Those of us with differences and difficulties paying
attention have an additional step to take in our healing. We must acquire tools for paying
attention before we can become whole. We must learn to self-monitor and FOCUS on the here
and now.
I want to share with you some of the techniques that have
worked for me.They are all self-renewing and grow exponentially as awareness turns into
habit. They are so interwoven that to separate them is not easy for me as we bouncing
brains can get lost in the details. Knowing that, it's important to be more DIRECTIVE when
teaching and coaching persons like me. It helps keep us from getting lost in the
information we are trying to absorb.
1. ATTENTION is requisite to HEALING...and as the CIRCLE
of ATTENTION grows, it CONNECTS.
In these writings, the connectedness of ideas on healing
will be reinforced in the light of attention over and over... in different perspectives
until a hologram or pattern of attention becomes selef-actualized.
2. I will emphasize PRACTICAL techniques the can be
REFRAMED in day to day life as TOOLS for FOCUSING ATTENTION.
These tools require very little effort. You don't have to
set aside any special time or place.
A Simple Place to Start: First,
practice being aware of your breathing. Fast moving minds have a tendency to hurry their
breathing, shortchanging themselves of the oxygen everyone needs to stay alert. Try
breathing from your abdomen instead of from your chest. Notice how much deeper the breath
seems to be? Feel your brain oxygenate?
Try to say to yourself as you take those deeper breaths
that life is a gift. If you're the meditative type, remember that ancient wisdom tells us
that "God is the breath within the breath"
Now practice silence. Listen for just this moment. What
do you hear?
A friend told me once,"Linda, you can't hear
anything when you are talking!" I was grateful for the feedback. My head sometimes
forgets what my heart knows.
If you quiet the chatter inside, soon you will hear your
inner voice.
Smell the Roses in Color: Now practice
focusing on immediate hear and now things: colors, textures, smells. Choose among the MENU
of the universe and truly EXPERIENCE one -- but only one -- of these joys for any given
time.
For example; My friend M. and I had the priviledge to
visit The Cloisters in NY this June. We practiced this focusing exercise: each of us chose
to look at a particular color individually for 5 minutes. I chose green and M. chose
yellow.
It may sound silly at first hearing, but believe me, what
a rewarding experience! Now I can vividly I can recall these moments in detail, as opposed
to the unfocused and unremembered museum visits of my past.
I have never been more aware of colors, and this has
grown in my subliminal awareness system ever since.
If you can share this kind of awareness with a friend or
child it becomes even more empowering as well as a focusing skill. It is also a form of
meditation and gratitude for being alive. The renewing energies of your life increase.
Remember being alive: Practice telling stories. Last year my neice asked me to tell her
stories about "when you and mom were little." I was speechless. I couldn't
remember anything about my childhood!
Since then the simple practice of looking at today's date
and remembering what I was doing this time last year or last decade or four decades ago
has reopened healing channels previously blocked by decades of accumulating clutter and
broken pieces of fallout from "mindless bouncing."
Practice capturing situations in daily life as cartoons
(don't worry how well you draw). It will add some humorous perspective, and help you
"pull focus" back enough to improve CLARITY.
Practice "buzzword" connections. For example...
when I first really understood what a problem attention was for me, ATTENTION, the word
itself was a wake-up call. I saw the word ATTENTION everywhere!! Every book or tape had an
entire section devoted to it. Soon many more words will resonate for you, thus becoming
more connected and meaningful.
Practice looking into someone else"s eye. I do this
with my children, both of whom are quite bouncy ADDers...Instead of saying everything five
times, then screaming, I get in front of them, touch a shoulder gently and say "Show
me your (NAME OF CHILD) eyes". This may need to be repeated.
When he looks into your eyes, making that contact, you
say "OH, THERE YOU ARE!" and smile warmly. This is an effective tool to focus
yourself and the other person. It works! I am grateful to C. Daley for this technique.
Last but not least, practice holding the edge of your ear
as a prompt to help focus your listening.
Take it one day at a time to be in the here and now. Then
watch as the walls that separate you from your experience start to come down.
