point where there is no judgement or fear. Thats why the bear walked right by you, it didn`t sense anything from you but pure being, like a tree or a mountain.

 

Getting to that point is difficult, especially when one is surrounded by noise...

 

That is the purpose of Yoga and Mediation as I understand them. They get you there in the first place and offer tools that can be used to find it again in spite of the noise.

 

Then there are people who just cannot shut up. They talk out of habit and its impossible to have conversations with them. I think this is also a lack of focus because they`re really not listening to you, they just want to say what they have to say. Its almost as if they have diarrhea of the mouth. These are probably the most disturbed souls I`ve encountered. I cannot imagine the inner workings of their minds. Then again, I`ve been there so I can imagine it but I don`t want to go there anymore so…. why focus on it?

 

The Buddha taught 'Right Speech' which is essentially the practice of bringing awareness to what we say. When we do that we can avoid idle chatter and hurtful remarks. I have, on occasion, found myself not listening and just waiting for the other person to finish so I can say my bit.

 

We all fall down from time to time but I think the key is to be aware of and learn from those mistakes.

 

You mention technology de-humanizing our senses… I really think thats an accurate description of whats happening. We are losing the components that make us human… communication being one. I also think the amount of information coming in de-sensitizes us and we can no longer tell whats truly important from whats truly garbage.

 

One of my teachers pointed out that "we never really encounter the world - all we ever know is our own nervous system."

 

To me, just the fact that we are aware is what I would call God or, as some would describe it, our spiritual side. We are also physical creatures who survive on this planet. Our awareness looks out at the world through our senses to garner the information we need to physically exist. We make decisions based on this information with pain and hunger being basic powerful motivators.

 

It appears that our senses have been hijacked by marketers vying for our attention and they are all turning up the stimulation in order to be 'competitive.'

 

We`re slowly losing touch with reality and whats truly important because we are no longer focused on reality or what truly makes us feel alive.

 

Just the fact that you started this thread and included the above sentence in your post indicates to me that you have a handle on this.

 

 

Unfortunately, keeping people numb and dissatisfied is a way to sell stuff to them and 'grow the economy'. Who's going to want to stand in line all night for an iPhone 6 if they are completely satisfied with an iPhone 4?

 

What I believe is important is Loving Kindness but that is not good for business so it is going to take some effort to be able to stay focused on reality and what makes us feel alive. There are ways we can learn to deal with the distractions and, just like playing a musical instrument, we can get better at it with practice.

 

Awareness of our awareness, if you will, is what I believe is the first step toward getting there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Although I don't totally disagree with you. I think on balance the perks technology are pretty wonderful. I can read about some R&B guy from 1957 and look him up on youtube and hear him. I read a book called "Honkers and Shouters: A History of Rhythm and Blues" around 1978. I read about all these great musicians and had no real idea of how they sounded. I think we've lost something. But something was lost when TV hit the masses. And radio. And so on.

 

I did a google search (giyf) and found the link below. And copied and pasted a couple of excerpts for anyone interested.

 

David

 

 

http://wondermark.com/true-stuff-telephone-menace/

 

"At present our most dangerous pet is electricity—in the telegraph, the street lamp and the telephone.

We have introduced electric power into our simplest domestic industries, and we have woven this most

subtile of agents, once active only in the sublimest manifestations of Omnipotence, like a web about

our dwellings, and filled our atmosphere with the filaments of death.".

 

 

"The telephone is the most dangerous of all because it enters into every dwelling. Its interminable

network of wires is a perpetual menace to life and property. In its best performance it is only a

convenience. It was never a necessity".

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Yup, our Educational System has failed, all they want to create is a gullible consumer , not one who is enlightened, doesn't thinks outside the box, pure nepotistic leanings( if they are in a group), narcissistic, self serving, desensitized and nurturing into a society where going along with the reassuring lies has many rewards.

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Yup, our Educational System has failed, all they want to create is a gullible consumer, not one who is enlightened, doesn't think outside the box, pure nepotistic leanings (if they are in a group), narcissistic, self serving, desensitized and nurturing into a society where going along with the reassuring lies has many rewards.

 

I wonder if there has been a conscious effort to do as you describe, or whether it's simply the result of a societal emphasis on material wealth in lieu of all other forms of wealth.

 

Whether talking about the bear, the country, or the silence, all of those represent wealth...just not the standard-issue material kind.

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I wonder if there has been a conscious effort to do as you describe, or whether it's simply the result of a societal emphasis on material wealth in lieu of all other forms of wealth.

 

I think it is a combination of both. The prioritizing of profit has distorted our values and compromised our integrity.

 

 

Whether talking about the bear, the country, or the silence, all of those represent wealth...just not the standard-issue material kind.

 

Contentment is true wealth but a growing economy requires discontent on the part of the consumer.

 

It's good business practice to "create a demand for our product" which is difficult to do if potential customers are content with what they already have.

 

 

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Yup, our Educational System has failed, all they want to create is a gullible consumer , not one who is enlightened, doesn't thinks outside the box, pure nepotistic leanings( if they are in a group), narcissistic, self serving, desensitized and nurturing into a society where going along with the reassuring lies has many rewards.

 

You think the educational system itself is trying to create this? Seriously?

 

And not a combination of politicians who are not educators creating legislation about the educational system, creating a situation where schools need to teach to the test to obtain the pittance of federal funding that exists, poor work conditions, lack of funding, poor parenting/broken households, poor economy, lousy teacher pay, a ridiculous amount of litigation, etc.?

