Starting meditation

[stewartM]

Hi Guys, I've been attempting to 'quiet my mind' for the last few days with meditation, and I can't seem to do it or sit still for more than two or three minutes, i concentrate on my breathing yet my mine wanders so easily...any suggestions?

[AnnRus]

praсtice practice and practice. i can't sit more then 3-5 minutes, but try to empower in this field. some times i use disc with meditations. it helps me!

[stewartM]

A disc?

[AnnRus]

yes. I attended trainings, so there we used cd-disc with meditations. it helps to concentrate. but i think it is not for all. for example when i listen meditation from disc, i "fall in myself" (russian expression) through 5 minutes

[stewartM]

Ah I see, I'll look for one, thank you!

[AnnRus]

when i'll increase my level of english I'll tell you about it more information

[stewartM]

I can only say a few things in Russian (all useless) so you're doing much better than me!

[AnnRus]

[fellow traveler]

Originally Posted by stewartM

Hi Guys, I've been attempting to 'quiet my mind' for the last few days with meditation, and I can't seem to do it or sit still for more than two or three minutes, i concentrate on my breathing yet my mine wanders so easily...any suggestions?

This is completely normal to experience this when you are a beginner with meditation. .... What you need to learn to do over time is to simply observe what is happening within you. ... Do not try to make your mind quiet. .. That is not how meditation works. .. The more you try to make your mental quiet, the stronger your mental will become.

The quieting of the mental is a natural result that begins to take place the more that you learn to move your awareness into a place of simply observing and allowing what is happening within you. ... The more you attempt to 'get some place' or to control your mind/mental, .. the more the quiet you are seeking will evade you.

I don't know what particular method of meditation you have adopted, .. but you simply keep gently bringing your attention back to your practice each time that you become aware that you have become swept away by the dialogue or thoughts in your mental.

In the beginning this is a constant experience of focusing on your practice and then being pulled away by the thoughts in the mental. .... Each time you find you have become absorbed in thoughts again, .. do not try to stop the mental. .. just gently come back to your practice and allow what has happened to be.

Eventually, the more you practice over time, .. you will very spontaneously begin to experience brief moments where you will find yourself in a state of quiet within you. ... These moments will come and go, .. but do not try to hold on to them or get them back. .. Just allow the changes to occur within you and simply observe them. .. The more you are able to do this, .. the more you will find yourself experiencing longer and longer periods of quiet.

Ultimately, .. the bottom line is that meditation is all about 'letting go' and simply observing what is.
.. In the beginning you are simply becoming aware of all of the noise that has been taking place within you all of your life, .. but which you were unaware of before. ... Just observe and allow, ..and gently keep coming back to the practice you have been taught or have adopted.

In the beginning just practice for perhaps five minutes at a time. ... Over time, as you find yourself naturally drawn to practice longer, you can extent the length of time that you practice to ten minutes, .. and then twenty and so on. .. A good length of time to eventually get to is one hour.

[MiBeloved]

Try one of two things:
1. going to the back of your head
2. turning around your attention and focusing it through the back of your head

This might sound crazy but you cannot think if you go to the back part. Thinking occurs mostly in the front part and it is impulsive.

[Beyond Answers]

It can really help in the beginning to listen to a guided meditation walk through. That way instead of having to worry about focus, which negates the point, you will just focus on the what the person is saying. It's not about stopping thoughts, it's about learning to not listen to them for a moment.

Here's the best website in the Universe for guided meditation. Laura is my guru!
PodOmatic | Podcast - Medium Laura Evans' Podcast - Self-love meditation

[Bingjie]

Originally Posted by stewartM

Hi Guys, I've been attempting to 'quiet my mind' for the last few days with meditation, and I can't seem to do it or sit still for more than two or three minutes, i concentrate on my breathing yet my mine wanders so easily...any suggestions?

Me too!
try following your wandering mind, while still focusing on your breath. This means you're watching how your thoughts unfold naturally, but you're not actively contributing to build that thought stream with more thoughts. breathe in a way that you're slowly savoring every inhale, and letting go at the exhale.

another way is to do a stretch meditation. do a seated hamstring stretch, or any other stretches where you're in a comfortable position, and focus on easing into the stretch, bit by bit. this is also meditation to me, coz I'll be focusing on releasing any body tension that arises, while still focusing on lengthening even more.

or you can try my mini-meditation at this link: YouTube - Emotional Healing Meditation_0001.wmv. It's a 6-minute meditation, and you can download the audio for free at my site.

have fun!

[xfactor]

Originally Posted by stewartM

Hi Guys, I've been attempting to 'quiet my mind' for the last few days with meditation, and I can't seem to do it or sit still for more than two or three minutes, i concentrate on my breathing yet my mine wanders so easily...any suggestions?

The point here is learn to not do anything with your mind. Just be there. Don't force yourself to "not to think" - let your mind do whatever it wants. Just observe its actions and sort of "take notes", but don't fight it.