
Originally Posted by
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Do not fight the thoughts. Allow the coin and the other thoughts to sit in your attention. Your attention is not the thinker. You can easily retain your attention on anything you want if you realize that you control your attention, but you do not control your thoughts. Your thoughts do not have to distract you from your point of focus, but they will distract you if you try to fight their existence.
Yes, practice helps, but not because focus works like a muscle, necessarily. It simply takes to practice to understand how to control your attention. For me, control over my attention comes from realizing that it's different from the thoughts, and to stop identifying with my thoughts. They are just thoughts, and they aren't real. My attention is the real focal point of myself. You can focus on attention itself, using a piece of your attention to reflect back on itself and get in touch with your mindful foundation. Keeping a piece of your attention upon itself, you retain presence in the moment and distractions become manageable. Suddenly you realize you have a choice whether or not to follow a distraction.
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