A Zen teacher I once had used to talk about attention as a guided missile. It automatically goes to knots, hangups, perceived problems.
What he left out, but of course knew, is that this is an invitation to notice, to investigate, to find more clarity.
It makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. It helps us survive.
And it also makes sense within the context of growing and waking up.
When attention goes to a knot or perceived problem, it is an invitation to notice and investigate in two ways.
First, the situation itself (aka my stories about it). It is an invitation to investigate the situation and how I relate to it. To gather more information, look at it from other angles, talk about it with others, explore strategies, try something different in how I relate to it, and so on.
And then, my stories about it and also the experiences triggered by it. What happens when I hold onto that story as true? Who would I be without it? What are the validity in its reversals? What is more honest for me than the initial story? What happens when I resist the experience? What happens when it is allowed, as it is, with kindness?
So this dynamic of attention going to knots and perceived problems is an invitation. It is an invitation to investigate and relate to situations in life differently, which helps us in a very practical and ordinary way. And it is an invitation to find what is more honest for us than our initial beliefs, which in turn invites maturing, and what we really are to notice itself.
Trigger: Waking up with attention going to a decision I made there is still some regrets around. I am still holding onto a particular view as true, instead of soaking in what is more honest for me.
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outline….
- guided missile
- attention, a guided missile towards knots/hangups etc.
- an invitation to notice, investigate, find more clarity
- makes sense from evolutionary perspective, helps us survive
- and within context of growing/waking up