How To Focus | Shaila Catherine

Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris

Many of us find our minds flitting all over the place, in meditation and elsewhere. In today’s episode we’re going to learn practical techniques for boosting concentration on and off the cushion. This is the second episode in a two-part series on focus we are airing this week.

Today’s guest is an Olympic-level concentrator who has tons of tips for staying focused. We also talk about one of the more exotic meditation subjects: The altered states of consciousness called the jhanas that are available to advanced meditators who can attain deep states of concentration.

Shaila Catherine is the founder of Insight Meditation South Bay, a meditation group in Silicon Valley. She has been practicing meditation since 1980 and has more than nine years of accumulated silent retreat experience. She’s the author of Focused and Fearless: A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm, and Clarity.

In this conversation, we talk about:

• The basic building blocks of concentration in a meditation practice
• Cultivating the right attitude for meditation
• The difference between concentration and mindfulness
• Whether ‘jhana’ states are attainable for regular people

Full Shownotes: https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/shaila-catherine-repost-348

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