Five Ways to be Less Distracted | Shaila Catherine

About this episode

<p><em>New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers.</em></p> <p><em>---</em></p> <p>One of the most common and insidious complaints of meditators is distraction, which can be a frustrating and difficult obstacle. Even the Buddha himself acknowledged this common problem and laid out some detailed practices for dealing with it. </p> <p><br /></p> <p>In this episode, Shaila Catherine outlines the Buddha's five strategies to help us tackle distractions, which can be applied to our meditation practice as well as other aspects of our lives.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>Catherine is a dharma teacher whose latest book is called <a href= "https://shailacatherine.com/2021/06/15/beyond-distraction/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind</em></a>. She is also the founder and principal teacher at <a href="https://www.imsb.org/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Insight Meditation South Bay</a> and has 40 years of practice, including nine years, cumulatively, of silent retreat. Her first TPH appearance, which we called <a href= "https://radiopublic.com/ten-percent-happier-with-dan-harr-WwE9m8/s1!0f481" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How to Focus</a>, aired in May 2021. </p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p>In this episode we talk about: </p> <p><br /></p> <ul> <li>The Buddha's struggles with distraction</li> <li>Shaila's attempts to make the teachings of the Buddha accessible to contemporary minds</li> <li>The importance of getting to know your own thought patterns</li> <li>The counterintuitive strategy of "avoid it, ignore it, forget it"</li> <li>Replacing seduction with mindfulness</li> <li>Developing a flexibility of mind</li> <li>Why we're vulnerable to our own tendencies when we're not mindful</li> </ul> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p> <p><strong>Full Shownotes:</strong> <a href= "https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/" rel= "noopener noreferrer" target= "_blank">https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/shaila-catherine-467</a></p>