Definitions: (1) a person who hears what is said with careful interest; a good listener; (2) characterized by thoughtful regard or focus; mindful; observant; (3) heedful of the comfort of others; courteous; polite

Synonyms: intent, watchful

Compatible Qualities: curiosity, stick-to-itive

Parental Quality: conscious

Familial Qualities: alert, awake, aware, concentration, motivated

Consequential Quality: fair

Saying: Arrectis auribus (Latin): “with ears pricked up”

Dictum: Where attention goes, energy flows. — James Redfield (1950-) American author

Quote: We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak. — Epictetus (55-135 bc) Greek Stoic philosopher

Admonition: To “pay attention” often means to listen. If we are concerned with only those things which we want to hear, or the things we want to respond to from our point of view, then we are not giving the speaker the full measure of our attention.

Comment: The key to all reality is love; so when you’re driving, pay attention to where you’re going.

Exercise: How good is your attention span? How long can you stare at an inanimate object? What does your mind do while you are looking at it? Do you think of its various aspects: size, shape, color, texture, taste, memory of use?
     On the other hand, how long can you be interested in an animate scene? Witness how long you can sit in front of an electronic screen. The degree to which you are absorbed in the action has a lot to do with your interest in the subject, the characters, and your curiosity of the outcome. Advertisers prepare, with a great deal of effort, their commercials to take advantage of the attentiveness of the paying public.
     Are you motivated to keep your focus on what you need to – or to be? Is the object of your attention stimulating? Are you hungry, thirsty, or sleepy? Are you healthy? Are you in a competitive mode? All of these will affect your ability to be attentive.

Definition: insightful and penetrating; keen and discerning; exhibiting combined shrewdness, perspicacity, and diplomacy

Derivation: Latin, “crafty”

Synonyms: critical, sagacious, subtle

Consequential Qualities: artful, tactful

Quote:
• When you have an elephant by the hind legs and it is trying to run away, it is best to let it run. — Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) 16th President of the United States
• As soon as we step beyond the established boundaries of pure thermodynamic theory, we enter a trackless region confronting us with obstacles which even the most astute of us are almost at a loss to tackle. — Wilhelm Carl Werner Otto Fritz Franz Wien (1864–1928) German physicist

Definition: (1) overwhelming with wonder; shocking; (2) gobsmacked

Quotes:
• If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves. — Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) American inventor
• The game of life is a game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deeds and words return to us sooner or later with astounding accuracy. — Florence Scovel Shinn (1871–1940) American artist & book illustrator

Definition: wonderfully surprising; amazing; flabbergasted; stupefy

Quotes:
• All that we don’t know is astonishing. Even more astonishing is what passes for knowing. — Philip Milton Roth (1933-2018) American novelist
• Isn’t it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so we could discover them! — Orville Wright (1871-1912) American aviationist

Definitions: (1) self-satisfied; self-possessed; bold; (2) convinced of the certainty or truth of a matter; confident; authoritative; self-assured; (3) relieved that things are okay again; reassured of a positive outcome

Derivation: Latin, “toward security”
     Note: The original Latin indicates there is always a bit of uncertainty in most certainties.
          It is valuable to put a little (but only a little) bit of doubt in your spiritual practice. There is always a lot more to learn, grow into, and become.

Quote: Be assured that if you knew all, you would pardon all. — Thomas à Kempis (1380–1471) The Imitation of Christ {1418}

Observation: The relative integrity of matter is assured by the fact that energy can be absorbed or released only in those exact amounts which have been designated as “quanta.” This provision in the material realms serves to maintain the universe as an ongoing concern.
     Note: the word quantum can be found in the formulation of the first law of thermodynamics in 1841 by Julius Robert von Mayer (1814–1878) German physicist.

Definitions: (1) performed with constant attention; persevering; industrious; (2) constant in application; diligent; devoted; persistent

Synonyms: sedulous, unremitting, zealous

Quotes:
• The first key to wisdom is assiduous and frequent questioning. — Peter Abelard (1709-1142) French philosopher
• Because truth is exceedingly subtle and serene, the bliss of the Self can manifest only in a mind rendered subtle and steady by assiduous meditation. — Ramana Maharshi [born Venkataraman Iyer] (1879-1950) Indian Hindu sage

Definitions: (1) stating positively; affirming; declaring with assurance; (2) bold; confident; (3) demonstrating the existence of <asserting his rights>

Synonyms: aggressive, aver, avow

Balancing Qualities: Gentleness, Understanding 

Too Far: intrusive, obnoxious, rude

Quotes:
• The university is our culture’s assertion that what is made by the mind has value and can convey values. — Angelo Bartlett “Bart” Giamatti (1938–1989) American English Renaissance professor
• To suppose more than one Supreme Source of infinite wisdom, power, and all perfections, is to assert that there is no Supreme Being in existence. — Adam Clarke (1762–1832) British theologian

Symbol: a flag [raised above on a pole]

Definitions: (1) to aim, long, or seek ambitiously <especially for something great or of high value>; (2) ascending; soaring

Derivation: Latin, “ to breathe”

Quotes:
• Heaven and God are not high above us – far away; they are deep within us. Seekers of the eternal Truth will realize [it is] within their aspiring hearts. — Chinmoy Kumar Ghose [Sri Chinmoy] (1931-2007) Indian spiritual leader
• In so far as [the] soul becomes permeated by truth, beauty, and goodness as the value-realization of God-consciousness, such a resultant being becomes indestructible. If there is no survival of eternal values in the evolving soul of man, then mortal existence is without meaning, and life itself is a tragic illusion. … What you begin in time you will assuredly finish in eternity – if it is worth finishing. (111:3.7) — The Urantia Book {1955}

Definition: moving upward; rising or increasing to higher levels, values, or degrees

Quotes:
• We live in an ascending scale when we live happily, one thing leading to another in an endless series. — Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Scottish poet
• Truth cannot be brought down; rather, the individual must make the effort to ascend to it. If you would attain to the mountaintop, you must pass through the valley, climb the steeps, unafraid of the dangerous precipices. — Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) Indian inspirational speaker

Reflection: Death is a cobweb we brush though; not the last thing, but the least thing. — Morgan Llywelyn (1937-) DRUIDS {1992}

Comment: Some believe, after awakening on the other side of death, we are automatically given all virtue; that our career is over. I believe the struggle of progressive learning, continuing to become better, is the standard throughout our universal life. The wisdom of the evolutionary program becomes more evident as we continue to live and grow.

Definitions: (1) done skillfully; aesthetically satisfying; (2) appreciative of art and beauty; sensitive to the arts

People Who Exemplify This Quality: Henri Matisse (1869-1954) French Artist

Proverb: Ars longa, vita brevis (Latin): “Art is long, life is short.”

Quotes:
• Art is the demonstration that the ordinary is extraordinary. — Amedee Ozenfant (1866-1966) French Cubist Painter
• Art reveals the artist’s inner self. Art reveals a man’s ideals, what he values. — Terry Goodkind (1948-) American author
• Be responsive to your audience. Art is making an interpretation of an experience. — Gerard “Jerry” Vincent Hubert Downs (1949-) American photographer & writer
• The artist is not a different kind of person, but every person is a different kind of artist. — Arthur Eric Gill (1882-1940) British sculptor
• The high mission of any art is, by its illusions, to foreshadow a higher universe reality, to crystallize the emotions of time into the thought of eternity. (48:7.23) — The Urantia Book {1955}