Distraction and concentration are two expressions of how our attention is aimed, and it is our attitude to what’s happening that determines our distractibility. Anything can catch our attention and be the place of fixation. With mindfulness we return to present awareness, releasing any judgment or urge to control the moment, to fix or change what’s happening. We simply rest in the experience with clear awareness, with a heart that’s spacious, cultivating a nonjudgmental attitude to all that arises, experiencing the present moment with clarity and wisdom.
Shaila Catherine
Guest Teacher
Shaila Catherine is the founder of Bodhi Courses, an online Dhamma classroom, and Insight Meditation South Bay, a Buddhist meditation center in Silicon Valley. She has authored three books on meditation, concentration, and insight—Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity, and Wisdom Wide and Deep: A Practical Handbook for Mastering Jhana and Vipassana and Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind. She began practicing meditation in 1980 and has dedicated more than nine years to silent retreats. Shaila has taught meditation internationally since 1996 with emphasis on deep samadhi, jhāna, and the path of liberating insight.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Shaila Catherine through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.