Hello,
My name is Melissa,
And this meditation is for resilient attention in the digital age.
This meditation is to bring awareness to our digital habits,
Strengthen your attention to the present moment,
And focus on what you value in your life.
We are surrounded by various distractions,
Especially since so much of what we do for work,
For play,
In our personal lives involve the phone or computer.
We are in a culture that values people being always on,
And our attention is focused on multiple things.
When in reality,
We do need time to refocus,
To take a break,
And remember what it is that truly matters to us.
This meditation is going to help you with refocusing and remembering what truly matters.
Did you know that it takes a person an average of 23 minutes to refocus their attention when they get distracted from a task?
This is called an attentional residue,
And we can prevent it by learning to create boundaries with screens and develop inner awareness and resilience of our attention.
Find a tall,
Comfortable seated position,
And before you close your eyes,
Look around you to anything that might get in the way of focusing on this meditation.
It doesn't necessarily have to be a screen.
It can be your kids or a dog,
Perhaps the neighbors mowing the yard,
Or a text that just made your phone buzz.
It is helpful to adjust your environment.
You can go ahead and do that now.
And if not,
Be aware of those external things without trying to change the situation.
Now close your eyes and bring your awareness to this idea of an inner screen.
We are going to imagine that this inner screen is like your inner smartphone.
It has almost all the answers,
And although it can be overwhelming at times,
It is mostly there to help you.
Take five to ten deep breaths now.
Settle into your space,
Into this internal screen,
Imagining what your screen looks like right now.
Now,
Does it feel disorganized?
Is it cluttered or clear?
Use your inner awareness to visualize the screen,
How it is,
Without trying to change it.
Now,
Go deeper into the thoughts and beliefs that produce what you are seeing on this inner screen.
We are going to look at the gratitude programming.
In your mind's eye,
List things one by one that you are grateful for.
It can be in relation to your health,
Your relationships,
Challenges you've overcome,
Technology,
Communication,
Whatever comes to this inner screen of awareness.
Bring in this essence of gratitude and continue to breathe.
At this time,
Reach into this inner screen to a vision of how you are choosing to show up in the world.
Who do you choose to be?
What are the internal feelings around this image of yourself?
See yourself in light,
Doing what you love,
What brings you joy.
Simplify this vision of yourself into one goal or something that is achievable.
What is something that you are looking to accomplish?
Maybe it is making more money,
Bettering your health,
Or strengthening your relationships.
Visualize with specifics of you in that place.
As you notice this bigger picture,
This essence of yourself,
Connect with an exciting first step to get you to that goal,
To that version of you.
Gain clarity on that small,
Simple step and write it on that inner screen of conscious awareness.
Perhaps the step is doing this meditation.
Maybe it is running that first mile or hiring someone to help you with your website or sending an email to a colleague.
Imagine yourself in that first step and then life happens.
Imagine you hear this.
You get a text from your friend while you finally sat down at your computer to do the work.
You get an email that is a sale from your favorite store.
Your partner is calling you about dinner as you just are about to do that first step.
You find your mind distracted from that vision.
And you've developed a habit of picking up your phone or checking all those emails before your vision.
You've put those distractions first.
In fact,
The average response to an email is six seconds.
In these moments you feel distracted from that small step and forget about that bigger picture.
Now we are going to practice building resilience.
I'm going to play sounds that you might hear that will distract you.
And you are going to keep your mind focused on that one first small step.
We are training our brains to focus on one task at a time.
And practicing being less reactionary and more purposeful.
As you hear the noise,
Notice what happens on that inner screen.
How does your brain react?
Do you feel overwhelmed?
Do you feel like it scatters you?
Again,
Hearing the sound.
Noticing what happens to your brain.
After noticing,
Keep your attention on your deep breath.
And visualize yourself completing that first small step.
Being focused.
Retaining your attention.
Focused.
Retaining your attention.
That one simple thing.
As you hear the sounds,
You are able to direct your attention to what matters to you.
Each time you visualize this,
Bring your attention back to I am focused on what I am doing.
I am focused on what I am doing.
My attention is on this task.
One more time,
Building that resilience when you hear the ringtone or the bing.
Now,
Place your right hand over your heart's center.
And reach the left hand parallel to the ground straight in front of you.
Arms straight,
Hand out.
Ask yourself in this posture,
What am I truly reaching for?
Is it connection?
Is it love?
Belonging?
Perhaps you are reaching for your device to procrastinate on a task.
Or reaching for your computer or phone out of habit around your children.
And now with that right hand placed on the heart,
Give yourself permission to reach internally for these answers.
For this love.
This belonging,
Connection.
Instead of outside.
With this right hand on the heart,
Left hand extended out,
Tune into this deeper part of yourself.
Where do you feel in your flow?
Like nothing can distract you.
Where time warps.
Keep this internal focus and ask,
What is it that I am reaching for?
Is it a deeper connection with my partner?
Is it fulfillment in my work?
What is it that I am needing?
Sometimes it is a hug.
It is solitude.
Or a sense of belonging,
Feeling seen or heard.
Now relax both hands over the heart center.
And come back to gratitude.
Smile if you wish.
And feel this gratitude for having a newly cultivated awareness of where your attention is when you hear a beep or a bing or a ring.
You are now more clear on what to do when those distractions come up.
Resilience is a skill that is developed through practice.
Resilient attention is one of the only ways that you can hold a strong vision for your life.
Sometimes placing your phone out of the room or leaving it at home can bring you closer to that vision.
Do what works for you and your vision will come to life.
Thank yourself for this inner screen and this internal guidance.
You can open your eyes and if you have a moment,
Relax.
Journal about your experience.
And take this newly founded resilient attention with you into the world.
Into this digital age.
My name is Melissa and thank you for listening.
