You sit down, close your eyes, and take a deep breath, ready for that promised inner peace. But instead of a serene, blank slate, your mind floods with a chaotic mix of your grocery list, a cringey thing you said in 2012, and the lyrics to a song you haven’t heard in years. If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I doing this wrong? what do you think about when meditating anyway?”—you’ve asked the single most important question in the practice.
The answer is surprisingly simple, and it has nothing to do with forcing your mind to go silent.
Let’s clear the air right now. Your brain is a thought-producing machine. Asking it to stop thinking is like asking your heart to stop beating. The real goal is far more interesting: it’s about changing your relationship with your thoughts.
At a Glance: The Truth About Your Meditating Mind
Pressed for time? Here’s the core of what you need to know about your thoughts during meditation.
- You don’t stop thinking. Your brain generates around 60,000 thoughts a day. Expecting them to vanish is the #1 source of frustration for beginners.
- The goal is to observe, not engage. You’re learning to become a neutral observer of your thoughts, watching them come and go without getting swept away.
- Your “anchor” is your home base. To avoid getting lost in thought, you rest your attention on a chosen focus point, like your breath or body sensations.
- Mind-wandering is part of the process. Every time you notice your mind has drifted and you gently guide it back, you are strengthening your attention “muscle.” This is the central exercise of meditation.
The Biggest Misconception: The Myth of the “Empty Mind”
The most persistent myth about meditation is that it’s about achieving a state of complete mental emptiness. This single idea has probably caused more people to give up on the practice than any other. When we try to suppress our thoughts, we often make them louder—a phenomenon psychologists call the “ironic process theory.” Try not to think of a pink elephant, and what’s the first thing that pops into your head?
Instead of fighting your mind, the practice invites you to take a different posture. Imagine your thoughts are clouds drifting across the vast sky of your awareness. You are the sky, not the clouds. You don’t have to grab onto them, analyze them, or push them away. You simply notice them as they float by. An important question is are you supposed to think at all, and the answer is a resounding yes. Thinking will happen; your job is to change how you react.
This “observer perspective” is the superpower you’re building. It’s the space between a stimulus (a thought or feeling) and your reaction to it. Over time, that space gets bigger, giving you more freedom and control in your daily life.
Your Anchor: Choosing a Place for Your Mind to Rest
If you’re just watching thoughts go by, how do you keep from getting lost in them for ten straight minutes? This is where an “anchor” comes in. An anchor is a neutral point of focus you can return to again and again. It’s your mind’s home base.
There are many options for What to focus on, and it’s worth experimenting to see what works best for you.
The Breath: The Most Universal Anchor
Your breath is the most common and accessible anchor because it’s always with you. It’s a physical, rhythmic sensation that grounds you in the present moment.
How to do it:
- Find a comfortable seated position.
- Bring your attention to the physical sensation of your breath. You might notice the coolness of the air at your nostrils as you inhale, the gentle rise of your chest and belly, and the warmth as you exhale.
- Don’t try to change your breathing. Just observe its natural rhythm.
- For deeper relaxation, you can try a simple exercise: Inhale for a count of four, hold for a moment, and then exhale for a count of six. The slightly longer exhale helps activate the body’s relaxation response.
The Body Scan: Grounding in Physical Sensation
A body scan is a fantastic way to reconnect with your physical self, especially if you live a lot “in your head.” It involves moving your attention systematically through your body.
How to do it:
- Lying down or sitting, bring your focus to the tips of your toes.
- Simply notice any sensations present—warmth, coolness, tingling, pressure, or even numbness. You’re not trying to fix or change anything, just notice.
- Slowly, move your awareness up through your feet, to your ankles, calves, knees, and so on, until you’ve “scanned” your entire body up to the crown of your head.
Mantras and Affirmations: Using Sound and Intention
A mantra is a word or phrase you repeat silently to yourself. Its purpose is to occupy the “verbal” part of your mind, giving it a simple job to do. This helps settle the mental chatter. The specific What do meditators think when using this technique is the mantra itself, over and over.
Examples:
- Traditional: “Om” (a resonant sound) or “So Hum” (a Sanskrit mantra meaning “I am that,” often timed with the breath).
- Affirmations: “I am peaceful,” “I am here,” or simply the word “calm” on the exhale.
Visualization and Loving-Kindness: Cultivating Specific States
You can also use your mind’s eye as an anchor. Visualization involves picturing a serene place, like a quiet beach or a sunlit forest, and imagining yourself there with all your senses. This is a great way to Enhance your meditation focus when you feel particularly scattered.
Loving-kindness meditation (or Metta) is a practice where you actively cultivate feelings of goodwill. You silently repeat phrases, directing them first to yourself, then to loved ones, neutral people, and eventually all beings.
Example Phrases:
- “May I be happy.”
- “May I be healthy.”
- “May I be safe.”
- “May I live with ease.”
The “Aha!” Moment: What to Do When Your Mind Wanders
Here is the most crucial instruction in all of meditation: at some point, your mind will wander. It will drift off to a work project, a memory, or a future plan. The moment you realize this has happened—”Oh, I’ve been thinking”—is not a failure. It is the central “rep” of your mental workout.
This moment of noticing is a moment of pure mindfulness.
When it happens, follow this simple, non-judgmental process. This is the essence of What to do while meditating:
- Notice: Gently and without criticism, recognize that your mind has wandered.
- Acknowledge: You can silently label the thought (“thinking,” “planning,” “worrying”) to create a little distance.
