Post No. 37: Attention

During these times when people are experiencing anxiety (on one side) and exuberance (on the other), perhaps it is timely to investigate the idea of Attention.

I think we would agree it is important to attend to what is in front of us, but I suspect we don’t appreciate the full nature of attention and the value that it has for us.  The defining attribute of attention is that it is only possible right here, right now, in the present, not somewhere else or sometime else, but in the here and now. So let’s look at how we might take advantage of this defining feature of attention.

In the aftermath of the presidential election, for example, people are experiencing a range of emotions. On one side, there is real anxiety, on the other side there is real exuberance. What both of these these have in common is that they are not related to the present, but they are future oriented.  There is nothing unusual about this. It is simply the way our human minds often work.  Sometimes though this normal human trait can become a problem or difficulty for us. This is a specially true when we get stuck in the future, either with our anxieties or with our over exuberance.

At these times, it is useful to realize the nature of who we are as a unique animal species.  What we forget, and our animal friends don’t, is that everything is always here and now. When one’s pet dog or cat is fearful, it is immediately clear, and when the danger disappears, its fear disappears. They revert to their relaxed feline or canine self. We humans were like this too when we were infants. But gradually this innate ability was lost in the complex concepts and activities of human society. Is it possible to regain this ability we had when we were very young? I suggest there is a way to capture some of it, but first it is extremely helpful to understand who we were (and still are) back then when we were infants.

We all have this sense that we are this fixed, individual self, separate from other people and other things around us. This perception is what makes us lose that freedom to respond to the immediacy of life that infants and our animal friends still retain. We often get stuck in our complex thoughts about the future and how it might affect this imagined fixed self of ours. It is then when we lose the freedom to respond spontaneously to whatever is in front of us.  We can’t let go because we feel the need to protect this self.  If your infant self could speak, he or she might tell you, “I have just emerged into this world and I am not separate from the world around me, including the proteins of the sperm and egg that started my whole development.  If you had a deep religious faith, you might get this, or maybe not. What’s important is that you do appreciate this insight because it will help you practice the art of attention.  You should find a way to frequently experience the present moment. Because that’s all there is; the rest you make up.”

So how can one experience the present moment?  It’s not complex.  It is always available at every moment of our lives.  That’s kind of cool.  All we have to do is employ our natural ability to use ATTENTION.  Of course most of the time we don’t use this really cool gift.  That’s

because it requires us to be non-judgmental.  We are habituated to making judgments about things.  Is this thing that’s happening right now (sometimes including our own thoughts) good, bad or neutral?  We could not survive in society without making judgments; perhaps that’s why its so hard.  Infants, dogs, cats and other animals don’t need to pay attention. This is because they don’t have the intruding concepts that inhabit our minds, and inhibit our spontaneous reaction to the present.  If they could speak, they might say “It is what it is”.  But since they can’t create abstract concepts in mind, they react to “what is” naturally and spontaneously.  I wrote about this more extensively in previous posts, especially in Post No. 11, “The Gordian Knot: Part Two of a Person or Self?”  For us humans this mind of ours, with its unending flow of thinking, gets in the way of attending to the present.  So what can we do?

First, just chill about the whole thing.  Thinking is normal.  Being aware of thinking is one way of paying attention.  Much of the time we are not aware of our thinking and its effect on our bodies and emotions. Occasionally notice how our thoughts affect our emotions and vice-versa.  This is a good way to self regulate.  It’s also a good way to reduce addictive behavior.

Second, try to do one thing at a time. Take the hectic out of your life.

Third, periodically engage your senses. It’s good to start your day this way. For example, notice the feel of your shirt/blouse as you put it on in the morning.  Take time to enjoy tastes of your food or drink. Notice nature. Hear sounds. See colors.  There are infinite ways to do this.  Try it at different times of your day.

Last But Not Least, don’t let cyber space invade too much of your precious time.

If you’re like me, you don’t use here-and-now attention most of the time. But it is wonderful to know that we have this always-available gift. Our infant selves didn’t need to practice attention, they did it naturally. Our adult selves can use it to bring back some of the infant’s ease and spontaneity.  Try it.  What have you got to lose?