empty mind

Yes, it is possible with diligent practice & a good instructor. Total darkness is not really a good thing to aspire to. To empty your mind means to just let go of everything & ascend to a higher, better place. Put everything down, is another term used often. Just let the crazy thoughts fly around. Don't indulge in any of them nor concentrate on them. Let them roll off you like water off a duck's back. They will subside in time. Keep practicing & use the time wisely to refresh & regenerate your body. We should not idle our time away. Just follow instructions & if you still do not progress, then you may ask the teacher for further advice or tell them you will find another instructor. Too many people blame the instructor or the method. We should first check ourselves to see if we have the right motives & correct intentions in practicing before blaming anyone or anything else. We need to remember that like attracts like & that when the student is ready, the master will appear. So just go along & use the time to your benefit - put everything down & rise above the mundane world, rest & recharge! When I close my eyes in silent meditation, in a group or alone, I see light. Thoughts, ideas & solutions to problems, etc will appear from nowhere. If they are important, I will write them down (I don't try to remember them anymore - this hardly ever works!). I was not born this way - it comes with good instruction, hard work & lots of practice - tens of thousands of hours! Though I do not take the credit for the results I have - they are only mine with the grace & blessing of the Most High (call it by which ever name you wish - God or the Universal Force, etc). Persistence is a virtue.

I don't think of anything. I am watching tv until I am too tired to think of anything except sleep. I have done the yoga thing before and you first close your eyes and go to your favorite place in your mind. As you do this more and more you are able to relieve your mind of your thoughts.

I know just what you mean, as soon as someone says empty your mind, my mind goes crazy. What works for me is a very short meditation. It takes two breaths. First breath in, say calm in your mind, breath out smile, breath in say this moment in your mind, breath out say in your mind, is good. Do this as many times as needed to calm your mind and body. It's easy to remember and works for me. Blessings

When I meditate I try to picture a television screen in my mind with just snow and static showing on the screen as if there was just white noise. The more I concentrate on such an image the easier it is my mind off all the worries and thoughts and distractions.

empty your mind how did you do it, will for me i don't think i could clear or empty my mind that easily. like you maybe i will think of something else.

i haven't done this for a while, but i have tried it quite a few times, quite recently. i think what you are supposed to do is not think about anything, its quite a strange feeling. the answer i found was just to not think. what i think you should do is a thought comes into your mind is not pursue it, just let it pass without making any attempt to think about it anymore. i suppose a bit like if you were sitting in an exam and the person next to you suddenly leaned over and started asking you a question. you would have to just ignore them. i think that is what you have to do with your thoughts, ignore them.