Attention

Vigilance

These days everyone wants your attention. Attention is the beginning of the mind. It is a desired quantity by advertisers/business owners and power mongers, as well as teachers and people in distress.

The Jedi must master the balance between ego and assertion of self with submission and yielding to the forces-at-large. The tool which helps build that balance is called reason and will. The tool which enforces and negotiates that balance is talking and attention.

Your attention can go to either dissipating your power or collecting it. Light entering the eyes collects attention and, with it, the power of the Force. Distractions dissipate it. So the Jedi acolyte must master their attention -- the center-point of their mind.

Attention is dissipated with

• careless movements,
• mindless eating,
• excessive talking, and
• uncontrolled muscle strain.

In order:

• Movement consumes chi. Chi is the force of life itself, so the Jedi cultivates mindful movement.
• Eating the wrong foods takes chi, because those cravings come from other powers within the inter-connected soul. Without being mindful of what those powers are, you create a path of destruction.
• Excess talking bleeds out the energy of the heart where the core of power is stored.
• Muscle strain takes a lot of energy, when it is uncontrolled it spills out, wastefully.

Attention is collected and focused with

• mindful gazing (from yang),
• directed movement or exercise following deep learning,
• didactic talking (where it flows back to self), and
• eating whole foods.

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The first lesson of attention is use of eye contact. When encountering people you make eye contact with, you neither stare down nor look away. Something in the Force guided the encounter together and you don't want to miss it.

The second lesson of attention is focus. The universe brought your eyes towards something, now you function as the categorizor of it -- is it something you need or something to remember for later?

The third lesson of attention is non-attention. You must let go of your attention so that you can act efficiently, following the lines of intent.

The last lesson of attention is results. You acted without your mind in the way, but you need validation that your acts were worthy. Assess all of the results and know what worked and what didn't.

Continue.

The Jedi is always balancing the four dimensions of attention: inside vs. outside, retracting vs. moving forth, sugar (immediate energy) vs. fats (energy in reserve), where you've been vs. where you're going.