Engaging Wise Attention…
“Choice of attention – to pay attention to this and ignore that – is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, a man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences, whatever they may be.” ― W. H. Auden
In Oren Jay Sofer’s book, Your Heart Was Made For This: Contemplative Practices for Meeting a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity, & Love, Sofer opens with an exploration of core qualities to begin to “heal inwardly and guide your actions outwardly.”
The first quality he focuses on is attention, or wise attention, which asks us to consciously choose where we are placing our attention. As he notes:
“…this capacity is one of our most valuable resources. Where we put our attention waters seeds in the heart-mind and shapes our ongoing reality.” – Oren Jay Sofer
With Labor Day behind us, we are moving rapidly into an intense time of so many options of where to place our attention that it can be overwhelming and send us into autopilot actions for distraction or avoidance. Pausing now to hone your consciously-shifting-your-attention skills can pay big dividends for your peace of mind and health in the coming months.
You may have your own practice for noticing your behavior and consciously choosing new thoughts, emotions, or actions to shift into a more positive or balanced state. If not, one way to begin is to set a timer to pause every few hours to notice what you’ve been doing, thinking, or feeling in the moment. If it’s not what you’d prefer, deliberately take a moment to envision a different way of being, then take a step in that direction.
May you blessed with an awareness of your power to choose where to place your attention and may you choose wisely.
“Tell me to what you pay attention and I will tell you who you are.” ―Jose Ortega y Gasset
Each Day Brings A Miracle
“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It’s just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.” —Paulo Coelho
