Attention, awareness and the divided brain

[mudman]

I'm not sure if this is exactly the right place to be posting this, but I can't figure out where else it fits...

The beginning of the video talks about narrow, focused attention vs broader, sustained awareness - and how the left and right sides of our brains handle these functions. I started thinking about how this relates to our game - the need to place careful attention on the sights, while remaining open to all the other inputs (props, obstacles, malfunctions, etc.) we need to process to be successful. It also talks about how we - as a society - have shifted to a more left-brain view of the world; while I think one of the benefits of studying Zen is to become more balanced or right-brained.

I haven't finished digesting this video, and I think I need to watch it a few more times before I begin to understand everything he's talking about. But my gut is telling me there's something useful in here, so I thought I'd share it. Hopefully some of the smarter (or more enlightened) folks on the forum can decipher this better. Worst case, it's food for thought.

Plus the cartoons are cool.

Edited October 22, 2011 by mudman

[Sam]

WOW! I found that video to be very profound. We do live in a very materialistic age, but whatever joy we find, isn't from material possessions.

This points to the concept of separateness/oneness. On the level of our physical bodies, we are contained in separate "cans". If one eats and the other does not eat, the non-eater dies. So, the two compete until one dies. But eventually, both die anyway.

On the other side of the page, we are all interconnected at the level of being human. The one thing that we all share, is that physically, we all die. Is there a universal mind, then?

I'm thinking yes. But, the left side of my brain doesn't understand this. So now, Lefty is pissed and plotting to do evil to the right side.

HMMMMM....

[DonovanM]

Nice!

[Sam]

Donovan....is sure hope that "Nice" from your right brain

[benos]

On the other side of the page, we are all interconnected at the level of being human. The one thing that we all share, is that physically, we all die. Is there a universal mind, then?

I'm thinking yes. But, the left side of my brain doesn't understand this. So now, Lefty is pissed and plotting to do evil to the right side.

That is the cause of the all problems human.

[Biloxi23]

I heard this theory once that we all have three brains; the left brain, the right brain and teh brain when both work together. That we are one person with one appearance when dominated by left brain, another person that is opposite when dominated by right brain, and an amalgam when niether brain is dominant. Then again, maybe it was 4 o'clock in the morning after half a bottle of single malt.

[JKSNIPER]

and to make it worse...when you throw a bucketload of stress on a human and his/her heart rate goes Pahzoom "the thinking human exits stage right and the gorilla is now driving the car."

[dravz]

It does make sense in the context of our sport, especially when you think about it being the right hand that actually aligns the sights and breaks the shot, while it is the left hand that does everything else -- most of the controlling, grabbing the mags and all the reloading, operating stage obstacles, and so on.