Shaila Catherine, author and meditation teacher, will share teachings from her newest book, Beyond Distraction: Five Practical Ways to Focus the Mind. We create habits by repeating a thought or action over and over again. In her latest book, Shaila Catherine offers an accessible strategy for training the mind that is guided by the Buddha’s pragmatic instructions on removing distracting thoughts. Following the Buddha’s approach, she guides you through five steps for overcoming distraction and focusing the mind: replacing, examining, ignoring, investigating, and resolving. The five step training boils down to one key realization: In the moment you recognize that a thought is just a thought, you will find yourself on the path to a life of remarkable freedom.
Shaila Catherine is a Buddhist meditation teacher and highly acclaimed author of three books on concentration (jhāna) and insight (vipassanā) meditation. She teaches meditation retreats world wide, and founded Bodhi Courses, an online dharma classroom. Shaila is the principal teacher for Insight Meditation South Bay, a center for mindfulness, compassion, and wisdom in Silicon Valley in California. She appreciates deep retreat practice, loves to read the discourses of the Buddha, and is dedicated to the liberating potential of the meditative path.