Formed: Holy Attention

What You’ll Receive in Holy Attention

Dan Blincoe ☦︎ — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 17:35:42 GMT

There are plenty of books that promise to give you more information.

Holy Attention offers something different.

Rather than adding another book to your shelf, it invites you into a slower, deeper way of living with Christ. Every page is designed to help you notice His presence in the ordinary moments of everyday life and cultivate a heart that remains attentive to Him.

Inside this beautifully designed 225-page book, you’ll discover:

Twenty guided steps that build upon one another.
Four thoughtfully arranged sections that lead you from recognizing distraction to living with an undivided heart.
Scripture at the beginning of every chapter.
Reflections rooted in Scripture and the wisdom of the historic Church.
Carefully selected quotations from saints and Church Fathers.
A practical Small Act of Attention at the end of every chapter to help you immediately apply what you’ve read.
A closing prayer that turns each chapter into a moment of worship.
Morning and Evening Prayers.
A simple Rule of Holy Attention.
Scriptures for Meditation.
The Jesus Prayer.
The Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian.
The Trisagion Prayer.
A Prayer Before Reading Scripture.
A recommended reading list for continuing your journey.

Get "Holy Attention" now for $9.99

The Journey Through the Book

Introduction

Who Has Your Heart?
A Note About This Book
How to Use This Book

Part I — The Scattered Heart

Recognizing what has quietly shaped our attention.

We Become What We Behold
Every Glance Is a Prayer
The Noise We Invite
The Divided Heart
The Cost of Hurry

Part II — Learning Holy Attention

Training the heart to become present to Christ.

Christ Never Hurried
Seeing the Image of God
The Gift of Silence
Learning to Listen
Holy Stillness

Part III — Finding Christ in Ordinary Moments

Discovering that every ordinary moment can become sacred.

The Gentle Presence of the Spirit
The Liturgy After the Liturgy
The Sacred Ordinary
The Prayer of Work
The Faithfulness of Small Things

Part IV — An Undivided Heart

Living a life continually turned toward Christ.

Loving the One Before You
Returning Again
Watchfulness
Learning to See
Attend to Christ

Epilogue

One Quiet Morning

Appendix

Morning Prayer
Evening Prayer
A Rule of Holy Attention
Scriptures for Meditation
The Jesus Prayer
Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian
Trisagion Prayer
Prayer Before Reading Scripture
Recommended Reading

Get "Holy Attention" now for $9.99

This is a book you could read in a weekend.

But that isn’t really how it was meant to be experienced.

Holy Attention is the kind of book you’ll return to again and again. A chapter before work. A reflection during lunch. A prayer before bed. A page that meets you exactly where you are today.

The goal isn’t simply to finish the book once. It’s to let its truths become woven into your daily life. As you practice holy attention, you’ll begin to notice Christ in conversations, in your work, in your prayers, in moments of silence, and even in the ordinary routines that once seemed insignificant.

Over time, the book becomes less like something you completed and more like a trusted companion you’ll reach for throughout the years.

If your faith has begun to feel hurried...

If your days seem full but your soul feels distracted...

If you long to become more aware of God’s presence in the ordinary moments of life...

If you desire a deeper, quieter walk with Christ rather than simply learning more about Him...

Holy Attention was written for you.

This isn’t a book about doing more.

It’s about seeing differently.

It’s an invitation to slow down.

To notice.

To listen.

To pray.

To return.

Again and again.

Because every day, something is shaping your heart.

The question isn’t whether you’re being formed.

The question is:

What is forming you?

Get "Holy Attention" now for $9.99

Do you have questions? Leave a comment or send me a message.

Happy to hear from you! -Dan

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All writing here is copyright © Dan Blincoe. If you’d like to share this piece, please use the share button provided. If you quote or repost any portion of this work elsewhere, please credit me and include a link back to the original post.

Holy Attention Step 1

Dan Blincoe ☦︎ — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 22:15:21 GMT

Get "The Little Book of Holy Attention"

We Become What We Behold

Step One of Holy Attention: Before we can change the direction of our lives, we have to pay attention to what is shaping them.

There is a quiet truth about being human that I think we often underestimate.

We become like what we repeatedly give our attention to.

Not all at once. Usually not in ways we immediately notice. But slowly, over time, the things we continually look toward begin to shape the way we think, what we desire, what we fear, and eventually, who we are becoming.

That is where Holy Attention begins.

Step One is called We Become What We Behold, because before we can talk about prayer, stillness, worship, or learning to recognize Christ in ordinary life, we first have to become aware of what already has our attention.

Most of us probably would not say that we have intentionally chosen distraction. We did not wake up one morning and decide to give our minds to endless notifications, arguments, advertisements, outrage, comparison, and noise.

It happened gradually.

A few minutes scrolling became an hour. Checking the news became checking it throughout the day. We began carrying the voices of strangers into our homes, our meals, our conversations, and even our prayers.

