It’s very easy to have a new idea, and then have that idea dashed to pieces by a wayward thought. It happens all the time. So, what should your strategy be for eliminating or minimizing the distraction?
1. Take a Step Back
This is for perspective and room to breathe! It’s hard to remain distracted if you take “the pause for the cause”. See my next point as well.
2. Breathe!
It’s hard to remain distracted if you focus on your breath. There is a lot of advice for HOW to breathe, and HOW to breathe to improve focus and relieve stress.
The best advice I’ve gotten?
1. Breathe in-0ut and focus on the way your lungs and your gut behave in response to your breathing activity. Don’t force it! Your breathing effort (if you want to call it that) should be un-effortful! Just breathe!
2. Instead of focusing on the entire breathing effort (gut and lungs), ONLY focus on the sensation of the air passing your nostrils (or even better the tips of the nostrils!) All it may be is a cool sensation on the tip of your nose as you breathe in and out!
3. NOTE that you’re being distracted.
An internal, verbal reminder to yourself (to start) that you’re being distracted by thought or feeling may help you refocus. Simply thinking (perhaps out loud at first) “thinking, thinking” or “feeling, feeling” to start with, may be enough to get you back on track.
4. Make a decision.
You are always in control, always in the driver’s seat. You have at your disposal the power to decide to either settle for distraction, or to focus! It’s your decision. Choose focus. Choose absence of distraction!
Hope these tips help! I’m going back to another short meditation now. For me meditation is an excellent lab to experiment with some of these things–especially the absence of distraction.