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1/ I've become fascinated by the experience of what I call "shared attention spaces". This is where people all have their attention on the same thing and it feels like they're having a shared experience. We can explore what they feel like when their spell gets broken.
2/ Say you're watching a movie with your partner, you're both engrossed and sharing the experience. But then you notice she's started scrolling through her phone – the vibe changes completely. Now you're in your own attention space and she's in hers. The magic is gone.
3/ The fact that there is a thing that it feels like to be in a shared attention space with other people suggests there's something important happening here. It's more than just a shared focus of attention, it's a group expanded awareness that you can slip into and out of.
4/ I've noticed this in group Alexander Technique sessions. When 10 or 15 experienced folks expand own awareness together the effect is additive. Some kind of group cohesion or silent group communication is happening. It's linked to a kind of deep and real human connection...
5/ Eye gazers will get this. You can talk to a person with your shields up and engage with them cognitively. You or can 'drop' the shields, mix your awareness with theirs, and enter a shared attention space. This can feel vulnerable. It's what being seen really feels like.
6/ For me this is one of the most distinguishing features of Alexander Technique. It seems that, somehow, being able to play with your own awareness, while with someone else who can do it too, lets us connect with each other in a way that regular life rarely allows.
Meta] If you've come across this thread in isolation and want to go deeper then you might be interested in my 'thread of threads' on the topic. https://t.co/pppidMHSzH
Meta] Also, if you want to dive much deeper into this stuff, I have built what I believe is the only asynchronous online course that explores Alexander Technique from a first principles perspective. You can find out more and stay up to date by going here: https://t.co/GHzsyr4ILq
@m_ashcroft Love this topic and that you brought it up; but there's a sense in which this feels like 'merely' a PSA that shared attention spaces exist. I'm curious if you have any more thoughts on this! What are special consequences of/experiences in these spaces? What uniquely happens here?
@m_ashcroft Funny you should bring this up today; I was recently thinking about the shared attention spaces of exam rooms: https://t.co/Kvnj6F7QWT There's not much human connection going on inside those; at the same time, there's a sense of connectedness in everyone sharing an experience.
I loved, and really miss, the shared, sacred spaces of mass exams. I always found them incredibly conducive to focus. Everywhere else, everything in the world vies for my attention; in exam rooms there was only ever one thing to focus on. No decision-making was needed at all.