Reclaiming Attention
“Attention is the most valuable currency you own.”
If belief is the lens, then attention is the light that shines through it. What you attend to doesn’t just color your experience — it becomes your experience.
Most people spend attention as if it were infinite. But it’s the rarest resource you have. Every scroll, every worry, every loop is a siphon. Meanwhile, attention invested consciously grows into clarity, creativity, and freedom.
Why Attention Matters
Psychological level: Attention acts as a magnifier. What you dwell on becomes emotionally charged, even if it isn’t helpful.
Systemic level: Attention fuels the feedback loop: belief → attention → conviction → reinforcement. The more you feed a pattern, the more “real” it becomes.
Nondual level: Attention is consciousness narrowing itself into form. By relaxing attention, awareness is revealed as already whole and open.
Practice 1 – The Spotlight Exercise
Imagine consciousness as a theater. Attention is the spotlight. Most of us leave it on autopilot, chasing whatever actor (thought, worry, memory) storms the stage.
Exercise:
Sit quietly for 2 minutes.
Notice what thought or sensation is “under the spotlight.”
Deliberately shift it — move the beam to your breath, or to a sound in the room.
Hold it there for a few seconds. Then move it again.
This simple practice shows: attention isn’t glued. You can redirect it.
Practice 2 – The Attention Audit (a.k.a. Attention Diet)
Your mind eats what you feed it. If your attention diet is 90% social media drama, it’s no wonder you feel restless.
Exercise:
For one day, track where your attention goes in broad strokes:
Work / focus
People / conversations
Media (scrolling, videos, podcasts)
Loops (rumination, worry, shame)
At night, review the “diet.”
Ask: “Did my attention today nourish me, or drain me?”
Awareness itself is the reset. The moment you see how your attention is spent, sovereignty begins.
Practice 3 – Micro-Retuning
Attention is magnetic — fears and desires pull it hardest. To regain choice, you don’t need hours of meditation. Micro-shifts add up.
Exercise:
Catch a moment when your attention is stuck (in a loop, a fear, a craving).
Name it gently: “Ah, attention is here.”
Retune by asking: “Where would I like attention to go right now?”
Shift, even briefly.
This isn’t about suppressing what you notice. It’s about remembering: you choose where to shine the light.
Reflection
Attention is the most valuable currency you have. Spend it unconsciously, and loops grow stronger. Spend it with awareness, and reality itself feels lighter.
Questions to journal on:
Where does my attention go most automatically?
What drains me, and what nourishes me?
How does it feel when I consciously move the spotlight, even for a moment?