[maryhillMember]

Bernadette,
Sometimes it is hard to determine precisely what stage one is in, without a skilled facilitator leading you.
I would advise reading the goals of each stage, and the end of the chapter on each stage. That may help.
In teacher training, we’ve discussed whether it’s being in a particular stage 80/20% of the time or 70/30$ of the time. Culadasa says either is acceptable.

Or read an entire chapter on the stage you are guessing you are in, and see if it rings true. You may have progressed.

As far as goal setting is concerned, keep it very simple.

Early on, I would set my goals specifically on something I read in each stage that was something to learn at that stage.

For instance, at one point, my goal was simply to follow the breath during the entire sit.

Sitting a simple goal, and only one, at first, helped me progress.

Later on, it was connecting. later on, it was checking in.

There are online sanghas. I recommend Nicholas Grabovac. He was my teacher for 2.5 years and I still consult with him from time to time.

I also do online one on one consulting, as do many other teachers in training. You can find out about this on the dharmatreasure.org website.

Or perhaps one of the teachers in training in your hemisphere does online, live (Skype or Google hang out) consulting.

Best, Mary Hill

[maryhillMember]

Hi Bernadette,
I’m getting in on the conversation a bit later. Yes, I agree with Ivan.

What Stage are you in?

The practice is based on setting intentions. That’s called “Goals” on p. 45 of TMI book.

Keeping the intention simple, for each sit, and even setting micro-intentions, during a sit (soft verbal reminder) is recommended.

Be sure to review Table 4, Preparation for Meditation before each sit. So very helpful.

Also, be sure to do the four step preparation for meditation at the beginning of every sit. p. 48.
Culadasa recommends this, no matter what Stage you are in.

The last paragraph on p. 126, which is Stage 4, is a good summary of thoughts arising and passing away in peripheral awareness. That would be the answer to the question above, I think.

Best!

Mary Hill
Teacher in Training

[maryhillMember]

Benefits I’ve received so far:

I agree with the five benefits posted above.
I’ve noticed them, and so have my family and closest friend. And my mind’s eye 🙂

In addition, I’ve had three experiences now, lasting more than 24 hours, when my mind simply went quiet. And I experienced life as a set of processes, having an experience.

And in the past few days, I’ve had the experience of feeling fully alive, which is difficult to explain. My mind can perceive the qi or subtle life forces equally distributed in all parts of my body. My visual, sensate and taste sensations are turned up. I’m calm. Ratonal. Still participating fully in daily life, and meditating longer each day.

I’ve been practicing since December 2014, with a facilitator, and been in teacher training since September 2017.

What I find is most important in progressing in the practice is following the preparation for meditation on p. 45 before every sit or walking meditation. And especially, in setting the intention, during the “goal” portion.

The 4 step transition on p. 48 in each session.

And the last paragraph on p. 92, which discusses consistently focusing on the positive aspects of the practice.

Blessings on your path.
Mary Hill

[maryhillMember]

Hi Starflower. I’m one of Culadasa’s newer batch of teachers in training. Thanks for contacting us here. Someone more experienced may have a better answer, but I wanted to reach out and tell you what I know, and what my experience has been.

To my understanding, Culadasa is combining attention and awareness in a way that is pretty unique. Not in the actual practice, but in the specific way of learning it.

It’s why I am following the book, and became a teacher in training.

Sharon Salzberg recommends his book, and she’s a founding member of the Insight Meditation Society here in the USA, in MA. Other well respected teachers from that society, in the USA, include Jack Kornfeld and Joseph Goldstein.
So, asking at one of the two following places from your list about their familiarity with any of those three teachers might be helpful.

I looked at the first link you posted.

If I were you, I would start with the Melbourne University Buddhist Studies Society. Just contact them and see about going and sitting with them.

The other promising one was the Monash Buddhist Society, because they are non-sectarian. They offer instruction from different traditions and you could simply try them and see if you find a good fit. Also, since they are non-sectarian, they may be open to adding another tradition to their repertoire?

Some Buddhist groups are extremely dogmatic. Learning the dharma is an important part of meditation, and if I were you, I would look for the least dogmatic group.

There are also two online TMI teachers, who I am familiar with, who you can find on the website for dharmatreasure.org One is Tucker Peck, who runs a group called eSangha. The other is Nicholas Grabovac, who runs a twice monthly group which meets from noon to 2p.m. PDT. A few months ago, there was someone from New Zealand in Nicholas’s group.

I founded a TMI sangha by going onto the Reddit TMI discussion group and asking if there was anyone who lives in my metropolitan area, and got 3 responses.

