Day 1 – Attention

7 days of presence | a course in inner peace

Day 1 is all about giving conscious attention. The ability to give attention is your birthright and what you already naturally do. So far, you have not been very conscious of using your birthright. The focus of your attention constantly drifts from one place to another. We are here to fix this together.

Attention is yours to give away—you cannot keep it to yourself. Your guidance today include giving your sincere and unjudging attention to things, people, and situations. Do not segregate or prioritize any object of attention. Be relentlessly aware and place your full attention into wherever your focus goes. You will find out that your mind remains silent when you give conscious attention, and your focus stays in one place slightly longer. This might be difficult for the mind, but moving fast in life will not create space for inner peace. Careful attention and deep insight into one thing—even the most simple one—will outnumber conquering many.

Attention is based on your perception of forms. Everything you perceive has a form. Give attention to what you see, hear, taste, smell, or touch. Acknowledge that all forms appear relative to other forms; for example, you cannot see color without a form, and vice versa. No form exists without color. Even thoughts are forms that are perceived. Do not fill your world with preconceived ideas of the world. Just perceive the forms as they are.

your guidance today

Give attention to your own body.

Explore how it feels like to be alive here and now. Do not settle for just knowing it. Feel your heart beating. Observe the air moving in and out of your lungs. Investigate how walking feels in your feet, and feel your hands whenever they touch something. Be aware of your sensory perceptions. Discover what signs of aliveness your inner body has.

Give attention to other people.

Observe how it feels to have other human beings around youhere and now. Observe how they move and talk. Examine the ways they behave. Give attention to their physical appearance, but refrain from labeling and judging. Find out if other people are present and aware around you, and if you can be present and aware around them.

Give attention to the world around you.

Get familiar with your sensory perceptions—see, hear, smell, taste, and touch. Observe the plants and animals, and gaze at the sky above. Listen to the traffic in the city and the silence of nature. Acknowledge the space around you. Feel the world in whatever way your senses guide you to feel. Do not choose your objects of attention. Let your attention move without your interference.

Give attention to thoughts and emotions within you.

Be relentlessly aware of your thoughts and emotions. Find out if thoughts arise slowly now and then, or are you drowning in a continuous flood of thoughts. Feel the emotions that follow your thoughts. Exercise scrutiny on emotions, whether they arise naturally or are they caused by excess thinking.

Do not label anything you give attention to.

Be aware of what happens within you and in the world around you. All kinds of sensations will arise—positive, neutral, and negative. Just give your attention to whatever arises. Be aware, choose nothing, and be open to everything.

Attention day affirmation