Dear Joshua,
On a brief trip away. my mind did not stop 'working' on observing and questioning and redirecting. It was sort of a pain, yet fun in its own way.
Just now I had two experiences. The first was when I began reading Alette's answer from the Q of the W. Within the first two sentences of your answer, not knowing where it was going, I started to cry. And I stopped reading and asked - why am I crying? I haven't even read the answer yet! I did not get an answer, but I felt some relief as I took the break to breathe...but the question still hangs in my mind.
Then, as I was writing in my journal about our little getaway and more rambling about the way my mind was working overtime, I suddenly came up with this question and I ran to my computer (inspiration at its best - I also needed to put the wash into the dryer). In restaurants, walking the street, at a ball game, I kept observing and questioning all sorts of things. I would notice someone I thought attractive or unattractive and I'd hear myself ... "I am not my nose," "She is beautiful inside and out like me," "I wonder if she's happy," "I am connected to all these people, but how?" etc. So many questions and observations!
I was going to write a detailed question about that but suddenly the question took a specific form, a bit of a different direction... What's the difference, if there is one, between 'attention' and 'focus'?
I was paying attention to my thoughts and words over the weekend and sometimes I felt good about it - loosely trying to stay focused on good feeling thoughts and really feeling good. But, now I am questioning myself.
I'm guessing it may just be an English word option and perhaps no real difference but then I get some real feelings that there is a difference and I would like to know what that might b., How I can use each correctly?
Thank you,
Allyson
Dear Allyson,
You can bring your attention to anything. You might hear a siren in the distance and focus on that. Now, hearing the siren, two thoughts could come to mind. You might envision a car accident and someone being taken to the hospital. You might see someone struggling to survive and hoping they make it. You might think that car accidents are wrong and something should be done. Or you might marvel at the efficiency of modern day rescue operations and how technology makes everything better so that anyone who ever needs assistance has it within a matter of minutes. Your attention is brought to something and your focus determines how you perceive it.
If something grabs your attention, it is neutral. It is neither good nor bad, it just is. You might decide that based on some belief, it is good. If you think this, then you are given a good-feeling emotion such as joy, or maybe you feel goosebumps. It is a sign that you have a beneficial belief which allows you to see this neutral thing as good. If you see something as good or right, then your perspective is in alignment with your inner self's perspective on the subject at hand. However, if you choose to perceive it as wrong, then you have chosen a perspective that does not align with your inner self and you're given an emotion that doesn't feel good. It might be annoyance or hated. It is your indication that a limiting belief exists within you and this belief is in stark contrast to the version of you who you must become so that all you want can manifest into your reality.
The system is simple. You can place your attention on anything and then use your focus to see it as good and right. If you notice it, then you are a vibrational match to it, which means that it is there for you to see. If you were not a match to it, you could not perceive it. It would not be possible. If you perceive it in any way, then there is something for you in it. If you see it as good, then you benefit from it, because you add what is good about it to your vibration. If you see it as bad, then you add whatever you think is bad about it to your vibration. However, the only possible reason you could see anything as bad is due to fear. The fear is irrational and can be processed.
Let's say that you see a man who is drunk in public and is making a scene. Now, you could look at this as wrong (as many people would). Seeing him as wrong is a reaction. He has caught your attention and due to the fear you feel (for whatever reason), you react by judging him as being wrong. If you do this, then the focus of your attention is on the wrongness of his behavior and you attract that and add it to your vibration. We must state here that you certainly do not want that added to your vibration. Can you see that if you add this negative judgment about the man's behavior to your vibration, you will attract more of that? This certainly will not bring you what you want. So then, why are you focusing on an aspect you personally do not like? It's because you are living by the old approach to life, which is one of control.
Those in the old approach to life place their focus of attention on things they believe are bad or wrong and they attempt to control the conditions by banning them from existence. This approach goes against the laws of the universe and can never work. In fact, this approach adds what they believe is wrong to their vibration and the opposite of what they want occurs. Instead of removing what they do not like from their reality, they actually bring more of it into their reality. It's counterintuitive we know, but this is the fundamental law of the universe. It is the Law of Attraction. In an attractive universe you cannot destroy or push away, you can only attract. When you focus your attention on the negative aspects of anything, you bring more of that into your existence. You will judge. That is human. You place your attention on it and you judge it. The way you decide to judge it, is what will come to you. If you judge it as bad, you bring the bad.
If you judge it as good, you attract more good. Your focus is what determines how you judge something. Your emotions will let you know if your judgment is in agreement with your inner self or not. If you feel bad, you are choosing a limited perspective and fear enters the picture. You will want to remove the fear by changing the conditions, but this cannot work. Instead, you must focus on the positives of anything. If you can't do that, then you must remove your attention from it.
If you were to watch the news, you would see several stories. The stories would be portrayed in a way that is designed specifically to bring out fear in the viewers. Fear is seductive and the media understands this. Fear creates emotions and people who are not used to focusing their attention get swept up in the emotions. They are unaware that their emotions are actually guidance letting them know that when they focus on fearful things, they draw them into their experience. If you can watch the news and see the positive side of every story, then you have chosen to focus in a way that is beneficial to you. If you cannot do that, then your power of focus is not ready for the news and so it is best to turn it off and remove your attention from it.
When you chose the way you focus on anything that captures your attention, you are actively and consciously creating the reality you prefer. That is the power of focus.
With our love,
We are Joshua
