The most common thing new students tell us after their first class is that they are bad at meditation. Their mind would not stop. It turns out nobody’s mind stops, including their teacher’s, and that is not a problem to solve. It is what you are there to work with.
Thinking is not failing
Meditation is not an empty mind. It is noticing that you are thinking, and choosing to come back to the breath. Every time you notice, you have done the practice.
A sit where you wandered off fifty times and came back fifty times is a good sit. A sit where you never noticed is the only kind that does not count.
“The moment you notice you have drifted is the moment of meditation.”
Naming what comes up
When a thought pulls you away, give it a quiet one-word label: planning, worrying, remembering. Then come back. The label takes a second and stops you arguing with the thought.
Over a few weeks you start to see your own habits. Most of us have three or four favourite places our minds go, and they become familiar rather than overwhelming.
Try it today
Ten minutes with a busy mind
1
Sit somewhere you will not be interrupted and set a timer for ten minutes.
2
Rest your attention on the feeling of breathing.
3
When you notice a thought, name it with one word.
4
Come back to the breath, as many times as it takes.
When it feels too much
On some days the mind is loud because life is loud. Open your eyes, shorten the sit to five minutes, or try walking instead. Being kind to yourself is part of the practice, not a break from it.
Our evening beginners' class covers this in the first week, with plenty of time for questions.
