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I recently had an email from Jill with the subject line Why Can’t I Meditate? She wrote:

Good afternoon.  I have tried to meditate so many times and I just can't get my mind to let go of all the thoughts there.  A few times I have but I don't feel like I accomplished anything. What is the trick to getting to the place that is beneficial to you ?  How do you let go and stay in that moment of greatness. Should you feel like you have done something good for your mind and body? let me know what you think?

Thanks for allowing me to share your question, Jill. It’s one a lot of meditators ask and I have so much to say about it, I’ve created a whole series of podcasts in response.
Today, I’m going to address the notion that you cannot meditate, because you’re unable to clear thoughts from your mind. This problem is the number one reason why people abandon meditation practice, so it’s a good place to begin.
Everyone can meditate
Let me start by saying you can meditate. Meditation is for everyone, and everyone is capable of meditating. The real problem here is not your inability to quiet your mind, but your belief that quieting the mind is what you’re supposed to be doing.
Stifling your thinking isn’t the goal
Meditation is NOT about getting rid of, suppressing, or even calming thoughts. This is an incredibly common misconception strengthened by inaccurate media portrayals of meditation and meditators.
Ridding your mind of all thoughts is, for all practical purposes, impossible, and it’s also not what you’re supposed to be doing in meditation. Thoughts are phenomena of the mind that come and go. In other words, thoughts are just things that are happening in the present moment. The practice is to become aware of the thoughts without judging them. That’s very different from suppressing thoughts. In fact, it’s the opposite of suppression.
Thoughts, then, are included in meditation.

Peaceful Moment of the Week: Near Tubingen, Germany
 
Where does the misconception come from?
Why do so many meditators believe that they’re supposed to clear their minds? I think the misconception has several root causes. First, there’s the way meditation is portrayed by those who don’t practice it. Stock photography, for example, is rife with images of yoginis sitting on mountain tops, blissing out. Such images foster the incorrect assumption that meditation is about zoning out and taking a break from your busy life. There’s a full podcast on this topic at https://www.mindful15.com/photography.
Second, the beginner’s first experiences with meditation emphasize how busy the mind is. For some, the first time they ever stop to notice what’s going on in their mind is their first meditation session. Suddenly, they notice just how crazy active the mind is, flitting quickly from one thought to another without pause. This experience can even be a bit frightening.
The meditation teacher tells the beginner to let go of thoughts and come back to the breath, but this is difficult. I remember my first few weeks of meditation. I couldn’t follow a single breath without getting lost in thought - and, no, I’m not exaggerating. It took weeks before I could mindfully follow one single breath. And that’s normal!
The key here is to understand that mindfulness is a skill built with practice just like any other skill. Can you remember back to the first time you rode a bike, played an instrument, took a martial arts class,