The real purpose of meditation should be: to totally accept what is in the ‘now’. It is acceptance without immediate cause. Usually, however, meditation is used to achieve a certain goal, such as relaxation or being away from your thoughts. What often happens is that someone retreats to meditate, at a fixed time of the day, during a pre-planned time, sometimes even with an alarm clock. Then an attempt is made to focus on breathing. Of course there is nothing wrong with that and it can certainly be relaxing, but that way you don’t do it from the ‘now’, but try to go to the ‘now’. Planning meditation is not preferred.
Sometimes it even works counterproductive, namely when there is too much resistance. Meditating if you feel you want to meditate has a greater effect. It is important that you are aware of the possible resistance and accept it, and through your breathing make it disappear very gently. If you really fully accept everything, contact is made with your master consciousness. Meditation is not about being away from your thoughts either. The ultimate intention is precisely that you see the thoughts better, if they are there. Initially, that will certainly be the case. They pass by in your head like clouds or birds.
They come and go, some stay longer than others. In the beginning they usually stay longer, but after a while they pass faster. That’s because you’re hooking up less and less often. Hooking up is having a thought about a thought.
An example of how to deal with thoughts during meditation:
You are meditating and a thought comes by like this: I’ll have to do some shopping later’. You can just let that thought be there. Then immediately after that there often comes a totally different thought that has nothing to do with that thought about the messages, that thought also leaves, and so on. However, if you instead fill in your shopping list and then start thinking about that again, it becomes increasingly difficult to return to your breathing. As soon as you notice this, try not to fight against it, accept your thoughts and quietly focus your attention on your breathing again.
Meditation is not about achieving something, but about discovering something.
You can read more about this in the upcoming book DISCOVER your FREEDOM!