***[A New Way of Seeing](releases/2025/New%20Way%20of%20Seeing/_New%20Way%20of%20Seeing)*** ## Chapter 6: Cognitive Mechanisms of Contemplative Development The preceding chapters have meticulously deconstructed the act of “seeing,” revealing how our apprehension of reality is not a passive reflection but an active, constructive process, shaped by our biology, our instruments, and our mental frameworks. We began by exposing the “Particle Paradox,” which challenged our intuitive notions of fundamental constituents. We then explored the constructive nature of biological perception, recognizing that our experienced “panorama” is a brain-generated model. Subsequently, we unveiled the “Instrumental Veil,” demonstrating how scientific tools mediate and reconstruct the patterns we perceive. We then confronted the pervasive “Imprint of Mind,” recognizing how pre-existing theories and expectations shape our observations, creating both insights and blind spots. Finally, we explored the “Contours of Ignorance,” showing how the very shape of our unknowing is determined by the limits of our current ways of seeing. This chapter delves into the cognitive mechanisms that underpin contemplative practices, those disciplined methods of mental training designed to refine perception, expand awareness, and potentially even transcend the limitations of our ordinary ways of seeing. By understanding how these practices operate at a cognitive level, we can begin to bridge the gap between subjective reports of transformative experiences and the objective, neurobiological underpinnings that will be explored in the following chapters. This exploration draws upon insights from cognitive science, contemplative traditions, and works like *[Contemplative Science and the Nature of Reality](1%20Converging%20Quests.md)*, which emphasize the potential for systematic mental training to reshape our experience of self and world. A central theme throughout this deconstruction of “seeing” has been the recognition that our experience of reality is not a direct, unmediated apprehension of an objective world, but rather an active construction of patterns, shaped by our senses, our instruments, and our minds. Contemplative practices, in this context, can be understood as methods for systematically modulating these constructive processes, refining our attention, de-automating habitual patterns of thought and perception, and ultimately, transforming our relationship to our own experience. This chapter explores the key cognitive mechanisms believed to underlie these transformative effects, drawing connections between traditional contemplative techniques and contemporary cognitive science. One of the most fundamental and widely recognized cognitive mechanisms engaged by contemplative practices is the systematic training of **attention regulation**. Attention, the capacity to selectively focus on certain aspects of experience while filtering out others, is a core cognitive function essential for navigating the complexities of the world and achieving our goals. Contemplative traditions have developed a sophisticated repertoire of techniques for cultivating and refining attentional skills, often categorized into two primary modes: focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM). Focused attention involves concentrating on a specific object, such as the breath, a mantra, or a visual image, and repeatedly bringing the mind back to this object whenever it wanders. This practice strengthens the ability to sustain focus, resist distractions, and cultivate mental stability. Open monitoring, on the other hand, involves maintaining a broad, non-reactive awareness of all experiences arising in the present moment—thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions—without selecting a specific object of focus. This practice cultivates a more diffuse, receptive attentional stance, enhancing sensitivity to the subtle nuances of experience and fostering a more detached, non-judgmental relationship to the contents of consciousness. These two modes of attention regulation, often cultivated in tandem or sequentially, are considered foundational for contemplative development, providing the necessary mental stability and clarity for deeper exploration of the mind and its potential for transformation.¹ Closely related to attention regulation is the mechanism of **deautomatization**. Much of our daily mental life operates on autopilot, governed by deeply ingrained, automatic patterns of thought, perception, and behavior. These habitual patterns, while efficient for routine tasks, can also limit our flexibility, trap us in unproductive mental loops, and distort our perception of reality by filtering experience through pre-existing assumptions and biases. Contemplative practices, particularly those emphasizing mindfulness and open monitoring, aim to interrupt these automatic processes by bringing conscious awareness to mental events that typically occur unconsciously. By repeatedly observing the arising and passing of thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgment or reaction, practitioners begin to de-automate these habitual patterns, creating a space for greater awareness, flexibility, and choice in how they respond to experience. This process of deautomatization can lead to a more direct and less filtered perception of reality, revealing the constructed and impermanent nature of phenomena that are often taken for granted as solid and enduring.