Namaste,
At the heart of everything I speak about and offer is the invitation to enter into deeper awareness: to become living awareness. The invitation beckons you to bring all that has been unconscious into the light of your conscious Self.
In essence this requires attention: to be present in the moment – to pay attention to the streams of thoughts and feelings that interrupt your ability to simply BE present. Without first developing this ability to ‘pay attention’ the streams of thoughts continue… projected onto the screen of life. Without paying attention you continue to mistakenly believe that this stream of thoughts is reality itself. As a consequence the true beauty, freedom and peace that is you, that is all, seem at a distance.
Paying attention requires good mental gymnastics. It requires consistent exercise – primarily the reminder to your self to keep paying attention!
I was once asked a question as part of a book chapter I was contributing to: what was the most valuable advice you received as a child? My response was immediate. I couldn’t help but remember – with a deep sense of gratitude and humour – my father’s words snapping my mind into alertness:
“Pay attention!”
Although this could seem strange I realise now that it reflected back to me the importance of being PRESENT and that if I was not present I did not gain the full benefits of whatever I was doing or experiencing. I also came to understand that really paying attention is a very conscious state: like the difference between listening and hearing. We can hear the sounds of life but are we really listening to them? It also helped me to accept every moment – because paying attention required me to be so receptive that I was not in my own head of thoughts and was able to be truly receptive to whatever was being presented to me in the moment. I discovered that I always understood more every time I snapped into attention, as a result of that commanding advice. It put me fully into the now! So I learned to enjoy paying attention to EVERY single moment. And, of course, that leads to a very fulfilling and whole life!
Paying attention contains a surprising degree of power.
It is the real horse power behind a shift of consciousness.
With alert attention comes the ability to observe how you are occupying each moment. And, given that everything you experience is shaped by the way you occupy each moment, this could very well be one of the most powerful tools you can develop.
Paying attention not only enables you to see how you are occupying each
moment, it also enables you to see the nature of your thoughts. And, it is the
nature of your thoughts in each moment that set the energy in motion for what you will experience in the future – as well as in the present and the past. If your thoughts become your trap, memories of the past are bound in pain, the true nature of the present is missed, and the future becomes a repetition of the thoughts and beliefs you have collected.
When you can pay more attention you will also be able to notice the underlying energy of your thoughts: are they open, curious, welcoming thoughts? Or are they suspicious, insistent and criticising?
This is immensely powerful because it gives you the opportunity to ‘self-edit’ – to adjust the way you are responding to each moment. It also gives you the power to see what is running you at an unconscious level. How ? Because usually these thoughts are continuously running on default, and you continue to act upon them without even consciously realising it. When you pay attention that unconscious trail can be halted.
I invite you to simply explore what happens when you pay more attention – at least for a week (to start ☺).
Simply make it your intention to pay attention!
Put it as a reminder ‘alarm’ in your phone or on your computer. Make notes and post them on the fridge, the bathroom mirror or in the car. Post as many notes in as many places as you need. You will be surprised at how much more alert and aware you will become. You will also notice how easily and powerfully you can occupy each moment consciously… simply being open, present, curious and aware.
Magic is happening in every moment… so please… pay attention, or else you
might miss it!
In Loving Oneness,
