Meditation Techniques to Help Concentration

It is easy to get distracted in the modern world. In addition to noise, traffic, tight schedules distracting you, you also have television and computers, which can reduced your attention span. Unfortunately, distractability interferes greatly with productivity and success. However, although concentration is disabled, it is not lost forever. The brain is trainable and almost anyone can enhance concentration through meditation techniques.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Cushion or comfortable chair
• Piece of simple jewelry, colored paper or other small object

1. Sit in a chair or on the floor. It is important to keep your back straight so that you will be able to breathe properly throughout the meditation exercise.

2. Look at the colored paper, or other simple object you have chosen as a meditation aid. Study the object's details. You don't need to look at it very long, just long enough to get a good image in your mind.

3. Close your eyes and breathe normally. Breath should not be forced--keep it natural and gentle.

4. Remain mentally alert but relax your body. Next, think of a blank slate--this can be any color. Imagine the object you focused on earlier is in the middle of that blank slate.

5. Concentrate on the object. If your mind begins to wander, which it inevitably will, gently bring it back to the object. Practice this daily for 15 to 30 minutes until you can concentrate for longer periods without your mind wandering at all.

6. Meditate the same way as before, only this time visualize picking up the object up and moving it somewhere. You can imagine, for example, walking with it down a forest path or through the rooms in your house. Then, imagine you place the object somewhere--in a drawer or on the ground. It does not matter where you put it. What does matter is that you keep your mind on the task and if your thoughts stray, re-focus them. You should practice this daily until your mind no longer wanders from the task.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you turn off the ringer on the phone before you begin.

• Through practice, you should be able to achieve the same degree of calm concentration with your eyes open.

• When beginning this kind of meditation, avoid background music if possible. You will improve concentration more quickly if you practice without it first. After a few weeks of daily practice, you can add music if you want.

• If you have circulation problems, limit sitting to 15 to 20 minutes at a time. You can resume the meditation session after you've gotten up and moved around. Also, make sure you wear loose-fitting clothing and that you sit on a soft cushion or soft chair.