Calm will come. Seriously. You wouldn’t expect to lose weight after one day of trying, would you? Likewise, you wouldn’t expect to get that promotion after one day of hard work. Same with meditation. Keep trying. Anyone who leads you to believe otherwise isn’t a meditator.
Baby steps. Start with a short period of time in a comfortable position. Your couch? In bed? At your kitchen table? 1 minute? 4? Nothing is off limits. If you make it too unappealing or don’t have the time, you aren’t going to do it. Period. Set yourself up to succeed. This isn’t the place to explore your purist roots.
Lower your expectations. Don’t even let the word bliss enter your thinking. Blank slate? Forget about it! You will have a constant stream of thoughts, I guarantee it. Don’t expect anything but what you get. Sorta like telling a tantruming child, “You’ll get what you get and don’t throw a fit!” I’ve always been sorta bothered by the fact that those words don’t really rhyme…but tough love to the rescue!