Power of Attention
The thoughts, feelings and images we most consistently give attention to create the reality we live in everyday. This is the program we currently run. Since birth we have had a flood of thoughts and images go through our consciousness, some of these thoughts and images we have accepted and others we have not. The ideas we accept become like software programs we download on a computer. We download more and more programs, which our hardware (the mind) continues to run. We accept the software programs given to us by those we trust, our families, friends, education system, media, government etc. A lot of the time we are forced to accept these ideas at a young age by being told we are wrong, being punished or only being rewarded if we choose the answer that is socially acceptable (what the majority around us have chosen).
For many of us even what we feel has been judged, programming us from a young age, as most of us in western culture especially males have been taught to neglect their feelings. Not only neglect these feelings, but have been told it is not manly or just simply not acceptable to cry or show emotion.The problem with this is that emotions are flowing energy and when they are not felt, understood and expressed they become bottled up. The feelings and emotions have nowhere to go and end up making a home inside you. Often these feelings or emotions are unpleasant or judged as so, so we develop tendencies that often lead to addictions to hide these feelings and emotions. The result is losing touch with how feel, which is what guides us through life. When our energy is blocked we cannot feel, which makes it very difficult to determine what is best for ourselves. When we are deciding whether we should stay or go or choose this or that we can get in touch with how we feel to determine what direction to go. Whatever feels best is always the best choice. But, when we cannot get in touch with our feelings we do not intuitively know what is best for us and it becomes trial and error. We usually go with what the majority are doing, and don’t stop until we hit a train wreck and have to re-evaluate things again.
Knowing that we are cut off from our feelings is very important, because it gives reason to finally start feeling our current discomfort, which will provide the opportunity for change. When we become aware enough of our current state of being and recognize it does not feel good, we can make a choice to choose to feel better. To get to this point we must be honest with ourselves. Honest with how we are feeling consistently so we can continually make the best choice for our self.
Example: Butter Tart- butter tarts comes into your thoughts, if you choose to give attention to this thought then the image will eventually pop in your head of the butter tart, then of you eating it. The more and more we give attention to the butter tart the more likely we will eventually eat it.
Example: Butter Tart- Now say we have recognized this pattern and we are committed to creating a new self chosen program to run. So we decide to become consciously aware of our thoughts. When the thought of the butter tart arises we recognize it, knowing we don’t want to eat it (eg. It makes our stomach feel upset after, don’t want to gain weight, feel sluggish after etc) we simply observe the thought do not give it attention and allow it to pass. If we are really struggling then pick a new thought or image of something more productive or feels right, like stretching , getting at some work you know you have to get done, thinking about a healthier snack like a banana, apple or salad and yourself eating it slowly and enjoying it. What really helps me is imagining the state you will be in an hour or two after eating say a butter tart compared to some fruit (if for example you are looking for a quick and easy burst of energy with some flavour) .So long as we do not give attention to the butter tart we will not eat it. Our power of choice comes from what we give attention to, not from saying yes or no to it.
Power of Non – Resistance & Attention Continued
When we say no to something in our mind or in our experience we are resisting it, therefore strengthening the power or grip that this something has over us. By resisting a thought or experience we are essentially saying no to it, which strengthen its impact on your reality. It makes the cycle repeat until you accept it. To let go of these life draining patterns allows the energy of the experience to flow through you, this will enable you to understand what the experience is trying to tell you. Through accepting that it is something we have been holding on to, we can take the next step. The next step is to see the pattern by observing the feelings and thoughts. Once observed and you have a felt experience, which is an experience of feelings and emotions tied to the event. You must allow this to come through you and are released through crying, shouting, art, writing, or simply allowing yourself to feel everything you are feeling without restriction. It will then no longer be a part of your experience, for its purpose has been served like a meal that has been fully digested. The allowance of the energy to come through you takes no actually doing on your own. You will notice you have a lot more energy as you let go of resistance and it is important to develop healthy way to use this energy.
It takes becoming aware that what consistently resides in our mind, we have allowed to be there. All of our beliefs, judgements, overall perception of life, visual scenarios & feelings that we label with thoughts, create our reality, especially the ones we give consistent attention to. The more attention we give the more powerful it becomes. So do not worry if you have fleeting thoughts or are thinking about something negative for a minute, it is when we consistently give attention day in and out or hold attention for minutes or hours on end that it becomes part of our belief structure, which then creates our reality. There comes a time when certain thought patterns are creating a not so pleasant reality for us or those around us. In order to solve this we will want to practice being consciously aware (check the section on consciousness). Even when we are not aware of what we have been giving attention to, it creates our reality. This statement is very important, for most of us are not consciously aware (in the present moment) all the time (including myself, but now am present much more often after I took up the practice of conscious awareness after I got very sick). When we are not aware that we are the observer of our thoughts and that what we give attention to we empower, we tend to get off track at times by worrying, regretting, judging peoples actions, judging our own actions etc. We essentially become our own judge, even believing that our judgements of others are true. Every time we judge another we are judging our self, for these are the boundaries we have set out for ourselves and attempt to restrict/limit unto others (The Mind’s Jail). Your judgement of others has nothing to do with the other individual and everything to do with how you perceive yourself and external reality.
