To your friends.
There is an auction going on,
And you and I are part of it.
The item that is being auctioned is not something that you can find in the auctioneer's window or website.
And you don't have to log on anywhere or visit anywhere to see what is up for sale.
It is something that is the property of each one of us.
Our attention.
There is a well-known Zen story.
A student asks Master Ichu.
To write something of great wisdom for him.
So that he can always remember it.
Master Itchew takes a brush and writes a single word,
Attention.
The student is disappointed and he asks,
Is that all?
Expecting something more elaborate,
Something more profound.
In response,
The master writes again,
And the message now reads,
Attention,
Attention.
By now the student feels a little irritated.
And again puts the question to the master.
Which leads the master to write yet again.
Attention.
So now we have attention,
Attention.
Attention.
When the frustrated student asks,
What is the meaning of this repeated word?
The Master simply answers.
Attention means attention.
The story reminds us of the importance of paying attention to what is going on in the present moment.
We read that our attention spans are shortening.
I'm told that when videos are being produced,
It's necessary to constantly change the angle of the camera in order not to lose the attention of the viewer.
One reason why our attention spans are shortening is simply that we have to deal with an ever-increasing inflow of information.
The culprit sits in our pocket.
Our pores,
Or our head back in.
It's the most magical piece of equipment,
Far more powerful than the technology that brought people to the moon way back in 1969.
You know what it is.
Your mobile phone.
It is really important that we try to prevent our phones becoming a source of distraction.
How can we hope to get meaningful work done?
How can we manage to find time for unbroken concentration if we allow ourselves to be disturbed by the beeps,
The flashes and the notifications that come to us non-stop through our phones?
I'm as guilty as anyone else when it comes to allowing the form to interfere with my concentration.
But I've decided upon a method that I want to share with you.
Because in the last little while I have found it really useful.
I've set three periods a day for briefly checking messages and emails and WhatsApp.
These are easy to remember.
Morning coffee break around 11am.
The afternoon break around 4pm.
And a final check around 9pm.
Not so late as to set me off thinking and planning before bedtime.
I'm not addicted to social media,
But I do need to check and respond to Insight Timer comments.
And to thank people promptly for their donations.
The time allocated for this is 2pm each day.
Finally,
We need to keep in touch with the nose.
But we shouldn't allow news headlines to dominate our days.
So a once-daily check at around 6pm.
Is sufficient to keep us in touch with the affairs of the world.
My phone now is almost always set to reduce interruptions mode.
This cuts out routine beeps and reminders,
Apart from preset alarms.
And it also allows phone calls to be received.
My suggestion to you in this talk is that you might try something along these lines.
It will enable you to recover time to allow you to concentrate on the people you care for.
You know how it goes with interruptions.
Each interruption involves stopping,
Stopping what we're at,
Turning our attention to the interruption,
Whatever it may be.
And then trying to get back to where we were.
Interruptions cause a disproportionate loss of time.
We can't allow ourselves to be controlled by these notifications.
We have a life to live and let us all find it again.
Maybe you'd like to try something like this.
I believe it would be a great help.
And don't forget to let us all know how you get on.
Namaste.
