Lack of Grasping of the Object of Meditation I asked a question previously about the object of meditation being faint. Perhaps I'd like to reformulate my question more specifically as I still encounter these kinds of problems, and I will provide the sensations I experience.

When trying to meditate on the breath at the aperture of the nostrils, the breath is not present and cannot be felt, no matter how much I try to arouse attention. It could only be slightly felt at the level of the abdomen. When I try to visualize any object, this object is usually extremely faint and transparent almost. I have the impression my mental agitation is feeble, but also that the clarity of my mind is very dull. 

I'm wondering what could be the causes of this. Is it a too weak concentration? Too weak mindfulness? Is it a kind of lethargy and dullness? 

How can I remedy to this? Of the possible solutions I've read about I understand arousing attention (which I have difficulty doing), applying certain antidotes as the perception of light or enlivening the mind, or perhaps some other solution I don't know about. Perhaps changing the object? I'm actually unsure of any of these solutions.

Greatest thanks.
Meditation is non-doing.  However, you must prepare and devote time and space to this "non-doing."  That preparation is infact an act of doing in an effort to partake in an act of non-doing.  What is in the process of being done has a goal.  The goal is to partake in an endeavor of what is not being done.  Meditation by it's very nature creates a paradox for the participant.  The answer is to relinquish the paradox.  How does one do this ?  The act, or non-act if you will, must at first be recognizable.  Then there is a calling to fuse the act and the participant into one state of beingness. How does one transmute?  If you were to focus on the 5 strengths that might be of some use.  Conviction, persistence,mindfulness, concentration and discernment can create a looping effect in the mind whereby the one meditating can constantly reflect on how each strength effects not only the current state of mind but also the relation of the 5 strengths themselves.   The distraction of the mind becomes the essence of the meditation.  In order to break through the thraldom of the senses and the inertia of conceptualized thought patterns the mind needs to be distracted.  To have a goal in meditating is not the answer.  To be able to transmute the energy of who and what is currently proclivitating in and around us into what is our true nature is meditation.  I hope this helps.