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Attention as Worship
Attention is not just another “cognitive function”: it is... the disposition adopted by one’s consciousness towards the world. Absent, present, detached, engaged, alienated, empathic, broad or narrow, sustained or piecemeal, it therefore has the power to alter whatever it meets. Since our consciousness plays some part in what comes into being, the ... See more
Maria Popova • How We Render Reality: Attention as an Instrument of Love
Attention is first philosophy—
Philosophy is not only a system of thought but a mode of attentiveness, an exercised openness to what exceeds us yet calls us to deeper participation. Its systematic aspects are downstream of this attentiveness, and can certainly become a scaffolding by which others can train their own attention, but it is at its root... See more
Philosophy is not only a system of thought but a mode of attentiveness, an exercised openness to what exceeds us yet calls us to deeper participation. Its systematic aspects are downstream of this attentiveness, and can certainly become a scaffolding by which others can train their own attention, but it is at its root... See more
Attention is First Philosophy
Having recognized how much of our lives have been lived in a state of heedlessness, our attention merely being drawn to this or that, or merely reacting to events, we can now recognize the possibility of assuming responsibility for the precious substance of our attention. When I can become attention itself, it feels as if attention is arising withi
... See moreKabir Helminski • The Mysterion: Rumi and the Secret of Becoming Fully Human
Just as an artist learns to see color relationships or a musician develops an ear for harmony, the scholar-contemplative cultivates modes of attention that bring new dimensions of experience into presence. This isn’t simply about sustained focus—though that’s part of it—but about developing the sensitivity and skill to let phenomena show up in incr... See more
Attention is the muscle. Looking closely is the application of that muscle. It can be exercised through deliberate action. Meditation is one method.