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Beginner Objective

Focus Training

Train your ability to direct and control your attention

Duration: 5-10 minutes Frequency: Daily recommended

Quick Start

What This Does

Strengthens your ability to direct and control your attention - the foundation of all inner work and mental clarity.

What You Need

A quiet space where you won't be interrupted. Objects to look at (any room works). Optional: a timer.

When to Use

When your mind feels scattered. Before focused work. When stuck ruminating. As a daily practice.

The Exercise

External Spotting (Eyes Open)

  1. 1
    Sit comfortably in a room with various objects around you.
  2. 2
    Pick a spot on any object in the room. It could be a corner of a picture frame, a point on the wall, a spot on a lamp.
  3. 3
    Place your attention there. Really notice that specific point. Not the whole object - just that one spot.
  4. 4
    Hold your attention on that spot for 2-3 seconds. Notice when your mind wants to wander. Gently keep it there.
  5. 5
    Pick a new spot somewhere else in the room. Move your attention cleanly to it.
  6. 6
    Repeat for 5-10 minutes, moving from spot to spot.
What you're training: The ability to place attention exactly where you choose. The skill of moving attention cleanly. Control over where your awareness goes.

Internal Spotting (Eyes Closed)

  1. 1
    Close your eyes and sit comfortably.
  2. 2
    Imagine a point in the space around you - perhaps a foot in front of your face, or to your left.
  3. 3
    Place your attention on that imagined point. You don't need to "see" anything. Just know where it is and put your awareness there.
  4. 4
    Move to another point - perhaps behind you, or above your head.
  5. 5
    Continue spotting points in the space around you for 5-10 minutes.
What you're training: Attention control without external anchors. Spatial awareness. The distinction between "you" and "where you're looking."

Body Spotting

  1. 1
    Close your eyes or keep them open, whichever feels right.
  2. 2
    Place your attention on the top of your head. Notice whatever is there - tension, warmth, nothing in particular.
  3. 3
    Move your attention down to your forehead. Notice what's there.
  4. 4
    Continue moving through your body: eyes, jaw, throat, shoulders, chest, stomach, hips, legs, feet.
  5. 5
    Optionally, move back up through the body.
What you're training: Body awareness. The ability to scan for held tension. Presence in your physical form.

Signs It's Working

Note: Sometimes the first few sessions stir up restlessness. This is normal. The restlessness is what was already there - you're just noticing it now. Keep going. It settles.

Common Challenges

"My mind keeps wandering."

That's normal. The moment you notice it wandered, you've succeeded - you caught it. Just bring it back. This IS the exercise.

"I don't feel anything."

You don't need to feel anything special. The exercise is about controlling attention, not producing experiences.

"I keep thinking about the exercise instead of doing it."

Notice that thinking, then redirect to the spot. Thinking about attention is different from placing attention.

Why This Works

You are not your thoughts. You are the awareness that can observe thoughts, direct attention, and choose focus. But like any skill, this requires practice.

Most people's attention runs on autopilot - grabbed by notifications, pulled by worries, hijacked by random mental chatter. This exercise takes back control.

The ability to place your attention exactly where you want it is foundational. Every other practice - meditation, processing difficult emotions, creative work, presence with others - builds on this skill.

Five minutes a day. That's all it takes to start.

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