Search Inside Yourself: Post #2--Attention Getting

Attention Getting:
--Response-pause. Victor Frankl, famed psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, teaches that between the external stimulus and our response to it rests a potential pause, a space in which we choose how to react. To respond to others in an emotionally appropriate way, we need to practice and develop this “sacred pause”; moreover, mindfulness meditation is one of the best ways to develop the sacred pause.
--Mindfulness meditation, developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, is about “paying attention in a particular way on purpose, in the present moment—nonjudgmentally.”  In essence, concentrating on our breathing slows down the brain’s fire alarm, the amygdala, and thus opens up the brain to being fully present and aware. Simply labeling your emotions can slow down and manage that emotion (Lieberman).
-- Paying attention to other people, especially in conversation, is at the heart of the discussion about attention. Giving others our attention is the greatest of all gifts. We show how we value others by how well we listen and put them first in the conversation.  ‘The most precious gift we can give others is our presence (Thich Nhat Hanh).’