Many people think of silent, still meditation as an emptying of the mind. Since the mind is continuously suggesting ideas, memories, worries, etc., the advice about meditation is often to avoid trying empty the mind or to stop thoughts. A common excuse for ceasing to practice meditation is that one can't stop the mind, which is taken as a sign by the novice that one is unsuited for meditation.
One strategy for dealing with the activity of the mind is to concentrate on something, such as one breath or a spot on the wall. If I were trying to swat a mosquito, I might look for the tiniest bit of motion and swat at that moment. I could wait to "catch" an inanimate spot on the wall moving, even knowing that it never will. Trying to stay in that alert mode, all set to perceive motion of an inanimate spot could keep me concentrating directly.
Practicing some meditation every day for 25 or 30 years gets one's head very conscious of what comes to mind. In my head, what comes to mind naturally is mostly pictures or words but not sentences. If I am just puttering around the universe, words and pictures are fine. If I am really working on a puzzle, a problem, if I really want to think incisively, it works much better to switch to explicit questions and answers.
What is bugging me? Well, Christmas is coming and I have done no shopping.
Who do I want to get gifts for? Well, let me make a list.
To stay in contact with the whole body, I move, I concentrate on my feet, I check out feelings from my head, shoulders, core, hips, legs. It is very helpful to recognize what is physical and what isn't. My birthday is important but it is just a notion. The temperature in the bedroom is not just a notion and it is time to shut that window. As a human, I am built to use my head and emotions. As a physical object, I need to include gravity, mass, velocity and temperature in my awareness.
