"A Sermon Series: Part II -- Pay Attention"
by Rev. Kimi Riegel
 March 16, 2003

Meditation: Please Call Me By My True Names, by Thich Nhat Hanh

Don't say that I will depart tomorrow-
even today I am still arriving.

Look deeply: every second I am arriving
to be a bud on a Spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive,
in order to laugh and to cry,
to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart
is the birth and death of all that is alive.

I am a mayfly metamorphosing
on the surface of the river.
And I am the bird
that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.

I am a frog swimming happily
in the clear water of a pond.
And I am the grass-snake
that silently feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda , all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.
And I am the arms merchant,
selling deadly weapons to Uganda .

I am the twelve-year-old girl,
refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean
after being raped by a sea pirate.
And I am the pirate,
my heart not yet capable of seeing and loving.

I am a member of the politburo,
with plenty of power in my hands.
And I am the man who has to pay
his "debt of blood" to my people
dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.

My joy is like Spring, so warm
it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.
My pain is like a river of tears,
so vast it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughter at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up
and the door of my heart
can be left open,
the door of compassion.

Sermon: “A Sermon Series: Part II – Pay Attention”

Namaste. I am aware of my self standing here before you. I acknowledge you there -- each of you where we are and who we are. I acknowledge this moment and the piece of the divine in each of you. Would that we could do that in each moment and for each interaction: that would be paying attention.

This is the second sermon in a series about the four great lessons of life; show up, pay attention, speak the truth and let go of the outcome. Today we will pay attention.

A funny thing happened to me on the way to this sermon. Each time I set out to preach on this topic (this is the third time) life shows me just how little I have it mastered. I was happily cruising down Telegraph to the sitter's house. I thought for a moment that I might take Eight Mile, as I seemed to remember 8 and 7 crossing. Meanwhile, I ate some leftovers from my delicious lunch, talked on the phone, and begin thinking about this sermon. At that moment I looked up and had no idea where I was. I thought I was on Telegraph, but nothing looked familiar, it took me several minutes to figure out, but as I passed a few signs I realized I was on 8 somewhere near the Southfield Freeway. I was in completely the wrong direction and hadn’t a clue how I had gotten there. I don’t remember ever even turning on Eight Mile, let alone deciding I wanted to. Thus a beautiful sermon illustration. It is so easy to stop paying attention. It is so easy to wind up nowhere near where we intended to be by not paying attention. The last time I wrote a sermon like this I got into an accident on a bright sunny day by not stopping when the car in front of me did. At least I have gotten a bit better at it. We can save ourselves a lot of spiritual and real life wrong turns and accidents by simply paying attention.

To pay attention is to be fully in the moment that exists now. It is to be aware, awake and attending. It requires dedication, a focused mind and constant practice. In the discussion after the sermon about showing up (part 1 of this series), we found ourselves easily slipping into talking about being present. It follows naturally that once we appear in a place, which has value in and of itself, we increase that value by being present with all our faculties. In this world of cell phones, to-do lists, and multi-tasking we are constantly pulled to be in several places at once. How many of us have sat in church and made lists for the next day? How many of us rehash conversations in our heads or plan future events while spending time with our children? How many times do we get into a room in the house and forget why we came? How many of us have been on the phone and doing dishes at the same time? How many of us drive and read or talk on the phone? It is not enough in our world to do only one thing at a time and our minds wander. To me it feels like a waste of my time to drive to work without making at least one phone call and thus I sometimes end up where I never intended to be.

Paying attention is useful in so many ways. I have found “the four truths” (show up, pay attention, speak the truth and let go of the outcome) on web sites about hospitality at hotel manager training conferences. They are encouraged to pay attention by being present to their guests and their needs. I have found them on web sites about selling real estate where agents are encouraged to pay attention to the details in the homes they are selling and showing. Jon Kabat-Zinn has a wonderful book about mindful parenting called Everyday Blessings in which parents are encouraged to keep in mind what is truly important as we cultivate our capacity for awareness. Every area of our lives benefits from more attention.

The three spiritual gurus in this area are Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and of course the very familiar Thich Nhat Hanh, both Zen masters. Each of these men has innumerable books filled with meditations and practice suggestions, each placing importance on the practice to become more mindful. Picking up any one of their books and dedicating yourself to a daily practice will enrich your life. The exercises help me to sharpen my ability to pay attention, giving me skills such as following the flow of my breath to settle into my self. As helpful as these are – and I would recommend them to any and all people -- in the rush of life, I still find it hard to pay attention.

Now that I am aware I need to pay attention (and with meditation practices I gain skills),  the question for me has most recently become paying attention to what, being mindful of what. We have so many competing places to lay our attention it is a struggle in the moment to fix on one.

