This week has been so incredibly busy that I have been able to eliminate most distractions I encounter on a daily basis. I also still don’t have a phone due to multiple miscommunications between myself and Best Buy, so that helps me stay focused (going on week 3 of being phoneless). Since I have two anatomy midterms next week my life has consisted of running back and forth between class, the library, the cadaver lab, and occasionally home to eat. However, I do take a mindful brain seminar once a week where we practice mindfulness through different forms of meditation, while also studying the brain.
During one of the meditations we are supposed to allow ourselves to relax and attempt to clear our minds while also watching where our thoughts wonder. The point of the exercise to be aware of where our thoughts are and to let them flow in and out without focusing on them. During this exercise I realized how dry my left eye felt. It was distraction me from partaking in the practice and there was nothing I could do about it. I began focusing on it and realizing it was distracting me, which lead me to thinking about this class. Distractions cannot be eliminated. As I sat there trying to free myself of all the distractions and chaos of my everyday life, I was still distracted by something as simple as a feeling in my eye. I would not even have been aware of this feeling in my eye if I didn’t try to completely ease my mind, yet here it was. It ended up working out though because I used the discomfort in my eye as an anchor and continued on in trying to relax.
As I left the seminar, I began to think that this weekly session was somewhat of a distraction from my everyday life. It was where I could relax and calm myself. It was an hour a day that I felt in most control of my brain. I do attempt informal meditations while walking home from classes to bring ease to myself, but I feel like I should make a stronger attempt to do small formal practices more frequently. Being aware of distractions has made me realize that the distraction and sense of calmness mindfulness brings to me is beneficial to my everyday life. While I do think distractions are unavoidable, I do not think all distractions are bad.
I can definitely relate to having an unavoidable distraction! I have experienced something as little as an eye twitch or dry throat during a test and I makes it nearly impossible to focus on the task at hand.