As I walk barefoot across a meadow with lush green grass, surrounded by ice-capped peaks, breathing in the cool and clear mountain air, I have the choice of becoming completely aware of the sensations that I am experiencing.
I can feel the blades of grass under my feet. The grass is wet and now so are my feet. With every step, I experience the texture of the grass. I stop and spread out my toes.
With eyes closed, I bring my attention to the individual blades of grass caressing my feet.
In this moment, I have brought my awareness to my feet and the sensations that are being picked up by the nerve endings.
Instantly, I change the focus of my attention from my feet to the visual feedback that my eyes are receiving.
There is a tree in the middle of the meadow. There is some distance between me and the tree, and on the first glance, I can distinguish the trunk of the tree from the branches and the leaves on it. It is a tree like any other. As I continue to observe the tree, I can now start differentiating between the many leaves and how they sway with the breeze. The longer I observe, the more detail my brain is able to capture.
Once again, I sit down on the wet grass, close my eyes, and shift my attention to the sounds of the landscape.
Initially, I hear many sounds mixed up with one another, in a symphony, without differentiating between the source of the individual sounds. But as I continue to pay attention to what I hear, I am able to identify the instruments of this natural orchestra.
I can hear the birds singing, the rustle of leaves in the wind, and the sounds of insects.
As I spend more time with my attention on what I am hearing, I can hear my breath.
Enough time goes by, I shift my focus to the center of my chest, and now I can even hear my heartbeat in the midst of these sounds.
Here, we are experiencing a phenomenon which might be most attenuated in our species.
Awareness and our ability to shift it from one subject to another is possibly unique to our species, as is the ability to observe what is going through our mind.
When a dog sees food, it has the tendency to pursue it. Can a dog take a moment to observe its compulsiveness to consume the food and then decide not to eat it?
A human being on a diet may have an irresistible urge to eat ice cream when it is placed before them. But imagine this human being is motivated to improve their food intake and, after waging a war of thought against the urge, decides not to eat the ice cream.
Where the behavior of an animal with a primitive brain may be directed completely out of instinct, a human being can observe their thoughts and make thought-out decisions simply by shifting awareness to what aligns with their identity. Awareness, and the ability to maneuver it, is like any other skill and it can be trained. It begins by the simple act of observation.