This is a form of Vipassana meditation. This is not easy, but it will improve your focus. The method is to focus on nothing but your breathing. This is level one. Don’t fall asleep.

* Find a quiet spot, free from distraction or interruption. This might be the hardest part.

* Sit in a comfortable, alert posture, with a straight back. Let your body hang off your spine like a rag doll. Take a moment to become aware of any tension that you might be holding in your body and let it go. This might be the hardest part.

* Close your eyes, and focus your awareness on your breath–that small point where the air enters your body and where it exits. This might be the hardest part.

* Be aware of the rhythm of your breath, the length and qualities of the inhale, the brief pause at the top of the cycle, the qualities of the exhale, and the brief pause at the bottom. Don’t try to change it; just be aware of it. This might be the hardest part.

* Keep your mind focused on the breath. Do not use words. Do not verbalize the breath or any thoughts you have. Do not begine a conversation with yourself. This might be the hardest part.

* You may find yourself thinking about some topic or carrying on a conversation with yourself. Whenever your attention wanders off, just let those thoughts go and gently bring your focus back to the breath. This might be the hardest part.

* Even if your mind is wandering often, the exercise of noticing that you have wandered and bringing yourself back each time is helpful. This might be the hardest part.

* Do not judge. Let your breaths be breaths. Let your thoughts be thoughts. This might be the hardest part.

* Take it easy. Start out doing it for three minutes a day. Then increase the time. You will quickly notice an improvement in your ability to focus. This might be the hardest part.

Embrace the boredom, do not fear it!

A computer in England was poorly programmed, and labeled the smart kids ‘dumb’ and the dumb kids ‘bright.’ Typical mixup.

When the administration finally discovered the mistake five months later, they decided to test the kids again without telling anyone what had happened. And the results were amazing. The “bright” kids had gone down significantly in IQ test points. The “bright” kids had gone down significantly in IQ test points. They had been seen and treated as mentally limited, uncooperative, and difficult to teach. The teachers’ paradigms had become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But scores in the supposedly “dumb” group had gone up. The teachers had treated them as though they were bright, and their energy, their hope, their optimism, their excitement had reflected high individual expectations and worth for those kids.

These teachers were asked what it was like during the first few weeks of the term. “For some reason, our methods weren’t working,” they replied. “So we had to change our methods.” The information showed that the kids were bright. If things weren’t working well, they figured it had to be the teaching methods. So they worked on methods. They were proactive; they worked in their Circle of Influence. Apparent learner disability was nothing more or less than teacher inflexibility.

How many types of Klondike Bar are there? I don’t know, but I’m sure glad my workplace likes to keep them in the freezer!

One time, a motivational speaker was speaking at a conference. Afterwards, someone came up and said,

“I like what you are saying, but my situation is so different. Look at my marriage. I’m really worried. My wife and I just don’t have the same feelings for each other we used to have. I guess I just don’t love her anymore and she doesn’t love me. What can I do?”

“The feeling isn’t there anymore?” He asked.

“That’s right,” the questioner reaffirmed. “And we have three children we’re realy concered about. What do you suggest?”

“Love her,” the speaker replied.

“I told you, the feeling just isn’t there anymore.”

“Love her.”

“You don’t understand. The feeling of love just isn’t there.”

“Then love her. If the feeling isn’t there, that’s a good reason to love her.”

“But how do you love when you don’t love?”

“My friend, love is a verb. Love–the feeling–is a fruit of love, the verb. So love her. Serve her. Sacrifice. Listen to her. Empathize. Appreciate. Affirm her. Are you willing to do that?

“In the great literature of all progressive societies, love is a verb. Reactive people make it a feeling. They’re driven by feelings. Hollywood has generally scripted us to believe that we are not responsible, that we are a product of our feelings. But the Hollywood script does not describe the reality. If our feelings control our actions, it is because we have abdicated our responsibility and empowered them to do so.”