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Meditation and the Wandering Mind

by Michael Skowronski
16 replies
One of the most common things I hear people say about meditation is, "I have tried many times to sit down and meditate, but I just can't seem to get my mind to be quite. No matter what I do it never works, my mind just wanders off onto many other things. I wish I could be like others who love meditation and get so much out of it. But I just can't do it!"

If this is your problem, join the club, you are amongst the majority...this blog is written especially for you.

Have you ever noticed that masters refer to meditation as a practice? Meditation is a Practice! It is exercise for the mind, an exercise to gain control of the mind. For most people the mind goes wherever it will, without control of the owner. It is like the servant is ruling the master. You need to become the master of your mind; you need to direct the mind in where it is going...


To Read this Blog...

  • Just to the left you will find the link to my social networking site for MySpace, click on it.
  • Then us your browser's find command and look for "Meditation and the Wandering Mind", click that link.
You will also find many other inspirational and educational blogs on my gr8Wisdom.com site and on MySpace.com/MichaelSkowronski.

Love and Blessings,
Michael Skowronski
Author of Unforgettable: A Love and Spiritual Growth Story
and
The Ultimate Guide to Relationship Healing
#meditation #mind #wandering
  • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
    Thank you for this post, Michael.

    You're absolutely right about the difficulty of quieting the mind -- I think that the most successful strategy I've come across is "breathing meditation" where the sitter focuses their attention upon inhaling and exhaling.

    To be honest, it's been some time since I regularly made meditation a part of my day. But your post has given me a jolt. I'm going to make a couple of 10 minute sittings part of my daily routine!
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  • Profile picture of the author Norma Holt
    Hi Michael, it takes time to quieten the mind because the noise of the world echoes around inside and takes all kinds of twists and turns. The best way is to cut out the noise and let the mind take over.

    The worst thing for the brain is fiction because it cannot decipher it. We store memory of whatever happens to us and we draw on that memory in our sleep or when meditating. When the fiction has invaded the mind is in turmoil. It does not compute with the program it has on board and it presses all the keys looking for a solution. This is also responsible for nightmares and dreams.

    When you get rid of the rubbish, which is the aim of meditation, the brain relaxes and good thoughts prevail, the dreams mostly stop and your become more peaceful within.

    God bless

    Norma Holt
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  • Profile picture of the author surenpp
    i think the best method of meditation is to follow the path of Ekart Tolly.problem in meditation crop up when we try to control the mind.we have to understand that mind can not be controlled.it can only be observed.Awareness without choice is what J. krishnamurthy says.it means it should be constant> Not something you practice for an hour or so
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    • Profile picture of the author Norma Holt
      Originally Posted by surenpp View Post

      i think the best method of meditation is to follow the path of Ekart Tolly.problem in meditation crop up when we try to control the mind.we have to understand that mind can not be controlled.it can only be observed.Awareness without choice is what J. krishnamurthy says.it means it should be constant> Not something you practice for an hour or so
      That is garbage. The mind can be controlled. The problem with you giys is oyu read too much from people who profess to know what they are talking about but promote BS
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      • Profile picture of the author J. Barry Mandel
        Actually this is the exact truth.

        There is no such thing as mind in the first place.

        So as the last poster said you cannot control that which does not exist.

        Zen masters have posited this very notion for century after century.


        Originally Posted by Norma Holt View Post

        That is garbage. The mind can be controlled. The problem with you giys is oyu read too much from people who profess to know what they are talking about but promote BS
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      • Profile picture of the author Ralf Skirr
        Originally Posted by Norma Holt View Post

        That is garbage. The mind can be controlled. The problem with you giys is oyu read too much from people who profess to know what they are talking about but promote BS
        Now these lines do not sound like the output of a controlled mind, if I may say so. Neither the chosen tone nor the spelling.

        Eckhart Tolle's 'A New Earth' is maybe the best spiritual book I've ever read. Not only an enlightening read but also practical advice to facilitate real change. It's not for everyone though, but that's true for all spiritual guidance.

