Notice what doesn't insist on your attention

After a recent workshop, a woman shared with me a meditation exercise she came up with that isn't about noticing her breath, hearing sounds, or observing what's in front of her. She goes to her favorite park, sits down, closes her eyes, and notices the air. Its temperature. The way it moves. The way it touches her skin. The aromas it sometimes carries.

This appeals to the Kansan in me. It's in my bones to be soothed by gusty wind, but I need to be reminded to be on the lookout (or feel out) for the less obvious ways the world touches me. It does so continuously, yet nearly always imperceptibly until I remember to be curious about it.

Her exercise became the theme of my formal (timed) and informal (going about my routine) practice throughout the weekend. The fluctuating spring temperatures made the exploration extra rich and delicious. I could feel the chill in the air getting warmer as the sun came up. It was easy to savor how comforting the breeze felt as I walked Baxter. Its subtlety added just the right mix of challenge and payoff during my Sunday morning run. 

Haruki Murakami observed something similar in his first novel, Hear the World Sing:

"The wind has its reasons. We just don't notice as we go about our lives. But then, at some point, we are made to notice. The wind envelops you with a certain purpose in mind, and it rocks you. The wind knows everything that's inside you. And not just the wind. Everything, including a stone. They all know us very well. From top to bottom. It only occurs to us at certain times. And all we can do is go with those things. As we take them in, we survive, and deepen."

I highly recommend this exercise. It feels like observing nature’s breath instead of your own.

Restorative Yoga with Kit

AWARE Right Now

What if there was a way to reach an experienced mindfulness teacher in a similar way? What if you could describe your interest (the need to focus or relax), your experience level (1-5), and the amount of time you have to practice using an automated text-based system that finds a teacher who can check in with you via a video or regular phone call. 

This is what a new startup based in San Francisco is developing. It's called AWARE and I'm all set up to take on-demand requests. I've already done a few even though the program doesn't officially launch for at least another month. 

Check out what one of my guidees had to say about it. I love curious skeptics! 

I have a feeling we'll be hearing more about this one in the news when it takes off and I'm looking forward to sharing strategies with people all over the country and possibly even the world. I'm imagining a person who is wide awake in the middle of the night being able to connect with someone who can walk her through an exercise for settling down and getting some rest. 

Recent Attention Grabbers

• My favorite people — talking to each other! I was heaven listening to Krista Tippett engage David Whyte and Craig Minowa (of Cloud Cult) in two different recent On Being conversations. 
• I didn't want the conversation between Dan Harris and Jay Michealson to end either. This is the fourth episode of Dan's new 10% Happier podcast. Just what I needed â€” another great podcast to be unable to keep up with.  
• A recent One You Feed conversation about addiction with Gabor Maté and an older one about habits with BJ Fogg both gave me fascinating perspectives about making behavior changes. 
• And from the Harvard Business Review, Ellen Langer explains that mindfulness isn't much harder than mindlessness and Francesca Gino writes about the benefits and limits of stress as a motivator.

Recent Blog Posts

• My post on Mindful Awareness Exercises for Attentive Listening was published on the Mindful Life, Mindful Work blog earlier this week.
• Getting Better at Noticing Directly explores several clues that your ability to directly notice your perceptions is growing.
• Short-Term Irritations, Long-Term Payoffs catalogs a variety of liberating — if not always pleasant — options you have for navigating common challenges encountered during attentional fitness training.

Keep in touch between newsletters by following me on Facebook, signing up for a class, calling to discuss individual coaching, or recommending an attentional fitness workshop in your workplace. 

Take care, 

Daron