Pay Attention

MySAR for 6th March

Pay Attention....! The only reason why someone is an artist, someone is not, is lack of attention. Someone is a mystic and someone is not, why? Lack of attention. Someone can shoot straight and someone cannot. Why? Lack of attention. From the simplest to the highest things, it is just lack of attention, nothing else. Whatever attention level you have right now is not all that is possible. There is more but that is still redundant, it is still in an un-manifest state where you do not have access to it. So, at least you must pay all of what you have. But even with your mental attention, you are at different levels of attention at different times of your life and at different times of the day. If you are doing your work, you are in one level of attention. If you are in meditation you are in a different level of attention. If you are eating something that you like very much, you are in a different level of attention. Your levels of attention are different at different times, and whatever the peak attention that you have had in your life at any time, that is still not all of it. You are capable of much more attention. Let’s try to demystify meditation a little. The most basic mistake people make is that they try to meditate, fail, and then say that meditation is difficult. Meditation is not something that you can do. You can never do meditation, but you can become meditative, you can become meditation. Meditation is a quality. If you create a certain atmosphere, meditation will happen. It’s just like gardening. You can’t make plants grow; but if you create the right conditions for a seedling – soil, sunlight, and fresh air – flowers will blossom. If you create the necessary atmosphere in your body, mind, emotion, and energy, meditation has to blossom. But just sitting and trying to meditate – it ain’t gonna happen! A few years ago, on of my teacher took a small group of people on a trek on a railway track between Subramanya and Mangalore. This stretch has over 300 bridges and 100 tunnels. You are practically either on a bridge or in a tunnel most of the time, and it is an absolutely wonderful mountain. Some of the tunnels are over a kilometer long. Even in the day it is pitch dark. And you cannot see your own hand in front of you. Probably most people have never been in a place like that because wherever you are there is some light. Even the starlight gives you some sense of vision. But in those tunnels, after some time you do not know whether your eyes are open or closed, it is that dark. Our teacher made all of them walk in those tunnels without any torches. Initially, people were so terrified but after some time, slowly they started walking and enjoying the whole experience. If you are in a place like that, your attention becomes really heightened. If you can keep your attention like this every moment of your life then you will glow. You will really glow. Wherever you are, whenever you are, just push yourself to notice even the little things, not just about the cleanliness or aesthetics of the place, but just to be absolutely attentive to every little thing.If a pebble has turned over, you must notice it. It is not a question of the pebble, it is just that you are attentive. If you bring this attention to a peak, if you learn to have a heightened sense of attention, then we can teach you methods as to what you must and what you should not attend to within yourself. Spirituality happens only because you paid attention to your life and you saw that you don’t know where it begins and where it ends. You are going about as if whatever you are doing is the be all and end all of life. The moment you pay a little attention, you understand “This is not it.” "Spirituality" does not mean any particular practice.“Spiritualily” does not mean looking up or looking down, or praying or going to the temple. "Spirituality" does not mean right or wrong. It does not mean God, hell or heaven too.  "Spirituality" is about exploring the ultimate limits of who you are. "Spirituality" essentially means you are in an experience which is beyond the limitations of the physical. That means you are in a boundless space. So, the very first step of even thinking spiritual came to you only because of a certain level of attention. If you pay much more attention to everything, if you heighten your ability to be attentive, that could be used in miraculous ways. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------