I’m very happy for you, man!

“I am very dedicated to reach first Jhana now, cause I believe it will be a huge relief for me. I don’t make it an obsession or craving, but intention is there.”

Yes, please don’t make it an obsession. That can become very frustrating. Just try to do your best each time you meditate and forget about j…[Read more]

“Anything that makes you ‘accident prone’ can eventually do the job.”

I really hope that’s the case, for the benefit of all beings.

What I meant by fully-awakened was becoming an Arahant.

Also being an Arahant doesn’t mean one is perfect in every way conceivable, I don’t think that’s possible at all, there will always be room for imp…[Read more]

Oh I see. Then you definitely need to make some changes in your life (outside of meditation) l…[Read more]

I’ve read about what you describe but I’m not actually familiar with employing that technique. Two things you could try doing are meditating with your eyes open or walking meditation.

Some people actually prefer to meditate with their eyes open. This is because they carry the concentration throughout the day, and the mind doesn’t make…[Read more]

By the way, a lot can be written about it but a brief way to describe a healthy ego would be: you don’t experience yourself as being superior or inferior to others.

Also, it’s definitely possible to train yourself to become more compassionate and I know it from personal experience…[Read more]

“…I’m sort of trying to avoid spending thousands of dollars if I could eventually get to the same emotional place just through hard work on the cushion.”

You’re a smart man!

Definitely try to resolve your issues with meditation first. Conventional therapy can be your backup plan.

Like Kurt has said, loving-kindness meditation s…[Read more]

The mental and physical pliancy Ted mentioned is different than what you think. If it were already happening for you, then you wouldn’t be experiencing any bodily discomfort at all during your meditation like you describe. On the contrary there would be intense mental and physical pleasure arising. These are stages 8 and 9…[Read more]

By the way, if you try loving-kindness meditation and it doesn’t seem to work. Like you don’t actually…[Read more]

Funny thing is I also started meditating daily in May as well. I quit listening to music, watching movies, etc. and started trying to cultivate as much mindfulness as possible. I keep my breath in the field of awareness all day, because it helps me to stay present and also to strengthen peripheral awareness.

If…[Read more]

Funny thing is I also started meditating daily in May as well. I quit listening to music, watching movies, etc. and started trying to cultivate as much mindfulness as possible. I keep my breath in the field of awareness all day, because it helps me to stay present and also to strengthen peripheral awareness.

If…[Read more]

To me it sounds like you’re making progress! I have a couple of questions, if you don’t mind…

For how many months have you been meditating daily? How long each session? Have you done any intensive retreat practice? What sort of mindfulness technique you employ off the cushion throughout the day?

With Metta,

Charles

So true…

“(Let’s keep in mind as well, Culadasa has arranged and selected certain practices for good reason, hence, we should be cautious to make changes without deep consideration)”

For sure, I won’t make any changes to the main anapanasati practice as outlined b…[Read more]

I’m at a point in Stage 6 where I’m getting very restless when I do the body scan. No wandering thoughts, just stable attention and also this urge of trying to get somewhere quickly. My mind seems to despise doing the body scan over and over again but I still don’t let it wander, and I just keep doing the…[Read more]

When you said this:

“My experience is that the practices that are taught in Vajrayana, particularly surrender, will help you to make rapid progress in the ten stages. The more you can let go of the idea that you need to improvise, and instead look at the ten stages as a training framework that will bring you to the point of being able to…[Read more]

Thanks for all the info!

I actually agree with you, astral travel is all strictly mental phenomena. But I’ve heard about the dangers that can come from engaging in said practice, like basically going into a coma… so I believe Thanissaro Bhikkhu is right when he warns people.

Thanissaro Bhikkhu criticizes the deep jhanas, in the same…[Read more]

“The jhana is accessed by widening the field of attention (and sustaining it) on breath sensations in the whole body. I have spent some time with this practice, but probably not enough (I am with you on the needing to not rush things!)”

I see, and yeah, we need to remember a wise saying from Ajahn Brahm: “Careful patience is the…[Read more]

You’re right, and thanks for taking the time to explain it all in such a clear and concise way.

“Whole body breath awareness practice does help pacify the discriminating mind, and as a result, thoughts are attenuated and/or relegated to peripheral awareness – the felt sense in my experience is that they are kind of wispy and d…[Read more]

You’re right, and thanks for taking the time to explain it all in such a clear and concise way.

This has been my experience as well whenever I’m actually employing the method properly, that is without trying to rush through the technique (which is a tendency I’m working on correcting).

One very last thing I was wondering: In…

[Read more]

Thanks for the info! It did help me understand things better.

“There is just this perception of raw breath sensations in awareness, almost like one impossibly long inhale, or one impossibly long exhale – it could be either. I experienced this much later though – but I’m sure experience varies.”

Ah yes, I had that same exper…[Read more]

Thanks for the info! It did help me understand things better.

“There is just this perception of raw breath sensations in awareness, almost like one impossibly long inhale, or one impossibly long exhale – it could be either. I experienced this much later though – but I’m sure experience varies.”

Ah yes, I had that same exper…[Read more]

I was wondering if the breath becoming faint is the shift in perception of the meditation object that occurs around Stage 6. I heard also that it becomes more difficult to tell the in-breath from the out-breath, is this correct? If not, then what does it actually feel like when one has mastered Stage 6 and the meditation object is…[Read more]

Some monks like Ajahn Sumedho recommend using that ringing as a meditation object, even throughout the day. This is an ancient technique from Nada Yoga and maybe you could find it helpful in your practice. Since you mentioned the ringing stopped when you didn’t meditate for a while, then I don’t think it’s a medical condition, but…[Read more]

Thanks for the info! I guess the same thing could be said for the whole body aka “ultralite” jhanas helping one to master Stage 6, right?

With Metta,

Charles

Thanks a lot! The draft does indeed help until I can hopefully buy the book.

Hi Blake,

I see, thanks for clearing things up. I definitely have not mastered stage 6 yet, so I will avoid the practices outlined above for now. But like I said, it really does help me to know what I should be preparing for in the near future, so I’m…[Read more]

I’ve been working with stage 6 practices for some time now and also trying the mindfulness technique of paying attention to the breath (or keeping it in peripheral awareness) throughout the whole day while off the cushion.

So I recently had a new experience while meditating. I was very focused on the breath, and it became so vivid,…[Read more]

Now I see there are 2 different practices, one for each stage (5 & 6), involving body awareness in Culadasa’s meditation scheme. In the “Body Scan” technique which I use, I only focus on the breath energy sensations 1 part (or 1 section) of the body at a time, this only has the effect of removing dullness for me,…[Read more]

Thanks! Your answers did help indeed. Let me see if I understand this correctly:

Basically by sustaining the focus on the breath (and keeping awareness of the body), the mind gets used to ignoring the subtle distractions and there is no need for any positive reinforcement like in previous stages. I guess the reason is having to smile…[Read more]

I’m currently…[Read more]