Today’s world is a fast-paced, high-energy world that requires us to always be multi-tasking in order to stay on top of things. The mobile phone has come to serve as a primary tool for allowing that multi-tasking to take place. However, there are times when you’re going to really just want to slow down and escape from the world around you. Paying attention to the way that your gadgets impact your senses can go a long way towards making you feel more in touch with your inner self despite the fact that you’re surrounded by a crowd of people. During a time when we never really get to just chill out, we have to do what we can to find that sort of inner peace. Consider it to be a sort of moving zen for the modern world.

Following you’ll find a concise guide on learning how to pay closer attention to the impact your phone has on your senses. Zoning in on one sense or learning to pay attention to several at a time can be a great method for meditating no matter where you may be. The better in-tune you are with yourself, the more productive you’ll ultimately end up being.

The Mobile Phone and the Sense of Sound

The easiest sense to start paying attention to when it comes to your mobile phone is the sense of sound. After all, you’re almost always using the phone to communicate with others which means that you’re going to be listening to people chatter away on the phone itself. There are also subtler sounds involved in the making of phone calls (just think about the touch tones that you hear when you dial). And phones are increasingly used as music players which adds another dimension to the possibility of tuning into your phone’s sounds. Here are some of the tricks you can use to let yourself focus on the sounds of your phone and slip away from the world around you for a moment.

- Actually pay attention to what the person on the other end of the phone is telling you. All too often we engage in conversation that is driven primarily by the sound of our own voices. We barely listen to others as we await our turn to speak. Make a conscious effort to be an active listener when you’re on your cell phone. It’s a challenge but achieving it can make you feel as though you are truly present in your own life. It may also enhance your friendships at the same time but that’s just a bonus.
- Choose the sounds of your phone carefully. Most people don’t realize it but the sounds that they hear can significantly impact the way that they feel. If you have a loud, jarring ringtone for your phone then there’s a good chance that you’re regularly going to feel startled and edgy. Focus on choosing ring tones and alarm sounds that are designed to be soothing.
- Turn down the volume and ring tone sounds on your phone. The more closely that you have to pay attention in order to hear your phone, the more focused you are going to be able to be on doing just that one thing and nothing else.
- Challenge yourself to hear the different sounds that your phone makes. When dialing a number, see if you can differentiate the different sounds that are created by each number on the keypad.
- Train yourself to associate the sounds of your phone with a moment of meditation. Every single time that your phone rings or a message is received, take just ten seconds to close your eyes and breathe. It sounds ridiculous but try doing it for just one week and you’ll find that you’re much more relaxed and present in your life. Make it a habit and you could be on the path to lifelong enlightenment.

The Mobile Phone and the Sense of Sight

The sense of sound may be one of the most powerful senses that is impacted by the mobile phone but that doesn’t mean that the other senses aren’t engaged. Your sense of sight is used when you are reading messages on your phone, viewing mobile broadband information or using your phone as a camera. Pay attention to the power of this sense and you can start seeing your phone (and your path in life) in a very different way. Here are some of the tricks for doing so.

- See through the lens of your camera phone. People who get interested in photography will tell you that they see the world in a different way. Instead of just passing by things, they notice them. Start remembering that your phone gives you a camera that is always with you wherever you go. Challenge yourself to find great pictures during the course of your every day life. It will make your commute, your wait in lines and your time at the gym a lot more interesting. It will also make you more aware of what’s happening in the world around you.
- Challenge yourself to text creatively. Most people send off SMS messages without a second thought. They are designed to transmit information rather than to be poetic. However, you can look twice at a message before you send it and see if there is a way to tweak it to sound more creative. Making mini-poems out of your messages can be a way to infuse your life with more fun.
- Select screensavers with meaning. When you open your phone, what do you see on your screen? Would your day go differently if you saw an image that was really inspiring to you? Would you be able to focus more on the things that matter to you if a relevant quote was revealed on your screensaver? Consider the ways in which what you see on your screen can bring you back to a sense of who you really are.

The Mobile Phone and the Sense of Touch

Using a mobile phone is a tactile experience even thought most of us don’t think twice about the sensation of touch when handling our phones. Whether you actually use a new touchscreen phone or you text like crazy on a hefty old mobile, your fingers are always feeling what’s going on with the phone. Even the weight of a hands-free headset has texture to it. Here are some ideas for getting yourself back to the basics by tuning in to the touch of your phone.

- Try to focus on what you feel when using your phone. One of the challenges of meditation is that you have to regularly remind yourself to do it and that’s going to happen with this one. It’s easy not to notice what your phone feels like. Try to pay attention to the feel of the keys, the weight of the phone and the vibration when you’ve turned off the phone’s sound. This kind of focus is what meditation in motion is all about.
- Trade phones with someone else for a day and try to pay attention to all of the ways that it feels different when you use it. Does it press up against your ear differently? Do your fingers stick to the keypads more? Noticing the little things is what paying attention to your life is all about.
- Get into mobile flash art. You can actually create art on your phone. Engaging in art can get you in touch with your creative side and make you feel more in tune with your true self. Touch your phone with art in mind and see what happens.

The Mobile Phone and the Sense of Smell

Nobody is suggesting that you stand around in public and sniff your phone. However, your phone does have a smell to it and trying to notice it is going to take you one step further towards being able to focus on your phone and ignore the world around you. And believe it or not, there are actually projects in the works to bring smell-emitting chips to mobile phones within the next couple of years. Then you’ll really be able to engage this sense in a meditative manner!

The Mobile Phone and the Sense of Taste

Okay, we’re just kidding about this one. Although your mobile phone does have a taste to it, it’s probably not a good idea to try to focus on this sense. Of course, you could use the geolocation / mapping services on your phone to find a restaurant near you that will let you indulge your sense of taste. In the meantime, you should probably leave your focused meditation to the other senses that can be engaged by your mobile phone.

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