... our minds are a bit like Grand Central Station

 

My friend Tom brought me to my first meditation group on a Sunday night at a Yoga studio 30 minutes away from where I lived. The meditation group was great but the car ride was formative.

Tom told me that our minds are a bit like Grand Central Station. Thoughts come rushing in like trains full of busy commuters. The conductor blows his whistle and each thought demands our attention. "Meditation," Tom said, "Is our chance to stand on the platform and without jumping on every train that comes through the station."
  
This stuck with me and still shapes how I think of meditation. 

Meditating gives us  a conscious choice in the stream of thoughts that come rushing out of our unconscious mind. Much of the freedom of our practice comes from being able to pick and choose which thoughts we'll let develop and which thoughts we'll let go. 

 

Sjá: http://www.zenhappinessproject.com/