15 minute Open Focus Technique with Susan Shor Fehmi | Simple, attention training meditation

In this video Susan Shor Fehmi leads me in an Open Focus practice that you can do along with me.
Susan is a practising psychotherapist and director of the Princeton Biofeedback Centre. The technique was scientifically developed with the aid of specially designed EEG machines by her husband, the scientist Dr Les Fehmi (now retired). Susan and her husband have been training people to use the Open Focus technique to alleviate stress, dissolve pain and achieve peak performance.
Dr Fehmi was even recruited to train the Dallas Cowboys in the technique because their coach had recognised its potential to be even more effective than massage in muscle recovery by effecting change at the nervous system level, not to mention how a greater control of attentional bias can lead to better sports performance.
The technique works by diffusing your attention, widening your focus, making you conscious of space (“objectless aawareness”), and immersing you with the objects of your awareness.
The result goes far beyond relaxation, it teaches you the genuine skill of greater attentional flexibility.
If you’d like to try it for yourself, follow along as Susan guides me in a practice, click here…
If you’d like to watch a video where Susan explains more about the science click here…
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Discover more information on the technique and the science behind it in Dr Les Fehmi’s excellent 2008 book “The Open Focus Brain”, which is now more relevant than ever due to our ever-deeper reliance on technologies that demand narrow focus.
tinyurl.com/fs...
Susan has co-written her new book “The Open Focus Life” with her husband Dr Les Fehmi, and Mark Beauregard. The book is available to pre-order here…
tinyurl.com/jf...
Check out the official Open Focus website here
openfocus.com
You can also check out Open Focus trainer Dr Tomasz Kopek’s excellent free resources here (the guy I mentioned in the video)
www.openfocusa...
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And while you’re here, check out the reviews for my latest book “Draw Breath; The Art of Breathing”! The fun and simple way to learn to meditate!
tinyurl.com/ne...

[@AriaBreath]

Thanks for checking out the channel! If you’re interested in meditation, you’ll love my new book ‘Draw Breath’ ! Check out the reviews and get your copy here… amzn.to/3vyYEPq

[@mrwise7067]

Open focus" and "filled with space" refer to a state of mind where you're not intensely focused on any particular thing, but instead, you have a relaxed and broad awareness of your surroundings or thoughts. It's like having a mental spaciousness where your attention is not locked onto one specific point, allowing you to be more aware of everything around you or your thoughts without fixating on any single element. This can be helpful for reducing stress, increasing creativity, and improving overall well-being.

[@wanted_gem]

Thank you!

[@letaiefgley5395]

This was in "Les Fehmi and Jim Robbins" book "Open Focus Brain" I advice anyone here to read it and practice every exercice in it!

[@AriaBreath]

Thanks Letaief! It’s a fantastic book isn’t it? If you enjoyed this then check out the full the interview with Susan where we talk at length about the discoveries in the book!

[@letaiefgley5395]

@@AriaBreath will do!!

[@Tracy_Cal74]

Just tried this, and felt like I was one with time and space, infinite, weightless, and a beautiful floating feeling. Thank you! xxx

[@timdipayanmazumdar1089]

Les Fehmi did this work in the 1960s in Open Focus.

[@AriaBreath]

Yes Tim, Susan is Les' wife.You can watch my full interview with her about the history of the technique on this channel :)

[@mrwise7067]

In this meditation, you essentially aim to find a mental space where you're not concentrating on any one thing in particular. Instead, you're letting your awareness expand to notice the general openness or roominess around you. It's a bit like stepping back from focusing on specific thoughts or feelings and allowing your mind to rest in a broader, more open state. This practice can bring a sense of relaxation and peace.

[@HerbertSimonDachs]

This channel needs one million followers quick. So beneficial for us all ❤

[@AriaBreath]

Wow, thank you Herbert! More videos coming this summer!

[@HerbertSimonDachs]

@@AriaBreath Thank you. The earlier the better 😁👍

[@chrislubke6694]

The Alpha state of mind Our kids know everything about it

[@kpip6264]

Driving your views every day. Thank you! Dr. Susan SHOR is brilliant.

[@thetraderstribe4444]

thank you so much for sharing this! incredible value.

[@AriaBreath]

No problem, thanks for checking out the channel!

[@johnnywlittle]

That was great. Thank you for posting

[@AriaBreath]

Thanks Johnny! Glad you enjoyed!

[@wetlazer2443]

Zonked me right out. Terrific!