And somewhere along the way, many of us stopped asking a very important question:

What is all of this doing to me?

Because attention is never merely passive.

What we repeatedly behold begins to occupy our imagination. What occupies our imagination begins to influence our desires. Our desires influence our choices. And our choices, repeated over time, become habits that shape the person we are becoming.

This does not mean that everything we look at will immediately transform us. It means that nothing we repeatedly give ourselves to should be treated as spiritually insignificant.

The world understands this remarkably well.

Entire industries are built around capturing our attention and holding it for as long as possible. Algorithms study what keeps us looking. Advertisers compete for a few seconds of our focus. Platforms learn what makes us angry, curious, afraid, entertained, or envious because attention has become one of the most valuable commodities in the modern world.

But the Christian life asks us to consider something deeper.

If everyone is fighting for our attention, to whom does it actually belong?

The answer cannot simply be whoever is best at capturing it.

Our attention belongs first to God.

This is why the spiritual life has always involved learning where to turn our eyes. Scripture repeatedly calls us to watch, remember, consider, seek, listen, and behold. These are not passive words. They describe a deliberate orientation of the heart.

We are being formed every day, whether we realize it or not.

The question is not whether we are being shaped.

The question is what is shaping us.

When I look honestly at my own life, I can see how easily my attention becomes fragmented. I can be physically present while my mind is somewhere else entirely. I can reach for my phone without making a conscious decision to do it. I can spend an hour absorbing the anxieties of the world and then wonder why I struggle to sit quietly before God for five minutes.

That realization can be uncomfortable.

But Step One is not about becoming afraid of the world or treating every distraction as an enemy. It is about becoming awake.

It is about noticing.

What receives the first moments of my morning?

What do I instinctively reach for when I am uncomfortable?

What fills the quiet spaces of my day?

What voices am I allowing to speak into me repeatedly?

What am I looking at long enough that I may slowly be becoming like it?

These questions are not meant to produce guilt. They are meant to reveal direction.

Because if we become what we behold, then the Christian life offers us something far greater than simply learning to look away from what is harmful.

We are invited to behold Christ.

The goal of holy attention is not emptiness. It is not merely reducing screen time, escaping technology, or becoming better at concentrating.

It is learning to turn our attention toward the One who can actually transform us.

The more we behold Christ, the more we begin to recognize what is unlike Him within ourselves. His humility exposes our pride. His mercy confronts our resentment. His patience reveals our restlessness. His love shows us how often we have mistaken self-protection for strength.

And yet Christ does not simply show us who we are.

He shows us who we are becoming in Him.

This is why attention matters so deeply.

Every day, we are looking somewhere.

Every day, something is teaching us what to love.

Every day, something is shaping our imagination of what a good life looks like.

The first step toward holy attention is simply becoming aware of that reality.

Before reaching for the phone, notice.

Before filling the silence, notice.

Before allowing another voice into your mind, notice.

And then, little by little, begin turning your attention toward Christ.

Not perfectly.

Not dramatically.

Simply faithfully.

Because we become what we behold.

And if we want to become more like Christ, perhaps one of the first things we must learn is how to keep turning our eyes toward Him.

Continue the Journey

We Become What We Behold is Step One of Holy Attention: Twenty Steps Toward a Life That Beholds Christ.

The complete book is now available as an immediate PDF download, and the physical edition is available for preorder.

You can get either edition through below, where you can download the PDF and begin reading immediately or reserve a physical copy of the book.

Get "The Little Book of Holy Attention"

If this first step resonates with you, I hope you will continue the journey with me through all twenty steps as we learn to reclaim our attention from the noise of the world and turn it, again and again, toward Christ.

Do you have questions? Leave a comment or send me a message.

Happy to hear from you! -Dan

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All writing here is copyright © Dan Blincoe. If you’d like to share this piece, please use the share button provided. If you quote or repost any portion of this work elsewhere, please credit me and include a link back to the original post.

Holy Attention Is Now Available

Dan Blincoe ☦︎ — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 22:05:59 GMT

Get "The Little Book of Holy Attention"

After months of writing, rewriting, questioning, praying, and learning, I am grateful to finally share that Holy Attention is now available.

The digital edition is available now as a PDF download, and the physical edition is officially available for preorder.

This book grew out of a question that has become increasingly important to me: What is forming my attention, and what is my attention forming in me?

We live in a world constantly competing for our eyes, our thoughts, our desires, and ultimately our hearts. We scroll without thinking. We consume more than we can process. We become distracted from the people directly in front of us and, far more seriously, from the presence of God.

Holy Attention is an invitation to resist that drift.

Across twenty steps, the book explores what it means to become more intentional about what we behold, how we move through ordinary life, and how we learn to recognize Christ in places we might otherwise overlook. It is about prayer, stillness, worship, beauty, distraction, suffering, service, repentance, and the slow work of allowing our lives to be shaped by Christ rather than by the noise surrounding us.

