Have you ever noticed that when you go to a restaurant with a friend and are having a conversation, that there are LOTS of possible distractions around? Others talking, dishes clattering, people eating, music, kitchen sounds, smells, art on the walls, cars driving by, etc. But somehow, you seem to remain focused (mostly) on your friend? And it doesn’t take too much work—it just seems natural to shift from a distracting sound, back to your conversation (although some struggle with managing distractions—meditation will help, but please visit gatehealing.com if you feel like you’re dealing with something like ADD/ADHD).

Learning to meditate is like allowing this kind of natural re-focusing to happen. When you are meditating and you have a distracting thought or feeling, do what you do in a restaurant: just return to your focus point. In this example, it is like having a dinner conversation with your breath—you aren’t trying to stop the noises and distractions, you simply allow your focus to rest on your breath while the distractions swirl around you. Having a conversation with your breath is a great exercise. Remembering that it is there even while distractions happen helps you to return to it, without being too bothered by the distractions—they’re just being distractions—they don’t have to stop your meditation; you can actually incorporate them via acceptance of them, and a calm returning to the breath (breathing in, I notice distractions, breathing out, I return to my breath).

James Taylor sings, “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” I agree, and have a simpler suggestion: The secret of life is remembering to breathe. Some famous older person was once asked the secret to their longevity—They said, “I keep remembering to breathe.” Sound advice!

Keep breathing or you may pass out!