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Home » #75: What is attention?

#75: What is attention?

April 11, 2022

Is it intense pin-pointed focus on something or is it open awareness of the present, regardless of the object?

Does it come and go or is there an attentive part of us always waiting to be called upon?

Does it live in the body, like in the case of professional dancers or athletes? Where, over time, it takes the shape of muscle memory and mental interruptions are the last thing we need. Or does it live in the mind, like that of a scientist or a writer, deep in focus?

Is it in the achievement of the flow-state, where attention just courses through us without any sense of time? Or is it in the attentive preparation and effort that enables the sought-after flow state?

Is it better for attention to be unmediated by technology, like when we stare at the night sky and dream? Or can technology help us see what we couldn’t without, like a telescope that helps us see the contours of the night sky?

Do we create the world with our attention or is what we give attention to defined by the world we live in?

Is attention scarce or do we have enough of it and the struggle is really about where to apply this attention?

Could all of this be true?

“Before our minds create our world, the world creates our minds.” — Gabor Mate,  Hungarian-Canadian physician and author specializing in treatment of addiction

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Filed Under: Being, Feeling, Seeking, Thinking, Zooming In Tagged With: Connection, Creativity, Effort, Presence, Time

About Suparna

Hello, I am Suparna Chhibber. Working Meditation are my "notes to self", where I capture fleeting observations from my life as I try to pay attention while engaged in action. Because I use my work and writing as spiritual metronomes, these reflections are personally useful to me. I share in the hope that others benefit from my writing like I do.

While I deeply value reflections, responses and encouragement for my writing, I am committed to NOT knowing who reads, subscribes to, or unsubscribes from my work. Caring about engagement metrics feels like a distraction that might turn me towards fear vs. generosity. I choose to stay open.

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