Walking the Razor’s Edge: A Talk on Attention (Juanita Violini)

There are two sides to the metaphor of a razor’s edge. On one side is duality and on the other side is non-duality. When we’re born, we’re in a state of relaxed well-being and can see clearly for a period of time. Then we discover that we can fall off the razor’s edge. This occurs when our attention is taken from us through identification, attachment, comparison, and our stories. Prior to losing our attention, we are thrust into survival and lose trust. We are conditioned not to look at ourselves but are trained to focus on our faults. Self-hatred starts as children when we think we’re the center of the universe and that we're at fault when things go wrong. When our attention is stolen, we cannot access our intuition. But if we begin to look inside ourselves, we see power and clarity. The clearer we see ourselves, the more we can trust ourselves. We can be trustworthy if we know ways that we are untrustworthy. If we know our boundaries and who we are, we know who others are as well and can accept them as they are. There are a lot of reasons why we might feel badly. If we can keep our attention on the sensations of the body, we will get the information we need. To get back on the razor’s edge, we have to relax, let go of what weighs us down, and trust that we will be looked after even if what life provides may not always be what we want. The journey of self-discovery is akin to a razor’s edge. The fact that the razor’s edge is narrow means that we have to pay attention when walking on it. It is dangerous when our attention is taken since then we are not in touch with reality. We need to reclaim our attention which is all we have or the most important thing we have. The distinction between self-observation and self-remembering is explored. Juanita Violini is an artist and writer/producer of interactive mystery entertainment who has been a student of the spiritual path for over 35 years.