Focused Attention - Moderate

Focused attention is a fundamental mindfulness meditation training. It is designed to promote attention control (i.e., placing our minds where we choose to) and self-awareness. Focused attention meditations are part of evidence-based mindfulness programs such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based College (MBC), and Mindfulness-Based Blood Pressure Reduction (MB-BP), along with many other mindfulness and meditation traditions.

Transcript

So here we are, Taking a little time to settle in for an attentional focus meditation where we're training ourselves to place our mind where we want to place it. And we'll come to know ourselves a little better too because the mind's gonna wander and we'll notice where it wandered to and that's telling us something about how we are today who we are and when the mind wanders without any judgment with firmness but kindness we'll bring it back back to this moment and to this object of meditation that we have chosen to train ourselves to place our mind and concentrate on. And so as you're selecting that object of meditation the invitation is for it to be the breath if the breath is a place of comfort and safety for you and if it isn't you can choose a different object of meditation some people choose a part of the body like say the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet so that we're just there with the raw sensations of that part of the body maybe it's a sensation of touch or temperature noticing if the sensations are steady or if they move is there comfort discomfort and just being there with it and if you prefer not the breath of the body is the object of meditation another option is sound or a lack of sound and even the lack of sound has a certain kind of ringing to it and so can we be there with those raw elements of sound maybe it's the pitch or the volume or if it's steady or irregular how close or far away the sound is so checking in with yourself and just seeing what resonates with you as an object of meditation most of the research is on the breath so if that's comfortable and safe for you the invitation is to use it and we're realizing that other objects of meditation serve well as well and have been known for centuries so without any judgment about which object you select to focus your attention on inviting you to do that as we start to bring the mind to where we want it to be and in this moment the invitation is for it to be with the breath or a part of the body or sound if you have chosen the breath perhaps taking a moment to check in with where it's being felt movement-wise perhaps it's in the diaphragm or the chest maybe it's the sensation of the wind moving in and out of the nose of the mouth you the object is a part of the body really bringing awareness to it comfort or discomfort or touch or lack of touch or sound whatever the object of meditation is taking this moment allow all the extraneous thoughts to settle out kind of like falling snow would settle onto the ground all that's left is the clear blue sky or all that's left is your relationship with that object of meditation being here with this breath with this body or this sound you and if your mind is wandered by now you're in the company of just about everyone who's listening but where it wanted to is unique to you so noticing if it has wanted where it wanted to it's noticing that with friendliness and curiosity where to go anyways the minds designed to wander and it's okay where is it and is it often there are you into fresh territory or some are pretty familiar it's good information whatever the answer is and remembering we're training our attentional control right now the invitation if the mind has wandered is to bring it back back to where you want it to be back with that breath where the sensations in that part of the body or the sensation of sound you here we are just kind of luxuriating in 20 minutes of stopping and calming resting and healing simply being here with ourselves with their mind with the body it's noticing the messages it's providing and recognize those messages with kindness openness even acceptance of just who we are and how we are in this moment it's okay and is the mind where we want it to be and if not inviting it to dwell there with the breath or the body or sound you you perhaps offering that mindfulness quality of curiosity to this meditation for example bringing curiosity to the breath maybe seeing if it can be felt in a place that hasn't been felt yet maybe between the ribs of the back for example or curiosity to that sensation and the part of the body that you're with how's that sensation feeling now compared to when we began sit similar or different or if the object of meditation is sound bringing curiosity to it this sound this precise sound that's never been heard before how is it unique in this moment this breath that's never been breathed before how is it unique or this part of the body that has a unique cellular makeup in this moment after some cells have died and some have been born how's it feeling now you you perhaps taking a moment to notice how much effort you're putting in right now and sort of the quality of that effort so is there any like striving or kind of clenching being like I'm gonna put my mind on that object and kind of forcing it in with some tension or is the effort just really low and almost lazy just kind of kicking back lines going where it's going maybe daydreaming not putting too much effort in and again not judging ourselves for it but just noticing now it's like with a guitar string if we tighten it too much not only is the pitch off but it can break because it's so tight and under so much pressure and if the guitar strings too loose they won't even sound and so how can we find that sort of optimal tension on the guitar string or how can we find that optimal effort it's almost like effortless awareness can we let go of the striving or the clenching if we're kind of overdoing it and can we bring in some more energy and vigor if maybe that's called for us it's finally tuning that efforting that you're putting into this moment seeing if we can be here with that object of meditation with effortless awareness that we are just with it no extra energy required just simply there with that breath or that part of the body or this sound you you you you knowing that as we're training ourselves to place our minds where we want to place them that there's also another training happening here which is developing our anchor point if we'd like it to be that that wherever we go during the day or the night the breath is with us the body is with us and sound so that say if a difficult situation arises like maybe we're being yelled at by someone we care about and we can always return back to that anchor of the brow through the body or sound to return back and ground in or similar if we have just like an amazing experience maybe someone that we really care about tells us something that just makes our heart flutter and dance even if we say we get giddy or something or somehow lose our groundedness it's noticing that and if we want to get more grounded we can return back to that anchor point that can help help us stay where we want to stay here be present so here we are in this moment observing our mind and our body inviting us to be with that anchor point that we've chosen of that object of meditation whether it's the breath that in breath and out breath or that part of the body the sensations that it has around say touch or temperature or sound those raw elements of sound how loud or soft it is how close or far away and then this meditation starting to come towards a close taking a moment to notice how the mind and the body are feeling at this time compared to when we began the meditation whatever the answer is it's fine just seeing what arises for you is you start to contemplate continuing on with your day or your evening and how best you would like to continue on with that next step whatever it is and as you continue on inviting you to bring whatever insights or experiences or sensations that came from this meditation if you like into the next part of your day or your evening you