Mind is filled with thoughts during meditation.

Question: I’m unable to meditate, have endless thoughts during meditation. My mind even thinks of those things that normally don’t occur to me.

The answer to this question has many aspects but let us first clear up one basic concept:

The idea that the mind should become thoughtless during meditation is a near myth. The mind will become thoughtless but gradually over a period of time and after many years of meditation, at a higher stage of consciousness. The immediate purpose of meditation is not to make the mind thoughtless, rather it is to quieten the mind down. This process of quieting the mind can be understood with an analogy: let’s say there is dirt in a glass of water. The dirt keeps swirling around. If you stir or shake the glass, the dirt swirls even faster. If you leave the glass undisturbed, then after a few hours the dirt will begin to settle down at the bottom of the container and only clear water will be visible. Regular meditation quietens the chaos of thoughts in your mind – your thoughts, ideas and reactions settle down, revealing clear unmuddled vision.

Now coming to the heart of the question – why do thoughts occur during meditation nand how can these be curbed?

When we meditate, can you stop your ears from hearing sounds? Can you prevent your nose from smelling things? If there is a sudden sound or a whiff of fragrance when you are meditating, can you stop your ears and nose from registering this stimulus? Much in the same way, the job of the mind is to create thought. This function of the mind cannot be controlled. However, it can be slowed down.

This brings us to the next part of the question: Why does the mind create so many thoughts during meditation and why do we think of those things that would normally not occur to us?

Let us approach this question with two analogies:

You may have seen pictures of icebergs and also know a little bit about them – they are ice structures that seem to be floating in water. The portion of the iceberg that we see above water is only 10% to 15% of its actual size. The remaining mammoth structure is submerged under water and remains invisible to us. Is it the above-surface small part of the iceberg that propels its movement or is it the submerged gargantuan one? It’s obviously the submerged portion of the iceberg that guides the movement of the whole structure. Even if it’s not visible, it is the submerged mass that controls the movement of the visible one.

Similarly, 90% of our mind is subconscious while only 10% is conscious. Which part of the mind guides our behaviour then? It is certainly the subconscious. This is why after a particularly perplexing incident we say, I don’t know why I did this? I didn’t intend to do this and yet I did it. I meant to say one thing and said something else altogether. Where did these uncontrolled behaviours and words emerge from? They rose from that subconscious center that is not visible to anyone. Now keep this in mind that roughly only about 10% of our thoughts and actions are under our control, we have no control over the other 90%.

Now for the second analogy:

Say you are in a public place talking to a friend. After a while if you are asked about the conversations around you, you will likely say that you were aware of people talking but didn’t know exactly what they were saying. You may also add that even though you could hear snippets of these conversations, your mind didn’t register them because you were focused on your own conversations with your friend. Now in this same scenario, if you are asked to sit quietly for a bit would you then be able to hear the conversations? You would not only be able to hear the conversations but give clear accounts of them – someone was talking about the construction of their new home, someone about a movie, someone about their relationship and so on. Why were you able to hear these conversations now and not before? Because you sat quietly and observed.

Much in the same way, the 10% of your mind that is conscious quieted down as soon as you began meditating. This made it fully aware of the noise and chaos that the 90% subconscious mind was creating. This endless barrage is present 24 hours a day but we become aware of it only when we are meditating. This is why it suddenly feels like you have thoughts that you normally wouldn’t have.

Once you become aware of these subconscious thoughts and persist with the meditation practice, over a period of time your mind will quiet down and reach a state of stillness. In this state, you will be able to meditate as easily in a noisy market as you would in a quiet place. This state of consciousness will be made possible only because of your quiet inner center