Placeholders

Meditation methods are largely seen as placeholders.  Our intention is one thing, such as to let go of our attention to thoughts.  Let go of fantasizing while we try and sit quietly and still.  While that might be the intention, to let go of monkey-mind random thoughts, filled with anxieties, fears, resentments, our plans and so on.  But the intention does not hold.  We start out with our mediation method be it breath or word or body motion, and then we try to be still and quiet.  Right?  All of a sudden we realize that we have lost our intention and are very attentive to some issue in the past or future, some scenario of our life or someone else’s life.  “Where was I?” We might say this.  So we pick up the placeholder of our intention and renew the effort.  Even if your mediation is a go into the woods or park, you find yourself not even noticing the fauna around you.  Attention trumps intention.  So we go to our placeholder, our intention and renew the walk.