Quieting the Monkey Mind

I hear this all the time. “I can’t meditate. I can’t stop thinking. It doesn’t work for me. I don’t know how. I feel like I’m doing something wrong.”

The thing is, this is normal, it even happens to those who have meditated for years. It’s not always easy to “just be” and not think about things.

I know this can be very frustrating and can make you feel like you are doing something wrong.

Just because you have a wondering mind, doesn’t mean you are doing anything wrong. It does mean that at some point in the future, with practice, you can quiet your mind better.

Just think, all the things you accomplished that took lots of practice. Things like riding a bike when you were a kid. You didn’t just jump on that bike and take off riding, did you? Now, it may have been easier for some and harder for others, but no matter your skill level, it took some practice.

Think about this: When you are meditating, and you slip off into your thoughts or start daydreaming and all of a sudden you realize, “Oh, I am thinking or daydreaming”. Guess what, you just recognized that you were thinking or daydreaming. The fact that you noticed it is a good sign. You brought your awareness back to your meditation practice.

Every time you realize that you’ve gotten lost with your thoughts, you can just continue with the practice right where you left off. There are some really good guided meditations that can help with letting go of those thoughts. I have written a few down at the end of this article.

Just keep meditating like it never happened. Don’t get upset with yourself or feel discouraged. Once you’ve done that, you will have a harder time getting back to the meditation because you will be thinking about not being able to meditate.

The thing is, sometimes we are so caught up in work or home issues, that these thoughts overwhelm us. There is always something that needs to be done, a project that needs to be completed, bills that need to be paid, laundry, something. The point of meditating is trying to get away from those thoughts and give ourselves a brain break. However, if you do get caught up in thought and don’t try to get back to the meditation, you are simply just sitting there thinking and headed down that rabbit hole of thought. This is not the same as realizing you were thinking and getting back to the meditation.

Just because you got distracted doesn’t mean you aren’t meditating. It’s ok to have periods of time when you are not focused and present in the moment.

If you meditate for 30 minutes and, say, 12 of those minutes you were lost in thought. That’s pretty good. You wandered off for a few minutes, but you came back. With practice, you will be able to go for longer periods of time. It takes most many years to be able to meditate without distraction, and they practice several times a day for years. You can’t go into surgery and conduct a heart transplant without getting the knowledge and practice. What makes you think you can be an expert at meditating from the beginning? It rarely happens.

Each time you get distracted, just take a moment to let it go and go back to meditating. I always say, meditating is like listening. You can’t listen when you are talking or thinking about other things. Despite all the distractions, you kept going. You did it!

Remember, it is impossible to meditate wrong or incorrectly. Just showing up and trying is very beneficial.

You can find more meditation tips and tricks and guided meditations in my e-books, which can be found here on my blog page or here on our Facebook page. I have just a few e-books on the shop page at this time; more will be added soon, so check back often. Find the one that best suits your needs, or try them all and see which one you like best. Personally, I like all of them for different times and different needs in my life.