Gain More Focus By Eliminating Distractions

We have so many distractions in our life that it often makes it hard to focus on ourselves and on our practice. If you can diminish the distractions you can improve your feeling of inner peace. Join us for a calming meditation. Music by Chris Collins. #41

Transcript

Welcome and I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.

Today I'd like to talk a little bit about how you can focus better on yourself and on your practice if you eliminate some of the distractions in the world around you.

I know it's a problem for so many people and it's been a problem for me in the past as well.

If you've listened to any of my other meditations you know that I always say the same thing at the very beginning and that's that I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.

And I say that each time because I feel very deeply it's very important to me that each of you come to find peace within yourself.

That's one of the most important things that meditation can do for you and one of the things that it can do to help in your life is to give you a sense of peace.

Peace within yourself.

A peace that you can depend on.

A peace that you can rely on.

A peace that you can fall back on.

Peace that you can be encompassed by.

Finding peace within yourself will change your life in so many ways.

One of the ways that you can attain peace is by being able to focus better and you can learn to focus better by eliminating some of the distractions that you find in the world all around you.

In our world today we have so many distractions.

For most of us our phones are always with us and that means that our phones are there so that everyone we know can call or text or video chat whenever they want.

And we have notifications from any number of apps and programs.

And our computers also have a range of distractions and sounds.

You can't even read an article in a news app without being barraged by pop-ups and a rage of advertising.

Distractions.

So many distractions.

I remember when I was a kid my parents and my brother and I would go for drives on Sunday afternoon.

It was relaxing.

We could talk and laugh and look at the scenery and even sing all the old Irish songs we like to sing and never be bothered by an incoming call.

And when we got home we didn't know if anyone had tried to call us while we were gone because we didn't have an answering machine.

You were able to get away from distractions.

Today we have to work a little harder to get rid of the distractions all around us.

When you get ready to meditate try to find someplace where you won't be disturbed.

A bedroom,

An office,

A car or even sitting outside.

And then you need to make sure that you've silenced all your devices.

Put your phone in do not disturb mode.

The only artificial sound you want to hear is the meditation that you're listening to.

We're looking for peace.

We're trying to let go and we're trying to be more in the present moment.

And I've said before that all of these things,

Finding peace,

Letting go and being present,

Are just points along the same path.

In searching for one you can find the others.

It's really all just a matter of practice and repetition.

Setting the intention.

If we're looking for inner peace,

I think it's helpful if we look at the reasons we're not peaceful.

What is causing our inner turmoil?

Close your eyes now and let's begin to find our inner peace.

It doesn't matter if you're sitting,

Lying down,

Or standing.

What matters is that you're comfortable.

Make sure you've silenced your phone.

That you're someplace you won't be disturbed or distracted.

And just make sure you're comfortable and adjust your position until you are.

There's nothing to call your attention away from yourself.

This is your time.

You're trying to focus on yourself.

So set yourself up for success.

You can go back to the world in just a few minutes.

This time is your time.

Allow your breath to just flow naturally.

Breathing in and breathing out.

One breath at a time.

And as you breathe,

Just observe each breath.

See how your body just naturally breathes in and breathes out.

Just observe your breath.

There's no need to control or regulate it.

Just let your body do what it does while you observe.

Try to relax your face.

Unclench your jaw and unfurl your brow and relax your neck.

Maybe you'd like to shake out your arms and hands and just let them rest comfortably.

Let your shoulders drop and let your body sag.

Ease any tension that you might find in your chest or belly.

And shake out your legs and feet too.

And as you begin to let yourself relax,

Let's really focus on our breath.

As we continue to breathe,

Feel relaxation flow through your body.

Breathing in and breathing out.

One breath at a time.

Do whatever you need to do to settle into this moment.

Because this is the only moment there is.

If you notice thoughts entering your mind,

Don't worry.

Don't make any judgments.

Simply observe the thoughts.

Let each thought pass across your mind and let it go.

