Meditation is garbage collection for the mind.

Computers have a concept of "garbage collection." When the disk nears full, it's time to make more space. Garbage collection is the process of actually deleting data from the computer itself.

I'll never forget the profound mental silence I experienced during a 10-day Vipassana silent meditation retreat. It was day 4, and we had just learned the practice of Vipassana itself after 3 grueling days of anapana meditation, which focuses the mind on the movement and sensations of the breath. I walked outside the meditation hall to the main gate of the Northern California (Kelseyville) facility. I looked out past the gate, across the street. I saw dried grass covered by morning frost. I felt the crisp air. And I cried. I heard no thoughts, no mental chatter. It was completely silent in my head. It was one of my most beautiful and profound experiences. I was fully present in the moment.

I first heard the phrase "meditation is garbage collection for the mind" from my good friend David Ernst, who I believe came up with this concept and shared it in a talk in San Francisco back in 2015. The idea reminds me that we have a need to clean up our mental systems from the garbage that accumulates there.