Meditation is calming the brain. My tips are to be comfortable, my eyes closed, and surroundings quiet (so as not to distract me) and focus on my breath. I don't try to change it, I just let it be. Don't try to change it, just let it be. When my focus strays, I turn my attention back to my breath.

Hello Ms. Moyer, I put the video link above, for the very informative and engaging, introductory webinar by meditation and mindfulness expert, Andrew Johnson. The webinar as posted here is called" Discover mindfulness that fits you". I feel sure that you will find it very interesting and most informative, with regard to your question on calming the mind . This video, is an introduction to the Andrew Johnson program here at Grokker called "90 days of mood boosting mini-meditations". I enjoyed the program so much and learned so much about relaxation, mindfulness and meditation. I hope you get the chance to enjoy the introductory webinar below and the excellent 90 day program, with short daily videos, each about 3 minutes. Great program! I found this program so beneficial, informative and enjoyable. Hope you get a chance to listen to the webinar and enjoy this wonderful program too!

Teneale Moyer - Do not fall into the pitfall that observig breath is going to help you develop meditative mind. There is no such progress in meditation. A completely new energy flows when you just observe thought. Go deep with it, why is that thought coming, is it having its root in desire, fear, anger, pain ..These are the roots for all of man kind .. you may have different pain, fear, desire and I may have different shape but the root is the same. Just see what the world has become because of these core roots, the pain human beings are going through .. Just OBSERVE, be with it and completely new quality flowers in the consiousness in such observation. PLEASE DON"T THINK OBSERVING BREATH WOULD SOLVE THE PROBLEM. it is just an escape route

Teneale Moyer - When you start meditate you have a set goal (desrie) to calm the mind which is essentially a thought. Mind is a collection of tons of such thoughts, so it is impossible for a thought to control a warehouse of thoughts. So how to meditate is to beign with understanding and letting go of the desire to control mind.

Just observe what happens. You enter meditation with a idea to control mind but it doesn't work then immediately a new thought comes up saying you are not focussed, not determined leading to stress. See the trick mind plays, so what can be done ? Is there an observation without condemnation, just to observe as if you would observe a sky or ocean without any judgement. That is the way to meditate. Without any goal just observe every thought that comes and let me know here what takes place.

Teneale, I think this is really normal in meditation, I've learnt not to shut of the thoughts but acknowledge them, observe them, thank them and, quieten them. When you go to meditate give yourself permission to have space - 5 minutes at the start to just allow your mind to rest. Sometimes I've needed to start at one minute. I do that for a few days and then move to 2 minutes and then a few days I add another minute and continue to what feels comfortable. Concentrating on your breath also deepening it - look for a 4-7-8 breathing technique.
I found creative visualisations like Yoga Nidra helpful. I'm new to Grokker so can't share videos here but use a meditation app called Insight Timer. Hope this helps.

There is no method to keep the ind calm. You are your mind, you are your thought. The thinker is the thought, The obeserver is the observed. To ask how to control mind is nothing but a desire to control the mind which is not possible.

Mediation means to observe the mind without any judgement, no conclusion, no opinion. See the entire structure of the thought. Is it based on fear, anxiety, desire, pleasure, confusion, contradiction. See the whole of thought and the mind. DONT TRY TO CONTROL IT. YOU ARE YOUR MIND.