Finding focus

On occasion, I find it hard to find the right focus and let go of thought. Ideas pop up and as much as I try to shift them away and focus on nothing, it is fast becoming frustrating as there seem to be more thoughts than I can shift before the next arrives.

Usually, this is a temporary issue, but sometimes I have to fall back on more ‘desperate’ measures to achieve a higher level of calm, and to let go of that restlessness.

The most efficient thing to do in those moments is to try and physically exhaust my body, and distract my thoughts in that way. This kind of exhaustion does not necessarily involve a workout or running hard for 20 minutes: it can be as simple as an energetic breathing exercise like the irregular breathing from Osho’s dynamic meditation, or a breathing pattern that follows a drumbeat I hear in my earphones. Focus on breath has always been my go-to, because it needs a particular type of focus on a mental thing, and leads to a physical outcome.

Another option for me is to keep my eyes unfocused (curtesy of wearing glasses) and look at shapes rather than items. It’s a bit like learning to draw, but finding the joy on looking at shapes usually takes away the maelstrom of thoughts that circle my mind and allows me to settle on just one thing: shapes and colour.

If you are a little bit more advanced, a useful tool is to engage your PC muscle (the muscle that you use to control the flow of urine). The exercise is usually referred to as ‘the PC pump’. How? You engage that muscle and let it go, then repeat as often as you can. It’s possible to vary this by lengthening the time you hold the muscle. A word: this is not the same muscle as the one that control your rectum! Those are connected, but distinctly different, once you learn to recognise them.

Exercising this muscle will feel a little strange at first, but once you get the hang of it, you will not only have a thing to focus on, but you’ll also get a great side-effect: this pumping motion is going to have an effect on your cock, of course, and from an energetic point of view, you’ll be pulling energy into your root chakra that sits right in that spot! Nothing but positives here.

Circling back to my initial subject: focusing on either of these things will allow you to drop into a space where thoughts are less likely to interrupt your meditation. Of course, there will be small interruptions, but nothing like the obstacles you faced in the beginning of this article. Breathing and PC pump are more physical elements, while focusing on shapes and colours is helpful to engage the mind more.

Choose whichever you need more and keep trying.
Ultimately, it will yield results, believe me.