Everything you believe in the mind becomes your personal reality once you accept it as truth. By this I mean that you are no longer giving attention to doubt in what you believe, complete acceptance that this is how things are or that this is what you are going to accomplish, or that you are a certain way etc. will set this reality into action. Until you change your belief, which creates your perspective of life you will not see things another way. Perception is constantly changing; therefore it cannot know true knowledge, as knowledge or knowing is not related to perception, true knowledge just is, not related to how it is perceived.
The key to Non-Resistance is accepting both sides of the coin. We live in a reality where dualism is primary and before we can live in unity we must correct the split in our minds. We create our reality and that is what earth is, a collective reality that is built based on our individual perceptions. Our perception has been programmed since birth, which is why so much of the collective has a similar perception (especially those under the same rule of government). This is required for manifested structures to be sustained, for we give power to what we believe is true. At this current time in existence, the fear side of the dualistic coin of fear and love has been believed as what reality really is by the majority. However, at an accelerated rate we are waking up to our power, the truth of consciousness and no longer accepting popular culture to be the truth of reality.
For proof of this dualistic split of light and dark, good and evil, bad or good in our minds all we have to do is observe the outer world without bias. Heck even with bias you can notice It is quite chaotic (war, division, violence, greed, constant drama etc.) which reflects the split in our minds, we are divided and that is the type of culture that we have created. The division started with our mind and that is how it will end.
First we must come to accept this split, by observing our thoughts and our behaviour from a non-judgemental un-biased stand point (conscious awareness as the observer). The more we become aware of our existence as the observer the easier it is to be honest about our thoughts and actions and the easier it is to process emotions/feelings. We then must decide that we want to see the truth and no longer live in the illusion our minds have created. In order for us to choose and consistently reside in the light of which we are, we must accept that there is dark aspects of ourselves that we are not completely aware of (aspects of ourselves that we are not conscious of). We must accept this dark side of our self and we must accept our perceived weaknesses, acceptance is the same as non-resistance. When we stop resisting the other side of the coin and judging ourselves for it being there, there is an opportunity for the two sides of our self to converge together so the mind can be whole again. This state goes beyond perception, for we then see things for how they really are. Therefore, we only give attention to the things that come up in our mind that our real, which is anything to do with love. We then want to give this love to the world, which will begin to create a reality beyond dualism, seeing the silver lining in both the light and the dark and realize this dualism was only hear to get know ourselves better.
Observer = The formless eternal energy of which we are. If it can be observed, we are not it.
The Power of No Judgement
The ability not to judge is very powerful for we no longer judge ourselves. It is a powerful tool to override the current program you are locked into. You will want to start a meditative practise to begin this. Even just a short 10-15 minutes examination of your thoughts while maintaining awareness of those thoughts can be very effective. When thoughts arises we have a tendency to judge at moments by saying it is a good or bad, yes or no, whether it is right for us or not etc. This is considered judgement, as everything just is, not good or bad, no label it just is. All thoughts, images, feelings, concepts are just that, it is our ego that decided to label it as one or the other. Now do not get me wrong, it is a good to be able to decipher what is good for you and what is not. But when it comes to the mind it does not matter whether you think it is bad or good, fear it or love it, the more attention you give to it, the deeper it gets engrained in your sub-conscious and becomes the program you run. There is a way to run on no programs, to live from the consciousness in which we are, a state beyond states, for it is not fleeting, consciousness is eternal and every-thing arises from it. The more we practise conscious awareness the more we feel, sense and remember consciousness as simultaneously our home and the one living in it (Check out the section out Consciousness)
Let me give you an example of how this works. Let’s say you are thinking of a butter tart. For the sake of the example let us say that we eat too many butter tarts and realize it does not make our stomach feel good so we do not want to eat them anymore, yet they keep coming up in our thoughts. We tend to say ‘No’ to the thought when it comes up, thinking that saying ‘No’ to the thought will cause it to stop. However saying no to the thought is a judgement and keeps our attention on the thought or at least keeps it in range for it come back again, usually soon. Instead of saying ‘No’ in your mind, choose to not give any attention to it. Or you can give attention to another thought that makes you feel good and does not have any ill effects on you mentally, physically emotionally after you act on it. When you give something attention you are saying YES, when you do not give something any attention you are saying NO. This is how it works, and in knowing this you can begin to only put attention on those things that makes you feel good. Eventually you will be saying YES through attention to everything that feels good, and NO through no attention to everything that feels bad. However it is not this cut and dry for all things until you have processed all of your emotions. The more you live in the present moment (consciously aware state) the more emotions you have yet to process will come up. These feelings may not always feel good, but it is important to not ignore them. You again want to use the rule of no judgement, do not judge yourself for feeling this way and do not judge the feeling through thought (finding an excuse for why you feel this way). When you are in a state of allowing sometimes images will appear from your past, wisdom from within arises, new thoughts, emotions and feelings come up and it will become clear why you are feeling this way. Do not judge yourself, allow yourself to process and release these feelings in whatever manner it occurs (crying will happen at times and it’s a beautiful expression J).
