What is Focused Attention Meditation?

Focused attention meditation involves focusing one’s mind on something intently to keep oneself in the present moment and turning off all other thoughts. This way of meditation is comparatively easier to practice than classic meditation where one has to focus on nothing to keep the mind blank. With focused attention meditation, the performer still remains in the present moment but engages the self in one thing of choice, whatever be the thing. Anything that can be perceived by human senses can be chosen as the focus in this meditation. The choice of focus include sound, activities like breathing, counting beads, etc. or visual objects or tactile sensations.

Steps to Focused Attention Meditation

• Choosing a target for focus : The sound of a metronome, a piece of soothing music,  the smell of incense, or a pleasing picture are all some popular choices of focus used in focused attention meditation.
• Getting into an alert and relaxed posture : The posture should be preferably upright but not rigid, relaxed and with normal breathing. It is always better to close the eyes or direct the gaze downward, so as to gently soften the visual field. Now the performer should notice own body, feet on the ground, the sensations of sitting, the legs and torso making contact with one’s seat or the ground and also notice the body posture. This step sets the platform for the focused attention meditation.
• Attention to Breathing :  Focusing the attention on the performer towards the breathing process and experiencing the sensations of breathing in and breathing out. The breathing should be slow and steady. One can feel the changes happening in the respiratory tract during this exercise and it provides a relaxed feeling. Meanwhile, the performer should keep track of the mind and thoughts. Find out when the attention gets distracted from the focus? Even if the performer tries hard to focus the attention on breathing, the attention may wander somewhere many times. If the performer is able to find out the deviation and reverts back to the mind to breathing, it is real progress in the case of beginners. One need not worry about the distraction, which may happen to everyone. After all its human nature! At this stage, the performer needs to bring back the attention whenever it loses the track from the breathing. A little effort and experience sets the tone right and enables the performer to achieve unwavering focus on breathing throughout the meditation session. This is the simplest and most popular method of focused attention meditation. Never worry for the failure in practicing the meditation. Generally, at the closing of the focused attention meditation, the performer should be breathing at a moderate rate withholding of the inhaled air for a while.

Benefits of Focused Attention Meditation

One of the crucial aspects of mindfulness is the ability to calm and focus the mind. This ability is really useful in stress management and would help in balancing the emotions during tension, depression or overjoy. Whatever be the situation, the ability to calm and focus the wandering mind can be always beneficial. One specific mindfulness practice that enables us to experience calm and focus in a very direct way is focused attention meditation.

Contrary to the popular perception, this does not mean that one has to stop thinking or cease all thoughts. In fact, research suggests that human minds naturally wanders approximately 50 percent of the time. Being able to exercise focused attention simply means being able to direct one’s attention, becoming aware of the distractions if the mind wanders, and being able to redirect the mind towards the object or thing of focus.