Spiritual Challenge for Personal Growth  –  People Watching

This month’s challenge is from our Soul Matters resources – Paying attention with intentionality is core to Soul Matters. The challenges asks us to alter the quality of our attention by shifting from the “judging mind” to the “receptive mind.” This attentional stance allows our inner wisdom to “speak” to us. It also trains us to listen to other aspects of our lives for messages of challenge and comfort. With all that in mind, this exercise invites us to apply our skills of receptive attention to people watching! Here are your instructions: Identify a space where you can watch a wide variety of people for a significant amount of time. Think a mall, a park, a bus stop, even church coffee hour. Set aside at least 15- 30 minutes. Bring along a small notebook and pen. Find a place to sit and watch where it won’t be obvious to others that you are watching them. Center yourself and shift your attention so that you are observing folks through the receptive mind, i.e. observe them through the questions of “How might my inner wisdom be speaking to me through these people?” and “How might close observation of these people offer me a message of comfort or challenge, or reconnect me with an important memory?” Write down what shimmers for you and how those shimmers offer you gifts of memory, comfort or challenge.

Some Tips: The details are key. Pay attention to how people uniquely carry themselves and interact with each other. Notice what they are wearing and what their facial expressions stir up in you. Ask where you see parts of yourself reflected in the details of the crowd. Notice what details spur your empathy, longing or even sadness. Sometimes it helps to bring your imagination along and make up a story about the people you are watching, as if they are characters in a movie and you’ve written the script. Focus on someone and make up a backstory about them or dream up their internal dialog. Speaking of dialog, focus on people talking and concoct the script of what they are saying to each other. Then sit back and analyze your imaginings, asking what they say (or are trying to say) about you. Wonderful insights and gifts can also arise by being playful and imagining you are an alien sent to observe humans to figure out what kind of creatures they are. Use this approach to also open yourself

Daily Practice for March 2026 on Paying Attention

Chalice Lighting

With this chalice, may we kindle the flame of our attention. Not too fiery or wild, spreading without cause or care. Not too dim or fading, unfocused and ineffective. But, like a cheerful cook fire in a cozy hearth, like a comforting candle, flickering yet steady, may our attention be befriended, directed, and sustained for the betterment of all humankind. – Lore Stevens

Reflection

Our entire attention economy is organized around helping us avoid the demands of other people. How many of us have retreated to the comfort of our screens to soothe our social anxiety, or to numb the guilt we feel at failing to show up for people? It turns out that the loss of our focus and ability to concentrate is just the tip of the attentional iceberg. Also at stake is our ability to be present to the people we love, and even to be present to ourselves and our pain. – Justine Toh

Chalice Extinguishing

The flame goes out. A thousand things now wait for your attention. Choose carefully what receives your gaze, your time, your wonder, for what we tend to is what we become. – Michele Collins