No judgement works in all cases, especially when you are judging others. Any judgement you make of anther is actually a judgement about yourself. Honestly, ask yourself why I am judging this person and be patient to let the answers come. The more aware you become of your thought patterns about others and the judgements you label them, realize you are not defining that person at all, you are defining yourself. The more you allow others to be who they are, the more accepting you will be of yourself. And the more accepting you are of yourself, the more accepting you will be of others. We are uniquely gifted and no one soul is more superior or inferior to another. The reason for this superior and inferior outlook is the power struggle that is occurring. There are those few who are aware of just how much power they possess, most do not understand they have power and submit their will to those who are not afraid to wield it. However, many with power decide to control others, rather than empower. (Using power without love still has limitations however; only through love can you access your full power potential). It is this attitude that keeps humanity on earth in a perpetual state of suffering. For we all are equally powerful, but if you do not know you have power then there is not a chance you will use it. Later in life some awaken more to their power, but because they have been oppressed for so long they usually join the ranks of oppression and only share some of their power secrets with those very close to them. Others go on to be leaders in spirituality, positive social movements and foundations that benefits humans as a whole. However, most do not listen to those that are looking to help because they have been programmed to only trust those who programmed them in the first place, not normally people living outside of the box. The less we judge and see things for how they really are, the more we will be awakened to our power.
The thoughts, feelings and images we most consistently give attention to create the reality we live in everyday. This is the program we currently run. Since birth we have had a flood of thoughts and images go through our consciousness, some of these thoughts and images we have accepted and others we have not. The ideas we accept become like software programs we download on a computer. We download more and more programs, which our hardware (the mind) continues to run. We accept the software programs given to us by those we trust, our families, friends, education system, media, government etc. A lot of the time we are forced to accept these ideas at a young age by being told we are wrong, being punished or only being rewarded if we choose the answer that is socially acceptable (what the majority around us have chosen).
For many of us even what we feel has been judged, programming us from a young age, as most of us in western culture especially males have been taught to neglect their feelings. Not only neglect these feelings, but have been told it is not manly or just simply not acceptable to cry or show emotion.The problem with this is that emotions are flowing energy and when they are not felt, understood and expressed they become bottled up. The feelings and emotions have nowhere to go and end up making a home inside you. Often these feelings or emotions are unpleasant or judged as so, so we develop tendencies that often lead to addictions to hide these feelings and emotions. The result is losing touch with how feel, which is what guides us through life. When our energy is blocked we cannot feel, which makes it very difficult to determine what is best for ourselves. When we are deciding whether we should stay or go or choose this or that we can get in touch with how we feel to determine what direction to go. Whatever feels best is always the best choice. But, when we cannot get in touch with our feelings we do not intuitively know what is best for us and it becomes trial and error. We usually go with what the majority are doing, and don’t stop until we hit a train wreck and have to re-evaluate things again.
Knowing that we are cut off from our feelings is very important, because it gives reason to finally start feeling our current discomfort, which will provide the opportunity for change. When we become aware enough of our current state of being and recognize it does not feel good, we can make a choice to choose to feel better. To get to this point we must be honest with ourselves. Honest with how we are feeling consistently so we can continually make the best choice for our self.
Example: Butter Tart- butter tarts comes into your thoughts, if you choose to give attention to this thought then the image will eventually pop in your head of the butter tart, then of you eating it. The more and more we give attention to the butter tart the more likely we will eventually eat it.
