> This is definitely the first hurdle I encounter. The handful of times I have attempted this, I end up thinking about not thinking (isn't that silly?), or a so

> This is definitely the first hurdle I encounter. The handful of times I have attempted this, I end up thinking about not thinking (isn't that silly?), or a song comes into my head, or I hear a noise in the distance, and attempts to clear out those thoughts lead to, well, more thinking! Warning! Completely subjective descriptions ahead: In my experience the best approach to clearing your mind is not to try and actively clear your mind (i.e. thinking about not thinking) it is training yourself to let your thoughts be more transient. When I try to meditate I try to let all my thoughts slip. Of course, just like you I will hear a noise or some thought tries to worm its way in, but when this happens I try to relax (physically, there is a wonderful link between relaxing your muscles and relaxing your brain. Instead of forcing your brain to relax, trick yourself by relaxing physically) and let the thought go. Of course, thoughts keep floating into my mind of course, but the longer I keep the meditation up the more transient they become. At some point they even stop being thoughts because they exist to short to even have any content or feeling associated with them. I have noticed that with practice the time and difficulty of achieving this transient state go down, making it easier to just start. Early on I would need to be in a quiet spot alone, nowadays I can get the process fairly far even with people in the same room talking (if not to loud). Anyhoo, I hope that description maybe helps you! TL;DR - You don't stop thinking or actively try to shut down your brain, you passively let your thoughts become more transient.