A lot of people say that their brains are too busy to meditate. This is especially true of ADHDers. I know that I have struggled with meditation in the past. I am going to share some things that have helped me. Meditation is a mind/body experience. The Posture If you have ever done a martial arts form (also known as a "kata,") then you will know that there is a lot going on to be aware of. How is my posture? Where is my center of gravity? Are my feet planted the correct way? Likewise, sitting meditation involves an aspect of posture. You do not have to sit in the lotus position to meditate, but it is good to sit with your butt balanced on your chair or cushion. The spine should be erect, as if there is an invisible string pulling your head up. It sounds easy, but it is hard for many meditators to maintain a stable posture. People who are smarter and more experienced than me say that a stable posture is important for meditation. I have personally observed that there seems to be a relationship between my back slumping and my mind drifting. Just focusing on maintaining posture can be a meditative act in and of itself. The Parts Of The Breath A lot of meditation instructions focus on two parts of the breath: the inhale and the exhale. I prefer to break the breath down into four parts: the inhale, the hold, the exhale, and the second hold. To help myself stay with the breath, I state what I am doing as I am doing it. Inhaling: As I breathe in, I know that I am breathing in. Holding: As I hold my breath, I know that I am holding my breath. Exhaling: As I exhale, I know that I am exhaling. Second Hold: As I hold my breath, I know that I am holding my breath. This technique is something I kludged together from my reading of Thich Nhat Hanh and study of breath work. I do not always do it like this. Sometimes I skip the breath holds if they feel too laborious. It is hard to meditate when I am blacking out because I did not listen to my body. THE NOISY STUFF As someone with ADHD, it can feel like there are multiple thought processes going on at once. There is usually a song stuck in my head, the part of me that is trying to focus on what I am doing, and the louder part that is making noise, fantasizing, and generally making it hard to focus. I do my best to integrate these into my meditation. Sometimes I will (internally) sing or chant my breathing mantras. I will visualize the air moving in and out of my lungs or moving through my body like it is a novelty syrup bottle somebody bought at a tourist trap. The point is to integrate as many of the disparate feeling parts of my brain into the meditation. It is like trying to get a bar full of drunks to sing along with a choir. I have to give them something to do or they will just keep doing their own chaotic stuff. And sometimes they do that anyway. The Eyes I prefer to meditate with my eyes open if I can. If there is a blank wall or a boring piece of furniture in front of me, even better. I lock my eyes on one spot and try to keep them there. This is another thing that can become part of the meditative process. Trying to keep my eyes from wandering is its own challenge. If I am in an environment where I have to close my eyes, I like to put a bandana around my eyes like a comic book martial artist. The sensation of my eyes being covered helps me be aware of the way my eyes move when I drift and serve as an extra reminder to come back to my breathing and posture. What If My Brain Is REALLY Out Of It? If my brain is tired, I will sit in my posture and stare at the wall. I try not to worry about breathing, or eye movement, or anything else. I just try to maintain posture while my mind does its thing. Sometimes trying to force the mind to do something when it is tired and angry is pointless. Just letting it whirl around without picking up my phone seems to be restorative. I do not know if this can be considered a form of meditation, but I do feel like it is a form of self care and wanted to mention it. Conclusion Even with all these things, I often feel like I am meditating wrong. Maybe I am. Perhaps the act of writing this has disturbed the Force and caused some monk in Thailand to wake in a cold sweat without knowing why. But this is what I do to keep myself on the cushion and not run away screaming. I hope it helps. If not, well, you're not getting back the part of your life that you spent reading it. Sorry.