Working in the area of contemplative prayer for years this book becomes a helpful addition to understanding the what kind of shift happens during the contemplative prayer experience. It is this shift to and open focus described by the authors that makes the lept of religious imagination possible. I reeally appreciated this book.

*CE Johnson writes: "This book doesn't explain how the exercises are supposed to bring a person from narrow focus to open focus."

Yes, it does. Fehmi describes how in his early attempts to elicit EEG alpha synchrony (the benefits of which he discusses) failed until he began to work with formless "imagery." His subsequent decades of work have shown that this type of imagery (focusing on empty space) reliably brings about alpha synchrony in his clients and his students' clients. The connection between alpha synchrony and attentional style is discussed, as is the way in which Open-Focus practice generalizes into everyday life. I understand that the exercises can seem a bit quirky at first, and the particular focus (space between body parts) actually still puts me off somewhat. But they DO work. Dr. Fehmi did not begin his work with a metaphysical or aesthetic agenda about the style of the exercises; rather, they emerged directly from scientific observation of what works to guide the brain toward a salutary state, one that is unlikely to arise on its own in the current (perennial?) insanity of the world.