Too bad Matt didn't get some actual meditation instruction-- I think it would have been more interesting (and beneficial) for him had he done so. Unfortunately, his description makes it clear that he didn't really know what he was doing:<p><i>First, it was difficult (impossible?) to turn my brain off. I’m accustomed to using my brain all the time, every day. I don’t like to turn my brain off. I definitely struggled with that all month.</i><p>Meditation is <i>not</i> about "turning your brain off."<p><i>Someone recommended counting, for example counting leaves on a tree, as a way to help. That worked very well, but it also felt like counting was keeping my mind busy rather than clearing it out.</i><p>Some meditation traditions use counting-- but not like that. Counting the leaves on a tree might be a nice thing to do, but it's not meditation (at least according to any tradition I've ever heard of-- and I'm reasonably well schooled on the subject.)