Lexicon
Wandering mind
Attention leaving the chosen object without permission; not a defect, but the raw material.
- Published
- 25 Aug 2026
A wandering mind is not evidence that you cannot practise. Studies that track attention during practice find that most people spend a substantial share of any session thinking about something else, including experienced practitioners.
The productive unit is therefore not the length of an unbroken stay but the quality of the moment of noticing. Noticing that the mind has gone is the event being trained; the return is what makes it count.
→Practices that use this term
- Anchor at the sink 4 minutes
- Metta for someone difficult 20 minutes
- One breath before the inbox 2 minutes
- Four phrases for yourself 12 minutes
- Four-count breath 10 minutes