Focus?

[Markktm]

Hi guys I'm Mark and I'm new to forums and mindfulness though i have meditated (or attempted to) before. I'm 31 and live in Harrogate and don't really know what else to tell you. I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this and just jump straight in but still, I just thought I would post this question to get some other perspectives on the matter of focus.

I'm reading the book and have just finished the first week part of the book so I'm now in the week of the daily practices but I'm wondering if, not to go against the book but can we focus on and repeatedly bring our attention back to anything withing reason? Music for instance or the color behind the eyes or a hand?

The only reason I'm asking this is that my understanding of the process is that the important part is the actual bringing back the attention and catching the wandering itself unless I'm way off, I'm finding that i can settle my mind quite quickly despite having pretty bad Social Anxiety and I sometimes find it easier to focus on things other than the breath.

Thoughts and facts would be appreciated.

Thanks

Mark

[Steve]

Hi Mark and welcome

I guess the book suggests focusing on the breath or the body? These provide good foundations on which to build and its worth practicing using these as the focus of your meditation. That said, you can use anything that suits you and colours, sounds, music etc are all great. When you're doing a 'formal' meditation, ie practising returning your focus to a chosen subject, its worth keeping the the same subject for the duration of that session, ie don't focus on colour one minute, sounds another, your breath another etc etc as you may then be following the mind's wandering rather than training it to notice when it has drifted away and then bringing it back to your chosen focus (although in a more 'informal' setting, eg when walking outside, you might wish to be open to anything and everything that you become aware of in your surroundings if that is what you are choosing to do).

Hope that helps

Steve

[FeeHutch]

Hello and welcome to our community

My suggestion is to experiment with what feels helpful. Gareth has posted before about using music to meditate rather than following a guided session. I use guided/music/silence depending on what feels the most appropriate in the moment.

There is lots to read and questions to ask so make yourself at home.

[JonW]

What Steve said.
I would add that my own opinion is that it's best to stick as rigidly to the course for those eight weeks, then customise accordingly.
I sometimes meditate to music. Brian Eno is a big favourite. And Gorecki's 3rd Symphony. Every one a toe-tapper.
Cheers, JW

[piedwagtail91]

personally i'd stick to the course.
the breath is always there, music or other things may not be.
as you get further into the course it'll begin to become clear why it's the breath.
if the breath is a problem for you we have had some people focus on the contact of their feet with the floor.
so if not the breath then some part of the body?
mick

[Gareth]

I'm a bit of a strange one, because I taught myself. The course has been designed that way for a reason though, so probably worth seeing through before you start experimenting I would say.

I am a massive fan of experimentation though. As I was getting into my practice I reasoned that sound (music) was going on in the present moment, so why couldn't I just pay attention to that? I started putting on ambient albums and just listening to them, bringing my attention back when it went. I am a music nut, so this really appealed to me and felt so natural. To this day music is the mainstay of my practice, and yes Eno is pretty amazing.

I do like to mix it up though. Some days I feel like I really need to come home to my body, so I sit and pay attention to my breath for half an hour. Sometimes I sit and stare at my baby boy, trying to drink in every last detail that I can. I find it really beneficial to keep my practice alive in this way. But sound is where I am most at home, without question.