It's tricky business to talk about it because language is a weak abstraction on top of experience. And that is why you get so many seemingly contradictory and o

It's tricky business to talk about it because language is a weak abstraction on top of experience. And that is why you get so many seemingly contradictory and often vague explanations. I will try to touch on one aspect of my experience with formal meditation practice, which is as a way of reconditioning the mind. It has helped me become more aware of how I am in relation to what I experience, more open to experience generally, less reactive to emotional stimuli, less judgmental of my inner narrator and therefore more gentle with the way I talk to myself. The formal process is as you describe, bringing your attention to a focal point (often the sensation of the breath wherever it is felt most strongly in the body), noticing when you are distracted, and simply bringing it back. The quality of mind you bring to this practice is important. For example, not judging yourself for becoming distracted, and not judging yourself for the content of your thoughts. With regular practice, this kind of gentle nonjudging way of experiencing will spill into daily life, outside of formal practice. And that is where meditation becomes a way of being (or perhaps as you put it, our whole life is a series of meditations). But formal practice serves as the foundation, conditioning our minds which are typically very judgmental and reactive to be less judgmental and therefore to be more open and see more clearly.