Date: 04/05/2025 04/06/2025
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Shilin Long
Sitting Meditation
How to Deal with Distractions and Mental Wandering
Distractions and wandering thoughts are unavoidable in meditation. They are not failures or obstacles but natural expressions of the mind. Learning to face them correctly is essential for entering stability and clarity.
1. Understanding the Nature of Thoughts
1. Thoughts are natural mental activity
The mind’s job is to think, analyze, imagine, and remember. Thoughts are normal.
2. Meditation is not about achieving a blank mind
Trying to eliminate thoughts only creates tension and increases distraction.
3. Recognizing thoughts is already progress
Awareness of thinking means the mind is no longer completely controlled by thoughts.
2. The Right Attitude: Do Not Fear, Fight, or Follow Thoughts
1. Do not fear thoughts
Fear gives thoughts unnecessary power.
2. Do not try to get rid of them
The more you try to push thoughts away, the stronger they become.
3. Do not follow thoughts
Simply notice, “A thought has appeared,” and do not continue the story.
3. Method of Observing Thoughts: Dissolving Them Through Awareness
1. Notice thoughts arising
Watch them as an observer without reacting.
2. Allow thoughts to pass naturally
Like clouds drifting across the sky, thoughts appear and disappear.
3. Observe thoughts fading
They dissolve on their own without force.
4. Handling Mental Wandering: From Immersion to Awareness
1. Wandering thoughts are reminders
They show you that the mind has drifted.
2. Gently return to the present
Return to the breath, body, or chosen object without blame.
3. The stronger the wandering, the more relaxation is needed
Relaxation reduces the pull of mental stories.
5. Helpful Techniques for Regaining Stability
1. Breath counting
Numbers anchor the mind and reduce wandering.
2. Observing bodily sensations
Awareness of feet, hands, or body weight brings attention back.
3. Softening and deepening the breath
Gentle breathing calms mental turbulence.
6. The Natural Progress of Reducing Distraction
1. Many thoughts in the beginning is normal
It means awareness is improving.
2. With practice, thoughts become shorter and weaker
They appear briefly and fade quickly.
3. The goal is not “no thoughts” but “not being disturbed by thoughts”
The mind becomes stable even when thoughts arise.
Conclusion
Distractions and wandering thoughts are part of meditation.
The true practice is not eliminating thoughts but meeting them with awareness, gentleness, and relaxation.
When you stop fighting or following thoughts, the mind naturally returns to clarity, stability, and freedom.