 

So you think that a school's mission is to create a gullible consumer?

 

Teachers have never been more qualified as they have been now. Look at all the education and tests they have to now go through. But yet they have suddenly eroded in skill level nonetheless?

 

 

Now think about this. Take away all the bureaucrats, politicians, misguided legislation, teaching to the test. All of it. Scrap that.

 

Now take the schools. Let them run the place. They're educators, after all. Throw 'em some funding and computers, and let them teach. There will be just local oversight, just like in the days of the little red schoolhouses.

 

What do you think would happen?

 

Yeah. Magic. Students would be learning, using critical thinking skills, creativity, all that.

 

But it wouldn't be perfect. I'm not done yet.

 

Now, take away all the crappy parents who don't follow through. And there's a lot of them. Take away the ones who are burnt-out Baby Boomers who think they're supposed to be "pals" with their kids instead of parents, who work two jobs, who don't care, who can't seem to give their kids limits, who don't earn respect, who welch on the system, who cheat, who lie, who set really crappy examples for their kids. Who don't bother returning phone calls or notes or work with their kid with their homework. Who don't show up for parent-teacher conferences or Back To School Night or Open House. The ones who let their kids do whatever the hell they want on a computer or smartphone with absolutely no oversight whatsoever. The parents who are too hung up on money and worldly possessions to give a crap about what their kid is doing or seeing. That parent. There's a lot more of them than there used to be, and a lot of them are Baby Boomers who complain on this forum about this generation sucking. If your kid is a creep, doesn't focus, doesn't hunker down, doesn't have discipline, doesn't have respect.....whose fault is it?

 

Take away those parents. Or better yet. Teach them follow-through. Then they could be teaching respect, or hey, maybe spending time with their kids. Maybe have oversight. Parenting skills. They could try responding to the teachers once in a while, show up for Back To School Night. Most of you don't, after all, and never the kids who are doing poorly in school. Do this.

 

What sort of students would turn out of education then?

 

We both know the answer to that.

 

It would be *fantastic*.

 

But no. That takes work. And it's uncomfortable. Much easier to blame someone. Yes. We need a scapegoat, and it must be a single one. It MUST be the educational system. They create mindless gullible consumers. Never mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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You think the educational system itself is trying to create this? Seriously?

 

And not a combination of politicians who are not educators creating legislation about the educational system, creating a situation where schools need to teach to the test to obtain the pittance of federal funding that exists, poor work conditions, lack of funding, poor parenting/broken households, poor economy, lousy teacher pay, a ridiculous amount of litigation, etc.?

 

So you think that a school's mission is to create a gullible consumer?

 

Teachers have never been more qualified as they have been now. Look at all the education and tests they have to now go through. But yet they have suddenly eroded in skill level nonetheless?

 

 

Now think about this. Take away all the bureaucrats, politicians, misguided legislation, teaching to the test. All of it. Scrap that.

 

Now take the schools. Let them run the place. They're educators, after all. Throw 'em some funding and computers, and let them teach. There will be just local oversight, just like in the days of the little red schoolhouses.

 

What do you think would happen?

 

Yeah. Magic. Students would be learning, using critical thinking skills, creativity, all that.

 

But it wouldn't be perfect. I'm not done yet.

 

Now, take away all the crappy parents who don't follow through. And there's a lot of them. Take away the ones who are burnt-out Baby Boomers who think they're supposed to be "pals" with their kids instead of parents, who work two jobs, who don't care, who can't seem to give their kids limits, who don't earn respect, who welch on the system, who cheat, who lie, who set really crappy examples for their kids. Who don't bother returning phone calls or notes or work with their kid with their homework. Who don't show up for parent-teacher conferences or Back To School Night or Open House. The ones who let their kids do whatever the hell they want on a computer or smartphone with absolutely no oversight whatsoever. The parents who are too hung up on money and worldly possessions to give a crap about what their kid is doing or seeing. That parent. There's a lot more of them than there used to be, and a lot of them are Baby Boomers who complain on this forum about this generation sucking. If your kid is a creep, doesn't focus, doesn't hunker down, doesn't have discipline, doesn't have respect.....whose fault is it?

 

Take away those parents. Or better yet. Teach them follow-through. Then they could be teaching respect, or hey, maybe spending time with their kids. Maybe have oversight. Parenting skills. They could try responding to the teachers once in a while, show up for Back To School Night. Most of you don't, after all, and never the kids who are doing poorly in school. Do this.

 

What sort of students would turn out of education then?

 

We both know the answer to that.

 

It would be *fantastic*.

 

But no. That takes work. And it's uncomfortable. Much easier to blame someone. Yes. We need a scapegoat, and it must be a single one. It MUST be the educational system. They create mindless gullible consumers. Never mind.

 

 

Ken,

 

I`m so glad you chimed in. I saw that comment earlier and shook my head but I`m not qualified to answer it directly as you are. My wife taught in the NYC school system for 15 years, then she was given a staff development position in her school, now she`s an AP in her school so she has seen it all from all the angles and she completely agrees with you on this.

 

Today, children are taught how to take and pass state tests. This is everything.

 

The Educators are not running the schools, the politicians are.

 

Anyone who would make such an asinine comment as the one made knows nothing of what they speak.

 

As far as your comments on parenting, once again, you are dead on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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