You might have success finding other TMI practitioners doing that, as well.

I’m not a student of the traditions, so I can’t answer your question based on the traditions posted. I’m just giving you the best practical advice I can.

Also, if you have the Insight Timer app on your phone, Chris Gagne, another one of Culadasa’s teachers in training has a medication there called: Metta Meditation based on The Mind Illuminated.

And I have a really great study guide to Stage 2, if you are interested. I could send it to you as an attachment.

Blessings,

Mary

[maryhillMember]

Hi DC Curtis.
Thanks for the reply.
Glad you are getting some results with the walking meditation.
I agree with Blake’S latest suggestions for you.
I admire your diligence.
Stay in touch.
Blessings, Mary

[maryhillMember]

Junot,
I’m glad that Blake responded, as he’s much more experienced than I am. I’ve been in teacher training just since September, 2016. I’m glad that you are having a more relaxed attitude to the body scan and the tension is better.

So, just keep doing what you’re doing and see where it leads you.

If you feel like experimenting with Qi Gong, I do have to admit I practiced with a Qi Gong teacher, in a very small group, for 3 years, and in that time began to notice the subtle energies of the body. I suspect that is why body scanning came fairly easily to me. (Many other parts of TMI practice did not 🙂

So, if you’re great with where you’re heading now, just keep doing it, and ignore this.

I just wanted to second the suggestion of Qi Gong, if you’re interested. Also, it might be better to find a class with a facilitator, that has a good reputation, rather than learning it online.

Again, no pressure and this isn’t necessary. It was just a tool that my nervous system responded to quite readily, some years back.

Blessings, Mary

[maryhillMember]

Hi. I’m Mary, a teacher in training with Culadasa since September, 2016.
From reading your question, it sounds like you have a very active mind, in terms of thinking. That’s okay. I did also. For myself, it took me a long time to work through the first 3 stages, which Culadasa does describe if a person has an active mind. And it was so very well worth the effort!

It’s great that you are sitting for an hour twice daily! Wonderful diligence.

I wouldn’t want to contradict what your current teacher is telling you, so you can try these ideas and see how they work.

First of all, maybe drop the rather long thing you say to yourself when the mind wanders. It’s so many words, it might? be stimulating you think more. Just notice the thinking, give yourself positive reinforcement for noticing it (that is training your introspective awareness), and return to the breath. Some people even smile. You can even pretend that you have an external “coach” outside of yourself, giving you the positive reinforcement.

Questions for you:
Do you follow the 6 steps of Preparation for Practice on p. 45?
Do you follow the Gradual Four-Step Transition to the Meditation Object on p. 47?
After that, do you count to ten, using the outbreath to count?

Perhaps staying on Step 2 of the 4 step transition, which is Focus on bodily sensations, but continue to be aware of everything else, might be helpful.

Read “Calming the Monkey Mind” which starts on p. 89. On p. 90, the suggestion I made above, to use the body awareness step of the four step preparation is discussed in great detail. This really might be helpful for you.

One other suggestion is to try walking meditation, as described in the Appendix. Some people are very kinesthetic, and learn better when moving.

I myself have spent entire meditations on Step 2 of the 4 step transition, especially early on. Between that and walking meditation, it really helped me to slow the thinking enough to accomplish larger periods of time when I was able to focus on the breath.

Also, is there a activity or a situation in daily life that causes you to think less, and be “in the flow”? For myself, it’s time spent walking in nature, or making art. During those activities, my “thinking mind” quiets, naturally. If you have an activity like that, know that you already have the capability of quieting your mind. It’s just a matter of diligence.

Hope this helps! So glad you wrote to us here.

Blessings,
Mary

[maryhillMember]

Julian,

Wiley’s advice to tune into sensations is sound, and I read it, along with some other recent takeaways from teacher training, before I meditated yesterday. I found it to be very useful.

As far as lovingkindness goes, here’s what I did in my practice:

I only said the metta for myself, until I felt “strong enough”, internally, to say it for others.
An analogy is “putting on your own oxygen mask first, when on an airplane, before putting one on your child’s”.

Then I added people and beings who I knew for sure love me in return.

If I’m in a state where lots of emotions are arising, (fear and resentment), I would not expand my lovingkindness any further. That’s just me. The beauty of this practice is that you do it at your own rate, and make your practice your own.

I’m a very intuitive, kinesthetic person. I know on a given day how far I can go with lovingkindness practice. I listen to my body. It tells me.

Remember that I suggested to you, from the get go, to find a practice, off the cushion, that also incorporates attention and awareness. I am suggesting that again.

