Trouble Concentrating During Meditation?

Oh heavens no! There’s something wrong with you!

You mean you can’t instantly quieten the mind and rest in a state of blissful peaceful awareness?

Just joking - you’re totally fine and normal.

People think meditation is about concentrating or clearing the mind and remaining thought-free.

It’s not.

True meditation simply means watching everything that is happening with your full awareness (including the crazy way the mind creates thought after thought).

If you go into meditation trying to focus on the breath or trying to concentrate on the heart that’s what you’ll become good at;

Focusing and concentrating.

This is not necessary.

Just observe. Just be.

You are awareness. In meditation this is brought to the fore so you can see how the mind (not you) and the environment all interact within the transparent and unmoved awareness that is you.

This enables you to see clearly for the first time and realize it’s not even your mind,

It’s just mind.

And it doesn’t matter whether it’s focused or concentrated - when you are observing it as awareness that is enough.

- Mike Cheney