hmm, i thought this post would be about Mushin.
to silence the mind, you simply must move the anchor of your consciousness (for the beginner, it might be useful to think of this as just your internal dialog, but don't get permanently attached to that idea) into the area of mind which is already silent
when you try to silence your thoughts, part of you is thinking about trying not to think, part of you hears the dog barking across the street and your left toe itching, part of you is frustrated because you're still thinking, part of you is redoubling your efforts, etc. if you focus on your breathing or some other guided technique, then you can minimize some of these to a degree. But ultimately there is another part to your mind. there is a part which is aware of all of this, the "silent observer" which simple perceives your own thoughts, and the dog and the toe and your breathing and everything else, silently, passively, without any reaction or counter-thought. It is simply awareness, perception, without being an active participant in 'thinking' or reacting or processing, it is awareness without thought. way in the back of the mind, where even your preconscious thoughts are being perceived and known, silently, impassively, by the level of mind which is sort of a meta-conscious awareness. move the focus of your mind into the silent observer.
one trick for doing this is to imagine that you have no head. nothing gory or threatening, just imagine that you have no head, no central focal point for your mind. Then imagine that instead of a head, that everything around you is your head. your room, other people, the landscape, etc. imagine that all of this IS your head. you're not thinking about any of this, you're simply silently aware. actually this exercise tackles a little bit more than just accessing the silent observer part of the mind, but it's really simple and if you focus on it well it can be a neat meditation.
don't assume meditation is all about achieving just one particular state of consciousness. in reality there are many states of consciousness which people do not normally access. meditation, ideally, over time, should be more of an exploration of them, to understand all that is self, and conversely all that is not self, and then ultimately whether or not there is any 'not self'. Among other goals... and there are many approaches. If zeroing out your thoughts isn't working, try focusing absolutely and totally on one singular thing to the exclusion of all else. there are other methods. you can even use hypnosis/trance as a gateway to effective meditation. there's no 'one way', not even a 'right way', put in the time & effort, read up, be creative and open minded, know that you 'can do' whatever you truly wish to do.
. Now the problem with this is every time i start to get somewhere with meditation my "other self" kicks in by stating something and loses my progress.
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