Distraction by Michelle Welch

Distraction, by Michelle Welch

I was reading the May issue of Shambhala Sun, and I was struck by one of the articles on distraction. A sidebar in this article discusses a 4-part contemplation practice. It is not available on the Shambhala Sun website, but briefly, it involved the following:

“Part 1: Imagine going to a small cabin in the woods, where you plan to spend some time alone… there is a lot that you do not bring… no paper or journal… Staying at home are your laptop, desktop, cell phone… every bit of electronica… This may feel refreshing, or it may make you slightly uneasy.”

The remaining parts involve contemplating your reactions as you try to find something in the nearly empty cabin to occupy yourself, then move on to internal distractions such as thoughts and daydreams. Or, as the contemplation says, “the fewer external distractions you have, the more internal distractions you cook up to replace them.”

I did not sit down to do this contemplation in its entirety, but I was struck by something just reading it. My planning brain immediately went into overdrive (as it does). I went right to work wondering how long I was going to be gone, who was going to feed the cats, where was I going to keep my car keys, and where’s my car, anyway? Did I drive to this solitary cabin? Did I fly? How much luggage did I have? Where did I keep it? Who’s going to check my email when I’m gone and let me know if I get something important that needs to be followed up on?

Internal distractions: check.

Once I got through all that, I had to wonder what the experience of actually being on solitary retreat would be. I’m sure it would be something like what’s described in the contemplation: at some point my brain would just give up and I’d finally realize what’s underneath all that distraction.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has been on solitary retreat, or anyone who read the Shambhala Sun article and has a response they’d like to share. What would you do if you were alone in a remote cabin with no external distractions?