² A further crucial cognitive mechanism cultivated through contemplative practice is **metacognitive insight**, which involves developing an awareness and understanding of one’s own mental processes. This “thinking about thinking” or “knowing about knowing” enables a shift in perspective known as **decentering**, where thoughts, emotions, and sensations are no longer experienced as inherent aspects of the self but are observed as transient mental events arising and passing within the field of awareness. This decentering allows for **reperceiving**, where experiences are seen as mental constructions rather than direct reflections of reality. This shift can reduce emotional reactivity and promote greater equanimity. Within the autaxic framework, these metacognitive insights can be understood as the development of a more refined and nuanced “autaxic model” of the self, as discussed in Chapter 17. By observing the dynamic, impermanent, and dependently originated nature of mental events, the practitioner gains a deeper understanding of the self as a complex, evolving pattern of autaxic activity, rather than a fixed, independent entity. This shift in self-understanding can be profoundly transformative, leading to greater self-acceptance, reduced suffering, and a more open and compassionate engagement with the world. Contemplative practices also have a significant impact on **emotion regulation**, the ability to manage and modulate emotional responses. This enhanced capacity arises through several interacting mechanisms. Improved attention regulation, particularly focused attention, helps interrupt cycles of ruminative thought that can fuel negative emotions. Metacognitive insight and decentering reduce emotional reactivity by fostering a more detached perspective on arising feelings. Furthermore, many contemplative traditions include practices specifically designed to cultivate positive emotions like compassion, loving-kindness, and equanimity. Equanimity, a state of mental balance and non-reactivity towards the fluctuations of experience, is often considered a hallmark of advanced contemplative attainment. These practices, by modulating attention, altering the relationship to thoughts and feelings, and actively cultivating positive affective states, can lead to greater emotional balance, resilience, and prosocial behavior. From an autaxic perspective, emotion regulation can be seen as the skillful modulation of the autaxic patterns underlying affective experience. By refining attention and cultivating metacognitive awareness, practitioners gain greater control over the dynamics of these patterns, reducing the influence of habitual reactivity and fostering a more balanced and harmonious flow of autaxic activity within the emotional system. Finally, contemplative practices can profoundly alter our **self-models**, the cognitive structures that create our sense of being a distinct, continuous self. Through techniques like mindfulness and insight meditation, practitioners observe the impermanent and dependently originated nature of the mental processes that contribute to the self-model, such as self-referential thought, autobiographical memory, and the sense of agency. This can lead to a deconstruction of the rigid ego structure and a shift towards a more fluid, dynamic, and interconnected sense of self. Non-dual practices, by challenging the subject-object dichotomy, can further dissolve the boundaries of the self, leading to experiences of unity and boundlessness. These transformations in self-experience, often described as ego dissolution or self-transcendence, can have profound implications for how individuals relate to themselves, others, and the world. Within the autaxic framework, these shifts in self-perception can be understood as fundamental changes in the organization and dynamics of the autaxic patterns that constitute the self. By deconstructing rigid self-models through contemplative practice, individuals gain access to a more fundamental level of autaxic activity, potentially experiencing the interconnectedness and generative potential of the autaxic field itself. This transformation in self-understanding can lead to a more expansive, compassionate, and liberated way of being in the world. These cognitive mechanisms—attention regulation, deautomatization, metacognitive insight, emotion regulation, and the modulation of self-models—represent key ways in which contemplative practices reshape our experience of reality. They provide a framework for understanding how these practices can lead to enhanced mental stability, increased emotional balance, shifts in self-perception, and the development of wisdom. By integrating insights from contemplative traditions with the findings of cognitive science, we can begin to bridge the gap between subjective reports of transformative experiences and the objective, neurobiological underpinnings that will be explored in the following chapters. This integrated perspective, grounded in the recognition that our experience of reality is actively constructed, suggests that contemplative practices offer powerful tools for reshaping the very foundations of our perception, cognition, and sense of self. --- The journey through Part I, “The Limits of Our Gaze,” has been a meticulous deconstruction of how we “see” reality. From the “Particle Paradox” challenging our basic physical categories to the active constructions of biological perception, the mediating layers of scientific instruments, the pervasive