I did not write this book from the perspective of someone who has mastered any of these things. I wrote it as someone who is learning them. Much of what is in these pages comes from my own struggle to pay attention, to be present, to stop allowing the world to dictate what deserves my focus, and to become more aware of the quiet ways God is working in the middle of ordinary life.

Each step includes Scripture, reflection, a small practice of attention, and prayer. My hope is that it is not simply a book you read and put back on a shelf, but something you can move through slowly and return to when life becomes noisy again.

The PDF edition is available for immediate download, so you can begin reading today. The physical book is also available for preorder for those who prefer to hold a book in their hands, underline passages, write in the margins, and move through it at a slower pace.

You’ll find both versions in my store on my substack: The Bread and Life

Get "The Little Book of Holy Attention"

More than anything, I hope Holy Attention helps us remember something the world constantly encourages us to forget:

Our attention is not insignificant.

What we repeatedly give ourselves to is shaping us.

What we behold matters.

And in a world designed to scatter our attention in a thousand directions, learning to turn our eyes toward Christ may be one of the most important spiritual disciplines we can recover.

Thank you to everyone here who has read my writing, encouraged me, prayed for me, and walked alongside me as many of these thoughts slowly became a book.

Holy Attention is now available as a PDF, and the physical edition is available for preorder.

Get "The Little Book of Holy Attention"

I am deeply grateful to finally place it in your hands.

Do you have questions? Leave a comment or send me a message.

Happy to hear from you! -Dan

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Enter into Holy Attention

Dan Blincoe ☦︎ — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:43:33 GMT

A new space within Formed for learning to attend to Christ in a distracted world

I am excited to introduce a new space here within Formed called Holy Attention.

This community has grown out of the book I have been writing, but my hope is that it becomes much more than a place to simply talk about a book. Holy Attention was written around a question that has become increasingly important in my own life: What has my attention, and what is that attention doing to my soul?

We live in a world constantly competing for us. Our phones want our attention. Work wants our attention. The news wants our attention. Our worries, ambitions, fears, responsibilities, and endless stream of information all want a piece of us. We can move through an entire day looking at a thousand things and still fail to truly see the people standing in front of us. We can hear countless voices and still struggle to become quiet enough to listen to God.

I have become increasingly convinced that attention is not simply a matter of productivity or mental health. It is deeply spiritual.

What we continually behold shapes us. What we repeatedly return to forms us. What receives our attention eventually begins to receive our affection.

The purpose of Holy Attention is not simply to help us become less distracted. It is to help us become more attentive to Christ.

That is what this new space within Formed will be about.

Here, we will explore many of the themes found in the book, but we will also go beyond its pages. We will talk about silence and stillness, prayer and watchfulness, the Jesus Prayer, repentance, the Divine Liturgy, seeing the image of God in others, finding Christ in ordinary moments, and learning to carry our faith into the places where most of life actually happens.

Most importantly, this will be a place to practice together.

One of the things I realized while finishing Holy Attention was that recognizing our distraction is not enough. We need practical ways to respond to it. We need small habits that help turn the heart back toward Christ.

That is why you will regularly see A Small Act of Attention here. These will be simple practices we can carry into ordinary life. Nothing complicated. Nothing designed to manufacture a spiritual experience. Just small opportunities to stop, become present, pray, notice, listen, and return.

We will also have conversations about what this looks like in real life.

Where did you notice Christ today?

What is distracting your heart?

What are you learning about prayer?

Where are you struggling to remain present?

What happens when God feels silent?

How do we return when we have wandered?

This is not a community for people who have mastered any of these things. I certainly have not. In many ways, Holy Attention exists because I needed to write it for myself.

I know what it is like to have a scattered heart.

I know what it is like to carry responsibilities, questions, worries, and uncertainty while trying to remain faithful.

I know how easy it is to become so occupied with life that we begin moving through it without truly being present to it.

And I am learning that the answer is not found in trying harder to hold everything together.

It is found in returning.

Returning to prayer.

Returning to stillness.

Returning to the person standing before us.

Returning to the life God has actually given us.

Returning, again and again, to Christ.

Over time, we will walk through the twenty steps of Holy Attention together. I will share expanded reflections, questions for discussion, practical exercises, prayers, and thoughts that did not make it into the book. Whether you eventually read the book or never do, you are welcome to participate.

Because ultimately, this is not about a book.

The book is simply an invitation.

The real journey is learning to live with our hearts turned toward Christ.

So welcome to Holy Attention within Formed.

Bring your questions.

Bring your distractions.

Bring your restless heart.

Bring your desire to know Christ more deeply.

We will learn together to become still enough to notice, attentive enough to listen, humble enough to return, and faithful enough to begin again.