Example: Butter Tart- Now say we have recognized this pattern and we are committed to creating a new self chosen program to run. So we decide to become consciously aware of our thoughts. When the thought of the butter tart arises we recognize it, knowing we don’t want to eat it (eg. It makes our stomach feel upset after, don’t want to gain weight, feel sluggish after etc) we simply observe the thought do not give it attention and allow it to pass. If we are really struggling then pick a new thought or image of something more productive or feels right, like stretching , getting at some work you know you have to get done, thinking about a healthier snack like a banana, apple or salad and yourself eating it slowly and enjoying it. What really helps me is imagining the state you will be in an hour or two after eating say a butter tart compared to some fruit (if for example you are looking for a quick and easy burst of energy with some flavour) .So long as we do not give attention to the butter tart we will not eat it. Our power of choice comes from what we give attention to, not from saying yes or no to it.
Power of Non – Resistance & Attention Continued
When we say no to something in our mind or in our experience we are resisting it, therefore strengthening the power or grip that this something has over us. By resisting a thought or experience we are essentially saying no to it, which strengthen its impact on your reality. It makes the cycle repeat until you accept it. To let go of these life draining patterns allows the energy of the experience to flow through you, this will enable you to understand what the experience is trying to tell you. Through accepting that it is something we have been holding on to, we can take the next step. The next step is to see the pattern by observing the feelings and thoughts. Once observed and you have a felt experience, which is an experience of feelings and emotions tied to the event. You must allow this to come through you and are released through crying, shouting, art, writing, or simply allowing yourself to feel everything you are feeling without restriction. It will then no longer be a part of your experience, for its purpose has been served like a meal that has been fully digested. The allowance of the energy to come through you takes no actually doing on your own. You will notice you have a lot more energy as you let go of resistance and it is important to develop healthy way to use this energy.
It takes becoming aware that what consistently resides in our mind, we have allowed to be there. All of our beliefs, judgements, overall perception of life, visual scenarios & feelings that we label with thoughts, create our reality, especially the ones we give consistent attention to. The more attention we give the more powerful it becomes. So do not worry if you have fleeting thoughts or are thinking about something negative for a minute, it is when we consistently give attention day in and out or hold attention for minutes or hours on end that it becomes part of our belief structure, which then creates our reality. There comes a time when certain thought patterns are creating a not so pleasant reality for us or those around us. In order to solve this we will want to practice being consciously aware (check the section on consciousness). Even when we are not aware of what we have been giving attention to, it creates our reality. This statement is very important, for most of us are not consciously aware (in the present moment) all the time (including myself, but now am present much more often after I took up the practice of conscious awareness after I got very sick). When we are not aware that we are the observer of our thoughts and that what we give attention to we empower, we tend to get off track at times by worrying, regretting, judging peoples actions, judging our own actions etc. We essentially become our own judge, even believing that our judgements of others are true. Every time we judge another we are judging our self, for these are the boundaries we have set out for ourselves and attempt to restrict/limit unto others (The Mind’s Jail). Your judgement of others has nothing to do with the other individual and everything to do with how you perceive yourself and external reality.
Everything you believe in the mind becomes your personal reality once you accept it as truth. By this I mean that you are no longer giving attention to doubt in what you believe, complete acceptance that this is how things are or that this is what you are going to accomplish, or that you are a certain way etc. will set this reality into action. Until you change your belief, which creates your perspective of life you will not see things another way. Perception is constantly changing; therefore it cannot know true knowledge, as knowledge or knowing is not related to perception, true knowledge just is, not related to how it is perceived.
The key to Non-Resistance is accepting both sides of the coin. We live in a reality where dualism is primary and before we can live in unity we must correct the split in our minds. We create our reality and that is what earth is, a collective reality that is built based on our individual perceptions. Our perception has been programmed since birth, which is why so much of the collective has a similar perception (especially those under the same rule of government). This is required for manifested structures to be sustained, for we give power to what we believe is true. At this current time in existence, the fear side of the dualistic coin of fear and love has been believed as what reality really is by the majority. However, at an accelerated rate we are waking up to our power, the truth of consciousness and no longer accepting popular culture to be the truth of reality.
For proof of this dualistic split of light and dark, good and evil, bad or good in our minds all we have to do is observe the outer world without bias. Heck even with bias you can notice It is quite chaotic (war, division, violence, greed, constant drama etc.) which reflects the split in our minds, we are divided and that is the type of culture that we have created. The division started with our mind and that is how it will end.
