To what extent are you able to
o Sustain your attention on your chosen object* without getting distracted by thoughts, memories or notifications on your various devices?
o Focus your attention on your chosen object without losing mental clarity and starting to get bored, sleepy or dull?
o Settle into a state of effortless flow when working on a task?
o Concentrate deeply on a task without getting either restless or uptight after a while?
o Maintain a razor-sharp mind without getting overstimulated, fractious or hyper?
o Re-direct your attention to the task at hand after your mind got distracted?
* this could be a work task, a person you are having a conversation with, any activity such as washing the dishes, watching a movie or playing chess
If you’re anything like me you may be tempted to answer “well, it depends” for all of these points but that’s just dodging the question. Yes, it will be a sliding scale and depending on the task and how we feel, how much sleep we had and how motivated we are by what we’re doing, our answers will vary. But all things being equal, what would your assessment be, on an averagely interesting task that you decided to do? You can go through and rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 and check out where your greatest strengths or challenges are.
Given our neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to generate new neurons right into old age and to re-wire itself based on our experiences and activities, attention can be cultivated and
meditation is one very powerful and evidence-based way of doing so.
If you’re interested in training your attention skills do join my weekly Guided Meditations via Zoom every Saturday, 10.00-10.30 BST.
To register via Messenger https://m.me/claraenlightenedleaders?ref=Meditate
Click here
