i'm a novice when it comes to meditation and have only on rare occasion been able to still my thoughts.
but i find a lot of spiritual activity for me happens at night and in the dark, when the activity from the majority of people in my town have slowed down.
spirit will inspire me. usually i lay there unable to sleep and left to face my thoughts which can be a scary thing if you don't do it often. the past few nights was good as i was able to visualize deeper desires and articulate/construct the appropriate path to retaining awareness. i don't know if you'd consider this meditation though because that chatter for me doesn't seem to turn off- just slow down. i'm in no rush to achieve the deeper aspects of meditation though
Sometimes when we are unable to sleep it is almost like spirit is asking us to communicate with it.... so we get up and meditate and communicate with spirit. This often happens early in the morning which is one of the best times to meditate...right before dawn. There are very few cars, people are asleep, and our thoughts are more subdued because of evening slumber sleep often leaves us refreshed and calmer than usual. We can get up andl light up our relationship with spirit and enter that relationship with God that we are seeking.