First we must come to accept this split, by observing our thoughts and our behaviour from a non-judgemental un-biased stand point (conscious awareness as the observer). The more we become aware of our existence as the observer the easier it is to be honest about our thoughts and actions and the easier it is to process emotions/feelings. We then must decide that we want to see the truth and no longer live in the illusion our minds have created. In order for us to choose and consistently reside in the light of which we are, we must accept that there is dark aspects of ourselves that we are not completely aware of (aspects of ourselves that we are not conscious of). We must accept this dark side of our self and we must accept our perceived weaknesses, acceptance is the same as non-resistance. When we stop resisting the other side of the coin and judging ourselves for it being there, there is an opportunity for the two sides of our self to converge together so the mind can be whole again. This state goes beyond perception, for we then see things for how they really are. Therefore, we only give attention to the things that come up in our mind that our real, which is anything to do with love. We then want to give this love to the world, which will begin to create a reality beyond dualism, seeing the silver lining in both the light and the dark and realize this dualism was only hear to get know ourselves better.
Observer = The formless eternal energy of which we are. If it can be observed, we are not it.
The Power of No Judgement
The ability not to judge is very powerful for we no longer judge ourselves. It is a powerful tool to override the current program you are locked into. You will want to start a meditative practise to begin this. Even just a short 10-15 minutes examination of your thoughts while maintaining awareness of those thoughts can be very effective. When thoughts arises we have a tendency to judge at moments by saying it is a good or bad, yes or no, whether it is right for us or not etc. This is considered judgement, as everything just is, not good or bad, no label it just is. All thoughts, images, feelings, concepts are just that, it is our ego that decided to label it as one or the other. Now do not get me wrong, it is a good to be able to decipher what is good for you and what is not. But when it comes to the mind it does not matter whether you think it is bad or good, fear it or love it, the more attention you give to it, the deeper it gets engrained in your sub-conscious and becomes the program you run. There is a way to run on no programs, to live from the consciousness in which we are, a state beyond states, for it is not fleeting, consciousness is eternal and every-thing arises from it. The more we practise conscious awareness the more we feel, sense and remember consciousness as simultaneously our home and the one living in it (Check out the section out Consciousness)
Let me give you an example of how this works. Let’s say you are thinking of a butter tart. For the sake of the example let us say that we eat too many butter tarts and realize it does not make our stomach feel good so we do not want to eat them anymore, yet they keep coming up in our thoughts. We tend to say ‘No’ to the thought when it comes up, thinking that saying ‘No’ to the thought will cause it to stop. However saying no to the thought is a judgement and keeps our attention on the thought or at least keeps it in range for it come back again, usually soon. Instead of saying ‘No’ in your mind, choose to not give any attention to it. Or you can give attention to another thought that makes you feel good and does not have any ill effects on you mentally, physically emotionally after you act on it. When you give something attention you are saying YES, when you do not give something any attention you are saying NO. This is how it works, and in knowing this you can begin to only put attention on those things that makes you feel good. Eventually you will be saying YES through attention to everything that feels good, and NO through no attention to everything that feels bad. However it is not this cut and dry for all things until you have processed all of your emotions. The more you live in the present moment (consciously aware state) the more emotions you have yet to process will come up. These feelings may not always feel good, but it is important to not ignore them. You again want to use the rule of no judgement, do not judge yourself for feeling this way and do not judge the feeling through thought (finding an excuse for why you feel this way). When you are in a state of allowing sometimes images will appear from your past, wisdom from within arises, new thoughts, emotions and feelings come up and it will become clear why you are feeling this way. Do not judge yourself, allow yourself to process and release these feelings in whatever manner it occurs (crying will happen at times and it’s a beautiful expression J).
No judgement works in all cases, especially when you are judging others. Any judgement you make of anther is actually a judgement about yourself. Honestly, ask yourself why I am judging this person and be patient to let the answers come. The more aware you become of your thought patterns about others and the judgements you label them, realize you are not defining that person at all, you are defining yourself. The more you allow others to be who they are, the more accepting you will be of yourself. And the more accepting you are of yourself, the more accepting you will be of others. We are uniquely gifted and no one soul is more superior or inferior to another. The reason for this superior and inferior outlook is the power struggle that is occurring. There are those few who are aware of just how much power they possess, most do not understand they have power and submit their will to those who are not afraid to wield it. However, many with power decide to control others, rather than empower. (Using power without love still has limitations however; only through love can you access your full power potential). It is this attitude that keeps humanity on earth in a perpetual state of suffering. For we all are equally powerful, but if you do not know you have power then there is not a chance you will use it. Later in life some awaken more to their power, but because they have been oppressed for so long they usually join the ranks of oppression and only share some of their power secrets with those very close to them. Others go on to be leaders in spirituality, positive social movements and foundations that benefits humans as a whole. However, most do not listen to those that are looking to help because they have been programmed to only trust those who programmed them in the first place, not normally people living outside of the box. The less we judge and see things for how they really are, the more we will be awakened to our power.