Radical Mindfulness: How to Increase Focus & Foster Happiness in an Age of Materialism

How present-moment awareness can change the structure of your brain, improve focus, and cultivate lasting well-being.

How often do you find yourself lost in thought as you begin your morning commute to work or school, panicking as you remember the test you have coming up tomorrow or embarrassed from that awkward interaction with your coworker the other day? Research shows that the average person is lost in thought over 47% of the time. Think about this. This means that roughly half of the time your brain is frantically analyzing glimpses of the past or imagining future possibilities. Instead of paying attention and enjoying the present moment, chances are your brain is in a constant tug-of-war between past regrets, anxieties, and hopes for the future. After a while, this can have major mental health implications, and is a significant precursor for disorders such as chronic anxiety and depression.

When you go to a restaurant, cafe, or food court, for example, how often do you see other people eating as they browse their phone or work on their laptop? Even when you’re eating without distractions, you may find yourself prepping for your next bite in the middle of chewing your food. Because of this, your brain is much less likely to recognize signals from the stomach telling you you’re full, leading to indigestion and overeating. Little habits like these are what make today’s world the most distracted and anxiety-ridden in human history, fueled by our always-on, fast-paced work and academic environments.

“If you find yourself constantly trying to prove your worth to someone, you have already forgotten your value.” - Unknown

Mindfulness in a Results-Oriented Society

Picture this: you’re driving down the freeway with your two kids, when, all of a sudden, someone cuts you off, nearly clipping the front of your car as it rapidly changes lanes and speeds off. You lay on the horn in frustration, hurling profanities at the irresponsible driver who clearly has a superiority complex. Your kids look at you with confusion and concern, unsure of what to think about your angry outburst. You reassure them that everything is okay and continue driving, shaken up from the interaction and imbued with a pervasive sense of distrust and resentment towards others as you continue your day noticeably on-edge.

This scenario may sound familiar to some of you. I want to draw your attention to one aspect of the situation in particular, though. Between being cut off by the driver and laying on your horn, there was almost no time buffer. Instead of anger arising in you, you literally became your anger, with the instinct being to respond with rage-induced action. Other, smaller examples may include subconsciously going for comfort foods when coming home from work, or checking your phone when there’s an awkward lapse in conversation.

The fact that we’re lost in thought so often is yet another testament to the fact that we are almost habitually and unconsciously reacting in our daily interactions without truly being aware of what we’re doing in the moment (ever walked into a hallway and then completely forgot what you were supposed to do?). No wonder we’re constantly looking to the future in hopes that we’ll be happier instead of enjoying the present! Although we may not realize it, the majority of western society is reliant on materialism and consumerism; happiness is thought to be found externally and in short-term satisfaction, leaving those of us chasing after these objects of gratification wondering, “is this all life really is?” Modern science is mistakenly viewed as the natural antagonist to religion and spiritual practice, leaving no room for internal satisfaction acquired from values in kindness, honesty, and deep introspection.

“If only I worked at my dream company, then I would be happy,” “If only I had more money, then I would be happy,” “If only I wasn’t so busy with work, then I would be happy,” “If only…”

Mindfulness and Changing the Brain

• Meditation allows you to actively control your negative mental states rather than being consumed by them. This is because the parts of your brain responsible for rationalization (the frontal lobe) exerts more control over the amygdala, which is responsible for inducing feelings of anxiety.

• Sustained practice is also shown to increase serotonin levels in the brain, leading to prolonged feelings of happiness and a sense of calm.

• Meditation allows more efficient communication along the nervous system. Specifically, the top-down and bottom-up processing of your brain (the sections responsible for processing sensory input) is trained to receive the information more accurately, which enables you to more easily return to the information being processed in your current task.

How to Train Your Mindfulness Muscle

So, you may ask, what does meditation have to do with any of this? How can something as simple as sitting in one spot and following your breathing for 20 minutes really do any good for me? When most people hear the word “meditation,” chances are they imagine a monk sitting cross-legged in the middle of a tranquil forest, eyes closed and muttering cryptic mantras and sounds (“om…”). Along with this, one widely-held misconception about meditation is the idea that the ultimate goal is to stop thinking altogether.

When first starting to meditate, many beginners watch their mind intensely for any and all thoughts, like how a hawk attentively scans for prey on the ground. In doing so, they tense up, and are likely to internally judge themselves or forcefully repress the thought when returning focus to the breath. They may also accentuate the breath and purposefully breathe harder in an attempt to maintain focus. These aren’t conducive to long-term success, and you’ll likely walk away from the session feeling slightly more stressed than relaxed and attentive.

