Scanning: More than for danger ...

I have posted on this as to the awareness one might want to train for and practice so they can "avoid" bad situations and encounters. Awareness is something a karate-ka or anyone desiring to avoid physical altercations, attacks, etc. but what I would pose to you now is that this type of awareness works both ways.

I ride the BART train to and from work. Although relatively safe it is prudent that a person remain aware of their surroundings. Not to be on high alert but to be mindful of your surroundings so if something unique or unusual occurs you can notice it and if necessary avoid it. Your early warning system, i.e. EWS.

Now, as I said I ride BART and am mindful of my surroundings but in such a manner that anything our of the ordinary or unusual triggers my focus. It works for bad situations and for good. Today, I was being mindful of things and scanning the train car, the door and the platform when I noticed the woman who sat two seats down and across from me suddenly started to pat her pockets, front, back, and looked in her purse. I noticed, I immediately looked at her seat and also caught notice of her ticket packet sitting there. I jumped up as she turned to return to the train in hopes of beating the conductors door closing which can be pretty quick. I went over, grabbed her ticket pack and just as the doors started to close stuck my hand out, she grabbed her ticket pack and smiled while my hand got in ahead of the door closing, totally cool.

Acts like this can also be a result of your training in being aware; focusing on what happens in your vicinity; remaining present and mindful of all that goes on in your world. With proper training and practice you will start to notice things normally you don't. You will start to see things that normally would be missed. Most important you will, if you trained, practiced, and attained the knowledge, see those things that will trigger your intuition so you can "act" and "avoid" but also "act" and "help" even in the more innocuous ways.

Another point that may have occurred to you, your scanning; your focus; your awareness training and practice can also be utilized for a more personal benefit. This is more for the guys here, but if you were doing this also regarding your significant other; paying attentive mindfulness of them and so on you may see and notice things that will be beneficial to that relationship, yes? No? Maybe?