[@alexisgouraud]

Thank you, I just did it, it was beautiful, my mind stopped looking for things, I am feeling peaceful. All I need is within me now.

[@AriaBreath]

Lovely to know Alexis! I’m putting on some courses right now about combining meditation with breathwork in case you are interested. You can put your email in at BreatheWithTom.com :)

[@BryansCafe]

Thank you so much for sharing this. Love how it’s presented :)

[@zackbenner9299]

This is incredible. Thanks so much

[@AriaBreath]

Thanks Zack! Glad it was useful.

[@marianonebbia6508]

Thank you

[@AriaBreath]

Thanks for the positivity Mariano 😁

[@brianlittrell797]

That was powerful. It seems very similar to yoga nidra and body scan meditations.

[@arimasson]

I am studying psychology. This is the future. Life changing focus shift. Thank you so much brother.

[@kempoutzzz]

it's been around for 30 years buddy...

[@kempoutzzz]

and the east has been doing since thousands of years ago ...

[@santosepang7584]

Many thanks 🙏

[@AriaBreath]

Thanks for checking out the channel Santo, glad you enjoyed Susan’s meditation!

[@frederiknielsen2923]

Good stuff

[@jameswaters6839]

..became friends with Leonard Orr, Tom Kenyon and Sondra Ray.

[@rsandilands]

Who did?

[@mewilcox3653]

This seems very similar to Dr. Joe Dispenza's meditations, especially his body parts - space meditation.

[@kyleleey]

This is where it comes from. He mentions it in his book Being Supernatural.

[@hamiltoncamp]

That’s how I came to this video. Saw Les Fehmi’s book in the end notes of Breaking the habit of being yourself. I’m anxious to bring it up in my Joe Dispenza zoom meeting today. This little exercise mellowed out my anxiety with a quickness. Love it

[@kempoutzzz]

without this Dr Joe wouldn't be able to prepare the body to get to alpha state and do all other things that follow

[@peterbeaino2562]

So space= black void? That would be easier than just imagining transparent air?

[@AriaBreath]

Go with what works for you. I highly recommend the book “The Open Focus Brain”, which will give you more clarity.

[@louisem2097]

Lovely, I imagined tumbling weightlessly in outer space in silence

[@AriaBreath]

That’s lovely Louise!

[@kempoutzzz]

might lose yourself, identity if you're not used to it

[@petulia67]

How does one “feel” space?

[@mikeh.4503]

9:10

[@jps8678]

To me it was very hard. I just think what space? There is tissue, muscles etc. No open space. Coherent breathing I understand but this is somethign else.

[@zarabts1430]

What does she mean imagine the space how should I do that I'm confused

[@AriaBreath]

Hi Zara, thanks for watching. It can take a little getting used to, try picturing the volume of space as though it is a shape made of light. For example, light shining between your two hands. I hope this helps!

[@Amandahugginkizz]

Yeah she doesn't describe it no way 10 yr old are getting wtf she's saying she's vague I'm 40 and don't get it qt all

[@aneirathomas4955]

There's nothing "to get" that's engaging and ironic because this is about letting go of yourself and your habits.

[@peterbeaino2562]

What does she mean what she says you fingers filled with space? What is space? Is she saying imagine your fingers filled with nothing?

[@AriaBreath]

Hi Peter, that’s essentially it yes. You are imaging the space itself. Visualising the distance between each area. If you check out some of the comments it’s a sense of “objectless awareness” in other meditation modalities… go with it and see what happens ;)

[@peterbeaino2562]

Thank you

[@studystatus2607]

i didnt understand how to imagine space

[@peterbeaino2562]

Looks like jared letto

[@AriaBreath]

Shucks, thanks!

[@inajosmood]

Is the research replicated somewhere? By other parties than the author or through a peer reviewed study? Dr. Fehmi says you can hook yourself up to some devices and check for yourself, so I can imagine that some people with access to such devices tried this. I also can't find the research itself. For me an author doing research with altered devices is not proof. There's so much 'research' in the self help space that could never be replicated. Doesn't mean it's worthless, just that it's not scientific by any means.

