Adopt a passive attitude toward intruding thoughts

When thoughts arrive, let them pass without judgment and return to the anchor — no fighting, no scoring.

Why it works

Benson identified passivity as the second, non-optional ingredient. Struggling to "clear the mind" creates effort and self-criticism, which themselves trigger arousal. By treating wandering as expected and simply returning to the anchor, you remove the secondary stress reaction that would otherwise keep the response from forming.

How to do it

1. Expect your mind to wander — assume it will, repeatedly.
2. When you notice a thought, do not analyze or resist it; say "oh well" and drift back to the anchor.
3. Do not rate the session as good or bad; returning is the practice, not staying.

Evidence

The passive, non-striving stance is central to Benson’s described protocol and is consistent with broader attention-regulation research showing that non-judgmental redirection is more sustainable than forceful thought suppression. (mechanistic)

This is presented as the mechanism Benson observed; the relative contribution of passivity versus the focus anchor has not been cleanly isolated in controlled trials.

Common mistake

Judging the session a failure because thoughts kept coming. The thoughts are not the problem — fighting them is. Returning calmly is success.