Attention is probably the most important gift you possess. The word attention comes from the Latin attendere, which means, “to turn one’s mind towards” – to turn one’s mind or perhaps one’s senses; the act or state of applying the mind to an object of sense or thought.
It is the act of taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one of several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought. It implies withdrawal from some things in order to deal effectively with others.
Our faculty of attention affects us in countless ways. Our very perception of reality is tied closely to where we focus our attention. Only what we pay attention to seems real to us, whereas whatever we ignore – no matter how important it may be – seems to fade into insignificance.
Each of us chooses, by our way of attending to things, the universe we inhabit and the people we encounter. But for most of us, this “choice” is unconscious, so it’s not really a choice at all. When we think about who we are, we can’t possibly remember all the things we’ve experienced, all the behaviors and qualities we have exhibited. What comes to mind when we ask “Who am I?” Those things consist of what we have been paying attention to over the years. The same goes for our impressions of other people. The reality that appears to us is not so much what’s out there, as it is those aspects of the world we have focused on.
What we look at may not be what we attend to. It is possible to look in one direction but actually notice changes in another direction. Overt attention is the act of directing our eyes or ears towards a stimulus source. Covert attention is the act of mentally focusing on a particular stimulus. Basically, you can direct your attention towards the outside world or towards the world within. You can observe – attend to – your thoughts!
Mastering and controlling your attention gives you the freedom to choose what happens in your life. There are countless things happening at the same time all over the world, however, as long as your attention is not directed to any of it – nothing really happens for you.
Contemplate: When you close your eyes is the world still there? What evidence do you have to prove it on your own?
This is very important to understand. The more you can control your attention the more you attract only the things in your life that you really want. If you do not pay attention to the crime scene on your television it does not create this reality for you. If you don’t pay attention to negative things in your life it will not create that reality. This doesn’t mean you should ignore the parts of the world that do not produce peace and happiness for you; it simply means not to give them too much attention. Don’t get absorbed in them – decide when enough is enough and move on to something you want your attention to be focused on, for example, the important goals and dreams of your life.
Life is not what you see on TV nor what you hear and read in the news!
An analogy for attention is the faucet in your garden. You open it and see an endless stream of water flowing. Now you connect to it a hose, and with this hose you are able to direct the flow of water anywhere you decide. You may decide to water your rosebush in the back. You take the hose and direct it toward the rosebush and water it. Now, what happens when your hose has holes and leaks? Let’s assume for this analogy that your hose is really old and that there are many holes and leaks. The water is our analogy for the free attention you have in life. Taking a close look at the hose reveals that it is leaking in several places, and that the water is missing your rosebush entirely but plenty is flowing down into the earth to nourish the weeds that are dormant and only need a good drink to begin to sprout. If you look at the end of the hose you will notice there is not much water left for the rosebush.
Two things are happening here:
1. Your attention goes somewhere you would rather not have it go and things are happening that you don’t want to have happen.
2. Your attention is not focused enough to have an effect on what you do want to accomplish.
Do you see how important it is to train your attention? There are many exercises you can do. One simple method is to simply observe your attention and to speak out loud where it is in the moment. You may do this when you are alone until you get comfortable with yourself. This is a funny exercise and you may find yourself laughing.
Here is what it might look like:
- I am thinking about tomorrow . . .
- There is a cat next to me . . .
- What I am doing here . . . ?
- So many thoughts . . .
- Am I crazy . . . ?
- The carpet is brown . . .
- It’s dirty too . . .
- I should get it cleaned . . .
- Ah, just relax . . .
- How busy my mind is . . .
- What’s next . . .
You may find yourself thinking about how crazy this is, but this exercise actually just happens in a short time span of your attention. You may have a few thousand of these each day . . . no wonder some people feel constantly stressed, overwhelmed and light years away from their goals (if they have any)!
Do this every day for about 15 minutes and you will observe that several things happen. First of all, your mind gets calmer but at the same time may also feel exhausted; especially after the first few times you do the exercise. Exhausting your attention is a very interesting occurrence that happens quite often and naturally in your daily life. Training your mind not to exhaust itself will sharpen your focus and free up your attention considerably.
The more free attention you have, the happier you feel and the more power you have to control what is happening in your life.
In Summary
You have infinite attention; however you can exhaust your attention to the degree that there isn’t anything left. Be aware of how you use your attention. Learn to deliberately choose where you want to place your attention.
What Absorbs Your Attention?
We need to pay attention to things in our daily lives; everything we do requires that of us. Businesses vie for our attention. The ubiquitous backdrop of advertising that surrounds us is constantly trying to get our attention. The more aware we are of it the more we can deliberately decide not to give our attention away.
The following is a list of the most powerful attention suckers:
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Television, especially advertising and news channels
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Newspapers
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Billboards
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Shopping malls
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People telling you stories you are not interested in
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Arguments
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Large crowds
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Excessive and loud noises
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Self-criticism
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Driving on the freeway
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Email spam
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Junk mail
Contemplate: Where does (your) attention come from?
COURTESY : The Principles of Successful Manifesting, http://www.december212012.com