Found a very good helper in Arjuna Ardagh's teachings, assume your mind as a parrot sitting on your shoulder. The parrot talks up to 400 words per minute to you, uneeded and mostly negative ideas and thoughts, Learn to identify the parrot, learn to ignore his chatter. The less you react to his noise, the more silent he will become.
The parrot can be shutup by deep conscious breathing, he dislikes that and will not talk to you for a while. Do this more often and see the parrot shrinking, but accept that he is there. This can be done most times in daily life, at work or wherever you need it.
When the parrot is silenced, you awake from the dulled world of beliefs, experience it with your sense awareness. More colours, more to listen, more smells in the air. The awarenesss has turned from listening the parrot to the senses. Now your are able to listen and see what is, without having the parrot distort it.
Practice it again and again, be amazed by the results.