As spiritual beings having a human experience, the amount of time we have been in this incarnation is but a blink of an eye compared to the time we have existed as spiritual beings. We, as spirits, exist in a magnitude that is difficult to grasp. We are both the created, living within creation; and we are also the co-creator of all that is created.

From the beginning of our scientific explorations, our scientists as well as religious teachers have limited their observations to being part of creation. In the early part of the twentieth century, physics began transforming into a meta-physics called “quantum physics.” Now quantum physicists are discovering just how difficult it is to comprehend how we—as part of Creator—are “the observers” who are always co-creating all that we observe. And we inextricably exist in both realms.

With each new discovery, scientists and science teachers—who used to be defiant atheists—are sounding more like mystic poets. There is an ever-increasing percentage of the population whose background reality includes the underlying principles of quantum physics. We are becoming more aware of how we affect all that we observe.

One of the most fundamental truths is: You do not live in the same world with anyone else. Each person lives in his or her own unique world. What you focus your precious attention on all day long, every day, morphs into becoming your unique world. Focusing your attention on something—anything—makes it real in your world. The Great Mystery is how all our unique worlds coexist in the greater dream of Creator.

My world is seeing patients four days a week, working out three mornings a week, engaged in writing, working in my back yard, skiing and riding my mountain bike when I can; while my wife’s world is running my office, checking in with her loved ones, walking by the river, doing Pilates and riding her bike. She is an amazing artist making pottery fine sculptures and beautiful fused glass art.

Last night we were sitting on the back deck. She was drinking a glass of wine and enjoying the sunset while I was feeling the nearness of her and thinking about how wonderful our life is together. Even though we share so much of our life together, our experiences are so very different. We lovingly share our worlds, but at the end of the day, Judy lives in Judy’s world, while I live in John’s world.

The Power of Your Attention

Just because you look at something, all its possibilities and probabilities are affected by the power of your attention. Objects and situations are affected in predictable ways: since your values and beliefs have so much control over thoughts, actions and feelings, the more profoundly you believe something, the more your attention will influence its outcome.

Everything and every situation have potential possibilities and probabilities of up to 360 degrees of a circle of movement. It could go all these different ways. The power of your attention collapses most of the possibility and probability waves that do not align with how you believe it could turn out. In the end, situations end up pretty much the way you thought they would.

You could say, “It would have turned out that way anyway.” No! Not necessarily. Not if you hadn’t looked at it. This profound question, “How does the observer affects all that he or she observes?” is the inscrutable question that ushered quantum physics into general acceptance.

Since you are both the created and the creator of your own unique world, in this brave new world, your attention is the most important tool you have for manifestation.

You have so much power in your attention, which is the focus, the lens of your awareness. Your attention is encoded with all your beliefs, values, principles, attitudes, feelings and thoughts. Just you “looking at something” brings all that encoded power into play. Do not dissipate your precious attention by letting your unruly brain focus on all the problems and negativity in the world—as it will when not directed by your heart.

You have the opportunity to create a brave new world, your world. Start training yourself to keep your focus on what you love, to love what you do and what you have. Use your attention wisely.

Focusing Your Power of Attention
One of my friends was talking yet again about how everything that can possibly go wrong around his son seems to go wrong. He went on and on about all the misfortunes that keep happening to his son. When I asked about the son’s finer qualities, he revealed that in most circumstances the things his son did were outstanding.

I asked him why he didn’t talk about those qualities. We always have the free will to choose where we focus our attention. I asked him to consider how every time he talked about his son’s misfortunes, even though his son was usually not present, he was spotlighting his son’s worst qualities, queuing them up in both his and his son’s lives. I suggested that he shift his focus to his son’s outstanding qualities instead of his misfortunes.

My friend had to chew on that concept for a couple of weeks before he could adopt it. Gradually, after he and his wife quit talking about—and focusing their attention on—his son’s calamities and started focusing their awareness on all the wonderful things his son was doing and involved in, his son quit having things go wrong.

Most people walk through life with minimal awareness regarding what they observe, much less how their attention influences the outcomes of what they observe. You literally “love others into being the best version of themselves” by focusing your love onto their positive traits.

