Its not the immediate conclusion I drew from the lack of so called ‘dark night’ descriptions though. It seemed strange that the Buddha did not highlight a possible danger for…[Read more]

For a in-depth and rigorous discussion on why…[Read more]

When you see with discernment,
‘All fabrications are stressful’ —
you grow disenchanted with stress.
This is the path
to purity.

When you see with discernment,
‘All phenomena are not-self’ —
you grow disen…[Read more]

Another thing which Ive noticed is that I seem have better intuitive understanding how ‘minds’ work in general.

This has been helpful in training our dog as well as my mind 😉

I’m finding that particularly in the body scanning method it really highlights for me a ‘need’ to conceive of the breath sensations as having particular characteristics (warm, c…[Read more]

Thanks for the links, they are very helpful.

Kind regards,
Alex

I am currently working with stage 5 practice and getting repeated occurrences of what I think is minor and momentary piti. This usually happens at the beginning of the sit as the attention becomes more stable and before body scanning practice. It is also occurring in walking practice when attention becomes stable and peripheral awareness…[Read more]

I also recently started the TMI method and have experienced some of the issues you talk about. There are others here who I hope will be able to help you work through them.

Wishing you well in your life and practice.

Best regards,
Alex

I was listening to a retreat audio between Culadasa and a student about being stuck and I found it very helpful as it made me realise that its more important to focus on the development of qualities like, peripheral awareness, stable attention, introspective awareness etc rather than following a particular method to the letter. People…[Read more]

I have only listened to a a few of Culadasa’s talks so will be slowly working my way through the archive and happy to help if assistance wanted.

Certainly manasikara seems to literally mean ‘attention’. The full phrase however is yoniso manasikāra – yoniso being translated as ‘appropriate’ in this case.

As you say the balancing of awareness and attention is what we understand in the TMI system as mindfulness (sati). However the way the Buddha defines appropriate attention…[Read more]

I wasn’t pointing to a conflict or an absence. Culadasa redefined mindfulness and clear comprehension (sati and sampajañña) very effectively so they can be understood and used very effectively in practice. I was curious if yoniso manasikāra (appropriate attention) is part of the TMI system as it is a recurrent theme in the suttas.…[Read more]

“Now, I tell you, clear knowing & release have their food and are not without food. And what is their food? ‘The seven factors for awaken…[Read more]

In looking at the overview of the ten stages, when I put aside the specific techniques associated with each stage (for instance being able to detect details of the in breath and out breath), then I think my experience most closely matches Stage 4.

Is this the way one should…[Read more]

Thank you for your reply.

The mind state isn’t at all joyful. I would describe it as more constricted and joyless ie sadness 🙂

I cant identify with the description at all in the sixth interlude.

A trauma related memory did occur towards the end of the sit. I was cautious about mentioning it as it may just be the mind creating a…[Read more]

Thank you for your advice its wonderful to have feedback from a TMI teacher.

So I followed your guidance and after going through the preparation I just settled attention on breath sensations I could feel around the nose. I just set the intention to notice to breath sensations without even differentiating between whether they were in or…[Read more]

Im not able to help you with any practical advice but I wish you well in your practice.

Kind regards,
Alex

Yes I do put my attention on the sensations at the nose area.

Usually sensations are not clear, like trying to see details through a mist. When occasionally the mist clears I can sense the start of the in breath, coolness, movement and the pause. The out breath start is not clear but I can sense it is there. Interestingly on one sit…[Read more]

First let me say thank you for your reply. I really do appreciate it! 😊

I think I am working on stage 3 but it may also be stage 2 or stage 4!

I do not think I am experiencing forgetting going by the description of forgetting in TMI. There are no ‘aha’ moments as such where I find that I forgotten the breath. I sit for about 1 hou…[Read more]

I am currently working with stage 3 practices. I rarely forget the breath and mostly just experience subtle distractions and some subtle dullness. I feel attention and awareness are good and there is enough introspective awareness to catch most gross distractions before they occur.

I have difficulty working with the following and…[Read more]

I’m wishing you well in your practice.

I have recently started working with the TMI book (stage 2-3). As someone who can be very goal orientated I find that I often put too much exertion into my attention on the breath. This can lead to all sorts of undesirable mental states such as agitation/dullness as well as so called monkey…[Read more]

I think your advice is good and have since noticed a slight shift/movement in the tension which is interesting.

Also I have tied reformulating my motivation to be more inclined to exploring rather than trying to attain greater concentration. This…[Read more]

I am new to the TMI method but practiced Anapanasati for many years. My normal practice was a whole breath body based meditation (Ajahn Thanissaro/Ajahn Lee).

I am having difficulty discerning the sensations of breath at the nose area in Stage 2. Increasing attention to try to make them more prominent has the undesirable effect of…[Read more]