Attention works mysteriously. It captures, in a fixed field, matter or energy, which without attention spreads indefinitely.
When we sit on a bench in a park, the objects that surround us are always there: the grass, the trees, the chirping of birds… but until we pay attention to them, then they do not exist for us. Once we pay attention to them, they not only come to life for us, but also influence us with new perceptions and emotions.
Our Essence feeds on these impressions, just as our body feeds on physical food. A healthy leaf feeds on sunlight just as Essence feeds on impressions. It fixes electrical energy in cellular matter just as Essence absorbs impressions and is influenced by them. The sunlight is always there; it is up to the leaf to make use of it.
Impressions are always there; it is up to us to absorb them in the right way by paying attention. This means that it is in our power to influence our Essence by focusing and directing our attention to what is true and Real.
This alert and focused attention is what we call Presence and right Bearing, it is the repeated act necessary for Awakening.
