Two ways to meditate: focused attention and open monitoring

The distinction proposed by Antoine Lutz and colleagues (2008), what each trains and how to choose the one that suits you

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Translated from the Albanian original by the editors. Shqip

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Illustration: concentric circles, a symbol of focused and open attention
Original illustration by the lexoshpejt editors. Not a historical photograph or object.
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The word "meditation" is used for many different practices. To understand them better, in 2008 the French neuroscientist Antoine Lutz and his colleagues proposed dividing many of them into two main styles. This distinction has come into wide use in scientific research.

Focused attention

In this style attention is held on a single object: the breath, a word, a sound, the flame of a candle. When the mind wanders, which happens constantly, the practitioner notices it and gently brings attention back to the object. This cycle, wandering, noticing, returning, is repeated hundreds of times.

According to Lutz, this style trains three skills: sustaining attention, noticing distraction and returning attention without getting entangled in what distracted us.

Open monitoring

In this style there is no single object. The practitioner opens attention to everything that arises: sounds, sensations in the body, thoughts, emotions. They do not stop at any of them, but simply notice them as they come and go. It is more like the attitude of an observer watching a river flow.

This style trains more the awareness of how the mind works: how thoughts arise, how emotions pull us, how experience changes from one moment to the next.

Focused attention is like a torch lighting one spot. Open monitoring is like morning light filling the whole room.

What studies say

Brain-imaging studies and attention tests have found differences between the two styles, as well as between experienced practitioners and beginners. Even so, in practice many meditations mix the two, and the boundary between them is not always clear. Many teachers recommend starting with focused attention, because it steadies the mind, and then adding open monitoring.

How to try them

  1. Week one: 5–10 minutes a day with attention on the breath. Count breaths from 1 to 10 and start again.
  2. Week two: after 5 minutes with the breath, open your attention for 3–5 minutes to the sounds around you, without naming them.
  3. Week three: add bodily sensations and thoughts, noting them as "thinking", "hearing", "feeling".
  4. Notice which suits you on different days. On distracted days, focused attention helps more; on calm days, open monitoring can be richer.

Sources and further reading

  1. Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Dunne, J. D. & Davidson, R. J. (2008). Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(4), 163–169. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.01.005
  2. Goleman, D. & Davidson, R. J. (2017). Altered Traits. New York: Avery. WorldCat

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