Plenty of meditators - maybe all - struggle with thoughts of "am I doing this right?" during meditation. Which rings as proof we're not doing this right, that we're thinking rather than meditating. Even the thought "wow I'm doing this right" can ring as a thought rather than meditation, and proof we're doing it wrong.


Many meditation teachers will say not to worry about thinking, that stopping our thinking is impossible, that the mind thinks the way the lungs breathe, so don't worry about thinking. But sitting on a cushion lost in thought for twenty minutes isn't meditation. So how are we not supposed to worry about thinking?


Here's the thing: Meditation isn't about thinking at all. It's about attention. It's about moving our attention from our thoughts about what's happening to what's happening. That doesn't mean our thoughts stop. They're just not the main topic.


Meditation isn't twenty minutes of grading each moment of meditation according to whether it feels like meditation or thinking. Meditation is this:


  1. Pay attention to your breath.
  2. When thoughts come, pay attention to your breath.


Honestly, that's about it. Breath is the first and simplest point of attention in meditation. As we get the hang of paying attention to the sensation of our body breathing, we can expand our attention to everything else we're experiencing including the breath.


Thoughts are going to run. Hopes are going to run. Fears are going to run. Today's to-do list is going to run. Let them be the backing band to your breath and everything else in your senses, rather than the lead singer. After a while, we can do that outside meditation too. We can live our actual lives.