Mindful Spot

Inner Calm and Stillness

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Resources
  • Donate

Three Types of Meditation Distractions and How We Can Deal with Them

Updated: April 16, 2021 by Gavril Nikolaev Leave a Comment

Yellow leaf in the sun with text overlay: 3 Types of Meditation Distractions and How to Deal with ThemSometimes it can be hard for us to meditate even for three minutes. There are many factors that cause this but the most prominent among them are irritating noises, physical discomfort, and distracting thoughts. What we may not realize at first is that all these meditation distractions can become a part of the process and we can learn to be comfortable with them.

I went through that stage myself. Looking back, all I can remember is irritation and disappointment. Prolonged sitting caused physical distress and stirred memories from my past that I learned to push away, and it wasn’t what I wanted. But in the end, it did help me let go of the things that were burdening my mind. Meditation allowed me to observe my thoughts without judgment and I was able to focus on the now, the only thing that truly mattered. In this post, I would like to share the three most common meditation distractions and how we can deal with them.

Irritating Noises

I’m a part of a meditation group, and one day a member posted a question on behalf of a friend who lived on a farm. This friend wanted to meditate, but pig noises interfered with his concentration. So he wanted to know what he should do about it. The right answer to that question is two-fold.

First, we have to take the right action. Do whatever we can to find a quiet place. However, sometimes it’s easier said than done.

If there is no practical way to get rid of the distracting sound, we need to get comfortable with it. We should observe our internal reactions and let them uncover our habitual thought patterns.

As we practice more, we might notice that the noise doesn’t really bother us anymore. So whether we meditate in total silence or with pigs around won’t make any difference.

Physical Discomfort

Even if we try to sit still we might find that our bodies want to move and on top of that it seems like forever because time has slowed down, almost stopped.

In my experience, this irritating feeling can be linked to physical discomfort. One way to deal with this meditation distraction is to adjust our sitting meditation posture.

For example, many of us may start with a cross-legged position on the floor. I do not recommend this approach because it does more harm than good. If we are not flexible enough, we might feel tense and uneasy.

The best option is to sit on a chair, placing feet firmly on the ground and arms on the lap. This way, we can keep our bodies relaxed, and our minds alert for meditation.

Related: 3 Relaxing Meditation Postures for Beginners

Distracting Thoughts

Sometimes it seems impossible keep out distracting thoughts when we meditate. Only a few minutes into meditation and a random image from our past shutters our concentration. And when that happens, we blame ourselves for not being able to meditate the right way. As this keeps happening, we consider dropping meditation because it doesn’t work. If we ever felt that way, then we had been doing everything right. Becoming aware of our thoughts is one of the main benefits of meditation.

For example, when we count our out-breaths during breathing meditation and get distracted, we have to start all over again. Only then can we move on to the next stage of the technique. In the long run, this repetition helps our minds to let go of thoughts and go back to our breath. We learn to “catch” our thoughts, becoming aware of something that was unconscious. So there are two components at work here: we notice that we are being distracted by a thought and we go back to our breath

Related: How to Practice Breathing Meditation in 4 Easy Steps

The moment we notice the distraction is the moment we create a small gap between us and our thoughts. That gap means that we can “see” the thought from a distance. We break our identification with it. We become the observers. This gap is tiny at first, but with time it expands, and our concentration improves. It becomes much easier to follow our breath and come back to it whenever we want.

This practice profoundly changes our everyday life. Even when not meditating, we can catch ourselves thinking negative thoughts. Our awareness grows, and with it, our ability to remain calm and take the right action.

4 Steps to Deeper and Better Meditation

Free breathing meditation worksheet - MindfulSpot.com Download the Worksheet

Donate & Support

Since I started this website 3 years ago my only aim was and still remains helping all of my readers to discover the path to inner calm through spiritual growth and cultivation of wisdom. I spend all of my time and resources working on this project and your support plays a vital role in helping me to improve and make this website an invaluable resource for you. If my little virtual home uplifted your spirit or made your day a little bit better, please consider donating to support its further growth.

Your Support Donation

$
Select Payment Method
Your Name and Email

Donation Total: $7.00

Free Resources

Mindful Spot has a free weekly newsletter where I share my findings across Buddhism, philosophy, literature, art, and other sources that allow us to expand our inner world and feel greater connection to each other. Subscribe below and also get access to the library of free meditation resources:
Access
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Email
Filed Under: Uncategorized

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • This Is What Was Bequeathed Us: Gregory Orr’s Beautiful Love Letter to Nature, Wakefulness, and Being Alive
  • Thank You, Miyuki: An Illustrated Ode to Attention as an Essence of Meditation
  • “Just Like Me:” American Buddhist Nun Pema Chodron on Cultivating Compassion and Opening Our Hearts
  • Socrates on Moderation as a Harmony that Permeates All Aspects of the Human Soul
  • The Mind of Winter: Wallace Stevens Celebrates the Beauty of Snow and the Stillness of Nature

Search

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Terms of Use · Privacy Policy Copyright 2017-2021 Gavril Nikolaev
Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn commissions from qualifying purchases. In more simple terms, this means that whenever you buy a book or a product on Amazon from a link on here, I receive a small percentage of its price.