Do you have the experience where you wake up and it feels like instantly your mind is filled with thinking?
You wake up flooded with thoughts of what you were thinking about when you went to bed.
Or, what you need to do today.
Or, just filled with random unrelated thoughts, like remnants of the dreams you had while you were sleeping.
It's natural to experience this. You live in a constant flow of thought.
Still, if you notice that your mind is filled with thought you are already far, far ahead.
This noticing may only last a moment before you get wrapped-up and follow any one of the thoughts.
It is a habit, a conditioning, that you pursue a thought until you have it figured out. It is also a habit to not notice this.
With practice, you can notice and observe the flow of thought for longer, like watching the rushing water of a river.
After all, who you really are is the observer.
What can you do when your mind is flooded with thought?
You can just notice it and do nothing, since there is nothing to do.
If you follow a river through sections of whitewater further along you will come to a place where the water is quiet and still and hardly looks like it is flowing at all.
Similarly, the swirl in your mind will settle and quiet.
You may experience this quiet for a brief moment at first and be tempted to do something to make it last longer.
But, if you are still noticing, you will see that there was nothing you did to quiet your mind.
Except perhaps to allow the flow to continue without taking hold of any thought.
Like still water, even though the flow continues, your mind is calm.