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Please Stop Trying to Stop Thinking
If you think meditation is about stopping your thoughts, you’re setting yourself up for failure
As a meditation teacher, one of the biggest and most frequent questions/complaints/concerns I hear comes from new students who haven’t meditated much before (if at all). And it’s always the same thing: I can’t stop thinking!
“I can’t stop thinking no matter how hard I try. And I know I’m supposed to. But it doesn’t matter what kind of meditation I try, or how much I try to relax first, or anything else. It just doesn’t work. Help me!”
So I do as they ask and try to help them. But they’re always surprised by my helpful answer.
“Stop trying to stop thinking,” I tell them. “That’s not the point of meditation. And it’s not something you can do anyway.”
This often leads into bigger discussions. What is the point of meditating then? And if it’s not something you can do, why do they always tell you to do it?
We’re not going to get into all of that today. There can be many purposes to meditating. Let’s talk today about why everyone thinks you should be able to stop thinking when you meditate.
