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You may attempt this and notice you quickly begin to think about something, anything, other than the task at hand.

This is natural; indeed, it is the nature of mind to produce thoughts. Many people attempt this exercise and upon becoming caught up in thoughts, they conclude that they are no good at meditation. “I tried to meditate but I just could not stop thinking!”

Ah, but the very act of noticing that one is thinking is successful meditation!

When you notice that you are caught up in a thought, you strengthen your capacity to observe your thoughts without identifying with them. The practice is to then redirect your attention back to the breath and repeat. Over time, you will be able to hold your attention on the breath for longer stretches of time with fewer interruptions from thought.

The fruits of this simple practice are two-fold:

You develop a detached awareness of your state of mind You strengthen your concentration, the ability to sustain attention on a single object or task

By developing detached awareness (or mindfulness) of thoughts and emotions, you reduce your habit of becoming caught up in them. Chances are there have been times when you have found yourself ruminating for hours on end about something unpleasant from the past, or something you are dreading in the future. With mindfulness, you may notice that you are becoming caught up, then consciously take a step back and breathe.

This is one sense in which meditation leads to a kind of freedom — you develop the ability to free yourself from habituated patterns of thought.

Be careful to remember that the goal of meditation is not to stop thinking, or to clear your mind of all thoughts. Rather, the goal is to raise your awareness of the workings of your mind through repeated practice. It may be that thoughts quiet down with sustained practice, but consider that a pleasant side effect, not a goal.