What do you notice in a second?

After several postponements, I reported for jury duty earlier this year. It was my second time serving since moving to New York nearly 13 years ago. And, if I can be honest with you, I enjoy jury duty. I find myself fascinated by the entire process, from the jury selection and the courtroom decorum to the lawyers' theatrics. 

During the orientation, we watched a series of instructional videos which spanned a range of topics, including the value of the courts, the importance of our civic duty, and a newer video on implicit bias. A statistic was shared in the video on implicit bias -- every second, our subconscious can perceive up to 10 million bits of information, while our conscious mind can only process about 40 bits. 

10 million to 40.

This statistic was provided to demonstrate the limited capacity of our conscious awareness and how stereotypes and rash judgments may be formed under the surface of our awareness. It was an essential lesson in the context of jury duty so that we may be aware of our own unconscious bias. 

However, I found myself returning to this statistic as I walked home from the courtroom. Noodling on the vast difference between what we can perceive vs. what we can consciously process. Would it be possible to ascertain more than 40 bits? 

As I traveled down the sidewalk, I gave myself a challenge, how much could I consciously perceive? I noticed the sound of the pavement beneath my feet, the dance of tree shadows against the concrete buildings, the hum of traffic from the distant highway, the abrupt beep of a car horn, the weight of the air, the feeling of my heartbeat, and the temperature of the air on my skin. 

And then, inevitably, my mind wandered away from all these sensory inputs and traveled down the well-worn path of habitual thinking. Before I knew it, I was thinking about what I would make for dinner and had lost sight of all the inputs around me. When I noticed my mind had wandered, I took a breath and again brought my attention to all that was around me. I returned to the present moment. 

This act of noticing the present moment is a central mindfulness practice.

Through mindfulness, I find that I can get out of the thoughts and notice the bits around me. Further, this practice offers a reminder that we have a choice in where we direct our attention at any given moment. We can choose to notice the bits. Now, I'm not saying that you'll be able to expand your ability to process more than 40-50 bits of information per second, but through mindfulness, you can be more aware of where you are directing your attention. And with that deeper awareness, you may begin to experience more of the world around you. 

Might you experiment with the capacity of input? 

What would such a practice look like for you?