[apatters]

I like to think of it this way:

- Actions arise from thoughts

- We have an executive center in our prefrontal cortex which we use to create thoughts and compel the actions we want, it maps pretty closely to most people's ideas of consciousness, free will etc.

- We also have other parts of our brain which have their own agendas and are constantly creating thoughts of varying intensity

- Our executive center can mediate or override those impulses with some level of success, less than 100%. We can increase or decrease that success rate over time, but how to do so is only partially understood. Unfortunately, factors like psychiatric disorders can decrease this success rate dramatically.

- Meditation can influence the success rate too. Mostly for the better but it can go both ways. That's not always its purpose and it's perhaps less effective than more modern techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy.

I think this is probably a bit oversimplified but not too far from where the science is.