I had been meaning to post about this for awhile, because there seem to be a variety of different takes on this, and I thought it might be helpful to share mine. However, I do not have a great deal of time at the moment, so I will say something briefly, and perhaps say more later.
I don't remember the exact reason I started using the term "attention bounce", but it was probably one of the following:
1) When one puts one's attention somewhere, it tends to bounce back to another spot,
2) When one observes the spot that attention is drawn to, the quick procession of experiences involved in that has a "bouncing" quality to me,
3) During many experiences, attention tends to bounce around to various parts of the body, often in quick procession
Though 3) is something that often happens, I have never found that it is essential to the process...for example, I have never found that attention returning to the head (or a tension in the head) is essential to the creation of affective experience or a sense of self. All I have ever discerned is
* vedana (pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral sensations),
* tension,
* attention (or rather, 'attention') becoming stuck on the tension,
* symbolic or representational experience accreting around the tension.
(I have also found that tension has a subtle representational quality as well.)
As for the suttas' opinion on craving with respect to 3)...
Maha-satipatthana sutta:
"And what is the noble truth of the origination of stress? The craving that makes for further becoming — accompanied by passion & delight, relishing now here & now there — i.e., craving for sensuality, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming.
"And where does this craving, when arising, arise? And where, when dwelling, does it dwell? Whatever seems endearing and agreeable in terms of the world: that is where this craving, when arising, arises. That is where, when dwelling, it dwells.
"And what seems endearing and agreeable in terms of the world? The eye seems endearing and agreeable in terms of the world. That is where this craving, when arising, arises. That is where, when dwelling, it dwells.
"The ear... The nose... The tongue... The body... The intellect...
"Forms... Sounds... Smells... Tastes... Tactile sensations... Ideas...
"Eye-consciousness... Ear-consciousness... Nose-consciousness... Tongue-consciousness... Body-consciousness... Intellect-consciousness...
"Eye-contact... Ear-contact... Nose-contact... Tongue-contact... Body-contact... Intellect-contact...
"Feeling born of eye-contact... Feeling born of ear-contact... Feeling born of nose-contact... Feeling born of tongue-contact... Feeling born of body-contact... Feeling born of intellect-contact...
"Perception of forms... Perception of sounds... Perception of smells... Perception of tastes... Perception of tactile sensations... Perception of ideas...
"Intention for forms... Intention for sounds... Intention for smells... Intention for tastes... Intention for tactile sensations... Intention for ideas...
"Craving for forms... Craving for sounds... Craving for smells... Craving for tastes... Craving for tactile sensations... Craving for ideas...
"Thought directed at forms... Thought directed at sounds... Thought directed at smells... Thought directed at tastes... Thought directed at tactile sensations... Thought directed at ideas...
"Evaluation of forms... Evaluation of sounds... Evaluation of smells... Evaluation of tastes... Evaluation of tactile sensations... Evaluation of ideas seems endearing and agreeable in terms of the world. That is where this craving, when arising, arises. That is where, when dwelling, it dwells.
"This is called the noble truth of the origination of stress.