Ben Sulsky
The deep concentration states seem to get shattered quickly by some thought zooming in from left field. I'm thinking hearing takes from people might shake something loose or inject some needed creativity into practice.
In my opinion the biggest obstacles to concentration are
- stress
- mental fatigue
- suppressed thoughts and emotions rising into consciousness
- effects of food and drugs
I usually prepare my mind for meditation with
relaxation exercises. I find that I have learned a lot by trying to do relaxation exercises when I can't concentrate. As relaxation exercises calm the mind, you notice the stages the mind goes through from turbulent to quiet. You notice the effort it requires (letting go) and you become familiar with the feeling of letting go to the point you know how let go as something you do with your mind. You lean relaxation as a neuro-muscular skill you can use in daily life to maintain a calm mind.
By mental fatigue I mean when you have been using your brain so much you are "too tired to sleep" and can't stop thinking about something. If you have a job that involves a lot of analytical thinking you probably know this experience. Inhibitor neurons fatigue first. That's why you can get muscle cramps when you are doing a repeated motion (like holding a rope so tight you eventually can't let go) or if you repeat a motion so often you can't stop doing it (factory workers might experience this after a shift). The same phenomenon occurs in the brain. If you are in this state, you can try relaxation exerciese or just wait until your brain recovers maybe after a period of sleep.
Sometimes if there is a suppressed thought or emotion bubbling up from the unconscious it can also cause distractions. In that case the best thing to do is to try to
figure out what is bugging you. This is how you
purify the mula kleshas (get rid of emotional baggage).
Some foods can influence your ability to concentrate too: high sugar, caffeine, alcohol. Some drugs have the effect too tobacco, etc.
