Our attention span is limited. To focus on one task often means to de-focus on another task. This ability to direct and shift our attention at will is the core of an effective practice in mindfulness.
I was recently reading the Satipatthana Sutta, a discourse in Theravada Buddhism that teaches students and practitioners how to be more mindful in their day-to-day activities. In it I discovered an interesting passage that I just had to share:
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“When one is strongly mindful, one plants one’s consciousness deep in an object like a firm post well sunk in the ground, and withstands the tempestuous clamour of the extraneous by ‘a sublime ignoring of non-essentials.’ But this does not mean that in such a one interest is narrow and his outlook wrongly restricted. Strong mindfulness ignores the unnecessary, by adhering to the center of the business in hand, and extends its view to important peripheral conditions, with a widespreading watchfulness resembling that of the sentinel on a tower scanning the horizon ‘for the glint of armour.’ By such a balance between width and depth mindfulness steers clear of the extremes of lopsided vision and practice.”
It was the phrase “a sublime ignoring of non-essentials” that really struck a chord with me. To stay focused and intent on the activity at hand ultimately means to ignore everything that isn’t relevant to what you are doing in the present moment.
I imagine a baseball pitcher at an away game; the fans are booing and jeering very loudly. An unskilled player would easily get caught up in the madness. He would get nervous and start sweating more profusely, and he would let those external conditions affect his performance. But a skilled player knows how to sublimely ignore these conditions and focus merely on the task in front of him – get the next batter out. It wouldn’t matter to him whether there were 40,000 fans booing or 40,000 fans cheering, he is focused 100% on what he needs to accomplish in the present moment.
This example can be analogous for almost any productive activity. I’m sure you are already aware of many of the distractions that interrupt your work flow throughout the week. Imagine if you could become entranced only on the essentials of what it is you are trying to do, and if everything else just seemed to evaporate. That would be supreme focus.
I’m beginning to experience this in my own mindfulness practice. For the past week I have been doing morning walking meditations around town. I notice that the more focused I am in the movements and sensations of my walking, the less attention I have on the thoughts and feelings inside my head. It’s like a seesaw on a playground – because it is impossible for me to be more attentive of one thing without being less attentive of something else. It’s a constant give-and-take of awareness. And as I become more aware of this phenomena in myself, I can better identify degrees of mindfulness when I switch from one activity to another.
The more complicated the activity, the harder it is to cultivate a focus that “sublimely ignores” the non-essentials. That is why it is important to start building mindfulness in small activities, like breathing meditation, and then gradually extrapolate that awareness into more complicated activities (walking, eating, cleaning, at work, etc. – download my Meditation Guide to learn how to do all of these).
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