Distractions Incorporated
During a weekend meditation retreat that I led a few years ago, participants went back home each evening to sleep, but we did our best to maintain silence during the time we spent practicing together.
The construction workers in the classroom next door, however, had an opposing acoustical agenda. Our internal remodeling efforts were imperceptible to them. Theirs were far more tangible and impossible to ignore. Even when the sawing and hammering paused briefly, country music rushed in to fill the quiet gaps.
Trying to ignore the sounds would have been futile, so we navigated the unexpected challenge on Saturday by making them the focus of most of our mindful awareness exercises. It was challenging but doable.
The builders didn’t return to work the next day.
At the end of the retreat, several people reported that Sunday had been the more challenging day by far. They said they found themselves missing the noise which they’d come to hear as almost musical.
How could this be?
We have such a limited attentional budget that spending it listening to external sounds leaves less to allocate to the internal sounds of our mental chatter. This is especially true with a bit of practice momentum and a willingness to forgo fighting with circumstances beyond our control.
Sometimes, when we can’t hear ourselves think, deferring to external sounds can set the stage for our thoughts to hum along quietly in the background.
