The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness

by Culadasa (John Yates)

There are two steps to learning to overcome gross distractions. The first involves dealing with gross distraction that is already present. Simply continue the practice you learned in Stage Three to prevent forgetting: recognize when a gross distraction is present, let go of it, and re-engage with the breath. The second step is a refinement of the first that prevents gross distraction from occurring in the first place. Recognize when a subtle distraction has the potential to become a gross distraction before it happens. Then tighten up your focus on the breath so the subtle distraction doesn’t draw you away. Finally, engage with the breath more completely to keep it and all other distractions at bay. In both steps, you use introspective awareness to detect distractions. Then you work with directed attention to make the breath your primary focus, and with sustained attention to keep it the primary focus of attention. Let’s take a closer look at this process.