People are often afraid of what their mind will do once they sit down to meditate.

"So many thoughts race around in my head!" they say. "How will I push them out?"

That's why I love Sharon's "Letting-Go-of-Thought" meditation. We don't have to push away the "bad" ideas that race around in our brains. All we have to do is recognize when something enters our mind that is not a breath.

I tried this meditation just before i drove into New York City this morning for a doctors' appointment, which would be followed by a lunch appointment, then a train down to Princeton for a dinner, then a speaking engagement, then a train home to Penn Station, then a subway to Grand Central, then a train home to Westchester. And a funeral the next morning.

So many thoughts were racing around in my brain when I sat down to meditate.

But none of them were a breath. And so I tried, for the very first time, to note those thoughts to myself simply as not breath, which made for a refreshing break from a busy day.

Here was the choice I was faced with this morning: What will I think about?

Will I think "Why am I driving into the city instead of taking a train -- I'll just have to drive right back and then take another one in -- are there parking lots near Penn Station -- could I drive myself home late at night -- should I have driven down to New Jersey instead -- why did I schedule so many speaking engagements -- what's wrong with me?"  

Or will I think "Breath," "Not breath."

The choice was easy.