imprint of our minds, the contours of our ignorance shaped by these limitations, and the cognitive mechanisms employed by contemplative practices to potentially transcend them, we have progressively unveiled the inherent limitations and biases embedded within our conventional ways of knowing. This deconstruction has not aimed to dismiss the value of sensory experience, scientific observation, or rational thought, but rather to expose their inherent incompleteness and their dependence on pre-existing frameworks, assumptions, and the very tools we use to explore the world. This critical awareness of the limits of our gaze, of how our “seeing” is always a constructed and interpreted reality, is the essential prerequisite for embracing a new way of seeing, one that seeks to move beyond the constraints of existing paradigms and towards a more fundamental, generative understanding of existence itself. This new perspective, grounded in the principle of autaxys, will be introduced in Part II. Part I of this monograph, “The Limits of Our Gaze,” has presented a systematic deconstruction of how we “see” reality, arguing that our perception and understanding are not passive reflections of a mind-independent world but are actively constructed and profoundly shaped by our biology, our instruments, our mental frameworks, and even our ignorance itself. Chapter 1, “The ‘Particle’ Paradox,” introduced the core theme by demonstrating how the very concept of a “particle” is fluid and context-dependent, challenging our intuitive notions of fundamental constituents and highlighting the limitations of relying solely on sensory experience or classical categories. Chapter 2, “The Constructed Panorama,” explored the active, constructive nature of biological perception, revealing how our brains generate a model of reality shaped by evolutionary pressures and adaptive utility rather than providing direct access to an objective external world. Chapter 3, “The Instrumental Veil,” extended this analysis to scientific instruments, showing how they mediate and reconstruct our perception of phenomena beyond our senses, introducing layers of data processing, theoretical assumptions, and interpretive frameworks that shape what we “see.” Chapter 4, “The Imprint of Mind,” delved into the pervasive influence of pre-existing theories, beliefs, and expectations on our observations, highlighting the theory-ladenness of scientific inquiry, the dangers of confirmation bias, and the potential for paradigm-induced blind spots and mirages. Chapter 5, “The Contours of Ignorance,” explored how these limitations shape the very landscape of our unknowing, arguing that what we don’t know is often a direct consequence of how we are currently “looking” and the patterns we are equipped to recognize. Finally, Chapter 6, “Cognitive Mechanisms of Contemplative Development,” examined how contemplative practices, through techniques like attention regulation, deautomatization, and metacognitive insight, can potentially modulate these constructive processes and offer a path towards transcending the limitations of our ordinary ways of seeing. This deconstruction of conventional “ways of seeing” sets the stage for Part II, where autaxys is introduced as a framework for a new, more generative understanding of reality and consciousness. --- [7 Autaxys Defined](7%20Autaxys%20Defined.md) --- **Notes - Chapter 6** 1. The two primary modes of attention regulation—focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM)—are cultivated through different contemplative practices and are associated with distinct neural correlates, as explored in *[Contemplative Science and the Nature of Reality](1%20Converging%20Quests.md)* and further investigated in Chapter 7 of this monograph. FA strengthens top-down executive control, while OM enhances receptive awareness and sensitivity to subtle experiential dynamics. 2. Deautomatization, the interruption of habitual mental processes, is a key mechanism for achieving greater awareness, flexibility, and freedom from conditioned patterns of thought, emotion, and behavior. As discussed in *[A Skeptical Journey Through Conventional Reality](Skeptical%20Journey%20through%20Conventional%20Reality.md)*, much of our daily mental life operates on “autopilot,” and contemplative practices offer a way to interrupt this automaticity and gain greater conscious control over our experience. 3. Metacognitive insight, decentering, and reperceiving are crucial for transforming our relationship to our own thoughts and emotions. By recognizing mental events as transient processes rather than identifying with them as inherent aspects of the self, we can reduce reactivity, cultivate equanimity, and gain a more objective perspective on our experience. 4. Emotion regulation, a core benefit of contemplative practice, involves modulating attention, altering our relationship to thoughts and feelings, and actively cultivating positive affective states. As explored in *[Contemplative Science and the Nature of Reality](1%20Converging%20Quests.md)*, this can lead to greater emotional balance, resilience, and prosocial behavior. 5. The modulation of self-models through contemplative practice can lead to profound shifts in self-experience, including ego dissolution and self-transcendence. By deconstructing rigid self-concepts, practitioners can access a more fluid, dynamic, and interconnected sense of self, potentially experiencing the boundless and unified nature of awareness itself. ---