When we are meditating on the breath and the mind wanders, this is an opportunity, not an obstacle.

1. The wandering mind means that a) we have temporarily drifted into a mindless state, and b.) sense of "I, me and mine" has arisen. This is useful information because often we are not often aware of either of these conditions.

2. When we become aware of the thought that led to the mind wandering, we have an opportunity to know what we are thinking. Again, we are often either not present with our thoughts, or they take place below the level of consciousness. By knowing what we are thinking while we are thinking it, we have the opportunity to see the pattern of ruminating thoughts that might be arising.

3. The wandering mind offers us the opportunity to awaken when we become aware that it is wandering.

4. We then have the opportunity to make the conscious choice to return the attention back to the breath. In this way, we are gently training the mind to disengage from thoughts, and return to the present moment reality of the breath.

Blessings,
Roger