In situations of low stress and safety, mind-wandering will be a gift, a pleasure, a creative force. In situations of high stress or danger, mind-wandering will be a torment.

Research on this has been done, as well. In a study titled, “Where the Eyes Wander: The Relationship Between Mind Wandering and Fixation Allocation to Visually Salient and Semantically Informative Static Scene Content,” a group of scientists attempted to observe how the mind orders and prioritizes visible information and how conscious we are of tha

So we sit and focus our attention on our breathing. But before long, the challenge becomes obvious. The human mind is an unpredictable and wildly creative creature that seems to have a life of its own. It produces an astonishing array of content, images, phrases, memories, emotions, and insights. Sometimes that content is inspiring and intelligent,