Question: I have a problem concentrating, my minds wanders everywhere. Is there a solution to this?
Answer:
Meditation is a challenging skill, not an innate ability. Virtually everyone has a great deal of difficulty concentrating at first. During the early stages of meditation the rule of thumb is that concentration generally lasts no more than three seconds before the mind wanders. Over time and with practice this will improve.
Do not become discouraged. Continue practicing meditation and you will find that, over time, you will gain the ability to concentrate for long periods of time. As with any skill, the more you practice, the faster you will improve.
Learning meditation is comparable to learning a musical instrument.Achieving the ability to meditate without any external thought is equivalent to becoming a virtuoso on a musical instrument and this is near the final stage of your meditation journey. An equivalent amount of practice is required in most cases to achieve both. However, just as with learning to play an instrument you will find that there is much enjoyment to be had along the way, many beautiful songs to play before you become an expert. So continue practicing. You will also find that the benefits of meditation will start to accrue very soon and the state you describe is not needed for you to achieve the rewards of regular meditation. In fact, in the process of learning to develop our concentration and deal with all our errant thoughts, our growth naturally occurs.