In most forms of meditation, the meditator is instructed to let go of thoughts as they arise. As a result thinking is often taken unnecessarily to be something misguided or evil. This approach is misguided, says Jason Siff. In fact if we allow thoughts to arise and become mindful of the thoughts themselves, we gain tranquility and insight just as in other methods without having to reject our natural mental processes. And by observing the thoughts themselves with mindfulness and curiosity, we can learn a good deal about ourselves in the process.