Circumstances for learning this attention exercise
Waiting
Resting
Eating
Taking care of someone
One of the sneakiest and most satisfying attention habits I know is to notice when perceptions end.
The more ordinary, the better.
Seeing a tree branch sway and settle back into stillness.
Feeling an itch or—a sense of sadness—subside. Even temporarily.
Hearing a heater switch off.
The subtle satisfaction that follows endings resembles that feeling we get when silence spreads across a room that, seconds earlier, was filled with people talking.
Observing dynamic perceptions improves your ability to concentrate because changing and fleeting things make it easier to get absorbed. Observing them as they disappear deepens your connection with the undercurrent of impermanence running through daily life.
Allowing perceptions to come and go also helps you experience the paradoxical neutrality of equanimity more frequently—making pleasant moments feel more satisfying and painful ones less overwhelming. This liberating attention skill is more powerful when experienced directly rather than understood conceptually. It allows you to be more present without getting carried away as quickly by your interpretations.
The following exercise can sharpen your ability to stay until the end of ordinary sensations and perceptions. Being on the lookout for opportunities to practice helps us realize how many there are.
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