Attention and Attitude

Attitude and Attention

We plan this life before we arrive, choosing a life experience that will enhance our growth, expansion, and experience as a Soul. We sometimes have “vacation” lifetimes but even those have their challenges. Life can (and should be ) fun but out of balance can lead to slothfulness or indulgences that ultimately are harmful. Life is full of lessons, and if the lessons dominate, one can become bitter or depressed. Balance between fun and learning is essential.  We can “jump ship” in a lifetime. We can decide that the plan we made on the Other Side, with Divine Guidance, is not worth living.  This is often called “manifesting” in the New Age/Motivation industry. Once in a human body, our ego decides we now know better what we should have on Earth than what we originally planned with our Divine Guides. Like a child in a supermarket, once  in-body, candy looks so much more appealing than organic vegetables. 

Some of us are here to learn the futility of manifesting from ego. Some of us are here to indeed learn manifesting, and will build that into their life’s experiential plan.  Others have chosen a life of surrender to the driving energies of Spirit and others  a lifetime of no connection at all in this incarnation. It is all learning. No lifetime path can be condemned as we cannot fully understand another person's journey while here on Earth.  

So why meditate? Why consciously choose to embark on a Spiritual Journey?  For the same reason one goes on a diet or starts to exercise. … to feel better and/or to challenge the self. And again, not every one cares to diet or exercise. For those who are driven or called in this life to pursue a conscious Spiritual path,  life becomes filled with mindful decisions…..just like deciding to eat healthy.   For those choosing spirituality, where you place your attitude and attention becomes vital.  Attitude and attention determine mood and perception.  We are not talking about adopting a fake upbeat attitude but rather choosing to notice one’s attitude, own it, heal it and through healing, a shift occurs. A profound, deep shift emerges from healing, not from lathering on “positive thinking.” Attention means noticing where we place our attention, and making more conscious choices here as well, then implementing those choices and creating new habits. If one is always noticing bad habits (in the self, or in others) then that becomes a focal point, and may not be productive.  It is good to check one’s self, but balance is good.

Just like we don’t want to slap fake positive thinking on top of real feelings, we don’t want to force ourselves to “stop” paying attention.  Instead of trying to “stop,” we can fill ourselves up with something else.  An added benefit to shifting one’s attention is that attitude always changes as well.  The discipline of meditation is wonderful when it comes to changing attention. Meditation makes us strong enough to shift and keep our focus to our internal energies as well as to tune into the energy of Spirit.  One can also add mindfulness practice as a way to shift attention from a draining place to being present.  

Even if one is struggling with alcohol, depression, broken relationships, poverty, it is up to the person to call up his/her s\Spiritual practice to keep attention on recovery rather than just getting lost or buried in overwhelming emotions.  On the outside, it not might look much different in action; however this shift in attention can make a world of difference in moving forward.  It is not a steady forward motion, that is unrealistic. The beauty of this shift is it is kind to the Self. One stops repressing the Self or beating one’s Self up and instead, when noticing where one’s attention is going, one gently chooses another focus….just like in meditation. Over time, a new habit can be created…..choosing Spirit and energy over fretting.  This doesn’t make the problem go away and it is not a substitute for continued work. It means we shift our attention while continuing to move through a challenge.   It is choosing to call in Help, connect with Energies and Guidance, and to not terrorize, criticize or brutalize the Self. As mindfulness, calmness, Energy, Guidance begins to fill us up there is less room for unhelpful choices to survive or thrive. We create a space inside of our Self where there is room for dual focus but it is now in balance. When we are balanced, we can more easily and gently move forward. When we are overwhelmed with anxiety , fear, depression, or overwhelmed trying to suppress our feelings, we have no energy or room to allow Spirit to move us forward.  

We learn to stop scaring the Self by predicting a doom and gloom outcome. We face our fears but instead of seeking control, we seek Guidance. When we have overwhelming circumstances , we shift our focus to Spirit, the Higher Self, and fill the Self with Energies bigger than the situation.  We allow the horizon to become bigger and trust a Source bigger than our left brain to Guide us through the maze of the current challenge.  Working this way is not only gentler, it allows us to grow and evolve through the experience.  We are here on Earth to evolve as well as have fun. Embrace both.

Journey On.