January – February 2026
The very first thing we teach in the Step 1 meditation course, Energy Creates Life, is about attention. We teach you how to be in charge of your attention.
Notice where attention goes. Your emotions, for example — how you feel at any given time — come from where your attention is. If you worry about something and go into “what if” something horrible happens, then you experience fear. Or if your attention goes into an argument you had with someone, regardless of how long ago it was, you might feel anger or resentment.
Maybe you’re creating something: a piece of art, writing an article, cooking a dinner, and your attention goes there, and you feel creative or happy. Maybe you space out a lot during the day, and your attention is not present, you might feel bored — and perhaps you feel that life is boring.
…Who’s in charge of your attention?
If you spend a lot of time on your phone, or in a social media platform, who’s in charge of your attention? Social media, Google, Apple? There are so many reports about the effect social media is having on things like how a person feels about themselves, all because of where their attention is.
I read an article recently about how young people aren’t having very much sex any more. I thought that was odd. Then the article went on to explain that young people are so into social media and communicating over text, etc., that they don’t know how to have personal relationships, including sex. Some people were even considering creating classes to teach people how to relate to others in person.
There is so much going on in the world, and you might want to know what’s happening, so you watch or listen to the news. Your attention goes right into it. Even when you turn it off, you’re still upset about something you saw. That’s because your attention is still there.
…People are scattered and distracted
Then people are scattered and distracted, and there’s a lot to be distracted by. But then something else comes along, and they get distracted again.
Someone asked me recently what the difference was between teaching meditation 20 or 30 years ago, and teaching today. That was easy. Today people’s attention span is so short, it’s hard for them to focus for very long. It’s much harder to teach meditation practices today than it was then.
Everything is based on where our attention goes. Even our identity – how we see ourselves and then interact with the world based on that identity – is determined by where our attention is.
For example, I used to feel that I could not communicate in social situations very well. I had moved around a lot growing up and so was not well adjusted in friendships and social interactions. So that was a part of my identity and my behavior reflected that – I was very shy, didn’t want to go to parties or be in a group of people, and felt unworthy and even depressed a good deal of the time. When I was finally able to see myself differently, and put my attention on a new way of seeing myself, my interactions with those around me improved dramatically.
Start paying attention to where your attention is, and where it goes.
Start paying attention to where your attention is, and where it goes. When you are in charge of your attention, and where you put it, then you are in charge of yourself. When your attention is with someone or something else, that person or that thing is in charge of you. You can ask yourself: Is that what I want?
These days the news is very upsetting, and we feel angry and sad, fearful and maybe even hopeless. Some people even get somewhat debilitated by it. But we can pay attention to the news and be aware of the state of our country and world, but we don’t need to leave our attention there or pull that energy into our space.
You can have awareness without the news taking charge of your space…
You can bring your attention back into your own space. You can have awareness without the news taking charge of your space and your emotions. Pull back your attention to yourself, into the center of your head, so you can see the events of the world from within yourself, without losing yourself in it.
Practice this for a while, or practice this again you’ve kind of forgotten. Much of your anxiety and fear can disappear and give you some space. It can shift your perspective so that you can see yourself more completely from within, but also give you permission to have your own perspective on the world around you.
Thanks to each of you for your ongoing support of Psychic Horizons / Church of Natural Grace! Our Affinity donors gave over $10,000 in 2025!
Best regards,
Rev. Laura Hopper