- Return: Kindly and patiently, guide your attention back to your chosen anchor, like your breath.
Think of it like training a puppy. You wouldn’t yell at a puppy every time it wandered off. You’d gently take it by the scruff and lead it back to its spot, over and over again. Treat your mind with that same gentle persistence.
Navigating the Inner Landscape: Working with Difficult Thoughts and Emotions
Sometimes, the thoughts that arise aren’t just neutral to-do lists; they can be challenging emotions like anxiety, sadness, or anger. Your first instinct might be to push them away, but meditation offers another path. It teaches you to sit with discomfort and investigate it with curiosity rather than fear.
A powerful framework for this is the RAIN technique, popularized by meditation teacher Tara Brach. It provides a clear guide for What Happens During Meditation when difficult feelings surface.
- R – Recognize: Simply name what is happening. “Ah, this is anxiety,” or “Sadness is here.”
- A – Allow: Let the feeling be there without trying to fix it or force it to leave. Create space for it.
- I – Investigate: Gently explore the feeling with kindness. Where do you feel it in your body? What does it really feel like, stripped of the story you tell about it?
- N – Nurture: Offer yourself some compassion. You might place a hand on your heart and offer a silent phrase like, “This is hard right now.” This step helps re-wire your response from self-criticism to self-kindness.
Practical Guidance for Getting Started (and Sticking With It)
Knowing the theory is one thing; putting it into practice is another. Here are some tips to build a sustainable habit.
Start Small and Stay Consistent
You don’t need to start with a 30-minute silent sit. In fact, you’re more likely to succeed if you don’t.
- Aim for 3 to 10 minutes a day. A short, consistent practice is far more impactful than a long, sporadic one.
- Pick a regular time and place. Tying your meditation to an existing habit—like right after your morning coffee or before you check your phone—can make it automatic.
- Use guided meditations. Apps like Calm, Headspace, or free resources on YouTube can provide structure and remove the guesswork.
Tackling Common Roadblocks
Everyone hits bumps in the road. Here’s how to navigate them.
- Feeling Restless or Fidgety? Your body might just need to move. Try a walking meditation, where you focus on the sensation of your feet on the ground. Knowing How to focus in meditation can sometimes mean choosing a different type of practice for the day.
- Falling Asleep? This is common, especially if you’re sleep-deprived. Try sitting in a more upright chair instead of a comfy couch, or meditate at a time of day when you’re naturally more alert.
- Feeling Judgmental (“I’m bad at this”)? Remember, there is no such thing as a “bad” meditation. The only goal is to show up and practice. Every time you sit, you are succeeding, regardless of how busy your mind feels.
When you’re in the moment, the simple answer to What to think while meditating is to return your focus to your breath. That’s always the right move.
The Science Behind the Stillness: What Meditation Does to Your Brain
This practice of observing your thoughts isn’t just a mental exercise; it physically changes your brain for the better. Neuroscientists using fMRI scans have found that regular meditation can:
- Strengthen the Prefrontal Cortex: This is the part of your brain responsible for focus, decision-making, and emotional regulation. It literally gets thicker with practice.
- Shrink the Amygdala: The amygdala is the brain’s “alarm system,” responsible for the fight-or-flight response. Meditation can reduce its reactivity, meaning you’re less likely to be hijacked by stress and anxiety.
- Reduce Stress Hormones: One study found that consistent meditation can reduce cortisol levels by up to 25%.
- Improve Attention: Research has shown that even after just 8 weeks of practice, participants show significant improvements in their ability to sustain attention.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Meditating Mind
Let’s tackle a few more common questions directly.
Q: Should I try to analyze my thoughts during meditation?
A: Generally, no. The primary practice is to simply observe the thought and let it go. Trying to analyze it during your session pulls you back into the stream of thinking. You can always reflect on patterns you notice after your session is over.
Q: What if I have no thoughts at all? Is that good?
A: Moments of quiet or “gaps” between thoughts can and do happen. They can feel very peaceful. Enjoy them when they arise, but don’t strive for them or get attached. Chasing that quiet can, ironically, create more mental noise.
Q: Is it okay to think about my goals or solve problems while meditating?
A: That type of focused thinking is more accurately called contemplation or reflection, which is also a valuable practice. However, it’s different from mindfulness meditation, where the goal is to let go of directed thinking and simply rest in awareness. Deciding What to think while meditating beforehand can help you distinguish between these different mental modes.
Your First (or Next) 5 Minutes of Practice
Reading about meditation is helpful, but the real understanding comes from doing it. You don’t need a special cushion, incense, or an hour of free time. All you need is the next five minutes.
Here’s a simple script to guide you:
- Find your seat. Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the floor and your spine relatively straight but not rigid.
- Set a timer for 3, 5, or 10 minutes so you don’t have to worry about time.
- Close your eyes or soften your gaze toward the floor.
- Take three deep breaths. Inhale through your nose, and exhale slowly through your mouth. Let your body settle.
- Let your breath return to normal and rest your attention on the physical sensation of it.
- When your mind wanders (and it will), just notice. No judgment. Gently escort your attention back to your breath.
- Repeat this process of wandering, noticing, and returning until the timer goes off.
That’s it. That is the entire practice in a nutshell.
Your mind isn’t your enemy. It’s a powerful, creative tool that’s just doing its job. By learning to watch it with patient, non-judgmental awareness, you stop being a servant to its every whim and start becoming the calm, conscious director of your own life.
