The Open-Focus Brain: Harnessing the Power of Attention to Heal Mind and Body Paperback – December 16, 2008

Can a book change your life? I think so. Open-Focus Brain has changed my life to the good. The book caught my eye at Shakespeare, a bookstore in New York City where it was prominently displayed atop a pyramid of books on self betterment. I could not wait to read it, because maintaining a healthy brain has been a lifelong interest and pursuit, given my concern over my family's genetic pool. I related to many of the anecdotes in the book, but I was skeptical of the basic premise. I can change my focus? A change in focus and attention could bring calm, well being, and alleviation of pain, both physical and psychological, and an increase in performance in sports and almost all activities? Yes! The book is informative, well written, and quite calm and low key...there are no illustrations or long lists of things to do or not do...The DVD disc attached to the back inside cover was like finding a gem, a prize. Trying some of the exercises on the DVD was a new experience in my reading of self help books, and again I had almost zero expectations that anything good would ensue. Despite lots of doubts and reservations, I actually felt a new and pleasant sensation in listening to the DVD while intently following the exercises. Hey, this feels good, I thought, but maybe I simply deluded myself into feeling better. I called Dr. Fehmi's office and made an appointment to see what he was like and go a little further with this discovery. I traveled the hour and a half from New York City to Princeton New Jersey and met Dr Fehmi and his lovely partner/ wife Susan.. Now, months later, and many sessions at Dr. Fehmi's office, I can say I feel part of a revolutionary breakthrough in the understanding of the brain, and I am now sure that a person can reset his or her ways....and feel better and attend to the world in a much healthier fashion. For instance, by getting my brain to relax its very narrow focus on lots of things I tend to fixate on, it has allowed me to deal with all sorts of thoughts and emotions and memories I have stored up over many decades....like clusters of clutter in closets and attics...and deal with them, sort them, and get rid of them. All by creating healthier brain waves. This book should be required reading in all schools. I strongly recommend Open-Focus Brain for anyone seeking help in mastering his or her own health and well being. William K. Joseph

At first very enthusiastic about the concepts of this book, I became delusional by real life practice.As many other authors of self help books, the author of this book correctly recognize that we spend to much time in a wrong state of mind he calls "narrow objective" attention mode: focused on a single thing objectively from experience. Fine diagnosis. Problem is with solution.As informal practice author suggest that to counter-balance the exhausting mode of attention, we should for example expand our spacial attention to include more elements. For example as you read this review, include in your awareness the frame of your computer screen, the space between each lines of text while at the same time the space between each letters. This is supposed to make you less focused. Well I find this really unnatural, impossible to do and straining. Can you really imagine yourself reading this review while bringing to your awareness space between letters, line, and screen frame ? Com'on !To further help us switching from one mode of attention to the other, the author has established 4 modes of attention, each of which can be combined with each other. So this makes a lot of modes of mind. I found myself constantly trying to evaluate my current mode of attention, and it was difficult to categorize my current state into the combos of attentional modes described in the book. It seems I always stumbled upon exceptions that could be categorized in several contradictory modes. So in the final this created more stress.On practical informal ground, I found myself turned in some kind of robot constantly evaluating his mode of mind, evaluating spacial distance from myself and various environment objects, spreading my attention over several objects simultaneously while engaged in a conversation for example which in final was exhausting and unnatural.Also I found some part of the formal exercises impossible to do. Again, how are you supposed to imagine the volume of all your fingers, while imagining the space between each of your fingers, the space between your arms and around them, all simultaneously? Impossible, the mind just isn't designed to perform this and can't really focus on so much element at the same time. Try and you will exhaust yourself unnecessarily.I believe the treatment practiced at the author's clinic DO work. But one must not forget that they practice true Neurofeedback: they teach you to cultivate alpha brain wave with scientific measures. Expecting to get same result only from this book and by changing the way you pay attention is like driving a car without fuel. You won't get very far without neurofeedback alpha brain wave monitoring.Also the author' story all started with alpha brainwave hooked to a neurofeedback device: it's only when he experimented massive alpha brain wave stimulation that his focus began to open, not the contrary. The correct focus is a by product of alpha brain wave. Cultivate your alpha and you'll eventually get into correct focus. But trying to change your focus in your daily live by the methods suggested in this book and you will get exhaustion.So this book is the author's solution to overly focused mode of mind. I much prefer mindfulness based solutions focused on the experience to divert you from internally focused mode of mind. Mindfulness when mastered truly makes the experience more enjoyable and is more in sync with potential mode of mind.A plus note: some of the simple part of the exercise from the CD in this book do have the potential to induct alpha brain waive I believe. Not sure if they are enough without brain wave monitoring to induce the desired open focus result unless maybe you have time to practice 3 times a day as suggested exercises that can take over 30 minutes each!!

