Welcome.
The focus of this meditation is on distraction,
Those thoughts that intrude on the stillness.
That's normal.
Indeed,
That's what the brain does.
It thinks.
The mind wanders.
It's called the default mode network.
It's about an inward focus on ourselves and our thoughts,
And it's perfectly natural.
As we meditate and as we create our own meditation practice,
We work to attain greater stillness and less of a wandering mind.
There are numerous ways to deal with distractions,
To acknowledge their existence and move on back to the breath.
The key is not to get discouraged,
To accept that thoughts will intrude and we will move away from those thoughts.
We will return to the present moment.
We will return to mindfulness.
Make yourself comfortable.
Settle in.
Close your eyes.
We'll get started.
Let's begin with the breath.
Take a long breath in and a long exhale.
Another long breath in and a long breath out.
We're going to look at four techniques for dealing with distractions.
The first,
Very simple,
It's counting,
A form of meditation in itself.
I'm going to suggest that you count to five when a thought intrudes,
Then return to the breath.
If you're still distracted or you're finding it difficult to settle and thoughts are coming in fairly frequently,
Count to ten and then come back to the breath.
Relax as you count,
Perhaps even see the number in your mind's eye.
I'm going to let you try this now for a minute.
Look at this breath,
Data.
A minute can seem like an awfully long time,
Especially when you're struggling for stillness.
Our second technique we're going to call naming,
Naming the distraction.
Whatever that thought might be,
We will give it a word to define it.
Perhaps we'll call it noise or thought or thinking.
I have a cat,
Wiley Bob,
That loves to meditate with me.
To Wiley Bob's credit,
He's generally a very meditative cat.
He likes to sit quietly and wait until the practice has ended.
On occasion,
Wiley likes to purr.
It's a big,
Beautiful sound that fills the room,
But it is a distraction.
I will often say to myself,
Purring,
A reminder that I have an intruding thought as delightful as it might be.
So now I'm going to suggest that you take a minute to picture this thought as it occurs to you on the back of your eyelids to name it and then to watch it as it disappears,
Almost as writing disappears from a chalkboard.
It's a very simple but effective technique.
And now try it on your own for a minute.
Welcome back.
Our third technique is called tenderness.
It's about treating yourself and your intrusive thoughts with kindness.
Take a second now and picture a lovely burbling brook.
Perhaps the sun is shining,
Dappling the water.
The tree branches are overhanging.
Leaves drop gently and float down the stream.
Now,
As a thought crosses your mind,
See yourself picking up the thought and placing it gently inside a leaf,
Cradled by the curled edges.
Slowly,
The leaf makes its way down the riverbed and away from you.
You can return to the breath.
Take a moment now to try this technique.
Welcome back.
Our final technique is about giving back.
Imagine yourself outside in a favorite place,
Perhaps a field,
A forest trail,
A beach by the ocean.
As unwanted thoughts come,
Cup your hands together and cradle the thoughts there.
Blow gently on the thought you are holding,
Literally in your mind's eye.
It's like blowing on the fluffy head of a dandelion.
Watch the thought get carried away by the wind,
Returned to the universe,
To the energy that is part of us all.
And then we come back to the breath.
Try this technique,
This giving back technique on your own for a minute.
We are coming to the end of our meditation today.
Take a deep breath in,
Take a deep breath out.
Bring some movement back to your physical space and gently open your eyes.
Thank you for meditating with me.
I'm Donna Lee.
The light in me sees the light in you.
We are one.
Namaste.
This has been a
