See more, hear more, feel more, and realize more and improve your success

Many people can’t see success and resources to achieve it even when those things are directly in front of them. We are automated as a society to be myopic, holding a decidedly narrow focus on the attainment of success; meanwhile, we are unconscious of almost every thing happens around us.

Just remember the last time you drove a car! Do you remember the drive, the surroundings, what you were thinking? Most likely not; you probably fell unconscious during the whole journey and only woke up at the destination or when you missed your exit.

Unfortunately automation is not only present when you are driving; you probably live your whole day like that. For example: Are you presently conscious of what your feet are doing? Direct your attention to your feet on the ground! Do you feel your feet now…. Good…

Were you conscious of your feet before I asked you? If not, then you are like the rest of us, unconscious of yourself moving through the world. Without self-awareness, how would you know that you have changed? That you have accomplished something? That you are on the right track?

It is essential to develop the power of “self-attention.” This sort of attention is an essential part of Eastern meditations, because without it, the practitioner or the monk would never know if he has reached enlightenment. For our purposes, you would use this “self attention” to know when you are succeeding, and when you are not, when you are on the right track or the wrong track, and to know if what your pursuing is what you want or not.

Self-attention is simply a state of observation. It is essentially the time you spend paying attention to yourself and your surroundings, without the intention of changing anything; all you intend is to observe things. For example, when you are walking, you can notice how fast you are walking, the scenery around you, the smells in the air, the breeze on you face and most importantly how you feel at that moment.

You can practice this while reading this book. Read and take it all in, while paying attention to yourself. Pay attention to what thoughts come up, what feeling you are experiencing, expressions on your face (you will be surprised) and so forth.

This awareness takes practice, as it requires your brain to multi-task in order to maintain a sort of double consciousness. You’re probably not used to this practice, but the level of awareness you achieve will enable you to gain a deeper understanding of your present situation, and will inspire you to use the many resources you will discover to be close at hand.

Exercise 1

As you sit, reading these lines, paying a closer attention to the shapes of the letters on this page, direct your attention towards the seat you are sitting in. Feel it underneath you, and feel how hard or soft it is on your body. Now, pay attention to how your own body is responding to the chair. Feel your body resting on the chair, feel your hands, feel your feet resting, and take a deep breath.

Notice your breathing as you read on. Notice your thoughts and let them be. Just notice, and be the observer… and nothing more.

While reading, notice things in your peripheral vision, things you were not paying attention to before… notice them as you expand your vision and let them in… and breathe.

Now notice the noises around you: what noises can you hear?

Feel your clothes on your body, feel the temperature of your skin… and get a sense of how you feel inside. Remember this feeling as you read the rest of this book, and try to maintain this level of self-consciousness while you are going after what you want.

Now breathe some more.

Remember you can come back to this exercise any time you like. Doing this exercise before doing any further work on yourself will put you in an open state, where you feel completely yourself. Your new awareness will give you a more conscious evaluation of your progress and success.

Recap:

• Self attention is important to evaluate if you are on the right track.
• Self attention is easy to accomplish; all you have to do is pay attention to yourself.
• Practice self attention anywhere anytime especially when you are reading this book and doing the exercises.

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