[adsman]

[ QUOTE ]
why doesn't your mind want you to do this,

[/ QUOTE ]

This question requires a detailed answer which I don't have the time for right now.
Suffice to say that your mind = your ego. They are bound up with one another. Meditation is the road to enlightenment which has the ultimate goal of rising above and casting off the ego. To your ego this means death. Literally. It will do anything in it's power, even to your own detriment to prevent this from happening.

[ QUOTE ]
and how do you handle it when you are flooded with thoughts despite your best efforts to clear them from your mind, especially if something in particular is bothering you?

[/ QUOTE ]

Keep returning to your breath. In and out.
I forgot to add a very important point in my initial post. With meditation, you don't do it, it does you. Don't do anything. Meditation is the act of surrender. Easy huh?

[ QUOTE ]
Also, what are the benefits of meditation? [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]


[/ QUOTE ]

There are many benefits. One of the best is syncronicity, which means 'being in the right place at the right time'. Have you ever been walking along the street in a crowded city thinking about someone, you turn the corner and there they are? Meditation enhances and increases these occurences. By quietening the mind you begin to see things that you weren't aware of before. They were always there but you were so wrapt up in your chaotic mind that you couldn't see them. New opportunities etc start to appear at an increasing rate.