Undirected attention

I read an article the other day about undirected attention. (I linked to it in case you want to read it.) Essentially, due to being constantly connected to our phones, our brains get no rest. If we have to wait for a few minutes for something, we are likely to pull out our phones and start scrolling. (Yes, I'm as guilty as anyone. It's all rather insidious.) Instead of having pockets in our day when our brain is free to wander and rest with no demands being placed on it, we fill those moments with... well, whatever happens to catch our notice on our phones. If your feeds look anything like mine, not only are we not giving our brains a break, but at the same time we're causing huge releases of cortisol into our systems due to the nature of current events. This makes it even worse than just not having a break. 

I think I found this particular interesting because over the past few months, I have been listening to very little as I clean the barn each morning. It kind of felt as though my brain was full and I couldn't add anything else in. Having a break from concentrated attention felt like a relief. It seems I was craving undirected attention without realizing it. This would also explain why I feel pretty calm and relaxed when I'm done. The physical exercise combined with a break in attention is a good combination. 

The other interesting aspect of all of this is that undirected attention experienced while in nature has an even more profound effect. This would be part of the explanation of something I've noticed with clients. Often when I direct them to stand in the pasture with my horses, they experience some profound emotions... positive ones, by the way. This pause, the permission to do nothing except notice what's around them, surrounded by the countryside, seems as though it feeds a very deep need that most of these people didn't even realize was there. They are caught off guard by the power of it all. 

Everyone needs rest and rest does not mean sitting and consuming. But this rest can also feel uncomfortable because so many of us are out of practice. If you want to create more margin in your life, look for ways to add in more periods of undirected attention. And if you need help, contact me. I'm happy to create Equine Assisted Learning sessions focusing on filling this need. 

Tonight's sunset, where the whole sky was pink. 



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