The mental image most individuals have of meditation resembles the following: a calm person sitting cross-legged on a mountaintop, eyes closed, free of all worries, floating somewhere between awareness and enlightenment. This image has done more damage than good for meditation’s reputation. It convinces beginners they are already doing it incorrectly, and that is a tragedy, because real meditation is messier, more accessible, and far more interesting than that idealized version. 
The biggest myth that drives beginners away is that you are meant to empty your mind. Individuals are seated, an idea of their electric bill comes in mind and they automatically decide that they have failed. They didn’t fail. That’s not how meditation works. The thoughts are the same as the breaths of the lungs, they just come out, all the time, even when you do not want them to. Meditation is not about stopping that site thoughts, but changing your relationship with them. You observe the thought, don’t follow it, and bring your attention back to your focus point. It is not the failure that seems to pop into mind. Wasting forty minutes daydreaming about what you would have said in an argument in 2019, well, it is a Tuesday. A second misconception is that meditation must take a lot of time. Some think they need long periods of silence or it doesn’t count. It does not disqualify you. Focused attention can be practiced in just a few minutes. Ten minutes daily beats one long session done occasionally. Results do not work the way people assume, regular practice outweighs long sessions, especially when you are just starting out. Another belief is that meditation requires silence. You must sit in a distraction-free room. However, there are many traditions, which make the use of chanting, music or rhythmic sound the main topic of practice. There are individuals who meditate best when there is no background noise, and others focus better with soft background noise. No one says that the lack of sound is an obligatory condition. Do what works for your mind, not what blogs say is correct. Next there is the myth of posture. You must sit cross-legged on the floor. It prevents many from even trying. You can sit in a chair. Lying down works, but you might fall asleep. You can stand. Senior walking meditation is a valid and ancient form of meditation. Posture only needs to balance comfort and alertness. That's it. Even your couch works. The less obvious myth, which is predominantly spread among those who have been practicing long enough, is that every session must feel calm. At times it feels that way. You sit down sometimes and find out that you are colliding with anxiety that you had been unaware of. Sometimes grief surfaces. You are sometimes feeling absolutely nothing and you simply sit there asking yourself whether your technique is not working. It is all the way things are. Meditation does not create pleasant feelings; it reveals what is there. Treating it like a spa sets unrealistic expectations. Many believe meditation is only for spiritual or religious people. It originated in spiritual traditions. Its basic principles are not tied to belief systems. You don’t need any beliefs to benefit from it. It’s a misunderstanding of the practice. There is a difference between the practice and the tradition of it. Finally, people think meditation is a skill you master, there is a point where you just sit down and it is time to relax, thoughts no longer need to interrupt, you can concentrate and thoughts do not have to work so hard. The senior practitioners will make you know that is not the way it is. It never stops being practice. You get better at returning your focus, you know more of your mental processes, you are less reactive to distractions. However, the sound does not end. And when you accept that, everything becomes easier.
The biggest myth that drives beginners away is that you are meant to empty your mind. Individuals are seated, an idea of their electric bill comes in mind and they automatically decide that they have failed. They didn’t fail. That’s not how meditation works. The thoughts are the same as the breaths of the lungs, they just come out, all the time, even when you do not want them to. Meditation is not about stopping that site thoughts, but changing your relationship with them. You observe the thought, don’t follow it, and bring your attention back to your focus point. It is not the failure that seems to pop into mind. Wasting forty minutes daydreaming about what you would have said in an argument in 2019, well, it is a Tuesday. A second misconception is that meditation must take a lot of time. Some think they need long periods of silence or it doesn’t count. It does not disqualify you. Focused attention can be practiced in just a few minutes. Ten minutes daily beats one long session done occasionally. Results do not work the way people assume, regular practice outweighs long sessions, especially when you are just starting out. Another belief is that meditation requires silence. You must sit in a distraction-free room. However, there are many traditions, which make the use of chanting, music or rhythmic sound the main topic of practice. There are individuals who meditate best when there is no background noise, and others focus better with soft background noise. No one says that the lack of sound is an obligatory condition. Do what works for your mind, not what blogs say is correct. Next there is the myth of posture. You must sit cross-legged on the floor. It prevents many from even trying. You can sit in a chair. Lying down works, but you might fall asleep. You can stand. Senior walking meditation is a valid and ancient form of meditation. Posture only needs to balance comfort and alertness. That's it. Even your couch works. The less obvious myth, which is predominantly spread among those who have been practicing long enough, is that every session must feel calm. At times it feels that way. You sit down sometimes and find out that you are colliding with anxiety that you had been unaware of. Sometimes grief surfaces. You are sometimes feeling absolutely nothing and you simply sit there asking yourself whether your technique is not working. It is all the way things are. Meditation does not create pleasant feelings; it reveals what is there. Treating it like a spa sets unrealistic expectations. Many believe meditation is only for spiritual or religious people. It originated in spiritual traditions. Its basic principles are not tied to belief systems. You don’t need any beliefs to benefit from it. It’s a misunderstanding of the practice. There is a difference between the practice and the tradition of it. Finally, people think meditation is a skill you master, there is a point where you just sit down and it is time to relax, thoughts no longer need to interrupt, you can concentrate and thoughts do not have to work so hard. The senior practitioners will make you know that is not the way it is. It never stops being practice. You get better at returning your focus, you know more of your mental processes, you are less reactive to distractions. However, the sound does not end. And when you accept that, everything becomes easier.