Meditation basics-III

Distractions during meditation

There is a very simple technique to bring back your focus if you are distracted while meditating.

Once I was meditating with a group of about 70 people in a retreat. The meditation hall was not too big and we were all in close proximity of each other. After I would sit and focus on my breath I would get easily distracted by the movement of other people. The sound of a watch beeping or someone clearing his/her throat or the slightest sound of any kind would distract my focus from my breath. Someone from the group complained to the teacher about this and she gave us a simple solution.

When ever something distracts you all you have to do is simply label it and return your focus on your breath. For example if you hear a dog barking you mentally label it as sound and bring your mind back to breath awareness. Similarly, with thoughts. Thoughts keep arising in the mind while we meditate. You label the thoughts and go on focusing on the breath. You will be surprised how easily the distraction vanishes. Similarly with bodily discomfort. You label it, e.g. itching or pain, and concentrate on your breathing again. The idea is to be aware . If you can not hear a sound or there is no distraction for a long while it means you had probably fallen asleep. You should be aware of things around you and yet your focus on your breath and meditation gets deeper .

When ever your mind drifts away in any thought or distraction you gently label the distraction and bring your focus back on your mind. As you keep practicing this method it becomes easier and easier.

Some days your mind simply refuses to let go of some thought and keeps wandering. Do not fight it. In fact allow it. Give it an explicit permission to wander while you focus on breath. You will soon notice the rebellion of the mind subsiding and calming down. Make sure that when you tell your mind “go ahead; wander" you mean it. You are not trying to deceive your mind or tricking it. It is the nature of mind not to pursue whatever it is allowed to. It goes after forbidden things. :)

So remember, label your distraction and bring your focus gently back to your breath.