Inner peace is the space between each breath. It is from this space that we can sharpen our focus and move beyond distraction, energetic interference, and push beyond our emotional triggers into a powerful place of presence.
Learning to Re-set and Focus.
You don’t need to be in a deep meditation to quickly re-set your mental state and sharpen your ability to focus. In meditation practice we use our breath to become deeply relaxed and more present. This connection to our physiology, our mental state and spiritual selves can be felt, learned and recorded to memory and retrieved whenever it is needed to shift out of a difficult mind space. Just by paying attention to what calm and centred feels like, it is possible to breath deeply and duplicate it. The next time you decide to meditate, soak in the feeling of calm, what your breath feels like, how your mind is more still or allows thoughts to float through. When you need to be in that space, close your eyes, visualize yourself in that state and step into it mentally.
It may seem frustrating, at first, wanting to move quickly into a more relaxed state. But the solution is less obvious. Can you let your mind paint images, or flash images before you like a day dream simply by thinking of things, events etc? Then, you can control your imagination and navigate it through your mental state [anxiety, fear etc] and skip over it for a brief moment, to calm.
Everyone will experience their evolution as a visualizer or meditator differently. But, the two paths link elegantly and each one supports the other. When you can’t picture things clearly, let your breath and meditative state calm allow you to focus. When your inner visual screen is very sharp, let your imagination and your breath soothe your fears by problem-solving or taking you into a more positive mental state to handle panic, anxiety and fear.
Master your Mind Chatter.
Learning how to master your own mind-chatter has become complicated. There are so many approaches to mastery. And, many different levels of mastery. This implies that you will need hours of serious cushion time to conquer your “trained” distraction. But perhaps not? This is sensitive and challenging topic only because there are many traditional views on this experience. A new meditator might have very short windows of calm and presence. Others might have a higher sensitivity and awareness that might accelerate their understanding or take them down a different path and invite an alternate learning curve. Trust in your own process and stay open. You might find a natural ability that asks you to press through and jump forward.
Visualization approaches mind chatter and stress from a different angle by working with creativity and details to shift and inspire focus. Both meditation and visualization however, can work to shift negative mindsets and soothe trauma in their own way through breath, imagination and relaxation techniques. Pick what seems the most natural to you. It will allow you to persevere and overcome any blockages or discouragement with less resistance.
Working with your own energy.
Another way you can learn how to focus is by working with your own energy. Breathe in light and visualize energy flooding through your body. Breathe out negative energy, distracting thoughts and stress. Use your imagination to picture each breath as light energy. And, through doing so, imagine how your body feels as it purges, soothes and brings you into a more calm, illuminated and centred mindset.
As you shift your energy, continue to use your breath to reclaim your power. Breathe to pause before choosing your words. Breathe to sharpen your focus and retrieve information. Breath to find balance in stressful environments.
Visualization sharpens focus.
Visualization teaches you to carve out images in your own mind through your imagination. These images become more detailed as we learn to breathe, relax and focus our minds and attention on what we need to accomplish in the moment. This is an incredible skill for creative tasks and for critical situations that demand laser-like focus. Easily applied to high pressure pursuits such as extreme sports, competitions, managing complex tasks with a deadline as well as any industry that requires greater precision and attention to detail.
Use sensory data to trigger focus.
Our senses can be used to map out an experience. They can be used to recall information in more detail by linking an experience to what you saw, felt, smelled, did and observed. External cues such as geography, weather, temperature, time and other people can add to your memory triggers. The more sensory detail, the more present you are and the more present you are, the more likely you will be able to remember that point in time.
All of these are elements enable visualization. They are part of the learning curve and precursors to developing incredible focus. Being more present empowers and sharpens focus. It also amplifies memory.
Why is this so important? Information overwhelm and electronic data that interrupts our attention is shortening our attention spans and numbing our sensory-perception. Many find it hard to remember and be more present. Visualization and meditation are two methods anyone can use to take back your own power. Instead of feeling pulled in many directions and lacking the drive to focus on creative things, it is possible to open a window to being more present through simple breathing techniques and with short meditation or visualization sessions.
Decluttering the Mind.
What can breath do for decluttering the mind?
Breathe …
- blow away negative energy and shift your physiology.
- remove internal interference, calms mind chatter.
- installs more focus.
- amplifies sensory detail.
- revitalizes your energy.
- creates presence.
- moves you from imbalance [ stress] to balance [ calm states].
- opens divine gateways, enables you to listen to intuitive guidance.
Benefits of Breath-Activated focus:
- Empowerment through presence.
- Deeper connection to your intuitive voice.
- Able to tune in and listen to your own energy and filter out interference [ thoughts and energy that aren’t yours].
- Stress management.
- Improves information recall, recognition of more detail and strengthens memory.
Breath-activated focus need not be reserved for just meditation sessions or stress management. Use your breath to relax but consider it also as a powerful tool to sharpen focus, enhance memory, to pull you elegantly into the present moment and for decluttering the mind. Use your own breath to become more present, aware, empowered and heal from the pervasive threat of distraction sickness. Reclaim your power with your own breath. It is incredibly simple and freeing.
Have a peaceful week.
To receive Lightspeed’s Science meets Meditation newsletter, delivered to your mailbox every 2 weeks, SUBSCRIBE
Curious about what a visual meditation sounds like? Test drive one by listening to a one minute sound clip. Click this link to listen to sound samples on Lightspeed’s Soundcloud page or visit Lightspeed’s online STORE.