How can I cultivate mindfulness through meditation? This page explains how to focus on the breath and other techniques to enhance mindfulness.
Our internal experience has two components: the thinking self and the noticing self. The thinking self (in this book referred to as the mind) produces thoughts, images, and memories. The noticing self observes those thoughts, images, and memories, but also sounds, smells, sights and feelings. The more we focus on the products of the mind, the less we are engaged with the world around us.
Our mind is like a radio in the background. And like such a radio, you can ‘forget’ to hear it by focusing all your attention on something else. This is what we should do when our mind is broadcasting things that are not useful to us.
We can cultivate this skill through mediation. For example, by focusing completely on the physical sensations of the breath. When thoughts or images arise, acknowledge them, and then come back to the breath.
When you meditate regularly, you gain three important skills. Namely, you will learn. how to…
- let your thoughts freely come and go,
- focus on a task or activity and notice when your attention has wandered away, and
- unhook from the thoughts and refocus your attention on what you are doing.
When you do not like to focus on your breath, you can alternatively:
- walk with full attention,
- ‘scan’ through your body and notice all the sensations you encounter, or
- focussing on your muscles extending while doing stretching exercises.