{"id":4722,"date":"2017-05-04T10:17:13","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T14:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/?p=4722"},"modified":"2018-04-27T09:38:17","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T13:38:17","slug":"rapt-attention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/rapt-attention\/","title":{"rendered":"Rapt Attention"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If it\u2019s available to you, close electronics and your eyes. With awareness of your breath, pair it with the mantra \u2018peace\u2019. If chaos exists nearby, say to yourself \u201cI choose to see peace instead of this\u201d.<\/p>\n

Be conscious of your senses, the texture of warm clothes against your skin, delight of sunlight on your face, lingering taste of your morning coffee or tea. Be still. Pay attention to what this moment offers you, sounds, scents, feelings, textures.<\/p>\n

Take another deep breath and open your eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>You create your world with what you pay attention to. <\/strong>Pay attention to the good, you\u2019ll feel better. Pay attention to the bad, and, well\u2026 you get it.\u201d Writes Eric Barker.<\/a> He continues “Via\u00a0Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life<\/a>:<\/p>\n

All day long, you are selectively paying attention to something, and much more often than you may suspect, you can take charge of this process to good effect. Indeed,\u00a0your ability to focus on this and suppress that is the key to controlling your experience and, ultimately, your well-being<\/strong>\u201d<\/strong>Research shows that paying attention to positive feelings literally expands your world. \u201c<\/p>\n

Savoring the good things, Eric writes, \u201cis one of the\u00a0secrets of the happiest people<\/a>\u00a0and it\u2019s part of the basis for one of the most effective happiness-boosting techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In creativity, external observation is combined with mindfulness. Think of it as absorbing life in childlike wonder.<\/p>\n

Much of daily anxious stress is a result from thinking of future or past events.\u00a0Giving pause to recognize positive elements in every day occurrence are crucially important to absorb fully. You will remember the birth of your child and the day you received the big promotion. Savoring small happy details, the flight of a butterfly, smile from a neighbor, hug of a friend, keep one grounded on a daily basis, adding up to major health benefits for long term wellness.<\/p>\n

In painting, artists focus on one brushstroke at a time. Thou the act<\/em><\/strong> of painting is familiar, but the work itself, is not.\u00a0While cooking a recipe the mind can wander to \u2018next steps\u2019 or the day\u2019s agenda. During a run, it\u2019s motivating to ponder what will emerge in the next mile.\u00a0Painting unlike other pursuits, requires attention that is absolute.<\/strong>\u00a0Original concept is developed and re-evaluated upon each brushstroke.\u00a0In this way, artists can embody laser focus with ability to tune out what doesn\u2019t apply to the immediate momentary act.<\/p>\n

It is a process of diverting one’s scattered forces into one powerful channel. (James Allen<\/a>)<\/p>\n

To ease a cluttered mind and restore positive energy, for me, the key is recognizing this very moment will never come again. This enables one to focus and\u00a0savour life with gratitude at any given moment.~<\/p>\n

“Art is not an amusement, nor a distraction, nor is it, as many men maintain, an escape from life. On the contrary, it is a high training of the soul, essential to the soul’s growth, to its unfoldment.” ~Lawren Harris<\/p>\n

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If it\u2019s available to you, close electronics and your eyes. With awareness of your breath, pair it with the mantra \u2018peace\u2019. If chaos exists nearby, say to yourself \u201cI choose to see peace instead of this\u201d. Be conscious of your … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-work","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4722"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5225,"href":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4722\/revisions\/5225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dawnbanning.com\/newsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}