How To Cultivate The Art Of Attention And Focus
Now this is a challenging topic for me to write about. There are many ways you can cultivate the art of attention and focus. I will only show you one way, or rather 3, the way I practice.
The magic word is indeed “practice”. Just like we can lose anything, muscle, weight, discipline, faith, we can also lose the ability to focus.
The reason this is difficult for me to explain is because I was taught attention, focus, discipline from a very early age, 8 years old, when I began practicing karate.
So now the challenge is for me to teach others how to do it….my way. Of course I could easily go to others who have systems in place to coach others to develop such skills. But what’s the point then? They will never ever be able to show you how I did it, how I made it possible, my way.
So let’s get to it.
If I was to choose 3 ways to cultivate attention and focus those would be:
Look and See
We all look at things. We look at people around us, at trees, at buildings, at the device you are reading this on. But do you actually see….anything at all?
Do you actually SEE the colours, shapes, sizes and patterns. So often we just go through the day blindfolded and in a rush.
When I walk many times I try to imagine I’m slowing down time. Imagine Matrix, it’s old school but a great way to imagine what I do.
So I slow down time, not slow down my pace, and I look and see things that I’d normally just walk by, things that most people don’t see.
For example: a spot on a leaf, a chewing gum stuck on the sidewalk, a spot on the bark of a tree, a drop of water
Touch and Feel
Again a personal example. Walking to my Karate class I pass by a cemetery (a nice one though) and the fence is covered in trees, bushes and flowers.
Many times, slowing down time as before, I touch the leaves and the flowers, while I walk past them.
But it’s not just touching, is feeling their softness or harshness, feeling the drops of rain, the freshness of those drops.
Listen and Hear
We are seldom aware of what’s going on around us. We walk around like zombie or robots, and I do the same, I am part of it.
Yet sometimes, when you slow down time (there’s that “slow down” again) we begin to actually hear things we’ve never heard before.
As you walk down the street or sit on the tube or bus try to find all the sounds you can possibly find. Count them. See how many sounds you can capture.
You’ll be amazed at what happens when you do this. Please try it and leave a comment or email me. I’d like to hear your experience because it will be totally different than mine or anyone else’s
The common element
That’s the “slowing down” element. That’s the pause, the stop, the moment of stillness.
That’s what we’ve lose as humans in our pursuit for better, faster, stronger. I do the same, but from time to time I practice the Art Of Attention And Focus.
When you manage to do that you are cultivating the art of attention and focus. Practice these are your life will change for the better.
The way you go through life, the way you see the world, how you feel and what you listen to will change the way you live your life.
These are the things that I do with my clients. Sometimes our sessions are really physically challenging but other times we challenge the mind and spirit so we develop at all levels not just one.
