Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind

This simplistic guide by meditation teacher Catherine (Wisdom Wide and Deep) offers a Buddhist approach to staying focused. To help readers “unlock the incredible capacities of your mind to think clearly,” the author describes five strategies: “replace unwanted thoughts,” “examine the dangers of distracting thoughts,” “avoid it, ignore it, forget it,” “investigate the causes of distraction,” and “exert dedicated resolve” to change thought patterns. Catherine examines the Buddha’s distinction between “wholesome thoughts” of compassion and “unwholesome thoughts” of sensual desire and cruelty to note that such seemingly innocuous thoughts as fantasizing or daydreaming distract one from being present and therefore should be resisted. To break the thought patterns that produce unwholesome thoughts, Catherine advises using such “acceptable distractions” as reflecting on the nobleness of the Buddha or reciting Dhamma verses. Focus exercises include, for example, reining in distractions by mentally confining them to an imaginary box and periodically reflecting on if one’s thoughts are “beneficial or detrimental.” Though Catherine’s Buddhist expertise stands out, such recommendations as “take a break” and “exercise or stretch” come across as fairly obvious. It works as a basic introduction, but most of this won’t be new to self-help readers. (May)