I think too much. Always have. Kind of wondering if I always will.
Everyone stresses meditation, how important it is, how crucial it is to Wicca and Paganism. They don’t tell you it can take years before you get anywhere, and even then you still might be kind of bad at it.
It’s not even that I get distracted.
I’m pretty good at saying “shut up, brain” and not dwelling on other thoughts. I’ve done enough yoga to be good at breath-focus (and I actually do better meditating when I’m doing yoga instead of just sitting). Problem is, during “sitting meditation,” I’m actively thinking about not dwelling on other thoughts. I can only manage true “silence” for 5-10 seconds at a time before I think “Hey, I’m not thinking about anything,” which is actually a thought about something, and by then I’ve ruined the whole mess.
Still, I get a lot out of meditating, and I feel better (mentally and physically) when I can take 10 minutes a few times a day to shut down and turn inward.
I just kind of suck at it.
(Visualization is somewhat easier. I can focus on one thing pretty easily. I just can’t focus on nothing.)
I find when all else fails mental burn out can quiet things down. This more or less means focusing and working out so many different things at once that eventually your brain just gets tired and blanks out.
Another method my friends worked out is music visualization, which work in a similar way, but you use music as a catalyst to think up some dreamscape that flows along with the music.
Or the Homer Simpson route; threaten to stab your brain with a Q-tip. *shrugs*
@alcotsirk – I use music as an aid to meditation a lot. I’m a trained musician, so I find that certain types of music (usually things that I’ve not heard before, so I don’t try to “sing along”) can really help lull my brain into quiet. I’m so used to focusing on music as an exercise that it really helps a lot.
iTunes Radio is pretty excellent for that as well.
I guess I just see it partially as a “crutch” that I’m using to help out. Yoga is kind of the same way – though I probably ought to just do what works and not worry about it!