Your thoughts are like the clouds in the sky or a wave on a lake.

You don't need to do anything.

Just observe.

No judgment.

Just let those thoughts pass away.

Breath is our anchor and it provides us with life and energy.

Some people will find it helpful to visualize the energy flowing into and out of you as you breathe in and out.

Let go of any negative thoughts or feelings.

Let them pass out of you with each and every breath.

This is a time to let go of anything that doesn't serve you.

We're looking for inner peace and it's there.

We just have to clear away the obstacles.

We are on the path that we need to be on.

Remember,

All the things we're looking for are on this path that begins with our breath.

To focus more on yourself,

Focus more on your breath.

One breath at a time.

Just listen to the sound of my voice and observe each breath and just continue to relax.

Breathe.

Just breathe.

Why do we have trouble focusing on ourselves?

I think part of the problem is that all of us are overwhelmed by the world we live in.

Overwhelmed by our jobs.

Overwhelmed by our schedules.

And overwhelmed by this pandemic.

All of this causes us to feel anxious and insecure.

It keeps us from finding peace.

Another factor is that all of us are overwhelmed by information.

It's everywhere.

On our phones,

On our televisions,

On our laptops and tablets.

And when something happens,

We just don't hear about it later.

We often hear about it as it happens.

And then we hear about it over and over and over and over again.

And from multiple sources.

I know that for myself,

I had to finally limit the amount of news and information I accessed.

I found that I was getting irritable and tense and I wasn't feeling peaceful at all.

And it's hard to focus when you allow all these distractions to engulf your life.

We are over-informed.

We're over-connected.

Social media makes us overly conscious of the lives of our friends and acquaintances.

They all seem to have perfect lives and we naturally compare ourselves to others.

All these things can cause us to feel anxiety and tension.

It causes inner turmoil.

And it's hard to find peace.

And it's hard to find focus.

Think about it.

Think about it.

I have tried to stay in this moment,

Breathing in and breathing out.

One breath at a time.

If you have negative thoughts,

Acknowledge them and let them go.

All of your feelings are valid and you have to look at them without judgment.

You are what you are.

You are who you are.

And you are enough.

You always have been.

When you make time to focus,

You can be more in the present moment.

You can let go and you can take the time to love yourself.

And this is what I mean when I say that all of these things we strive for are just points along the same path.

In order to find inner peace,

You have to let go.

You have to love yourself and you have to accept yourself for exactly who you are.

Just continue to breathe.

One breath at a time.

Breathing in.

Each person who chooses to walk along this path of mindfulness must find what works for them.

Let me say that again.

Each person who chooses to walk this path of mindfulness must find what works for them.

This is why I don't care what position you're in.

Because you have to be comfortable.

It accomplishes nothing for you to sit how I want you to sit when it's your meditation.

It's your practice.

It's your time.

If that means you want to lay down,

That's fine.

And if it means sitting or standing,

That's fine too.

If it helps you to use a mantra,

Do that.

And if not,

Don't.

Whatever works for you is the best advice I can ever give.

Ultimately,

And in 53 years of meditating,

This is what I found.

Ultimately,

The only critical thing in meditation is the breath.

The breath.

Breathing in and breathing out.

One breath at a time.

Now,

As we come to a close,

Open your eyes and come back into the room.

Wiggle your fingers and toes and stretch and feel how good it is to be alive.

I'm thankful every moment that I'm alive.

Taking a deep breath through your nose and let it out through your mouth,

Letting out a sigh.

You're ready to move back into your day a little calmer,

A little more joyful than before.

It'll be much easier to focus on yourself if you take the time to remove these distractions that get in our way.

I truly hope that this has been a beneficial and calming session.

And I thank you so much for joining me.

Till next time.

Reviews

Such helpful words, " points in time", one breath at a time", to be able to feel fully present, like in the past, before mobile phones. I bow to you, dear Teacher 🙏🏽💚✨️💕🕊

Thank you for such peaceful meditation and your powerful words 🙏🏻