Attention and focus are hard to come by. Starbucks built a $13 billion business because we need help paying attention.
Psychiatrists increasingly diagnose "adult attention deficit disorder" and prescribe Ritalin for grown-ups who can't focus or pay attention. But is coffee and prescription "speed" the answer to our modern distraction?
Distracted by email, iPhones, the ping of a new text message, bad news on television and the stresses of work, of relationships and family, it is easy to be overwhelmed, stressed and miss the extraordinary gift of being alive. Our bodies' break down under the onslaught of stress -- insomnia, anxiety, depression, and all chronic disease is made worse by unremitting stress.
The Buddha was walking down the road shortly after he was enlightened and a traveler saw his remarkable energy. He asked him if he was an angel, a wizard, a magician, or some kind of god. "No," the Buddha said, "I am awake."
What matters most in life is the quality of our experience, the ability to be awake to what is real and true in our lives, for the difficult and the happy times, to be awake to each person we touch, to our own experience, to the moment we are in, to the simple, sweet, and alive gifts of a smile, a touch, a kind deed, the breeze on our skin, or a firefly flickering in the early summer night.
But that is harder than it sounds. Our monkey mind gets in the way. In order to pay attention we need to be quiet, to be practiced at stillness, to know the habits of our mind and be skilled at dancing with them, not to be controlled or dominated by them. To witness the thoughts and feelings we have without having them overwhelm, dominate, and control our lives.
My way into medicine was through Buddhism. I majored in Buddhist studies at Cornell. As a young man in college I was deeply interested in the mind, in the nature of our consciousness, of the ways our thoughts and perceptions control our lives and how we can work with them in a juicy, helpful way that brings more love, kindness, compassion, and insight into every moment, rather than darkness, suffering, struggle and pain.
Pain is inevitable. Loss is inevitable. Death, illness, war, and disaster have always been and will always be part of the human condition. Yet within it, I wondered as a young man, was there a way to understand suffering in a different light, to break the cycle of suffering?
I realized there was a way to be more awake, to see things as they are, to notice life as it is and to savor it, to love it, to wake up with gratitude, lightness, and celebration for the magic of life. It is always there, and the trick is simply to notice.
But to notice requires a stillness of the mind. This is something not quite so easy to achieve for most of us. Being awake takes practice. Each of us can find our path to being awake. Ancient traditions provide many avenues.
Belief in any particular religion or philosophy is not necessary, just a desire to show up and pay attention without judgment or criticism. To notice the ebb and flow of our breath and our thoughts without holding on to them, like waves washing over you on a summer day at the beach.
This is harder than it sounds, because it requires us to be patient with ourselves, to love ourselves, even all the ugly, petty, small thoughts. It requires us to create calm within the chaos through non-judgmental awareness. Most of us have no clue how to do this.
When I was 20 years old, I spent 10 days in a silent meditation retreat sleeping, meditating, and eating. That was it. As the turbulent oceans of my young mind settled each day, I began to feel more awake, more alive and happier than I ever had before.
The happiness was not connected to any external event or person, but to the simple joy of being able to notice beauty and brilliance in the people and in the nature that surrounded me.
Over my life I have come in and out of practicing stillness, but whenever I return to it, it feels like home. There are a thousand ways to meditate -- traditional mindfulness meditation is the simplest and most accessible, but any form can work: yoga, nature, dance, breathing, and prayer.
The point of mediation, of doing nothing, is not an end in itself but a way to calm the mind, to see the true nature of things, and reduce the impact of suffering while increasing love, kindness, wisdom, fearlessness, and sympathy.
From that stillness life becomes richer, your actions more clear, your words more direct and powerful, and your capacity to be fully engaged in life enhanced. It is not a retreat from life, but a way to go fully into it and cultivate your own power and happiness.
The benefits of meditation have been well proven by science. Mediation can help reduce chronic pain, blood pressure, headaches, anxiety and depression.
It can help you lose weight, lowers cholesterol, increase sports performance, boost immune function, relieve insomnia, increase serotonin, improve creativity, optimize brain waves, help in learning, focus attention, increase productivity, enhance memory, and more.
But none of those reasons are the reasons I meditate or practice yoga (which for me is meditation in motion). It is to be more awake to life, to myself, to cultivate loving kindness and compassion toward myself, others, and to the sordid human condition we find ourselves in.
The good news is that all you need is a few minutes and a place to sit and be quiet (you can do this anywhere). Here is a simple instruction for mindfulness mediation you can try yourself.
Mindfulness Meditation
Instructions:
1. Sit in a comfortable position. Try to sit in the same place each day. Avoid positions that you might fall asleep in.
2. Begin to breathe (preferably through the nostrils.) Feel the belly rise, the ribs expand, and the slight movement in the collarbones and shoulders as the breath moves upward. Feel the exhalation.
