When you meditate do you find your mind wandering so much that you lose the meditative connection you’re trying to build? Do your thoughts run something like this: What should I make for dinner? I wonder if Joey forgot his lunchbox. Don’t forget to pay the electric bill today. Oh where was I? Right, I was climbing my celestial staircase to talk to my guides. Must pay attention. 36, 37, 38… Oh shoot, I forgot to pick up Bill’s dry cleaning. He’s going to be pissed. Maybe I’ll have time to get it between my tennis game and lunch…
Distracting thoughts during meditation are extremely common. If you want to reach a higher vibration so that you can have a chat with your guides you’ll need to learn how to tune out distractions and tune in to the higher frequencies. So how do you do that? There are several ways.
Get it all out first
Make a list of all the things you need to do so you won’t forget them. Tune in to what you need to do that day and get it all down on paper. Take your time and do it right. Then trust that everything you need to remember is on that list. Set it aside and prepare for meditation.
Turn on some relaxation music
Meditation music is wonderful. There are so many CDs out there that you really can’t go wrong. I love R. Brian Caldwell’s music and I use it to tune in during readings and meditation. It gives me an aural focal point to help my mind from becoming distracted. Play it softly in the background.
Create a sacred space for meditation
Some people find it helpful to have a special place they use solely for meditation. Some pillows on the floor, a yoga mat, a certain chair in the house. Selecting one single place where you always meditate will help you create an anchor so that when you sit there, your mind automatically goes into meditation mode. Don’t do anything else in this spot like talking on the phone, journaling, etc. Just save the space for meditation.
Concentrate on your breathing
Breathing is an important component of meditation. Typically you want to breathe in through your nose for a certain count, like 4 or 6, and then breathe out slowly through your mouth for a few beats longer than that. I personally am not a big fan of controlled meditative breathing as I actually find it distracting to try to keep the count. So what I do is take three deep breaths to center myself then I just breathe deeply and deliberately without trying to hold my breath for any certain length of time. You can concentrate on breathing without making it an exercise in holding your breath. During your meditation just keep breathing through your nose and out through your mouth. If your nasal passages are blocked it’s okay to just breathe through your mouth, and if you suffer from dry mouth it’s also okay to breathe in and out through your nose. There’s really no wrong way to breathe during meditation. As long as you keep breathing, you’re good!
Count
One thing I do count is stairs. When you meditate, you have the option of putting yourself in a quiet, centered, peaceful state with the intention of just being in the present moment. If that’s your goal, you won’t need to count; just breathe. But usually when I meditate, it’s with the goal of connecting with spirit guides, my higher self, angels, Source, or a deceased person. In that case I have to raise my frequency, or my vibration. To do that, I select a metaphorical way of climbing: stairs, an escalator, or an elevator if I’m in a hurry. I prefer the stairs though. So while I’m doing my meditative deep breathing, I am counting the stairs as I go up them. This keeps my mind from wandering as I have to focus on the count to get it right. If I’m in an elevator I watch the buttons light up from 1 to 100 and keep count of them as I go. It accomplishes the same thing. When I use an escalator I count to 10 while I’m on the escalator and then stop off of that one and onto another one that takes me still higher for another count of 10. It all accomplishes the same goal and keeps my mind from wandering.
Guided meditation
Another way to keep your mind on your meditation is to listen to a guided meditation program. In these programs someone else is telling you where you are, what you see, what you hear and feel, etc. As you listen and concentrate on what they’re saying, you won’t have time for distractions. Guided meditations are great when you’re just starting out and aren’t sure where to go in your mind. Later you can create your own meditation ritual with your own locales, scenes, and sounds.
Acknowledge the thoughts and let them go
Even with a lot of practice you can still end up with the random thought passing through your mind while trying to meditate. That’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Let the thought come, acknowledge it, and then let it go. Get right back to what you were doing, you don’t need to start over. If you try too hard to prevent thoughts from coming in, you won’t be relaxed enough to meditate or reach a higher vibration.
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Meditation is a wonderful tool you can use to bring peace to your life or to connect with your spirit guides, higher self, angels, and even Source. Don’t let distracting thoughts stop you from learning to meditate. Just learn how to handle them when they appear. With practice you’ll find yourself getting less and less distracted and more and more in tune.
