Archive for Discipline

Entertainment mentality

Our society is in a constant search for entertainment. While standing in line at the supermarket, we scan the magazine headlines. While eating our breakfast, we browse the newspaper. As soon as one activity is finished, we immediately look for another – something to engage our senses or to occupy our minds. Seldom do we ever just sit still and rest in the present moment.

Why must we always be entertained? Entertainment is defined as “an activity that is diverting and that holds the attention”. Why do we need activities to hold our attention? What are we trying to divert our attention from?

The sad truth is that many of us are uncomfortable simply being with ourselves. We hold within ourselves these anxieties that we are unwilling to face, and so we avoid stillness at all costs. It is similar to a student who may find all manner of tasks to do in order to procrastinate from studying. Paradoxically however, seeking entertainment only increases our anxiety. It creates a sense that we are avoiding something, which is in itself a cause of stress. Furthermore, by losing touch with ourselves, internal conflicts and emotions build up without us being aware of them.

Even a little time away from this entertainment mentality goes a long way in returning peace and stillness to our lives. There is a very simple method for achieving this. Between any two activities, we simply rest for a moment in stillness. If we wish, we can focus our attention by letting the mind rest with the gentle flow of breath in and out of our bodies. Initially, these pauses between activities may not seem still at all, because they make us aware of just how turbulent our minds are. However, with time, our minds become conditioned to these moments of rest, and they make an enormous difference to our days. Therefore, the next time we catch our minds jumping from one activity to another, craving some kind of entertainment, we should instead try to just sit still for a moment, and to gently observe what happens. The results may be pleasantly reassuring.

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Boredom and attention

Our natural reaction to boredom is to find something different to do. We look for something more exciting, more engaging. Although there are definitely times when this is appropriate, often this attitude makes our problems worse. Boredom is caused by a restless mind, a mind that is unable to stay with an activity. We live in a society where we are engaged in constant stimulation: while waiting in a supermarket queue we have magazines to browse and text messages to send, not to mention the constant chatter of thoughts in our head. The unfortunate result of this is that our minds have become so used to stimulation that they cannot tolerate its lack. Furthermore, the more we indulge these impulses for stimulation, the greater our need becomes. Therefore, despite the widely varied activities in which we now engage, boredom in society is prevalent.

How do we counter this state of mind that so easily facilitates boredom? The solution is not to go out and find new things to do, but rather to calm down and learn to focus on whatever we are already doing. We must encourage our minds to calm down and relax. We must forget the daydreams, drop the distractions, and just learn to pay attention. This may seem contradictory – isn’t the boredom of an activity precisely what stops us from paying attention in the first place? Actually, no. Although we often associate boredom with certain activities, boredom has more to do with our own state of mind. Rather than boredom causing inattention, it is our inability to concentrate on something that causes us to lose interest. This is demonstrated in the following Scientific American quote:

In one classic 1989 experiment, psychologists James Laird and Robin Damrad-Frye of Clark University discovered that very low level distraction such as a quiet television turned on in the next room led participants to describe a listening comprehension task as “boring.” Unaware of what was distracting them, the subjects could find no other explanation for their inattention. But when the TV was blaring, the subjects instead commented that the sound made it impossible to focus. Without any distraction, some students actually said that what they had heard in the comprehension exercise was stimulating. The results thus support the authors’ hypothesis that “the essential behavioral component of boredom is the struggle to maintain attention.”

Therefore, developing the ability to focus is more crucial than ever. After all, dealing with boredom is not just a mere convenience. Frequent boredom puts us at greater risk for anxiety and depression, and has an adverse effect on our work and our social interactions. In contrast, learning to pay attention helps the mind to relax and rest in the moment, directly counters the thought patterns that lead to boredom, and thus brings about a stress-free and contented life, imbued with inner peace.

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