Stop. Look. Listen.

    Stop, Look, and Listen. These are words that have followed me from childhood.
    In the UK, in the late 1950s, and early 1960s, 'Stop, Look, and Listen' was the slogan for a road safety campaign aimed to teach children how to behave before crossing a road.
    Many decades later, I see these words as memorable formula for bringing my attention into focus.
    When I am busy and stressed, I certainly benefit from reminders to shift my focus into present reality. Distractions can easily pull me away: knowing that I am on my way to a grocery store can move my attention into menu plans and meal preparation, and I am capable of losing track of where I am in the physical world, and what, exactly, I am doing.
    I think most people recognize that we sometimes  are 'on auto-pilot'. This is why we forget where we put our keys, or our coffee mug, or even where we parked the car. While we were placing these things, we were thinking about another place, task, or conversation. We were not, in truth, present. 
    Using the Stop Look and Listen model, we can bring ourselves back into conscious awareness, and change our experience, improve our memory and enjoy the moment as never before!

Stop
    When we stop doing something, we become aware of its presence. With physical movement, if we are stopped while walking, for example, we can lose our balance, and feel 'thrown off course'.
    The same is true when we notice that our mind has 'drifted off'. Refocusing on what is front of us can cause us to lose the thread of what we were thinking.
    This may be why we sometimes need to ask ourselves 'Why did I come into this room?' Whatever thought process propelled us to move is interrupted when we recognize ourselves in a new place, and the motivating force is disrupted. It is interesting that sometimes moving back, physically, to the start of the movement, will trigger memory.
    When we notice that we are thinking about which groceries to buy, and take note of where we are, we have already stopped being absent, and we can reconnect. Are we sitting on a bus? tuning out a conversation? sitting in our meditation chair?
    Stop and feel your physical reality. Feel your feet on the floor. Your seat on a soft chair or a hard bench. Notice your breath. Feel that you are living inside your body.

Look
    When we shift attention into the present, it can be helpful to really look at where we are. Look at the room in front of you. Look at your desk calendar. Look at the teacup you are holding.
    This is not an invitation to disappear into another diversion. Do not look at the bookcase and start remembering a reading you attended, or a library that you loved. Look at the bookcase and see it. Notice the colour of the wood or the paint. See the books as physical objects with colour and size. Look at the shapes, and how the shelf space is filled or empty, how the case fills the space where it sits. Look at the things around and on top.
    Marvel at your ability to see the colours and shapes, without letting your mind wander off into the stories you have read in those volumes. Stay in the moment.
Listen
    Silence is rare.
    Wherever we are, no matter how quiet, there are sounds to hear: electronic humming; leaves rustling; pets, snoring or chewing or moving around.
    Equally, no matter how noisy and distracting a place may be, there are pauses, small spaces of respite from the racket.
    When we are choosing to be aware of the present moment, we may find focus in hubbub: there may be appealing repetitions and rhythms, or we may retreat into listening to ourselves as we inhale and exhale. Being aware, and actively listening, we may hear any number of individual sounds that had escaped our notice.

Now
    When we are fully engaged with the sensations, sights and sounds of our moment, the moment grows. Each Now becomes deep and textured: filled with insight. Connecting to Now can move us into greater appreciation of all aspects of life, and openness to further exploration.

    I have been supporting clients through change and growth since the 1980, using Numerology, Labyrinths, and a number of ways to access synchronicity.
    This Saturday, 26th November, 2016, 10:30-6:30pm  I will be at Studio Arterres, 217 ch Old Chelsea Road in Chelsea, QC.  where I will be hosting a Silly Hat workshop, as well as selling Gift Cards and scheduling appointments.
    For a consultation or other session, in person or by Skype click here