Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
From what I understand, you don't need to say that you "are horrible" at meditating because you have thoughts wandering in and out. Everyone does! The key is to accept the thoughts like flotsam and jetsam floating down a stream in front of you, and just observe the thoughts and let them drift away. Don't think of yourself as a meditation flunky just because you have wandering thoughts! We all do!

My trick is to focus on an image, rather than a word or mantra. I find I'm more successful by peering into an empty vessel inside me. I imagine all kinds of sooty particles clouding up my glass vessel and I try to meditate them away so that the light that's running through me into the vessel can emanate outwards.
I sometimes imagine that my mind is made of Teflon. Thoughts come into the pan and slide off. Sometimes I latch onto them though. When I realize this I just come back to my breathing.