Inner Reflections
August 18, 2020
EPISODE 85
The FOCUS Meditation
If there’s one thing that separates the mediocre from the great it’s the quality of focus.
Are you in control of your mind, or is your mind in control of you? It’s the difference between being a victim and being empowered.
Travis will guide you through a repetition meditation, known as japa, as a way to enhance the muscle of focus in your mind.
Hope you enjoy!
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FULL TRANSCRIPT
[The following is the full transcript of this episode of “The BE ULTIMATE Podcast.”]
Hi. This is Travis Eliot, and welcome to the “Focus” meditation.
In India, they often compare the mind to an elephant, in the sense that an untrained elephant can destroy an entire village; whereas a trained elephant can do the work of 1,000 men or women. And similar, an untrained mind can destroy an entire person’s life; whereas a trained mind can benefit all of humanity, just like it did for Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela.
So I invite you to go ahead and find a comfortable seated position and allow yourself to get settled. Allow your hands to rest wherever feels most comfortable and natural for you.
Gently close the eyes.
Take several moments to simply be with the physical sensations that you feel right now in your body and also to be present to the movement to breath. Feel the inhales. Experience the exhales. Attune yourself to the natural cadence of your breath without changing it at all.
[silence]
Be aware of your current mind state. Notice how your mind is doing. Is it anxious, busy, noisy or perhaps more serene, quiet, and at peace?
Check in with your heart, your emotional state, where you’re at emotionally right now in this moment.
[silence]
Beautiful. Now, in order to sharpen your focus, we need an object for the mind to connect to. So we will use a mantra, which is a sacred sound or word. Mantra simply means to support the mind. To support the mind and its ability to focus.
In this meditation, we will work with the mantra Ram, R-A-M, which sometimes means truth, purpose, and goodness.
As you’re ready, slowly, quietly begin to repeat Ram silently inside of the mind. Slowly, almost like a gentle whisper echoing and softly reverberating through the chamber of the mind. Repeat.
[silence]
Time to time, you might notice the mind will wander. You may notice the mind going into planning mode, planning something later today, or perhaps ruminating on something that happened earlier. And that’s okay. Be aware of the mind moving away from the word Ram. And very gently, patiently and compassionately simply come back to the repetition of Ram. Ram. Ram. Keep repeating.
[silence]
Continue to allow the muscle of focus to get stronger and stronger. The more you practice, the more powerful your mind and your focus will become. This ability will improve all things in life. Take the last couple of minutes exercising that muscle. Keep repeating. Ram. Ram. Ram.
[silence]
Good. Now, the repetition of the mantra to go and rest in stillness and being and quiet.
[silence]
As you’re ready, slowly open up your eyes as you transition into the rest of your day with a steady, focused mind.
Thank you for your practice.