Having read a lot of meditation books, zen books, power of now and attention deficit books, this book is a very interesting perspective on the subject of focus and attention.First off the book explains what open focus is but it took me a while to grasp it. It wasn't until I read the first exercise that I 'felt' what open focus is about. I feel the book does require a few reads. More importantly, I felt I was very drawn to re-reading it, especially after listening to the cd.Let me try a technique he uses in open focus. So while you are reading this review, imagine the distance of the screen from your eyes while still reading. Then see the edges of the computer screen yet still managing to read. Notice the spaces between each of the lines of words. Can you feel your shoulders? Can you feel if your arms and fingers are tense? Are your eyes relaxed? Still keep reading yet feel your tightness as you are still reading. Perhaps you can soften that tension and still maintain focus. Perhaps that feels more relaxed and now less urgent?So one of the ideas is to still function but we don't always need what's known as 'narrow focus' or 'hyper-focus'. This is the focus that uses a high level of energy, tension and focus. We don't always need this type of focus with everything we do. This type of focus is very effective at getting things done, but unless we have a knowledge of 'different types' of focus, we can burn out. We don't always need to use narrow-focus for every task and every conversation. There are lots of other things we could do in open focus, enjoy them more and maybe even do a better job. An obvious one is reading. When I did the exercise he gave while reading I noticed my tension and softened it, especially the tension I was using to hold the book.There is a cd with the book. The exercises on them are really brilliant. For me, going through the exercises really helps digest the sense of open focus.One of the main themes of open focus training is to focus on space and spaces. Something like the space between your eyes. On the cd there are 15 second pauses between focuses. So imagine the distance from your eyes to the tip of your nose. pause. Imagine the volume of your lips. pause. The idea is not to say "oh its an inch" but more the greater depth of the space, such as the space between the atoms in the space.The first of the two long guided sessions is working the head, shoulders and upper back. The second works the whole body. The voice on the cd is very pleasant.What this book does very well is point out that we are living as if everything is urgent. Yet a lot of the time we aren't aware of it. Our culture rewards this type of focus. We are taught it at school; "stop daydreaming"; "pay attention"; "concentrate". A lot of the time we were paying attention but we look relaxed, or our gaze wasn't looking 'focused' enough.Theres a lot of scientific biofeedback to back up this open focus training to move the practitioner very quickly into alpha waves using what is know as "imageless imagery".Les Fehmi has been working with being "a student of how human beings attend both to the world around them and to their internal world of emotions and thoughts" for over 40 years. He's worked with Dallas Cowboys(American Football), the New jersey Nets, and the Olympic Development Committee.At the time of writing this review there are no other reviews. So to read more reviews use the link in the address bar, delete the .co.uk and replace with .com and that should take you straight to amazon.com and their 20 reviews of this book.Creator of the  Beginner Tai Chi (DVD)Beginner Tai Chi (DVD)

"The Open-Focus Brain" is a particularly useful read if you already have a meditation practice. If you just do Les Fehmi's exercises in their own, it may take some practice. Nonetheless, it will be very worthwhile.For those who have read Meido Moore's "Hidden Zen", "The Open-Focus Brain" provides some neuroscience explanations of how opening one's awareness works as a process and why it is hugely beneficial.I like the way the exercises are integrated into daily life. Fehmi discusses how to remember to practice and other important ideas.Despite their efforts, most books on Zen, mindfulness and awareness turn it into a complicated process that takes much effort and years to accomplish. Fehmi simplifies the process and just has just follow his instructions and a open awareness will happen spontaneously.All in all this is very good book. It is one that I will come back to often.Highly recommended.

This book was mentioned by James Tripp . I have found it extremely interesting Once again books that James mentions tend to be very good indeed It has helped me enormously both with hypnotherapy and meditation . I will probably re read it as there's a lot to take in Beautifully written ... just loved it

Probably the best approach today in trauma therapy. It's literally mind blowing how easy it can be to change a pain in the body, or a tense spot with absolutely no other influence then you mind and your imagination.I use it for everything and guide people to help themselves using this kind of techniques. Les Fehmi should be credited much more to his findings than he is currently.I recomment this book and the approach 100% !Thank you so much!

Dieses Buch ist wärmstens zu lesen.Die Theorie und die Praxis ist von dem Autor und seinen Kollegen mit Erfahrungswerten und persönlichen Experimenten untermauert. Die Anwendungskapitel sind teilweise online als Audio-Dateien kostenlos erhältlich. Diese lohnen sich wirklich.Gleich bei der Einführung des Buches wird einem Mischung aus Zusammenfassung, Sichtweise zur Theorie sowie Praxis vorgelegt. Man wird sozusagen in das Buch hineingezogen, nicht mit Hilfe von einer Auflistung von trockenen Daten sondern mit einer direkten Anwendung. Dieses Buch hat es innerhalb von 10 Minuten geschafft, was ich seit 20 Jahren versuchte zu lernen: Entspanntes Lesen mit einem aktiven Geist und langer Ausdauer.Es geht nicht um schneller, mehr oder anderer Quantitäten, sondern um Qualitäten; um die Qualitäten des Gehirns und des Körpers im aktiven Tun, Denken und Arbeiten, die mehr Freude, Entspannung und neue Sichtweisen hinsichtlich der Welt erbringen. Damit auch mehr Kreativität, emotionale Offenheit und ebenso Effektivität, weil mehr psychische und physische Energie freigesetzt werden.Wer also nicht nur eine neue Theorie aus den Neurowissenschaften und über mentale Prozesse erhalten und oder esoterische Methoden für Bewusstseinserfahrung lesen möchte, ist hier absolut richtig. In diesem Bucht sieht man: es ist möglich Theorien zu entwickeln, die anwendbar sind, funktionieren und die Kompliziertheit nicht mit Komplexität verwechseln.Viel Spaß beim Leben und beim Ausprobieren!!!!