        Ralf
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        • Profile picture of the author Felix Makmur
          I actually prefer to use the term "letting go" of the mind or letting it be instead of "controlling" it. Because in my meditation experience (I've been meditating since I was 12 btw :-)), when we let go of the thought and let it be there by itself, the mind will gradually dissolve by itself without the need for us to "control" or get rid of the bad thoughts. Or in other words, if we don't give internal resistance to the thoughts or if we are in inner alignment with what is, the negative thoughts also won't influence us so much, since they are basically just passing phenomena.


          Originally Posted by Ralf Skirr View Post

          Eckhart Tolle's 'A New Earth' is maybe the best spiritual book I've ever read. Not only an enlightening read but also practical advice to facilitate real change. It's not for everyone though, but that's true for all spiritual guidance.

          Ralf
          I second that. His Power of Now is also one of my favourite spiritual book that I always refer to from time to time.

          Felix
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Skowronski
    Hi Surenpp,

    Although I have not read all of Eckhart Tolle's works I would guess he would not have worded it exactly as you said "that mind cannot be controlled". It may seem that way, and often once we gain control of our minds we will find that we once again lose it.

    I assure you from personal experience, and from the experience of many masters I have studied, that with practice you can control your mind for significant periods of time and you can change the habits of your mind so that they habitually focus on what you want it to focus upon instead of all the garbage it tends to focus on when you have not trained it properly.
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  • Profile picture of the author surenpp
    hi michael

    Mind is nothing but thought .When you say controlling the mind it normally means controlling the thought .What iam refering is instead of trying to control be a witness to thought.If you are familiar with the works of Ramana Maharshi
    he ask you find out to whom the thought occurs .Here we have to understand the difference between concentration and mediation.Concentration is exclusive and meditation is inclusive.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Skowronski
    Hi Surenpp,

    I do understand what you mean by being the witness and I am glad you clarrified that point because it is a very important part of the process.

    I am familiar with the teachings of Ramana Maharshi. He was a wonderful and wise man. I visited his Ashram in Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu India. I had one of my deepest meditations ever in a cave/home he used to meditate in. If anyone else ever visits India, do visit Ramana Maharshi's ashram if you are anywhere near there. It is a must see on a spiritual pilgramige to India!
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  • Profile picture of the author surenpp
    hi norma

    People are giving u false hope saying that mind can be controlled.How can u control something which does'nt even exist.What we normally refer as mind
    is nothing more than the thought process And in the name of controlling the
    mind people are trying to controll the thought process .However your thought are produced by your memory.That is the reason why you are not able to think about something which is unknown to you.Actually what we need is a method to erase the memory(iam referring emotional and not factual memory)
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  • Profile picture of the author coachmike
    Meditation and "controlling the mind" are subjects that I've only just begun to explore. So, I cannot speak with any authority on the subject. I've just started reading Wayne Dyer's book, "Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life" and was wondering what you folks would have to say about the Tao Te Ching and, more particularly Dyer's writings on the subject.
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  • Profile picture of the author J. Barry Mandel
    The Tao Te Ching I consider to be a beginners book and an advanced book.

    To understand the crux at what it is about one has to have "beginners mind" to fathom it's depths. This is why it is for beginners.

    The only way to understand it is to have a still unwaivering mind.

    It is based on unifying duality in which the unstill mind cannot grasp that which binds paradox together.
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  • Profile picture of the author cscott5288
    i try to focus on one word like "sun," and just dwell on that
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  • Profile picture of the author Li Weng
    Just take a step back and simply observe the wandering of your mind without interfering.
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  • Profile picture of the author warrenhw
    In my experience, much of the mind noise or chatter has to do with being hung up on "how" something is going to work or unfold ... and when carrying a lot of issues around in my mind, the tendency is to keep focusing on how the issues will play out.

    Of course all this does is keep the brain in a hyper active beta wave state.

    I've found that the deliberate introduction of a "pattern interrupt" phrase or technique is all it takes to quiet the noise and give the meditation a chance to work.

    The physiological effectiveness of meditation is based predicated on slowing the brain wave patterns from beta, the alpha, and then to theta. It's in theta that the "magic" happens in terms of gaining clarity, healing and re-energizing the body, and "connecting with Source".

    Utilizing pattern interrupts such as a simple phrase -- such as "I don't know how" -- or tapping your fingers, or utizing brain wave technologies can all help to disrupt the thought pattern and allow you to invoke a theta wave state.
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