You can’t, and shouldn’t, actively try to stop them. Instead, accept the fact that your mind will race every once in a while, and when you do notice it, just calmly let it pass and ”return your focus”.
Oh my gosh! Basically, I try to concentrate on my breathing, which keeps me from being distracted by thoughts or sounds coming through my meditation. But please do not listen to me because, although I do quite a bit, I am not really great at meditation. I can relax my body quite well. Meditation is still rather new to an old broad, like me. I am 82 and when I went to school in my home town, boys and girls were separated into individual genders. G-d forbid, if a boy looked at a girl and she smiled back at him! No cell phones, no computers, no colored movies, but we did have soda pop and pop corn in our movie theatres.
My thoughts still race but meditation is working on controlling your mental processes. I have found being consistent in a meditative practice teaches you how to control your thoughts and focusing on being present in the moment. Continue to practice you will begin to see and feel a difference.
This is something I struggle with a lot. I have racing thoughts even while trying to meditate. I haven’t figured out how to manage stress and "choose one thought over another." It got so bad I ended up in the ER this past Sat with a sever panic attack (never experienced one physically before) and thought I was
I don’t 🙂 I just notice my thoughts and let them be. And after a while they calm down. And '' a while'' can be a short or a very long time, but eventually it happens
It gets better with practice, like most things. But if I am really having a difficult time quieting my mind, I will use a guided meditation. There are many different kinds – some with music, nature sounds, etc. But my favourite kinds are those that are “guided”, meaning there is a voice to talk me down and give me prompts on what to do and when. I also love the “binaural beats” meditations – they are not quite music but they are tuned in a specific way to calm your brain activity. I find that they help a lot.
Focus on the task at hand and realize that you can get to your racing thoughts later, they can be dealt with later. Let them flow away instead of toward your mind.
It comes with practice. Use guided meditation at first. It keep you with itself and not let you drift away with your thoughts. Guided meditation like body scanning is an excellent way. More you do, more you will absorbed with the process.
I try to first focus on my breath. If my mind keeps wandering, I give myself permission to wander and after a little bit I try to bring it back to my breath. Then I breathe deeply and pay attention to what sensations I feel in my body. If my thoughts keep racing I let them race again and keep coming back to the breath after a little bit. Keep doing that for a while. Meditation isn’t about being perfect so even if you can bring your attention to your breath for a couple of secs then that’s ok, you’re already meditating. The more you practice the easier it will be to control your focus. It’s like exercise
I relax and take a deep breath in. It’s the best when it’s completely quiet. When i distract myself with thoughts i slowly come back to feel my body and breath
Answers reflect the personal experiences of Fabulous community members. They are not medical or professional advice — for guidance about your health, talk to a qualified professional.