Hello

So my friend has been giving me a hard time about the words intention, attention, perspective, and perception.  She thinks it’s too many words to describe be present or pay attention. 

Here’s the thing, I think being mindful is like seeing in 3-D, seeing in several dimensions at once. 

When I first started to do injections into joints I had to learn all the anatomy of those joints.  When it came time to do the injection it was as if I was seeing in that 3-dimensional space in order to get the fluid exactly where I wanted it to go. 

When working as a therapist with families or couples seeing in 3-D is fundamental to being able to get the whole picture from the two (or more) skewed perspectives offered.  You have to be able to interpret what is and isn’t said as well as the energy and force of what matters to the various participants. 

And when I started taking pulses in my oriental medicine training, I was taught to feel depth, quality and speed of each of the 12 channels but I also felt the emotion that went with the pulse.  One of my teachers told me that wasn’t typical.  So this concept of seeing or receiving information in 3-D may be a natural one for me. 

I think seeing in 3-D is essential for real, full communication and right action.  And unless it’s natural it’s something that requires awareness about how to do it and lots of practice. 

The words intention, attention, perspective, and perception increase your awareness and focus you onto the space in a 3-dimensional way. 

Intention focuses you in on what you intend, what you want/desire or what the other intends, wants/desires. 

Attention focuses you in on the tone, loudness, word choice, meaning and emotion as well as whether you and the other have the same meaning for words and/or actions – it pulls you into the present. 

Perspective gets you into the figure/ground aspect of the interaction and allows for paradigm identification and paradigm shifting. 

And perception has aspects of all of the other three but in a more whole-istic fashion.  It allows for mindful understanding and mindful action.

It’s like looking at a situation, relationship, or problem from a 360 degree perspective, breadth as well as depth.

So when you are thinking about a situation or a relationship start to use these words as guide posts to increase your mindfulness awareness of yourself and the other(s) involved and see if you don’t get some surprising answers about what may be going on in those situations. 

You have to use your intuitive sense, your observations, questioning skills, and willingness to listen and act in a mindful present moment way.  Practice applying the whole picture to the situation.

See you tomorrow.

Beth