12 states of attention: suggestions for practice

This is a handout for my 12 States of Attention presentation.


• Practice staying in a single state for a minute at a time. Add time as you gain mastery.
• Practice switching rapidly through all 12 states. Write a brief script and memorize it. Change the order if it gets stale.
• Notice which state(s) you’re in in any given situation.
• Notice which state(s) others are in.
• Practice difficult states to strength neurology.
• Experience an event or situation in as many states as possible.
• Notice the qualities of each state.
• Add submodalities to each state.
• Choose a state and focus on it for an hour or a day.
• Learn to shift states when feeling bored or stuck.
• Notice which state might be most useful in any given situation.
• If you’re feeling pain (KIN), go broad and feel that amount of pain spread through your whole body. Start with minor pains. It will take practice, but it makes pain much more bearable.
• To move out of depression (which is XIN), first go external (XEN), then go broad (XEB), then go internal (XIB). For instance, if you are hearing a narrow internal voice, first focus on single external sounds, then open up and let all sounds come in, and then go back internal (construct or remember a broad experience of sounds).