Attention

ATTENTION = active direction of the mind; the power of mental concentration; notice; observation; attentiveness

QUESTION: What do you give your attention to?

STORY: A week ago I went into the Apple store and purchased a new desktop computer. My old one was purchased in 2011. Now in 2023, as I am scanning my drawings and using them as I write my second book - the old computer was getting too slow. So I brought home the new computer, set it next to the old computer and called an Apple support guy who tried to help me transfer all the data from the old one to the new one. After about an hour it became clear that it wasn’t working. I was getting dazzled by all the back and forth with technology codes and clicking buttons and trying this and that and waiting for stuff to process. My eyes were popping and my brain was fizzling. Yikes! My mind’s attention is not automatic and is slower than AI. I stepped back from the computer, went outside, paid attention to nature and observed that I felt more relaxed. Oh, and the next day I took it back to Apple and an attendant helped me transfer the data.

QUOTES

“Computers will overtake humans with AI within the next hundred years. When that happens we need to make sure the computers have goals aligned with ours.” ~ Stephen Hawking

“By far the greatest danger of Artificial Intelligence is that people conclude too early that they understand it.” ~ Eliezer Yudkowsky

“The potential benefits of Artificial Intelligence are huge - so are the dangers.” ~ Dave Waters

EXERCISE

STOP. Relax and observe any tension in your body. Observe - but do not judge. Just notice how your body relaxes as you observe without judgment. Notice where your attention is directed. Get your pen and paper and write words that come to you as you pay attention. And if you have another minute, draw lines expressing the energy of mind - as you actively, consciously take charge of your attention.