|
Put
the Power of Noticing to Work
By
Dr. Steve Whiteman
Marie is pert, attractive, and in her late twenties. If you knew her,
you'd discover that she is also bubbly, stubborn and until recently
– has had difficulties keeping her high paying sales jobs. How
did she overcome her problem?
For some time now she's been learning and practicing what we call
Noticing, with the goal of regaining her natural Competence. Briefly,
Noticing has five steps: 1) Notice what is, exactly as
it is (beginning with your physical surroundings); 2) Accept
what you Notice, without preferring it be different; 3) experience
Appreciation for what is, just as it is; and as a result, 4)
discover your natural Competence; and finally, 5) live
in Perfection, no matter what your external circumstances.
At some point in our lives, we've all had the experience of Noticing
and feeling the Perfection of this ordinary world. In those rare moments,
all five steps happen in a matter of seconds, but to put the power of
Noticing to work in your life regularly requires some practice over
a period of time, just like for Marie.
Marie began to practice Noticing by paying attention to her surroundings.
Why her surroundings? Because she easily gets caught up in all that
she feels and thinks about herself and the world around her. Thinking
interferes with Noticing what's around you and much more.
As children, we Noticed everything, even though we had no words
or concepts to describe what we Noticed. You might have Noticed your
mother crying and asked, “What's wrong?” and she probably
replied, “Nothing.” Very quickly you were forced to not trust
what you Noticed. Instead, you learned to pass from Noticing to thinking – which usually meant
explaining yourself to parents, teachers, employers, and yourself.
But the ability to Notice cannot be taken from you. Think of it as the
pause before thinking. Right now, you may not be aware that there is
such a pause, but it is there, waiting to be explored.
To quiet her thinking, Marie begins spending a few minutes every day
just Noticing objects and herself in three dimensions. Arriving at work
before everyone else one morning, she Notices the wood grain on the
desktops and the way the sunlight slants through the blinds, illuminating
each dust particle. She Notices the sounds of morning traffic from the
street below and feels herself resting on the end of her desk.
Soon, she starts to breathe a little deeper, and her body settles down.
Her attention is relaxed but crisp, just taking it all in. She's
Noticed exactly what's there and accepted all of it just
as it is.
Noticing
article continued next page, click
here!
|
Reality