Your loving attention spotlights their better traits, makes them more noticeable, even if you say nothing. Then if you verbally praise the positive traits that your attention pointed up, you more consciously reinforce those traits, influencing people to want to live into those traits. There are times when the right thing said can change a person’s life forever.

We have all had a loving aunt or uncle, a schoolteacher or coach, who saw our better qualities and repeatedly pointed them up to us. They might have been the one person who turned us around. They helped us believe that we could be the best version of ourselves. Their praise was our inspiration. Often, they were the ones that nudged us into believing we could do what we ultimately have done.

There are always “unintended consequences” that result from the power of your attention. You can be the catalyst that nudges people into dysfunctional behaviors by thinking and talking about how much you love them—while inwardly believing that they would screw up. You may love that person completely, but make excuses for them, inwardly expecting them to fail. Your attention may be the tipping point. You have that kind of power. Have you given much thought to the power you have just by observing something or someone?

You can observe the effect of your power of attention on your children and pets. If you expect them to be wonderful, mindful and brilliant, they will continually exceed your expectations. If you expect them to be screw-ups, they will continually exceed your expectations. Ouch!

Part of waking up to the present moment is becoming more aware of the positive—and negative—effects your attention has on others. You also need to notice how other people’s attention affects you. You become aware of their negative attention toward you by the negative feelings that always come up when you are around them. What they are projecting toward you becomes apparent as the feelings you experience while in their presence.

Any thought or feeling you have about another person impacts them directly, either positively or negatively. Ultimately, you are responsible for the unintended consequences.

When you find yourself focusing on another person’s negative traits or weaknesses, take a deep breath to break that pattern, then shift your attention onto their positive traits—even if you have to really work to find them. Your more positive attention just may influence that person into being the best version of themselves. At worst, it doesn’t hurt.

Your Spirit Likes All your Quirks

Every one of your so-called faults is connected to one of your genius qualities. They are what makes you uniquely who you are. If you are impatient for example, the other end of that quality is your passion for life. The other end of arrogance is the quality of striving for mastery of everything you do. Being reticent is connected to deeply contemplating everything you do. Squash the fault and you squash the genius quality leaving you no reason to even get up in the morning.

Your spirit actually likes all your quirks. But your spirit needs to take control of your bodymind like an accomplished equestrian takes the reins of a wonderfully challenging horse. For example, I am quick to anger and have tendencies to be arrogant. My spirit is constantly settling me down, telling me to take it easy, to feel my impatience, breathe and that maybe they are not in my hurry.

Now let’s talk about your opinion of you. Your physical body takes all its direction from your spirit, which is to say you. It is important to realize that what you think about your body—or any of its functions—directly impacts its ability to function.

Loving your body influences it to function at its best. Focusing on your body’s negative qualities influences your body to malfunction. Anytime you start to say something with “I am,” you are describing—commanding—your spirit. The command filters all the way down to every one of cell and organ of your body.

It is important to remember that you are a spirit, and your body responds to your every thought and word as if it was a command. Actually, it is. You are like a whole universe unto yourself with your billions of cells and the astronomical number of microscopic beings living within those cells that make up your body’s life force.

A crucial concept to understand about your bodymind is: It takes everything literally. Anything you are thinking or talking about regarding another person, your bodymind is absolutely certain you are actually focusing those thoughts on yourself. That you are the target of those thoughts.

If you are thinking or talking about how disappointed you are with another person, your bodymind firmly believes that you are disappointed in it. When someone disappoints you, the wisest action is to feel those negative feelings, instead of thinking or talking about them. Feeling the feelings releases them out of your body. That way, your body does not think you hold those bad thoughts about it. Then how you think about that person will change.

When you focus on admirable traits of others, it puts the spotlight on the admirable traits of both the other person and you. If you love your body, it will gladly take you anywhere and everywhere you want to go. It will exceed your greatest expectations.

Who You Associate with Matters
People gather into groupings based upon their intentions. People who want to contribute to making the world a better place tend to associate with other people who are working toward making the world a better place.

People who are more fear based tend to gather together with other fear-based individuals. When fear-based people come together, their conversations tend towards things that have gone wrong and problems in the world.

Association is more powerful than discipline. Who you associate with is crucial. It directly influences everything you do and everything you think.