From p33:
"The shape and content of life depend on how attention has been used. Entirely different realities will emerge depending on how it is invested...We create ourselves by how we invest this [psychic] energy...hence attention is our most important tool in the task of improving the quality of experience."
From p208:
"We all start with preconceived notions of what we want from life. These include the basic needs programmed into us by our genes to ensure survival - the need for food, comfort, sex, dominance over other beings. They also include the desires that our specific culture has inculcated in us - to be slim, rich, educated, and well-liked. If we embrace these goals and are lucky, we may replicate the ideal physical and social image for our historical time and place. But is this the best use of our psychic energy? And what if we cannot realise these ends? We will never become aware of other possibilities unless, like the painter who watches with care what is happening on the canvas, we pay attention to what is happening around us, and evaluate events on the basis of how they make us feel, rather than evaluating them exclusively in terms of preconceived notions. If we do so we my discover that, contrary to what we are led to believe...it is more enjoyable to talk with one's two-year-old than to play golf with the company president."
