We know we can become aware of where our mind is, but oftentimes it’s triggered by some external thing, like taking the wrong exit off the freeway and realizing, ‘Oh my gosh, my mind was totally somewhere else.’ What we want to do is elicit that checking-in quality in our minds with more...

Watching your mind wander without engaging is easier said than done. But learning to be more conscious of where you are directing your attention—and ensuring that wherever you are focused in a particular moment is the right place to be—seems well worth the effort.

Really exceptional...

Where you direct your focus is a function of the brain’s attention system. This system has three subsystems:

• The flashlight (or orienting system), which enables you to selectively direct and concentrate your attention;
• The floodlight (or al...

Meta-awareness is the simultaneous awareness of your focus in the present moment and of the limits of that focus.

It allows us to more fully understand where we sit within the situation. It is the firefighter’s consciousness of where his attention is directed in the momen...

Like many mindfulness exercises, the River of Thought feels at odds with the decisive, action-driven orientation often ascribed to great leaders, but that is the whole point.

It allows us to take a very different stance toward our experience. It’s very rare that we experience something as n...