We spend our lives upgrading everything: our phones, our wardrobes, our careers. The self-help industry is a multi-billion dollar business. Yet, for all the focus on improving our external lives, we have a huge blind spot: our inner world.
Think about it. We aren't coping very well. Our mental health is through the floor. Anxiety, anger, exhaustion, and a nagging sense of emptiness are now considered a normal part of being human.
But what if they didn't have to be?
The key to a better life, to superb balance and mental fitness — to not just coping but thriving in an uncertain world — lies in refining your attention.
Your ability to choose what you focus on is your greatest asset. As the truism goes: “What you focus on, grows.”
Now – The world is designed to distract you. You even carry a little box on your person that the world’s best minds have purposely designed to keep you hooked. Distraction is a certainty in life, so the goal isn't to eliminate it — it's to get good at coming back.
The untrained brain takes a shocking 23 minutes to fully return to a task after a distraction. No wonder it feels like we never have enough time!
This is where your Ascension or meditation practice comes in.
It's a workout for your attention. Each time you get lost in thought and return to the Ascension Attitude, or your mantra or your breath, you're doing a rep. You're learning to reduce that 23-minute return time down to seconds. You're training your ability to calmly reset — without judgment or frustration.
While you can refine your attention with your eyes closed, you can also do life and every moment in it as a meditation — as a return, a realignment, a remembering and re-engaging of what’s important to you.
When you begin to see all of life as a meditation, everything changes. You're not just practicing for 10 minutes on your couch — you're playing a game. See how quickly and calmly you can return to a task at work. Notice if you can re-centre after a frustrating conversation or after the kids push you off course (again).
For the next three days, try this:
Prioritise your return. Every time you find yourself getting lost in social media or a text message or staring out the metaphorical or actual window, simply return to yourself and immediately get back to what you want to be doing. No judgment, just a simple action. Chalk up a little victory against the forces of inner and outer distraction. (Good job!)
By prioritising your attention, you're giving yourself the one thing that truly matters: the ability to choose your experience no matter what’s happening around you. You’re learning to master the Stoic Epictetus’s “chief task of life”: the ability to recognise what is under your control and what is not.
By mastering your attention, you're not just becoming more productive; you're creating space for meaning, for joy, and for a deep sense of presence that no external 'upgrade' can ever provide.
So. You don’t meditate to get good at meditation. You meditate to get good at your life.
Go well!
Arjuna
PS.
Start where you are. If that’s tapping into that free breathing app or yoga class, beautiful. The key is consistent practice. A little done regularly beats a lot done never.
If you're ready for the best tools for the job, I have two more Ascension courses this year (17-19 October and 21-23 November). You'll learn a simple, extremely effective practice, and you can repeat the course for free forever. Get in touch for details.
Or, if you prefer a more personal approach, I have a few slots open for one-on-one mentoring. Whether you just need a single chat or something more long-term, you'll know what's right.
A little guidance can go such a long way. Just reply to this email and we’ll chat about the details.