For me meditation is one of the hardest habits out there. My mind is way to fast, way to full and way to loud. I struggled for two years until it got easier. I’m curious if others have a natural talent of meditation or if it’s a skill you need to learn.

I woul say it is a learned skill. It was difficult for me at first, but now I am able to quiet my mind, for mindfulness meditation.

It’s a skill and part of it is learning about yourself. Watching your thoughts and assess them later. Also try a different style each week.

Hhhmm I’ve been trying to start a meditation habit for 3 years and had the same experience.. someone told me that we need meditation even more if we have trouble calming the mind to meditate. Also I read the book by Dan Harris 10 percent happier.. hearing his fast paced life and his commitment now to meditation and how it has changed his life was the recent hook! That and habit tracking to make it a priority has helped a lot this time around..

I don’t know if others have a talent for it but for me it is a challenge to maintain the habit. But I look at it this way: Keep returning to meditation during my life in the same way that I keep returning to the breath during meditation.

I think it's more of a skill needed to learn but usually it would not reuire as much as uou have spent to mediditate. By meditation I,mean focusing on your breath, feel ot run all over uour body like scanning it. Took me couple weeks to get used to it.

It's great if you have a fast mind, that makes it harder for meditation through, I have observed that for some people it comes naturally, and for others, it does not. I for one, have a quick mind too, but can adapt, it was a little rocky at first, but I found it okay at the end! Good job achieving your goal! Keep going!
-K

For me, meditation is an easy task and if I don't concentrate , it is actually pretty easy, but I can still hear other noises. GOOD JOB though.

To be honest, I see it as a natural talent that needs to be harnessed, controlled. I am working on my habits and rooting out the bad ones, and fertilizing the good ones.

I believe it can be both based on your perspective. For me it is a skill that I work hard to develop. What makes me excel at my job is that I can line up tasks efficiently and push my feeling aside to make things work. The problem with that strength is I have a hard time shutting down and being present. My feeling eventually come out and consume me if I don’t address them. I have issues sleeping so that makes the problem worse. The practice of meditation helps me to be mindful of my feelings and thought and understand what is going on with me so that I can be a better person to myself and the others I interact with. That combined with talking about my feelings to my husband and friends has dramatically improved my life and my career because I’m able to develop a skill that puts myself first without being selfish.

The reason I am open to meditation being a natural talent is because I’ve been around machines that test your brain waves. This machine can track if you are thinking or relaxed. I know some people who are very good at relaxing and they don’t practice meditation.

Mindfulness meditation is definitely a skill. Some of us are born with lesser and greater abilities to choose our focus. Interestingly, the piece that changes the brain the most during meditation is when you realize your mind has drifted and bring yourself back to your focus (breath, body awareness, mantra, whatevs). This is the bicep curl of the skull building of meditation, catching and interrupting a drifting mind. So go ahead and enjoy your busy mind! It gives you so many opportunities to change your neurology!

I think it's a skill but just like all skills, it comes easier for some people. But that doesnt mean it cant be learned or improved upon

I think it is a skill that you need to learn. Life can be so fast that we develop a fast paced why of living. Its behaviour and that takes time to change.

I think it’s a skill one needs to learn. It’s still hard for me to silence / focus my mind during meditation. But that’s the challenge, isn’t it? And I try not to beat myself up about it. Oh, and I think just 1 or 2 minutes of meditation counts!

Usually meditation has come east for me. In the beginning I did it for long stretches of time, it just felt really good. Now I find myself retiring my discipline so I'm not distracted as much. But congrats on 2 years!

I have the same problem! I’m new to meditation and usually try it before bed, and therefore am really tired, but I still have to try really hard to concentrate and to stop my mind wondering into other things.

I think it’s like a lot of things…some people are naturally gifted at it, while others need to work to make it happen. My monkey mind is always super busy so it’s a challenge for me to be still internally.

I used to think the same as my mind was quite busy frequently. Meditation gives you the opportunity to observe-without judgment – your thoughts. Eventually, the mind finds its place overtime, bringing more clarity and inner peace. Keep doing what you are doing, the practice takes some time to show its benefits but it is worth it!