The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power Of the Focused Mind [Paperback]

It often seems as if half the population has a problem with paying attention. Apart from the different types of attention deficit disorder, a former Apple and Microsoft executive called Linda Stone has identified another problem: continuous partial attention.

We have all been multitasking since before our ancestors came down from the trees, but now people's attention is constantly being distracted by an array of new inputs: email, text messaging, instant messaging and a hundred other things. Just think of the way in which many television programs now have multiple items on the screen at once. Many of us are suffering from information overload, and it would be very valuable to be able to improve our ability to focus our attention without putting ADHD medicines in the water supply.

This is a very interesting book by an interesting individual. B. Alan Wallace spent fourteen years as a Buddhist monk and was ordained by the Dalai Lama. He is also the founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. He is the author of several other books, including the superb book Contemplative Science.

In this book he describes the ten stages of Shamatha meditation, a technique for developing extraordinary levels of attention and focus. As Alan Wallace describes it in the preface to the book, "Shamatha is a path of attentional development that culminates in an attention that can be sustained for hours on end."

Alan is a committed meditator who has spent the eight hours a day necessary to perfect the method. There are obviously not that many people who could - or would want to - dedicate that amount of time to the practice. But there is still plenty of value to the individual who can only dedicate a few minutes a day to the practice. As with most forms of mental or physical development, the returns that you get from this kind of meditation are strongly related to how much effort you can put in.

The ten stages are:
Directed attention
Continuous attention
Resurgent attention
Close attention
Tamed attention
Pacified attention
Fully pacified attention
Single-pointed attention
Attentional balance
Shamatha

Some books about meditation are a little dry and focused almost exclusively on the mind. Alan has done something very nice with this book: in between his explanation of the ten stages, he has inserted what he calls "interludes;" short ancillary practices that complement the training in attention. The first four of these interludes are designed to cultivate one of the four qualities of the heart: compassion, loving-kindness, empathetic joy and equanimity.

This is a book that you can easily read in a few hours, but you could spend years putting it into practice. As many of us have discovered, applying the basic techniques for just a few minutes a day can be very helpful. If you want to get all the way to the final stage it would require a great deal of time and effort, and ideally also a personal teacher.

The type of focus and attention that is developed by these methods was originally intended to focus inwards and to control and still the mind, but the techniques can be equally useful for focusing on things outside of you.

Alan Wallace has done us a great service by recording and explaining this method, and the book is well worth reading if you have any interest in trying to improve your own ability to focus and to pay attention.

Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life

-"Attention" is written by an experienced and respected Buddhist practitioner, and summarizes an advanced method for improving Attentiveness with meditation (and vice-versa). The book also investigates how Attentiveness can be stabilized and trained in a positive manner (as opposed to simply correcting an attention deficit). Many spiritual traditions and Western psychologists (notably William James) have examined Attentiveness, but "Attention" focuses on a ten-stage training pioneered by an Indian Buddhist monk Kamalashila. This method simply works, in the studied experience of the author and other practitioners over several centuries. The book is most useful for those already familiar with Buddhism or advanced meditation methods.

-The training first absolutely demands cultivating an attitude of decent kindness towards oneself and others, solid ethical integrity, attention cultivation, and refined insight development (these prerequisites clearly distinguish it from more psychological methods). As the mind, including the emotions, and consciousness settle into a more natural state, sustained but relaxed Attentiveness will allow Insight to be more predictable, prolonged, and wise (instead of a "flash of insight," one might develop more of a "path of insight"). The Goal includes reducing or eliminating suffering and developing what might be called eudaemonic happiness -- and I might add my opinion that science (for all its miracles in reducing unhappiness) has fallen flat on its face in providing this. "Attention" develops each step in a separate chapter, followed by a brief interlude discussing a relevant "aside" of mind training. Of course, any brief summary is unrealistic, but the ten steps sort of progressively evolve from a focused awareness of one's sensations and thoughts to a subtle dis-covery of the origins of those sensations and thoughts. Sort of. Although one may not master all ten steps in the program, it sure helps to have a reasonably good map and a valid idea of where one is going!

-The author notes extensive mind training is like going on an expedition (clearly, given the practically infinite extent of the mind -- see Gerald Edelman's discussions -- it is among the most exciting expeditions imaginable). Alas, the schedule for complete Attentiveness training is rigorous, requiring several consistent hours per day with some "coaching" by a qualified teacher (the same could be true of being an Olympic medalist or a neurosurgery attending). Other reviewers have noted this. Reading "Attention" is therefore like receiving training or reading about high-altitude physical conditioning from Reinhold Messner or Matt Carpenter -- one may not duplicate their stamina, but it's surely worthwhile to know how the legitimate super-experts do it and one will more likely pick up very useful tips from them. Importantly, the author and the method, seem demonstrably qualified, gentle, trustable guides with credentials, perspective, and heart. This seems among the best recommendations of all, and one of the best reasons for dedicated practitioners to examine this book. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

I disagree with a previous review that states "a great deal of this book will not be of practical use to you." Just the opposite. It is not for a limited audience, it's for everyone at a time in history where disciplines such as this are highly needed. The instructions are simple, easy to follow. If you are a self starter and highly motivated then this book is an invaluable aid (the author also recommends a teacher as mentor in your efforts if one is available. If not, then the author's recommendations can still take you far by your own efforts).

The book walks you through several stages of meditative practice. Even if you only master the 1st or 2nd stage, it will be of immense value to your life and to those around you. The inspirational guided meditations at the end of each chapter are wonderful.

Yes, the advanced levels may be hard to reach, but it's good to know they are there and what they are...at least intellectually to give one a perspective on what is possible waiting to be uncovered. The diamond cutter chips away obscurity to reveal the perfect clarity that is always present.

Maybe it will inspire someone to give up being a couch potatoe and dive into the wondrous depths of their mind and soul.

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