Calm attention

Well, I've come across a very interesting book by Jeffrey Brantley called, Calming Your Anxious Mind. And the subtitle goes like this: "How mindfulness and compassion can free you from anxiety, fear, and panic."

Here's an excerpt on using the breath as a support:

This is a simple yet profound meditation practice. The sensation of the breath is the primary object of nonjudging, allowing awareness. You practice by simply paying attention on purpose to the direct sensations of breathing as they arise, change, and disappear. Whenever your attention moves off of the breath sensation, just notice that and gently escort your attention back to the breath.

Concentrating attention in this way connects mind and body to the present moment and to a deep inner calm and steadiness. In this practice you actually experience the capacity of your mind to be calm and stable, even in intense moments. The calm and steadiness extends to the body as you practice. Over time, in both formal meditation periods and informally in daily life, with consistent and regular practice, you can expect to feel a deeper sense of ease and relaxation in your body. You will discover a much more grounded and stable present-moment awareness.

With attention established on the breath, you can use this conscious breathing practice to stay connected in difficult situations. By learning to breathe consciously into and out with whatever is happening, you teach yourself to remain present with calm attention. The breath is truly the anchor in the present moment.

What Brantley describes is actually how a meditative practice can be applied to challenges in everyday life. We practice in formal sitting; that's where we get the hang of it and build up a back-log, so to speak, of mindfulness. (It is also where we learn to cultivate observer consciousness.) Then the mindfulness we learn in formal meditation carries over into all the situations in which we find ourselves thereby equipping us to work skillfully with any challenge we may happen to meet.