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"To meditate does not mean to fight with a problem," says Vietnamese meditation master Thich Nhat Hanh. "To meditate means to observe."

The common misconceptions that we hold about meditation are at the center of what makes meditation difficult. Many people approach meditation with the same fighting mind that they use in daily life. They find themselves embroiled in a struggle. The thoughts race, aches and pains become more noticeable, feet and legs fall asleep and tension builds within the body. Then they respond by trying to control the mind, and by holding the body rigid and unmoving. Instead of simply observing the monkey mind and then leading it back to a place of calm with gentleness and compassion, the practitioner tries keep the monkey mind restrained. The end result is that meditation is not achieved.

The good news is that there are many things you can do to overcome this struggle and learn to meditate with much greater ease.

Read Books

When you're first learning to meditate, you need some sort of instruction. This is especially important if you're a beginner. Just sitting down and trying to "wing it" will leave you feeling misdirected and frustrated. At the very least, it's necessary to read books on the subject of meditation to get some essential idea of what you should be doing on your cushion. Thich Nhat Hanh's books, including "Mindful Living: A Collection of Teachings on Love, Mindfulness and Meditation" are an excellent place to start. Other high quality meditation books include "Change Your Mind: A Practical Guide to Buddhist Meditation" by Paramananda, and "Gesture of Balance: A Guide to Awareness, Self-Healing and Meditation" by Tarthang Tulku.

Take a Class

If you find that you still struggle with the meditation process, guided meditation can help. In guided meditation, the teacher's voice provides the mind with a clear object to focus on, thus helping to calm the racing mind.

Taking meditation classes can dramatically accelerate your progress in learning meditation. Not only to you get the guidance of the teacher's voice, you also get a great deal of personal attention. Most teachers encourage question and answer sessions, and many have personal one-on-one meetings with their students. Check your local directory to see what classes are available in your area.

Buy a Cassette Tape or CD

Audio instruction can also be very helpful for learning meditation. Some of the best ones are "Guided Meditations: For Calmness, Awareness, and Love" by Bodhipaska

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