Where are you right now?
Where is your awareness right now?
The phrase “where attention goes energy flows” has been coming to mind for me a lot lately.
So, where is my attention? When I look at the majority of the day, my attention tends not to be on anything in the present moment. If it is here with me, it’s because of an extreme sensory reaction… Loud! Hot! Smelly! Tasty! Bright!
Where do I go? My past. My future. Anywhere but here.
“Where attention goes energy flows.”
Well, this is grim. No wonder I find myself constantly exhausted. My energy is flowing to everywhere except where I actually need it… this present moment in my body.
This feels like a skill that is malleable and that can be improved. Attention in This. Very. Moment. Attention in my body. Attention towards the person right in front of me. Attention to the small and quiet promptings of my soul. Attention to my connection to the Earth. Attention to the small feelings all over my body. I can practice this! I can really drill down into this idea that energy floods the areas where attention is. I don’t have to act. I can just witness.
I can give life and energy to whatever my mind pays attention to in this moment. I can notice the clouds shifting in the breeze. It’s not that the clouds or breeze won’t exist if I don’t pay attention to them, but if I don’t pay attention to them they won’t exist in my presence.
It’s like not being aware of an event. A movie showing at 9pm. If I don’t pay attention to this information it’s not that the movie doesn’t show at 9pm, but it’s inconsequential to me because I’m not paying attention to it. I’m not giving it energy in my reality.
Is your attention and thereby your energy going somewhere important?
“Where attention goes energy flows.”
Can you inhabit your body? For example, can you place your attention on your feet or hands and notice them? What happens when you do? When you spend a couple of minutes just witnessing them, does any feeling change? Do you notice anything new about them? Can you keep your attention on them or does your focus wander?
Can you use your attention to notice what sensory experiences you are having where you are sitting right now? What does where you are smell like? What do you hear? How do your clothes feel or how is the temperature of your surroundings? Are you tasting anything? What do you see?
This simple exercise of being present in our current moment can be freedom. Anxiety can be caused by placing awareness in a future that doesn’t exist. Depression can be caused by placing awareness in past events that are long gone. Awareness leads energy so placing focus anywhere except the present is giving away energy to places that don’t exist in this moment.
“Where attention goes energy flows.”
Where are you right now?
Where is your awareness right now?
This has inspired me to consider what happens when we place our attention on other people.
A writing for another day.
