Cultivating the Skill of Attention: The Sensebridge School's Pathway to Effective Self-Control and Personal Development

Human behavior revolves around attention, which is essential for self-control and self-regulation. Effective use of self-help practices, personal growth, and development requires attention management.

The Sensebridge School has made developing techniques and methods for managing attention one of its primary objectives. It's important to note that these techniques must be tailored to an individual's temperament and cannot be universally applied.

Attention can be divided into conscious and unconscious categories. While conscious attention can be controlled directly, unconscious attention can only be controlled indirectly. This type of attention is largely influenced by temperament, which determines which internal and external signals warrant more attention and timely responses.

Directly controlling unconscious attention is not possible, hence the term "unconscious." However, it is possible to observe and influence the movement of unconscious attention.
The Sensebridge School focuses on the development and study of practices for observing and understanding the characteristics of unconscious attention, as well as a person's ability to control it.

We recognize that the process of acquiring the skill of observing unconscious attention is highly individualized. What works for one person may not work for another, depending on their temperament.

However, developing the ability to monitor and regulate one's attention can lead to a significant improvement in one's self-control abilities.

Self-control skills are often associated with blocking one's own desires and aspirations, leading to negative consequences and distress. Research has shown that this type of self-control is not very effective. At Sensebridge School, we aim to develop non-blocking self-control skills that enable individuals to shift their attention without resistance, thereby reducing distress and promoting a positive outcome.

The point at which the conscious and the unconscious intersect is the inner voice. However, it is important to distinguish between internal monologue and internal dialogue as they operate through two different brain mechanisms.

Internal monologue allows one to consciously process associations arising from the unconscious part of thinking and evaluate them. This is helpful in understanding how temperament influences the formation of associations and decision-making in different life situations.

Internal dialogue provides an opportunity to converse with your temperament. Rational thinking leads the conversation, challenging or logically continuing judgments, while the temperament suggests judgments based on unconscious associations. Developing the skill of internal dialogue enables you to critically examine automatic decisions, associations, and quick judgments.

Typically, our internal monologue and dialogue lack full engagement with rational thinking. We often fail to distinguish between our conscious and unconscious selves, leading to uncritical treatment of associative series and resulting in irrational actions.

The Sensebridge School aims to equip individuals with the necessary tools for honing their internal monologue and dialogue skills.

The attention-related practices of the Sensebridge School center around enhancing individuals' self-awareness and self-control by making their unconscious behaviors more conscious. The School teaches internal dialogue skills, fosters a deeper self-understanding, and gives purpose to one's actions.