The Book of Paying Attention

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Summary

The Book of Paying Attention is a guidebook for finding happiness and contentment in a wide range of ordinary life circumstances, which sometimes might be adverse. It advances a few substantive philosophical ideas, such as the claim that simply possessing consciousness is inherently a state of happiness, but the emphasis is on developing the means for experiencing these ideas, rather than simply thinking about them.

The way pursued in The Book of Paying Attention is by guiding the reader through a series of contemplations on aspects of our perceptual reality, such as our temporal experience of moments, how we conceptualize the space that we inhabit, and how we view our own minds.

While nearly 30 circumstances are examined, there clearly are many more situations where the principles presented in this book equally apply. However, careful contemplation on the topics presented should provide a strong basis for productively paying attention in any situation.

From the Introduction

A colleague at work once stopped me in the lounge and said, “Tim! You should write a book and call it The Zen of Tim!” I replied, “What do you think that it should say?” He said, “That’s for you to decide.” I tend to take such spontaneous and unsolicited recommendations seriously, as if they are oracles of sorts, so I thought about it for some time. At a certain point, the words began to flow. The Zen of Tim strikes me as self-aggrandizing, but The Book of Paying Attention feels as if it hits the nail on the head.

This book is written in poetic format as an appeal to experience, rather than reasoning. Poetry is the language of direct experience, mental states, and sentiment.

The points presented here come from my own experience, and, of course, from things that I have heard, spiritual teachings, texts, and other attentive people. I am not a perfect example of these practices, yet they are meaningful to my life, and I hope that they will be for yours, as well.

Chapter Contents

Introduction	1. The Present Moment	2. Mindfulness	3. Space
4. Happiness	5. Generosity	6. Meditation	7. Friends & Death
8. Mind	9. Adversity	10. Sickness	11. Listening
12. Self	13. Confidence	14. Love	15. Choice
16. Eros	17. Identity	18. Concepts	19. Opinions
20. Revenge	21. Gossip	22. Loss	23. Choice 2
24. Essence	25. Consciousness	26. Ethics	27. Gratitude
28. Smile Often	29. Generosity 2	30. Testament	32. The Way of Living
Epilog: Destined for Greatness!

Chapter Excerpt

The Present Moment

We come into this world with the arrival of consciousness

and we leave with its departure.

In between is a succession of moments,

each full and complete,

pure and uncomplicated.

At the beginning all we have is consciousness.

This moment, now, is everything.

The world is vivid and poignant.

As we grow and learn we are taught to forget this consciousness,

to follow means toward ends.

Now becomes then, sensation gives way to aspirations.

The world becomes an instrument.

What is this moment?

What is now?

We have 5 material sense faculties.

We have an awareness that is able to experience.

The world is fresh and ripe.

Each moment is unique and delicious.

Our only certainty is the present moment.

What can’t wait can only wait.

There is no waiting, really.

There is just this moment waiting for us.

There is just paying attention, or not.

Everything else is just a complication.

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