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Paying close attention to what is happening around us can improve our memory and enhance our lives explains Ed Cooke in an article in The Guardian. Cooke asserts that, "the art of memory is the art of making things meaningful – and that begins with attention...The trouble is, we're typically so busy bouncing around our own minds that we devote only a meagre portion of our mental resources to the here and now. It's genuinely difficult in our busy, electronic world to pay sustained attention. Half of your mind is always off checking your inbox, worrying about your children, job or personality, or thinking about the thousands of things you intend to do in the future...

An excellent method for calming one's mind and bringing it under better control is simply to learn to notice the difference between good and poor attention. Here's a great technique for doing so, adapted from cognitive behavioural therapy... While listening to a radio talk show, try deliberately turning your attention on and off every other minute. Pay rapt attention to the conversation for one minute, let your mind wander the next... Carry on in this manner for five or 10 minutes.

If you practise this scheme daily, you'll begin to notice how much the power of your attention can vary: how intense it can feel, and how dispersed. Gradually, you'll become more adept at recognising the distinction and, as a result, get better at deliberately controlling your attention."

Source: "The importance of observation," by Ed Cooke, The Guardian, January 14, 2012

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