Paying Attention

Hello all, I found this short article about "paying attention." I like it a lot and want to share it and some of my thoguhts on the subject with you.

Attention Means Attention
~ zen master Ikkyu

Working with kids and adults with attention problems has taught me a lot about attention. You only have a certain amount of "attentional resources." You've probably noticed how hard it is when you're tempted to try to pay attention to two different conversations in a group. Training your own attentiveness means getting the skill of paying attention to just one thing. That one thing may be a teacher, a partner, a child, a tree, a mountain, a world.

What must be learned, a simple pattern:

Sitting still. To be able to pay fullest attention to anything, you more or less must sit still. Otherwise, your brain is a bit busy paying attention to sensations from your body movements, skin sensations, joint sensations, muscles tensing and relaxing, and to the constantly changing visual perspective (assuming your head is moving too).

Relaxing your body. Relaxing your body while sitting still is important. Sitting still cannot consist of "holding still." If you are restraining yourself from movement, you are using some of your attention and mental effort to do so. Deliberately loosening and releasing each area of the body begins to develop the proper "background" for real attentiveness.

Concentrate. Allow your attention to rest on the object (person, place, thing, process) on which you intend to concentrate. Notice, be observant, exactly what happens. Your mind wanders, you begin thinking, you get off track. That's normal. Just be gentle but persistent with yourself. Return your attention to the object, over and over again, without getting mad at yourself. Be entertained rather than angry about your wandering mind. Train it.

Some people can accomplish this training of the attention on their own, using one or another traditional method. Some methods that work and aren't too dangerous are 1) becoming a master of your trade; 2) dedicating yourself each day to loving and attending to your family; 3) sitting still, relaxing and focusing on something (like your breathing, a stone, etc.) for 5 - 20 minutes daily.

Paying attention is such an important core component of my soto zen practice. I need to remind myself throughout the day to remember to pay attention to what I am doing. If what I'm doing at that time doesn't seem the most wizest choice of activities given the circumstances, then allow myself to choose a more skillful activity for where I am at the present moment, how much time I have available, how much energy I have (mental and physical) and the priorities of the tasks waiting to be completed.

If that last part sounds familiar to any of you, it is from David Allen's "Getting Things Done" seminars and books. I love his way of looking at productivity and urge you to take a look at his web site when you have the time.