Breathe in. Breathe ou... Oh look! A squirrel!!

The following is an example of what goes on in my mind during my meditation practice:

Becoming aware of my entire body. Breathing in. Breathing out. Feeling the breath on...

That dude who cut me off on the way home from work really bothered me today... oh hello anger... gentle... breathe...

Breathing in. Breathing out. Feeling each breath. Each momen...

I should go get groceries tonight. I need bread, veggies, milk... oh hello planning... gentle... breathe...

In. Out. In. Out. Air rushing in through my nose. Air rushing out thr

I am having a blast hanging out with this girl. oh hello excitement... gentle... breathe...

Nope... still can't stop thinking about her! there you are again excitement... gentle... breathe...

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

When do the Red Wings play again? why hello sports... gentle... breathe...

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

***Bells Ring***

Does this sound familiar to you? Notice that towards the end, my focus on my breath was a lot more drawn out. This is not always the case. Sometimes the bells ring and I am completely lost in thought.

During meditation, our minds naturally wander. Resistance is futile. Instead of letting our thoughts control us and throw us into "fight, flight, or freeze" mode, meditation helps us to notice our thoughts, spend a few curious moments with them, and then non-judgmentally allow them to fade away.

The more we practice, the more our minds learn to rest and be in each present moment. That being said, just like in a single meditation session, we often lose focus and forget (or get "too busy") to meditate for a few days at a time. The remedy for this is as simple as during a single meditation session; simply start over.

As we learned in the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction class, the people who are the best at meditation aren't those who can completely clear their mind (that's impossible). The people who are the best at (or get the most out of) meditation are those who allow themselves to start over again and again and again and again and again.