One author, Dr. Angeles Arrien, suggests in her book The Four-fold Way there are three crucial places to place our attention: our inner house, outer house and the connection between the two. The Inner house is our interior selves; our bodies and its sensations, our feelings, and our thoughts. The outer house is all that is around us with special attention to nature. The connection between the two she suggests is love.[1]

Our inner house. The more we pay attention to our inner house, the more able we are to move through the world in the way we intend. If we make a special effort in each moment to check how we are inside (agitated or peaceful? tTired or rested? lonely or connected? hurried or centered? tense and painful? or relaxed and at ease?) we can stay connected to our intentions and each other. Inattention to our inner space creates disconnection from essential information. I don’t necessarily need to change how I feel inside, but to acknowledge it gives me information I need. For instance, if I am tired I may become short or tense in situations that would benefit from being relaxed. I have learned, that I don’t listen well if I am tense. My ears just don’t work as well if I haven’t had rest. Checking on my inner house keeps me from engaging in important conversations when I am tired. It also reminds me if I am going to have an important conversation to get some rest and meditation time first. Monitoring our inner house is essential if we are going to be present in any moment.

The outer house is what gets me in the most trouble. I can attempt to pay attention to 15 things at once. Remembering to do one thing at a time helps. As hard as it is, it is true that when I try to do too much at once I can’t pay attention. Thus, when we are driving  -- drive, when we are doing dishes -- do the dishes, and when we are here at church -- be completely here at church. One thing at a time helps me to pay attention. Please, feel free to remind me of this now and again! Even as I write these words I am checking my email and thinking about my next meeting – one thing at a time.

Dr. Arrien also suggests that the outer house can be prioritized if we remember to pay attention to what has heart and meaning.[2] We need not pay attention to all of it. We can weed out the information that hasn’t got meaning for us now. In this world of information overload, it is important that we find a sorting mechanism for our attention to the outer house. Meaning is that, which is relevant to us, that which touches us or the people we care about and love, that which touches us now. In moments of stress that which has meaning can become a fairly small circle – if I am hungry that which has meaning is that which gets me fed. In moments of personal threat that which has meaning is that which brings me safety. In moments of less immediate need our attention can turn to a wider circle of care and attention. Those things that have heart are those that connect us to love; of our families, our work, of ourselves, and love of a creator or spiritual force. [3] When paying attention it behooves us to pay attention to the places of love. Thus being aware of the outer house doesn’t mean attending to all there is but for each of us it requires deciding what has meaning and heart.

A quick note here is required about what we call nature. Part of the outer house is our natural world, all of it. I won’t get into what is natural and what is not at this point, but suffice it to say for many of us having a touchstone in the natural world calls us back to something that is essential. For many of us paying attention to the birds, the trees, the flowers and even the weather are essential for staying focused. Maybe it’s a tree you pass on the way to work, or a blade of grass buried in the snow that you notice as you turn off the highway, or the garden you tend anxiously awaiting the return of spring. For many of us, paying attention to the natural world is essential for ending up where we want to be.

Starhawk a prolific writer in the neo-pagan movement suggests in her book, Dreaming the Dark, that sustained attention, direct energy causes change. When we are mindful we can bring about change. With her help then we can see that one place we must identify for attention is those things in life which need to be changed. This is not an easy task. Especially for those of us like myself who would rather just let things work out naturally. The problem with that is they often don’t or they work out in a way that is unsuitable. Our lives, our families our community, our society requires our attention if it is going to go in positive directions. Our attention to the things we are dissatisfied in ourselves, our attention to the places our children need our guidance and help, our attention to the goals and direction of this community (see I can work it in), our attention to the world stage is required if we want change. Setting simple personal improvement goals, checking in with your partner and children, attending the church retreat, taking time to learn the history of Iraq, all create environments where change can and will happen as a result of our paying attention. So, in addition to the outer and inner house it helps us to pay attention to the places that need change. In any given encounter if we pay attention inside ourselves we can become aware of what needs to change and pay attention outside to help in creating a world that changes in a positive direction.

P.S. Please help this community pay attention to you and the directions it wants to go and fill out the form in your order of service.

Have you been paying attention? Certainly your mind has wandered. For the days and weeks ahead, let us all strive to pay attention. Pay attention to our inner house. How do you feel right now? Pay attention to our outer house. What places in your life bring you meaning and love? Pay attention to the places in our lives and the world that need change, those that will benefit from our energy. Over the next month or so our attention will wander as the world becomes more complex and frightening. Let this be a place of love and meaning for you. Let this be a place to pay attention to your inner house.

Namaste. I am aware of myself standing here before you, feeling glad to be here, I acknowledge you there, each of you, where we are and who we are. I acknowledge this moment and the piece of the divine in each of you. Namaste.