Quote Originally Posted by NovaCoru View Post
This is a big problem with meditation. some people call it "monkey mind," how all your thoughts tend to jump around like a monkey on a tree. like everyone else has said, the only real way to make it go away is by practicing it over and over and over again. Often you'll feel like your getting nowhere, but if you keep doing it eventually you'll get somewhere.
Yes, practice helps, but not because focus works like a muscle, necessarily. It simply takes to practice to understand how to control your attention. For me, control over my attention comes from realizing that it's different from the thoughts, and to stop identifying with my thoughts. They are just thoughts, and they aren't real. My attention is the real focal point of myself. You can focus on attention itself, using a piece of your attention to reflect back on itself and get in touch with your mindful foundation. Keeping a piece of your attention upon itself, you retain presence in the moment and distractions become manageable. Suddenly you realize you have a choice whether or not to follow a distraction.