Mental states that widen perception
Attention isn't fixed: it's trained like a skill, and doing so changes what we're able to perceive.
Image: Center for Healthy Minds
When the mind wanders, we barely register our surroundings; when it's present, the world sharpens. Attention is the filter through which all perception passes — and, far from being a fixed trait, it can be cultivated.
The Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, founded in 2009 by neuroscientist Richard Davidson, studies exactly that: the neuroscience of well-being and the effect of practices like meditation on the brain. Their work has helped show that attention can be trained in measurable ways.
Its central thesis is luminous: well-being isn't a state you either have or don't, but a set of skills you learn, like playing an instrument. They identify four neuroscience-backed pillars —positive outlook, resilience, mindful attention and generosity— and note that mental training can reshape areas of the brain.
For Beyond Sight, training attention opens the door to perception. The more present we are, the more information from the world —and from ourselves— we can take in. It's the state from which everything else is learned better.
In brief
- Attention is the filter of all perception — and it can be trained.
- Center for Healthy Minds: founded in 2009 by Richard Davidson.
- Well-being is a set of skills, not a fixed state.
- Mental training can reshape areas of the brain.
Center for Healthy Minds
Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison · dir. Richard Davidson.
Read on centerhealthyminds.org →An explanatory summary written by Beyond Sight from public sources. For the original content, visit the center's website.
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