Attentive Capacity - Being Present In The Moment

Morihei Ueshiba, known as the father of the modern martial art of Aikido, was reputedly asked by one of his students how he remained so present and apparently unperturbed in the midst of a fight. Whether apocryphal or not, he is reputed to have said that he did not consider himself particularly good at being continuously present in a fight but what he was really good at was ‘coming back’ from being distracted.

When people first begin mind-body relaxation training, which is the core of lucid dreaming and attentive capacity, almost universally they report that their major difficulty is staying focused. Their distress about being distracted is usually allayed when they understand that the practice of mind-body relaxation involves, like the skill of the Aikido master, getting good at ‘coming back’ from distraction. One learns to be tireless, remorseless, and unperturbed by the tendency of one’s mind to wander away from the object of focus. As this is a lucid dreaming blog, 'dreaming' is our object of focus in this blog. Especially if one is attempting to learn the WILD method of lucid dreaming, which stands for, Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming. For this you need total mind-body relaxation. I mean, really, really relaxed and focused! 

“Getting good at coming back from distraction is as important as being good at staying focused.”

Beginners of lucid dreaming and the WILD method often feel various degrees of frustration, irritation and remorse when they find that their attention has wandered off into what they’re having for lunch or some distressing thought about their symptoms, whatever they may be. As one progresses in this relaxation practice, one learns to return attention to the chosen sensation they are focusing on without any emotion or internal comment about being distracted. Coming right back from distraction without emotion or internal comment is what it takes to get good at ‘coming back.’ There is no quick way to achieve this – practice, practice and more practice is the often-unwelcome secret.

Practice in regards to what? Holding your attention. Methods such as meditation and other exercises in holding attention are the methods of practice. Gazing at candles or other objects works as well. Do repetitive, nonsensical movements or exercises to hone your attention. Rake the leaves from one pile in the yard to another. Hand write, "I am going to remember my dreams tonight!" 100 times on a piece of paper. These are also referred to as 'not-doings,' by Carlos Castaneda and those who enjoy his writings. I will cover not-doings in yet another post, as they are extremely important!

But for now, when your mind wanders, gently bring it back. Again, practice, practice, practice. Then, when you realize you are dreaming, and it now becomes a lucid dream, you can hold your attention, or what I often refer to as attentive capacity, and really begin to get whatever it is you are looking for out of your dreaming experience. Same with the WILD method. One must be very still, both physically and mentally, so that the body will 'fall asleep' while the mind is still awake. Again, this takes 'attentive capacity.' The ability to focus, and if your mind wanders, to quickly bring it back to attention in the moment. I'll write more about this at a later time. 

Enrique