Two invitations.

Two invitations.

1. (Easier of the two) Take a moment - it only takes a fraction of a second, but if you have more time, the more time you stay in the noticing, the more fascinating it becomes - to make a mental note when you notice having noticed something. For example, if you noticed the little bubbles in your coffee when you first poured it and before it settled and all the bubbles popped, make a mental note NOT of the fact that there were bubbles, but of the fact that you noticed the bubbles.


2. (Harder of the two) Notice what you don't notice. It's ok if it doesn't make sense.


Our bodies - corners of our eyes, surface of our skin, inner sense - notice much more than our minds do. That's the reason why, on the face of it, the second invitation may not make immediate sense; because the body noticing often doesn't quite reach the conscious autopilot mind. You know how you notice that you're hungry? Sometimes we notice the progression of hunger setting in; other times it hits us immediately, how famished we feel, without us having noticed how we progressively got from 'not hungry' to 'hungry.'

You may be wondering what's the point of all this; if our mind didn't notice it then there was no need to notice. And maybe that's right; maybe that's sufficient for our survival in the everyday.

But is survive all that we need and want?