Help, I can't stop thinking

Andy's answer:

This is such a common experience and in many ways you have answered your own question. One of the first things we notice when we start to meditate is how busy the mind is and how often we are distracted. It doesn’t matter whether it’s during our meditation or when we’re involved in everyday activity, it can be really shocking to see. I remember when I was learning to meditate, being so shocked by the number of thoughts, that I went to my teacher and complained that the meditation wasn’t working. I said, “Look, I never used to have this problem before, in fact I think the meditation might even be making the situation worse, I just think all the time now!” It took me quite some time to realize that my mind had always been that way and it was only now, through the lens of awareness, that I was seeing it more clearly, in all of it’s confusion and chaos. But this is very much part of the process. It is in realizing we are distracted that we create the opportunity to be present. So it is actually very encouraging you are seeing this activity clearly and, as long as you remember to use these moments of realization as a reminder to rest in the here and now, as opposed to getting wrapped up in thinking, then in time you will start to notice a fundamental shift in perspective. Warm wishes, Andy