Anchor, Anchor, Anchor Your Boat

Try This: Observe your body and your mind in this moment. Observe what feels good and what doesn’t. Observe the aches and pains, the energy pockets, the stresses and joys. To everything you observe, say “Welcome.”

“When your life is always a part of your surroundings—in other words, when you are called back to yourself, in the present moment—then there is no problem. When you start to wander about in some delusion which is something apart from you yourself, then your surroundings are not real anymore, and your mind is not real anymore.” ~ Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice

“To wander about in some delusion,” as Suzuki phrases it, can often happen to us when we try to meditate. Our minds wander, and if we don’t pull them back to center, they tend to go off into rabbit holes of thought that take us far, far away from reality.

It can help to picture your mind as a boat on the ocean. When the anchor is down, the boat has a limited circle it can float before it is tugged back toward the center. When the anchor is lifted, the boat can sail away, potentially getting lost at sea.

If you’re trying to practice mindfulness meditation, give yourself an anchor–something that will pull you back toward center when thoughts try to pull you away. Let’s look at three “anchors” you can use to help tug your mind back toward home.

Anchor #1: Objects.

The practice of using objects for meditation was demonstrated for me recently in a mindfulness class led by Allison Schuette of The Mindful Pause Center. Here’s how it works: find 4-6 stones or crystals of varying sizes and textures to bring with you to your meditation. Once you are settled in your meditation seat and into a relaxed breath, start to observe your mind. Notice how often it wanders and what it wants to wander to. As you continue to relax the body and breath, pick up a rock in your left hand. Hold the rock, and notice how it feels: its texture, temperature, size, shape, irregularities, etc. After you’ve held it in your left hand for a few minutes, switch it to your right hand and hold it there. Continue with each rock as needed, when the mind starts to wander.

Anchor #2: Sound.

Maybe when you see the word “sound” you think of music or a guided meditation. Both of these types of sounds can be useful to keep the mind focused during meditation, but there’s a simpler way to use sound: just listen to the sounds that are naturally occurring around you. This has the added benefit of helping you practice being where you are. Instead of trying to shut out the world with music, you are immersing yourself in the world. So when your mind starts to wander, listen. You might hear birds chirping, cars driving past, a distant television or radio, people talking on the street, the refrigerator humming, your dog breathing–let the sounds become your focus.

Anchor #3: Breath.

Perhaps the simplest and most subtle way to anchor your meditation practice is with the breath. When we get relaxed in meditation, the body almost breathes itself; in other words, the breath just happens without us paying special attention to it. But if you’re sitting there, feeling relaxed, letting the breath do its thing, and suddenly you realize you’re thinking about the possibilities of living on Mars, you can bring your focus to the breath. You might do this by taking a few deep breaths, feeling the rib cage expand and contract. Or you might start to pay attention to your exhales, noticing how the breath feels as it exits the body. You might come up with your own way to make the breath your anchor.

All the Anchors:

If you’re having a particularly rough day at sea, with your mind doing everything it can to escape the stillness, there’s nothing wrong with throwing down several anchors at once.

Frustrated or discouraged with your practice? Join the club. The mind is wily, and it can feel impossible to pin it down and pointless to try. So why try? Because sitting quietly with yourself and doing your best to anchor yourself to the present moment generates, over time, several wonderful qualities:

Self-awareness
Compassion for yourself and others
Acceptance of life’s ups and downs
An ability to detach from and get perspective on your feelings

As Buddhist monk Pema Chodron said, in an interview with Ezra Klein, the point of a mindfulness practice is simply this: “Contentment. Being OK with how things unfold.” Practicing mindfulness won’t take away pain or solve your problems or bring you eternal happiness. What it will do is make it easier to accept whatever happens in your life and not let it derail you.

So remember: when it comes to mindfulness meditation, it’s not graded, and you can’t fail. All you have to do is show up.

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