On falling asleep and mental chatter while meditating

Both falling asleep and mental chatter while meditating are common experiences for a beginner meditator. Please accept my sympathy and let me give you a few suggestions.

First of all, if you have been meditating for less than five years, it is expected that your mind will play with you—it is too early to expect that you will be able to control your thoughts. The mind will try to avoid focusing on its shortcomings—it will try to escape by making you mull over every petty, or not so petty, thing in the world. If that does not work, it will space out and, in extreme cases, make you go to sleep. Of course, the fight your mind will put up varies according to your personality, childhood experiences, past-life efforts on the spiritual path, and the like.

It is important to keep in mind that even seemingly unfruitful efforts at meditation do bring eventual results—even if you are tired, even if you are feeling miserable, even if you are sad, even if your next-door neighbors are playing ridiculous music while you are meditating! Yes, it can be frustrating in the beginning, but discomfort is not a cause for giving up any worthwhile activity—and this is certainly true for meditation practice. Perseverance always brings its reward, at the very least by making you a stronger person. If you persist, your mind will eventually stop troubling you.

Nonetheless, if you wish to force your internal chatter or sleeping during meditation to temporarily abate, do find a good, spiritual environment and spiritual company. The peaceful atmosphere of an ashram or monastery or, best of all, the company of a living saint, will temporarily calm down and purify your mind, making meditation practice easier. Remember, however, that the pleasant meditation you may experience in such an environment is not really your own doing but a gift to you from all the experienced meditators who have created the conducive environment for your convenience. But good, spiritual company is certainly helpful for beginners. And for advanced students, it helps keep the fire of inspiration going during difficult times.