Hi, welcome back to

your Daily Mindfulness.

In today's session, we're going to talk

about the importance of concentration.

So I'd first like to share a

quote with you from the Buddha.

And he said this 2,600 years

ago, he said, "We have lost

respect for a concentrated mind."

That's it.

One line we've lost respect

for our concentrated mind.

What I find hilarious about that is,

again, that this was 2,600 years ago.

What the heck would the Buddha say

this, in today's day and age, looking

at, you know, our relationship

to concentration and focus?

I do think it's interesting to hear

this, you know, so many thousands of

years ago, that he was still seeing

this, that there's a tendency for humans

to get distracted and to not respect

the power of a concentrated mind.

And that's what I'd like to focus

on here today as a, another reminder

that one of the things I see is we

don't put enough value on the power of

concentration for leading to tranquility,

ease, stress reduction, and calm.

So much, so much of the tension that

we experience on a day-to-day basis

is a mind that is just in opposition

to what is here, that is feeling some

dissonance between what it wants to

be here and what is actually here.

The powerful thing about concentration

is that it closes that gap.

It essentially absorbs itself into

whatever it is it's concentrating on.

And that can include just the

present moment experience.

And think about these moments where

you've just been deeply present,

where the mind isn't trying to get

someplace else, isn't thinking about

the future, isn't caught up in the past.

All of which is okay.

We don't beat ourselves up for those

thoughts, but when the mind really

is anchored in concentration in

that way, there's stillness ,there,

there's ease, there's calmness.

A byproduct of a concentrated

mind is tranquility.

And a byproduct of often an agitated

mind is stress or dispersed mind.

Now it's possible and absolutely

possible that we can cultivate a

quality of ease by watching all of

the thoughts move through our mind.

You know, this also becomes the

seeds for creativity and imagination.

So there's merit to that.

But one thing I, I invite you

to look at, as you continue

on your meditation journey, is

your emphasis on concentration.

And what would it be like to take

the development of concentration

maybe a little more seriously

in your meditation practice?

We'll be doing a meditation

today, specifically designed

around cultivating concentration.

But one way that we can do this

is really paying careful attention

to when the mind has wandered off.

I'm really trying to notice

that as quickly as possible.

And then invite the mind back

with curiosity to the thing

that we're paying attention to.

The more we can reduce those gaps of

mind wandering, the more quickly we can

develop concentration in our meditation

practice and the more we'll have access

to that in our day-to-day practice.

So just something to consider.

And don't worry.

I won't tell the Buddha

about your concentrated mind.

I won't tell him about my

concentrated mind, as well.

Hopefully though we can start to regain

some respect for a concentrated mind, and

I think we'll all be the better for it.

So thank you so much for your practice.

Let's settle in for today's meditation.