In my previous entry I discussed mindfulness as memory of an extended present — a remembered present — as distinct from awareness of a present moment. Lived time is not divided into moments. In fact, it does not seem to be divided, at all.

The equivalent of a moment in time is a point in space. Just as the language we use when speaking of time is complicated by the idea of a “moment,” so, I have come to feel, is the language we use when speaking of concentration complicated by the idea of a “point.” What do we mean by a point? My OED devotes four columns, extending over a page of small print, for “point” as a noun. High up on the list of meanings is “a minute part … of something; the smallest unit … of measurement.” This notion of a point fits neatly with the idea of concentration as “focus.” If we use a lens to focus the sun’s rays on a single point, for example, the concentrated sunlight creates great heat. Similarly, if we focus our minds on a small and clearly defined aspect of our experience — the breath at the point that it enters and leaves the body, for example — the mind can become very powerful. Read More...