A Clear and Focused Mind 24/7 

Achieve It Beyond Meditation

You know that feeling of crisp mind, the super clear and focused mind that can achieve anything while staying calm? It feels great and powerful. The recipe I was always given was meditation. Indeed the best tool, but unless you sit for hours a day, your progress will be limited. You need mind maintenance beyond Meditation

A meditation practice can be difficult without mind maintenance. How many of you sit down in meditation, trying over and over to clear your mind, to train it to stay focused, but only achieve it for very limited times? I have tried a vast variety of meditations, visualizations, and focusing techniques from Tibetan, Osho and Zen teachings (and many more). Here are some links to different meditations for you to try:

• • How to let go of thoughts in meditation
  • Meditation Foundations
  • Object meditation

Surely, these techniques for focusing and meditating are wonderful and do work. Yet, I constantly needed to go back to them for maintenance. It simply wasn’t getting any easier.

What was wrong?

I was neglecting mind maintenance outside of my meditation practice.  This included feeding my mind with tons of input, such as reading every sign I saw (even when I knew where I was going). It was easy to get distracted by news feed, stories and other social media input.  I’ve listened to NPR so much that I could win the quizzes about current events. 

Moreover, some of us watch TV, others read about celebrities or know the name of every flower in the world. Though knowledge is powerful, consuming it wisely is even more powerful. How could anyone ever keep up with cleaning their mind if they are constantly feeding the mind with anything that comes their way?

How to fix it

Think of spring-cleaning your closet. When you keep your closet clean and don’t collect more than you need, but rather give away generously the clothes that no longer serve you, you have space and keep your closet tidy. This is the practice of awareness. Aware of what you have, what you need and what you do not need. When the closet is clean, you can focus quickly and find what you need. Your closer is organized and well maintained.

The same goes for the mind.  If you maintain your mind clear and focused, then sitting becomes much more efficient. If instead, you collect info that you do not need, you will keep cluttering the mind, and never get to the place of real peace. Maintain a clear and focused mind throughout your day, so that you will have less clearing in meditation.

10 Tips for Healthy Mind Maintenance

• 1.  Turn off the TV when not watching a program that is really what you need to watch. Be selective on what you watch, and take head not to over watch just cause you are already seated in front of the screen. Be mindful and deliberate in your intention of healthy use of the screen
  2.  Turn off the radio and even music if you are not really focusing on listening to it.
  3.  Listen to less news. It is good to know what is going on in the world, but do you really need to know every step of every incident? It is hard to know how much of the news is actually real, and before you know it, you become part of the debate.
  4.  Keep your eyes on the road. Don’t look at every billboard and advertising along the way. Safer and healthier.
  5.  Practice reading information you actually want to get. Not every word posted on every sticker, every sign, or advertisement is worth reading. 

• The powerful 5 tips for a clear and focused mind

  1.  Web control. Stay focused on the wave you are surfing, it is easy to get distracted and jump at every wave (advertisement, link, notification) that comes your way. Be mindful and deliberate in your intention of healthy use of the screen. Set up time limits, and decide ahead of time what you are planning to do.
  2. Be very selective about your input, and take in less language input. Consider dance, painting and other abstract activities to help keep the mind clear and focused.
  3.  Be mindful of your movement and action. See your hand reaching for the door, feel the water fall on your skin in the shower, notice your legs as you walk. Mindfulness is different than filling up your mind. It is simply keeping the mind  focused on the current task. 
  4. Be OK just staring blankly. Practice looking at a tree, a flower, or a crack in the wall. Can you simply see it without labeling? This is a powerful tool. Learn to keep the mind clear while you have your senses open.
  5. Watch your breath. The breath is always with you. When you walk, drive or sip coffee. Having awareness of your breath is a fantastic tool to keep a clear and focused mind. Do not analyze the breath.Simple be aware of it throughout your day. 

My all-time favorite meditation for a clear and focused mind

Object meditation is the practice of seeing without labeling. At Doron Yoga & Zen Center, students often do object meditations on the beautiful view of Lake Atitlan, taking in the breathtaking sunrise. If you don’t have a beautiful lake view available look at a flower, a tree or a cloud and just see. No need to name what you see. Just

 see, breath and maybe even add a smile!