Rather than stopping thoughts from arising, the underlying goal is to separate yourself from any thoughts or feelings that arise (i.e. change your relationship with your thoughts). In doing so, you may experience less intrusive thoughts in your daily life, but this is simply a byproduct of living in the present moment more deeply. Meditation only acts as a training regimen for exercising your mindfulness “muscle”; the more often you do it, the more often you’ll feel focused, alert, and less often you’ll feel anxious and restless in your daily routine.

The type of meditation this article is referring to is concentration meditation. There are hundreds of different types of meditation, each focusing on cultivating different factors of the mind. For our purposes, we can take a look at one of the most basic types: breath meditation.

To get started:

1. Find a meditation spot. Ideally this place is quiet, dim, and somewhere you know you won’t be disturbed. Make an effort to stick with this spot every time you meditate so that you associate that area with feeling calm and focused.

2. Use a cushion or armless chair. If you choose to meditate on a chair, ensure that you don’t rest your arms on it and that they are placed comfortably in your lap. If you choose to sit on the floor with a cushion, ensure that it’s at least 3 inches off the ground. If you don’t have a dedicated cushion, fold your sleeping pillow in half once or twice.

3. Assume an alert but relaxed position. Usually, this involves sitting cross-legged and keeping your spine erect with your head/chin slightly tilted toward the ground. Even though you’re sitting upright, you shouldn’t feel any tension in your upper back or shoulders. The point is to not slouch so you don’t fall asleep. Place your left hand into your right hand with your palms facing upward and thumbs lightly touching.

4. Either close your eyes completely or keep them slightly open. It’s usually up to you. Sometimes people prefer closed to reduce visual distractions. Others find that closing them makes it easier to fall asleep, and instead lightly focus on an object in front of them.

5. Focus on the sensation of the breath through your nose. Pay attention to the point at the entrance of the nostrils where you feel the air passing. Don’t try to breathe harder or faster to make it more noticeable. Don’t interfere with your breathing, and instead observe it as it naturally passes, in and out.

6. Redirect any thinking back to the sensation of the breath. The key point here is that you’re not judging any thought you happen to notice, nor are you forcefully repressing them. Simply acknowledge the fact you’re distracted and gently redirect your focus back to the sensation at your nostrils.

Optional: Count your breaths. Usually I’ll do this if my mind is particularly active or cloudy, and then drop it after a while during meditating once I’m more concentrated. To do this, breathe in. Once you’re at the top of your breath, count “one.” After you finish breathing out, count “one” again. Do the same for the following breaths until you reach 10, in which case you count backward down to 1. In between each count, notice the feeling of the breath through your nostrils. If, after a few cycles, you feel that you are concentrated enough, you can drop the counting and simply focus on the breath itself.

Remember, there’s no minimum time requirement, especially if your day is particularly busy. As little as 5 or 10 minutes each day will do the trick, and you’ll eventually start noticing thoughts and feelings come and go from a third-person perspective rather than letting them take hold of your attention.

Too long? Here’s a bite-sized summary:

Modern life, characterized by fast-paced work and academic environments, often encourages distraction. Our reactions are usually automatic and unconscious, which can be detrimental to our long term well-being and contribute to a sense of constant restlessness and dissatisfaction.

Mindfulness and meditation are a means of gaining control over negative mental states. Meditation helps increase activity in the frontal lobe of the brain, responsible for rationalization, and reduces anxiety-inducing activity in the amygdala. It also boosts serotonin levels, promoting feelings of happiness and calm.

The practice of meditation involves training your mind to separate from your thoughts and feelings, allowing you to live more fully in the present moment. Contrary to the misconception that meditation aims to stop thinking entirely, it actually helps change your relationship with thoughts, leading to greater focus and reduced anxiety in daily life. Concentration (breath) meditation is a simple and effective way to get started.

Action Items:

• The next time you go for a walk, silence (or better yet, leave behind) all electronic devices. As you walk, look for anything that looks interesting or catches your attention. When you finish, write down the 5 most captivating things you saw.

• The next time you’re feeling angry or anxious, stop what you’re doing, close your eyes, and pay attention to the sensation of your breath as it passes in and out of your nostrils.

• As you eat, set aside your phone and other distractions. When taking a bite, notice everything from how the food tastes, its texture, and smell. Dedicate at least 20 minutes to eating your food to promote healthy digestion and reduce overeating.

• Allocate at least 5-10 minutes each day to sitting down and focusing on the breath (see instructions above).