When we are meditating, distractions come in many forms. They can come as dogs barking, birds chirping or neighbors talking. Body aches, a busy life and a chattering mind can further convince you to stop meditating. You give up before you’ve even started.
Distractions are small hurdles – easy to overcome when you know what their correct placement is in your consciousness. One way to create the “right” placement is to just let them be, i.e do not make up a story about them. For example, if you sit down to meditate and the neighbors start arguing, or a dark barks, simply let the sounds pass through your consciousness and keep your body relaxed. If something hooks you, let it for a while, and then return to your meditation. By returning to your meditation, you are showing your mind that this is where you would rather be “being”, i.e not the being with the dog barking or the neighbors arguing. You very gently embody your preference to your mind and body.
By exercising the muscles of our consciousness in deciding what or who gets our attention/energy, we heighten the quality of our experiences and relationships.
Here is a simple meditation to practice:
Take a couple of deep breaths and close your eyes.
Let your body and mind adjust and get comfortable. Continue with your deep, quiet breathing. Next, instruct your mind that there will be no talking, and that you will be focusing on just listening. These directions to the mind help the mind to orient itself in accordance with your wishes. You may have to remind it a few times through the exercise. That is perfectly fine.
Now, slowly, begin to listen to the sounds around you by opening your listening consciousness. Listen to the quietest sounds, and then switch to the most distracting. How do you feel? Is your mind being pulled in many directions because a sound triggered a gazillion associations?
Breathe. Observe. Listen.
Practice letting the sounds move through you. The key here is to stay relaxed – both in mind and body. Continue breathing and listening.
As you continue to listen, your consciousness will become drawn to something much more nourishing than the sounds and distractions. That is inner quietude. Allow yourself to move towards this experience and sit in meditation, here in this inner quietude. Sit here for as long as you would like, and then when you are ready, take a couple of deep breaths and open your eyes.
Fantastic! Now, as you move about your day, consciously practice placing sounds and distractions in their correct placement in your life.
How sweet the sounds!