Goal of meditation
The ‘goal’ of meditation is simply to dis-identify with the mind, to know everything in the place you call ‘mind’ - thoughts., desires, judgments, plans, worries, etc. - is not the actual You…not to silence the mind.
Who is asking this question? Your mind.
Who wants to silence it? Your mind
So, why can’t you silence the mind ‘here and now?’ Because the very desire to silence it is coming from your mind, making it active and un-silent. And you think that desire is you, you think your are your mind.
Silence exists. Thoughts running through your mind exists. Don’t try to shut off the ‘thought faucet.’ That will only give your mind more thoughts, like, “How do I do this?” Or “Why isn’t this working?”
Silence exists. Thoughts exists. No problem. Simply become aware of the silence. It’s already there…you don’t have to silence anything. Just become aware of it.
You have a thought. Then you have another thought. But in between those two thoughts there was a gap. It may have only lasted a second, but it was a thoughtless gap where all was silent. You can be aware of that moment of silence. Anyone can, it takes no effort.
Then, a curious thing happens as you sit and allow your meditation to deepen. You notice those gaps of silence more & more. You become more aware of them, naturally. And as you do, they last longer, naturally. You come to recognize that silence is there, and thoughts are there, and they are separate from each other, have nothing to do with each other. You need not cancel one to have the other.
You become aware of what silence sounds (or doesn’t sound) like, and you feel naturally, inexorably attracted to it. You don’t worry about thoughts anymore. You just enjoy resting in that silence whenever you can, for as long as you can.
Imagine yourself sitting in a kitchen filled with the warm, sweet smells of cooking and people talking. You are reading a book, and you come to a rich, exciting chapter that totally captivates you. For a while, you are so drawn into the story that you become one with the story and its characters. When finally you stop reading and put the book down, you notice that for an unknown period of time, you did not smell those wonderful cooking odors, or hear any voices, were not even aware of them. Did they stop? No, they were always there surrounding you. But you were so aware of the story, your awareness of the world outside you temporarily ceased - sights, sounds, smells, all gone.
Notice the silence between thoughts. Become interested in it, curious about it, wanting to ‘investigate’ it and ‘have a look around.’ Let go into that silence. Thoughts may continue, but you will not notice them. And you will discover that, in silence, the only place that exists is ‘here,’ and the only time that exists is ‘now.’