3. Focus on one aspect of the breath.
4. Watch that one aspect of the breath.
5. Start with 5-10 minutes and then increase the time until you can sit for 30 minutes.
To Learn More
If you want to learn more and experience guided meditations I recommend a few wonderful resources and further reading.
Now I'd like to hear from you...
What are your daily meditation practices?
Do you take time out of your busy day to relax? How?
Have you noticed an improvement in your health from practicing meditation?
Please leave your thoughts by adding a comment below.
To your good health,
Mark Hyman, M.D.
Mark Hyman, M.D. is a practicing physician, founder of The UltraWellness Center, a four-time New York Times bestselling author, and an international leader in the field of Functional Medicine. You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, watch his videos on YouTube, become a fan on Facebook, and subscribe to his newsletter.
For more by Mark Hyman, M.D., click here.
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Eg. What is really meant by right understanding
What is really meant by right effort
Relaxing what? Relaxing the tension and tightness (which can be subtle sometimes) in body AND mind. What is that tension and tightness? It is the manifestation of "craving", it is the "I like this" or "I don't like that" mind, it is judging, it is what the Buddha called the "attachment."
In the instruction given in the article, relaxing is missing. That means one does not see or understand "craving", one does not see or understand how craving arises (i.e. tension and tighness arising), one does not see or understand letting go of craving (i.e. relaxing the tension and tightness in body and mind). One does not see the Four Noble Truths and Dependent Origination, nor practice the Eightfold Path.
In the instruction given in the article, relaxing is missing. That means one does not let go of craving, and brings the craving back to the object of meditation (breath, here). This is not letting go. This is not what the Buddha taught.
I encourage everybody to go back to the original teachings of the Buddha, and see for themselves. Find the book "The Breath of Love" by Bhante Vimalaramsi, which is based on the Anapanasati and Satipatthana Suttas.
It seems to me you mis-interpreted my comment. I did not write to suppress/control the feeling of anxiety. I wrote to relax the tension/tightness, which is the manifestation of craving. You leave the feeling be as it is (acceptance), and understand how the arising of feeling caused the arising of craving, then clinging, then habitual tendencies, then birth of action, ...
For now, let me give you the instructions found in the suttas:
MN-118:18 Breathing in (out) long (short), he understands: "I breathe in (out) long (short)". He trains thus: "I shall breathe in (out) long (short) experiencing the whole body". He trains thus: "I shall breathe in (out) long (short) tranquilizing the bodily formation". [...] He trains thus: I shall breathe in (out) long (short) experiencing mental formations". (This is thought.) He trains thus: I shall breathe in (out) long (short) tranquilizing mental formations."
This is the beginning of the meditation instructions. One simply UNDERSTANDS the breath, not control it. One TRAINS actively, this is what one DOES when meditating: experiencing the body, tranquilizing (i.e. relaxing) the body, experiencing mental formations, tranquilizing (i.e. relaxing) mental formations. This asks you to RELAX and EXPERIENCE, not control what's going on. (The quote is incomplete, please read the whole sutta!)
- I am more focused and alert
- More peaceful and serene
- Much more emotionally stable
- My memory has improved
- I sleep much better
- My relationships have improved.
- I’m more loving, patient, and understanding
- I’m generally more enthusiastic about life.
I can’t say for certain what health benefits I've achieved, but I feel much better physically. I’m 51 years old and in excellent physical health. I have no physical ailments, and I’m very energetic.
I attribute most of these results to the mindfulness meditation practice, but a great deal is attributable to the writing meditation. While the sitting meditation achieves more long-term results, the writing meditation achieves dramatic changes in my attitudes and behavior toward other people. If done long enough, the writing meditation will achieve long-term results.
Charles A. Francis
http://www.mindfulnessmeditationinstitute.org/what-is-writing-meditation/
I have this to say......
Our 'condition' is as it should be for this time and place..... and to name it 'sordid', puts it on a pedestal of focus that helps it flourish in a negative way.
Life is flourishing with beauty and peace all around us and to put focus on that 'condition' and name it 'sordid' just gives it negative energy and feeds it to make it stronger. I think that 'condition' needs to be acknowledged and embraced as being necessary and positive and valuable to our growth as human beings with spirit, and then engulfed in light and let go.
It's part of the 'all is as it should be'. I think a Buddhist should have kept that in mind when writing the article.
That's just my take and my opinion.
One is left to wonder, if he had been busily occupied ... if his amazing work during this time would ever have developed.
Look at the written despondence between Albert and the mathematician Constantine Caratheodory.
M D Van Horn
PS. I am not a Sidhi, but have taken the first advanced technique but don't use it much. Also group meditations are extremely powerful. Live Strong
i read somewhere that by prostration you can release the electro magnetic energy from body which are the cosmic toxic in our body. Do you know of such scientific discovery??
http://www.proenrichment.com
Ian
WholeFed.org