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I understand that meditation isn’t about emptying my mind, that it’s about bringing my attention back to the present and what I’m doing, such as focus on my breathing. But sometimes my monkey brain just can’t stop. It’s like I’m chasing my own tail, going in circles and wondering why it’s always out of reach?
I go through a few minutes at a time where I can’t focus on my breath for two breaths without my mind bouncing around and being distracted.
Not. Even. Two. Breaths.
It’s like a bad dream where my goal is always just beyond my reach. I know where I want to go, I just can’t get there.
I think I need some tips. I’m open to suggestions.
Your chance to share:
If I had to give advice I’d say ‘stop trying, just enjoy it’. Just being able to sit still for a while and let the brain do whatever it wants to do is a luxury. Your monkey brain is a generous inheritance; don’t sell it short.
The idea, as you say, is to give yourself a way to be completely in the moment, not regretting the past, not planning for the future, but just attentive to what there is here and now.
There is a wide variety of activities that will pull you into the present moment – athletics, art, performance, survival, etc. I draw on all of those at various times – cycling, photography, speaking, camping.
The other thing all those things have in common is that they give me a way to be appreciative. Yesterday I was standing in a tall forest in the early afternoon stillness, sweaty and tired, enjoying each beam of light. Today I’m letting my mind roam, writing, listening to a baseball game, watching the rain fall outside the window. It’s all beautiful to me, every minute of it.
That’s very Zen, Stephen. Wise advice. This has been a summer of appreciation for me, family, friends, and the amazing natural world we live in. I realize now that I need to take that into my meditation. I will come back to your comment above as a reminder.
Thanks again!
I was under the impression that emptying one’s mind was imperative, so it shows how little I know. I’ve heard that pencil and paper can help. Distracting thoughts can be jotted down and then, presumably, let go. Personally, I find a glass (or two) of wine helps. 🙂
Hi Bill,
Yes, I believe emptying your mind is the ultimate goal, but impossible to get to without first understanding how to focus and concentrate on just one thing, like your breathing. I am not sure that I’ll go the route of wine unless I’m meditating late at night, but I like that idea more than writing my distractions down. I would want to keep writing rather than meditating. 🤣
I’m really surprised how hard it is for me to stay ‘present’ when meditating. I bounce between things done in the past, things I plan to do in the future, and an imagination gone wild. I don’t live in the ‘here and now’ nearly as much as I thought I did before taking up meditation. It’s a learning journey, I’m just proving to be a very slow learner… Wondering what I need to do differently to speed things up?
Therein lies the meditation paradox where it seems that one must first slow down in order to speed up. My experiences with meditation were in a monastic environment a few decades ago and where I was most successful was putting myself to sleep which was heavily frowned upon. We would normally choose something to meditate on (usually spiritual) but really it should work with any topic/concept/idea/experience/person/emotion.