[arieljoyMember]

Thank you, Mimi! I appreciate your response a lot. Regarding the possible dullness – I don’t get startled and I am not groggy after. I had been meditating a second time later in the day, but was definitely feeling dull, as I experienced both 2 and 3 tremendously (so have for now done away with the second sit and am only sitting when I first wake up, which is the time my sits feel most productive and useful). But 1 – that one is true. I am just not sure. I’m just not. I don’t want it to be dullness because the book states dullness is a dead end and I really want to make progress, but I feel like it most likely is – yet I don’t know if that is based on what I am experiencing or the old story I tell myself that I am not good at most things. That’s not something Ive ever been able to tell.

If it is dullness, or if I can’t figure it out, how do you think I should proceed? Should I go back to stage three and work on piecing apart the breath more precisely before adding in the continuous introspective awareness, continue to work on stage four, or move to stage five as that’s where I’ll learn more about dealing with dullness?

Thank you again.

[arieljoyMember]

I hope you don’t mind me joining the conversation, Adrian, but I have found this conversation so helpful, as I think it is describing exactly where I am at. I have been at stages 2/3, with consistent attention to the breath, but then just lately I have found myself frustrated and concerned with my lack of progress as I seem to have moved backwards. There is some forgetting, for sure, particularly when I sit at night and get tired and dull more easily, but I think it’s possible that for my longer morning sits I am distracted, as there is still peripheral awareness on my breath. I’ve in fact found myself wondering about how to tell when I get to stage 4, and your descriptions have really helped me. I’ll read stage four. Thanks, all, for the thoughts, as well as for getting me out of lurker mode!

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