Concentration (Single-Pointedness) Meditation
One of the hallmarks of modern life is the proliferation of distractions. As media becomes more pervasive, and media connections more ubiquitous, time away from distraction becomes ever harder to find. Previously, people were content to sit in restaurants or stand in line, without a television screen to stare at. Now these have become standard. The result of all this, and many other causes, is that people find it increasingly difficult to focus their minds.
Concentration makes proper though possible, by allowing intelligence, which allows a mind to calm down and focus enjoyable & effectively. A concentrated mind is like a laser beam, able to use all its powers in a single direction with greater ease and to greater effect.
Concentration is critical to many human endeavors. Being able to listen to another person for example, in a compassionate and connected manner, requires being without mental distraction.
Concentration allows a mind to stop being a "reaction machine" or "robot," simply responding to stimulii, and instead to become more insightful, self-directed, and therein - confident.
Concentration in one area is concentrate in ALL areas. Akin to lifting weights, single pointed concentration doesn't just make you strong for lifting weights, but strong for anything else you want to do!
Think about one thing. Every time you get distracted, return to that one thing.
1. Find an object on which to concentrate. This can be a physical object, like a pebble or a feather. Or it can be a mental object like a particular idea. It could even be, say, your homework.
2. Cut off any sources of distraction. These include, but are not limited to, telephones, emails, computers, music, television, and so forth. Turn all of these off during your concentration practice.
3. Begin your period by mentally reminding yourself what you are concentrating on.
4. Now begin to concentrate. If your concentration object is an external object, this may mean looking at it. If it is a mental object, then think about it.
5. Each time your mind (or eyes) wander from your concentration object, bring it back to the object. It is important to do this very gently and without judgment.
6. Repeat this process of coming back to the concentration object for as long as you wish, or until your homework is done.
Concentration can at first seem to trigger a lot of undesirable feeling. This is, however, not the fault of the concentration practice. Rather, it happens because many people use distraction to avoid feeling emotions. Then when the distractions are removed, a tremendous amount of ambient, unprocessed emotions (i.e. emotions you are feeling but were unaware of feeling) are present. So it is not the practice of concentration that is causing this, but instead it is the habit of distracting ourselves from our emotions. This may be the root cause of much inability to focus and concentrate. If that is the case, try meditating on emotions.
Concentration and meditation are not the same thing, although they are related. Meditation (usually) requires concentration, but also requires relaxation or equanimity.