What Separates You from the Divine is Attention
Here’s a puzzle for you.
Let’s assume for a moment that gods exist. As spiritual beings of pure consciousness, they have no physical form in our world. Nonetheless, they are immortal, immensely powerful, and ubiquitous. Every now and then, a god will manifest as an avatar in the physical world, and this avatar will shape the course of history as only a mighty timeless being can. Perhaps an Alexander the Great, or Joan of Arc, or — dare I say it — Jesus of Nazareth. Although they would physically look like an ordinary person, if you met such a being in real life, they would seem incredibly wise, charismatic, skillful, and virtuous — perhaps a little unworldly and detached from everyday human concerns, but certainly not ordinary.
Now imagine this.
One night, as you are off in dreamland, a god enters into your room and merges with your mind. That morning, it is not you who awakens, but the god who has possessed your body and mind. This celestial being has access to the exact same memories as you do. It possesses all of your knowledge, feelings, skills, and inclinations. It knows how much you like pineapple pizza and prefer classical over rock. It knows your friends, loved ones, and even adores your golden retriever the same way you do. Although they are a god, they do not have access to any memories or skills except what exists in your mind.
The question is: could this god intervene in your life and make it amazing, or even just a little better? If so, how?
Take a few moments to really imagine this and try to think of an answer. Imagine yourself as that god in human form, a timeless deity saddled with all the limitations and quirks of being human.
How would such a being make different decisions, if it has the exact same preferences as you do? How could they act or speak more wisely, if they have only your knowledge and memories? How could they do things differently, with only your body and all its physical limitations?
How would they even remember that they are in fact, a god, and not a normal human with your name and date of birth?
My answer is: Attention. Although they have the same mind as you do, they would see the world as a god, because of how they pay attention. From the smallest insect, to the vastness of the universe, from the expanse of history, to the blink of an eye, they would employ your mind in a way that unlocks the universe in a profound way. A way that is rich with sensory input, deep knowledge, freedom of choice, and eternal wisdom.
As mentioned in these lecture notes, attention is not a property or action of the mind; it is a characteristic of how the mind acts, when in unison. Just as most of matter is empty space, our human intervals of attention are brief, coarse, and intermittent, and so most of our lives are actually spent unconsciously. In a sense, we all have Attention Deficit Disorder.
Most of us would not recall what we were thinking about 5 seconds ago, let alone every split second of our day. But that is exactly where the opportunities are: opportunities to make a different choice, to notice something new, to train a skill, to feel more gratitude. The spaces between events, like pauses in a piece of music, are where the real magic of life happens. The god would utilize their fine-grained attention to operate within these intervals, navigating the world with superhuman reaction speed and mental dexterity.
In addition to time, space is another dimension where we have gaps in attention. Most of the time, our mind employs low resolution, minimally functional models of the world. Most doors, lampposts, and cashiers look the same to us unless we have a reason to pay attention. If we did, we would find a vast universe within the smallest patch of wood, infinitely complex and infinitely alive. Such ability to dive into the smallest spaces with attention is how our hypothetical god would attain supernatural awareness and aesthetic sensibility.
Finally, in addition to time and physical space, there is the abstract space of solutions to problems. As humans, we are only aware of a small part of the solution space of any given problem, often getting stuck on obvious but bad solutions. Just think of the last time you tried to solve a riddle or a chess puzzle, or had an argument with your partner. The attention of a god, however, would have no trouble navigating the space of solutions, easily finding appropriate and surprising solutions to perplexing problems, granting them superior intelligence and wisdom.
Our god could live an eternity within the space of a single breath, perhaps even in a completely different universe than the one we know, simply by paying attention.
What’s more, it is within the immediate ability of every human to become such an avatar of the divine, no matter their station. This is why every human being has intrinsic worth, from the lowliest of the poor to the greatest of kings. It is not a function of what the mind possesses, but how one uses the gift of consciousness.
It is not a coincidence that spiritual systems place such emphasis on attention. Meditation is essentially training your attention. Praying is focusing one’s attention on God, and by extension that which is meaningful and good in the world.
Wisdom is simply how you pay attention. Master it, and you master the universe.