[Chris GagneMember]

Tucker and Blake, thank you!

Tucker, I would love to join you for the Sangha. I normally work until 6:30 most days, so I’ll figure out how to get this on my schedule. It is certainly more convenient than trying to drive anywhere.

Blake, thank you for the insight. The way that Darin and Claire introduced it to me was that I can think of it like drumbeats. There is the bass line of the breath: B B B B B B… Eventually a distraction will come in: B B B D B D B… If I don’t notice it, it takes over: D D D D D D (forgetting, mastering stage 3 = overcoming this). Mind wandering would then look like B B B B B D B B D D D B D D D D D W D D W W W W W W (mastering Stage 2 = overcoming this).

Is that a reasonable way of understanding it?

I would estimate that for the first 20-30 minutes of a sit I’m doing a decent job of sticking with the breath with let’s say 20% forgetfulness and 10% mindwandering. Towards the end of a 40-minute sit I get tired and begin to slip into dullness or mind wandering.

I am “praising the puppy” with a gentle “yes!” when I come back to the breath, both on the cushion and throughout the day whenever I think of becoming more mindful. For instance, I’ll give myself a “yes!” when I think of my breath or inhibit myself from toying with my phone when I’m going to the bathroom.

I do notice the expectation most of the time off the cushion. The mental chatter goes along the lines with “Okay, so I know sitting every day is the hardest step. I’ve ‘mostly’ done that in that I’ve sat ~160 out out the last 180 days. So I’m frustrated with my progress since it feels like I’m still ‘stuck’ at Stage 2/3. On the other hand, Master Culadasa said that to make progress I should be sitting 1-2 hours/day and I’m only sitting 35 minutes, so what sort of progress can I really expect?”

So it sounds like it would be ideal for me to sit 2 times a day for about an hour. Should I do something like two 30-minute sits with a break in between, or try to manage a long 50-minute sit and use antidotes for dullness.

Thanks for telling me about Richard. I don’t think I can make his classes but I’m going to do what I cna to fit Tucker’s Sangha discussions in my life. Perhaps I can come to some of Richard’s day-long practices.

Master Culadasa’s 10 stages resonated with me more than any other method. Should I mix this practice at home with 2-day Zen sesshins and/or the 10-day vipassana retreat?

Love,

Chris

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