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 reduces
chronic pain, blood pressure, headaches, anxiety and depression.
It
helps you lose weight, lowers cholesterol, increases sports performance, boosts
immune function, relieves insomnia, increases serotonin, improves creativity,
optimizes brain waves, helps in learning, focuses attention, increases productivity,
enhances 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.
a. The back is long and supports itself.
b. Shoulders are relaxed downward, the neck is long, and the chin is pointing
neither up nor down.
c. The face is relaxed.
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.
a. The movement of air in and out of the nostrils.
b. Or the lifting and falling of the belly.
4.
Watch
that one aspect of the breath.
a. When the mind wanders, gently bring it back to the breath and the aspect you
have chosen to watch.
b. Do this as many times as you need to.
c. There is no such thing as a good or bad meditation. (Good and bad are
judgments, events in the mind – just note them and go back to the breathing.)
5.
Start
with 5–10 minutes and then increase the time until you can sit for 30 minutes.
Mark
Hyman, MD
