Episode 40: Shifting Attention
In episode 40 of the nature therapy podcast, I talk about our lazy minds when it comes to nature-connection, and how to shift our attention to notice the new. Click on the slim black player above to listen.
It’s something that I try to do as often as I can when I’m outdoors; notice what my mind seems to be pre-programmed to pay attention to, and deliberately shift my attention in other directions. Notice it next time you are on a walk somewhere you go regularly, or even just sitting still outdoors. My bet is that you will be drawn to the same — or similar — things every time you are in a familiar setting.
There are so many reasons why we do this, but chiefly I think we are programmed to make life as easy for ourselves as possible. Our minds have great capacity and if we are looking for new sights or listening for new sounds every time we are outdoors, it would make getting from A to B much more complicated. However, in ecotherapy, we are not getting from A to B. We are shifting our attention to nature itself, and one of the most powerful ways of doing this is to notice our attention-habits when we are outdoors and deliberately alter them.
For example, if I notice that every time I walk down my street I look at the ivy growing up my neighbour’s house, I shift my attention to another part of the street. That’s not to say I will never look at the ivy of course! I just try my best, at least occasionally, to challenge my mind’s tendency to only look at one part of the picture. Great things can be revealed this way!
In this week’s ecotherapy podcast I use the example of the hills at the back of my house. I’ve been here for almost two years and yet I have only just noticed that I can see the soft, moody Moorfoot Hills in the distance if I look beyond the trees. I’ve been too busy gazing at the more majestic Pentland Hills, and yet the Moorfoot Hills offer something different; something softer, more local, less celebrated in the Scottish landscape and yet with a gentle beauty all of their own. It’s amazing what we can miss when we don’t deliberately shift our attention.
I hope you enjoy this week’s episode folks! Do let me know what you think, either in a comment below or by email :)
Green Wishes from the Moorfoot Hills (and the Pentlands too!) in Midlothian.
Stephen
