Smartphone Meditation: Turning Addiction into a Gateway to Inner Freedom

Author: ​Nebo D. Lukovich

Learner, Reader, Student of Life

Nebo D. Lukovich

We are living in a time of gadgets. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, TV, smart watches, and many other “smart” things are indisputably helpful in many tasks we are facing every day. However, all these gadgets are, at the same time, great soakers of our attention and energy, often being extremely addictive.

To many of us, building the daily habit of meditation sittings is a challenging task. Even if we establish it, we might be often distracted by many external influences, including electronic devices.

When we are watching something on the device’s display, we are in fact totally immersed in that content. Our attention is entirely absorbed by the games, movies, music, images, or anything else emerging from that shiny rectangle. Our life energy is drained, and we often feel exhausted after a few hours of such an activity.

And much of our free time we spend immersed in endless contents these devices offer. We have become the society of gadget-addicts.

​Wouldn't be awesome if we could reverse this situation somehow? Is it possible to actually transform all these gadgets into gateways to conscious living? Of course it is.

Is it possible to actually transform all these gadgets into gateways to conscious living? Of course it is.

Smartphone Meditation

One of the ways to turn this immersing habit into a portal to inner freedom is this meditation. Here are the steps you may follow:

1. Focusing on the phone’s frame
2. Sensing the phone
3. Sensing the hand
4. Sounds
5. The visual field outside the phone
6. Space behind the phone
7. Space between you and the phone
8. Sensing your body
9. Awareness of who is watching
10. Everything

Before you begin, it is necessary to become familiar with the terms “physical attention” and “mental attention.”

By physical attention, we mean to direct our eyes toward something in front of us.

On the other hand, mental attention implies an intense awareness of something, which means focusing our mind on that (regardless of our eyes’ direction).

1. Focusing on the phone’s frame

You can begin this meditation in whatever position or situation you find yourself in. Whether you are sitting, lying down, or standing, you can do this brief exercise, as long as you hold the phone or some other device in your hand.

First, while still looking at the phone’s screen, become aware of its frame or bezels. Extend your mental attention on the frame. Remember, your eyes are physically still directed toward the center of the device’s display, while you are becoming more aware of the device’s edges.

If a thought or emotion arises, just accept it. If you find a related tension in your body – accept that as well, and return to meditation.

2. Sensing the phone

Now, while still being aware of the phone’s edges, become aware of the gadget as a whole. As you are holding it, feel its surface and weight.

So, your mental attention should now encompass the phone’s display, the edges, and your senses of its surface and weight. All the while, keep your physical attention on the screen.

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