A Soothing Way To Redirect Your Awareness During Mindfulness Meditation For People Whose Attention Never Stops Wandering
Practicing mindfulness stresses some people out.
They assume their attention wanders more than people who stick to a mindful awareness habit.
In reality, everyone’s attention wanders.
Frustration compounds
Meditation teachers often suggest, When your attention wanders, gently return to the object of focus.
We say this repeatedly because it’s a difficult message to hear.
People want to feel focused and calm now.
However, frustration escalates into more frustration while hospitable responses compound in ways that help the mind and body settle.
Here’s an enjoyable way to experience what I mean.
Notice body sensations
Start a three-to-five-minute timer. Let body sensations be the primary object of focus. Moment by moment, feel a sensation without trying to change it for a handful of seconds.
This includes sensations related to breathing but can extend to anything you’re able to feel.
Physical or emotional sensations
Pleasant or unpleasant sensations
Sensations that stay the same or change
Notice sounds and their impact
When you realize your primary attention has been pulled so strongly to a sound that you’ve lost contact with the body, hear the sound closely for a few repetitions — unless it goes away.
Then, curiously explore whether listening mindfully has evoked any sensations in the body. Use whatever you detect to lightly reestablish the original focus.
Notice verbal thoughts and their impact
In a similar way, when you notice mental talk has drawn you completely away from the body, try to listen to the chatter as a musical sound.
After a brief auditory observation, scout for locations in the body triggered by listening to yourself think.
Before long, you might even find yourself welcoming splashes of distraction and gently returning to their fascinating ripples without adding to your stress.