[@AriaBreath]

Hi Jos, thanks for checking out the channel! I'll do my best to answer you. While this is not the answer you are looking for, you could look into the studies of Drs P Gerbarg and R Brown, they use Open Focus Technique as their primary attention directive in their meditations once they have taken participants through a series of breathing techniques. While it is not a direct study of Open Focus and is confounded by the addition of specific breathing rates and movements, I think you will at the very least find them interesting if you are interested in meditative studies. You could also watch my interview with them on this channel although I don't think we got into Open Focus. There are many recent peer reviewed studies showing that different meditation styles affect brainwaves differently - Nidra correlating with theta, mindfulness correlating with alpha etc, in a sense this is a similar but highly specific version of what might be described as Open Monitoring in Bhuddism so I don't find the alpha claims too difficult to believe. The explosion in these kinds of peer reviewed studies is due to the technology becoming (comparatively) cheaper and more reliable in the last 20 years as well as a lot more funding for studies relating to meditation. Fehmi was working 40 years ago with what he had within a scientific community and wider culture that was still way off accepting meditation as a health intervention. In simple terms, my own interest in sharing this technique and speaking with Susan comes from having used it - it really feels like no other meditation I have been guided through. You are right to be skeptical, the Biofeedback movement of the 70s and 80s had some pretty wacky ideas. However, when it comes to experiential practices, I believe you should also value your own experience. The philosophy behind the technique outlined in Dr Fehmi's book holds up well as an explanation of the subjective experience. Point being, if he'd never made claims about alpha, I'd still be interested in this technique. Putting aside the untested brainwave claims for a moment, conscious and unconscious attentional states undeniably affect nervous system states. In his book, Dr Fehmi talks about how narrow focus causes higher sympathetic arousal, this is not controversial, you can test this yourself with a galvanic skin response sensor, muscle tension sensor, or HRV monitor. The detrimental effects of sustained sympathetic arousal through the catabolic effects of cortisol alone are well documented. We are in an unseen epidemic of narrow focus states due to social media, 24 hour news, and smartphones, if this helps people to practice breaking that pattern, it is likely good for health... it may even be uniquely suitable and so I'm happy to promote it. I hope that it will be tested by a peer reviewed study but as Dr Fehmi is retired now it is unlikely! I'm sure this hasn't alleviated your concerns but I hope it was helpful, stay skeptical : )

[@inajosmood]

@@AriaBreath thanks for this extensive response. My concerns haven't been alleviated, but they were not that severe and your responive increases my interest significantly. Being skeptical should go two ways, towards the new and the known ;) I'll try it today! See where it goes!

[@inajosmood]

@@AriaBreath Hi, I would like to report on my findings... I tried it a few times now. To me it feels like any hypnosis induction. It's nice. And that's it to me. Nothing more or less. I've had way deeper and more interesting hypnosis experiences. But because this experience is so personal it might be that this just ticks a few boxes for my mind/body system and some other things check a few more boxes. What I do like a lot though, is that this is easy to implement for myself, without guided audio. That's a big plus. The really meaningful and powerful hypnosis sessions have been really guided and directive. This is a method to at least go in that direction :)

[@AriaBreath]

@@inajosmood Thanks for the detailed feedback Jos. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Are there any particular hypnosis inductions that you would recommend for me to check out?

[@inajosmood]

@@AriaBreath the best ones have been in closed group programs with a mentor. He doesnt like to share much publicly at all. I enjoyed one older Richard Bandler cd a lot. I think it was the personal enhancement series. Lol i had this whole library, but at some point putting myself in such a state and being a bit more open to be influenced by the hypnotist, didnt feel right and lost my interest . Except for these more personal settings. Not sure what he does now, but I think Adam Eason had some really nice ones.

[@anonymouspreferred3234]

I wore headphones to listen to Susan’s meditation and unfortunately was repeatedly jolted out of being relaxed every time she was kicking the chair or moving in her chair that made a loud clicking sound and it seems to bounce very very distracting so disappointed, I’ve tried without the headphones but I can still hear it not as loud but it’s there.

[@AriaBreath]

I’m sorry you couldn’t enjoy it. This was an impromptu meditation over zoom which is why the quality isn’t ideal. I hope you can find something else on the channel to help shift your focus. If you are specifically interested in Open Focus I recommend Dr Tomasz Kopec’s recordings. Or submit your email at drawbreath.com to come to one of my live meditation sessions.

[@alan5863]

I listened to the recording by her husband? And I kept hearing him swallow- it got very annoying

[@Evanjgross]

@@AriaBreath Where can I find Dr Tomasz Kopec’s recordings?

[@AriaBreath]

Hi Evan, here is his website: www.openfocusattentiontraining.com