We live in a painfully polarized country and divided world. Each day, our minds are divided by an avalanche of news of political unrest and natural disasters along with nonstop social media. I'm convinced that our divided attention has led to personal imbalance, insecurity, and anxiety, resulting in increased fear, defensiveness, and political polarization.
We can begin healing our external imbalance by first healing our divided minds, for research has shown that a divided mind is an insecure, imbalanced mind, subject to chronic stress.[1] In this stressful state, we cannot think clearly, listen to the people around us, or listen to our own inner wisdom. We cannot solve our problems effectively and build bridges of greater understanding in our world.
We can start healing our divided minds by practicing what meditation teacher Eknath Easwaran has called "one-pointed attention," focusing on one thing at a time in the present moment. [2]
This means really listening, focusing on the person who's talking to you, focusing on the vegetables you're slicing for dinner, and when you're out on the road, focusing on your driving—all without
worrying, planning, or multitasking. Just being present.
Whatever you've been doing, you can practice one-pointed attention by taking a slow, deep, mindful breath and slowly releasing it, focusing on being present right here and right now.
For the rest of the day, I encourage you to practice one-pointed attention—when you're walking, working, listening to someone, preparing a meal, or something else. Whenever you catch your mind wandering, multitasking, worrying, or planning, take a slow, deep breath, and slowly breathe out to return to the here and now.
Perhaps a reminder will help you remember to practice. Some of my clients wear a rubber band on their wrists, my friend Juan wears a Buddhist mala bracelet, and I wear a bracelet of clear beads to remind me to be more present.
Enjoy this simple practice and I wish you greater peace on the path.
References
[1] Killingsworth, M.A., & Gilbert, D. (2010,12 November). A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. Science, 330, 932.
[2] For a discussion of one-pointed attention, see Easwaran, E. (2008). Passage Meditation. Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press.