As an example:

I do a mindful walk every day, even if it’s short. (That’s in the Appendix in TMI). I do it outside unless it’s pouring rain. Culadasa says being is nature is an excellent way to promote samatha/vipassna practice.

Can you allow yourself a daily walk, outside alone, noticing your feet touching the ground?

Also, can you find a single practice, off the cushion, to practice attention and awareness? The first practice I used, off the cushion, BTW, was brushing my teeth.

What’s so amazing about TMI is that if you incorporate just a single task from daily life into your practice, you can realize that the samatha-vipassna practice can also be used in real life to gently train the mind.

Be gentle with yourself. Follow the directions in the book for when/if strong emotions arise. “Let it come, let it be, let it go.”

Emotions arise. Impermanence informs me that they will pass, if I let them. I’ve dealt with a lot of resentments using this practice. The practice has made it safe for me to slowly, gently, “let go” of deep seated, subconscious, and unconscious fears and angers. This has happened slowly, over time. Years…

First of all, be kind and gentle with yourself. Striving will not “speed up” your progress. (Been there, done that 🙂

“Letting go”, being diligent, making your practices pleasant and relaxing, and being extra gentle with yourself when emotions arise is the cornerstone of this practice.

Blessings, Mary

[maryhillMember]

Great Julian. Some people do Metta (lovingkindness) daily for years.
Let me know if that begins to soften your practice. Blessings, Mary

[maryhillMember]

https://chrisgagne.com/2284/free-30-minute-guided-metta-loving-kindness-meditation/

Julian, Above is a 30 minute guided meditation done by another one of Culadasa’s teachers in training. It is lovingkindness. It’s the one I listened to this morning.

Blessings, Mary, teacher in training

[maryhillMember]

Julian,
I’m a rather new teacher in training with Culadasa. I don’t have the answer to your question. I wanted to respond so that I would be in this thread, and see what the experienced teachers in training have to say.
I admire your determination very much. You’ve come to the right place. Culadasa’s methods are so gentle, and experiencing meditation with pleasure and relaxation is very important in this practice.

Also, I wanted you to know that when I started meditating in 2014, I was already in chronic pain. So, I actually lie down, with a heating pad, because the pain itself is such a distraction that I can’t follow the instructions.
I’m at Stage 5. And yes, subtle and gross dullness is an issue with lying down. Sometimes I have to meditate, fall asleep, awaken, and try again.

I do a lot of the practices in the Appendix also, like Lovingkindness and Walking Meditation. And I allow myself to experience mindfulness in daily life (watching my thoughts and returning to the breath), as often as possible throughout the day.

This allows me to “practice” meditation (yes, I can even do it at the gym :), when off the cushion.

I do not have ADHD, and I do have a very active mind. It is such a relief, whether I am on the cushion, or off, to focus on my meditation object during daily life.

Also, on the very bottom of the introductory page of the website, is a guided meditation by Culadasa himself. I sometimes listen to this, in order to be with my teacher and a group, “in spirit”.

There are also 3 online sanghas with Culadasa’s teachers in training. I belong to one of them. That’s how I discovered the practice 🙂

Blessings,
Mary, teacher in training

[maryhillMember]

I began my meditation practice with a facilitator named Nicholas Grabovac, who is in the list of certified teachers on this website. We began by using something called “noting” practice.
I would need to find the old audio, video and practice suggestions to be completely specific, but the gist is this:
There are five tangible senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling, smelling.
Early on, as I sat, and as I walked, I would name whichever sense I was currently experiencing, whether in attention or in peripheral awareness. “Seeing”, “Hearing”, “Tasting”, “Feeling”, “Smelling”.
By noting them, it was easier to move them to peripheral awareness, over time.
I found that I was especially drawn to sounds and tactile sensations as distractions.
And there is a howling dog and a moderate traffic noise where I live.
Whenever my attention would find itself drawn to sounds, I would say to myself “hearing”.
I became aware of a mild tinnitus. It lost it’s ability to take over my attention by my simply “noting” it. “Hearing”.

There are so many ways to make your practice your own, and I am sharing ways I made my practice my own.
I practiced a lot of noting, and also learned, over time, to hold the tinnitus in peripheral awareness.
For instance, as I write this, I am noting my refrigerator compressor going. It’s in peripheral awareness. So, is the tactile sense of my fingers touching the keyboard.

What is in attention is watching the words appear on the screen.

A way to experience attention and peripheral awareness in everyday life is while driving a car. If you have a car, notice that your attention is on the driving itself, and that many things along the road and even inside the car, are in peripheral awareness.

Mary, teacher in training

[maryhillMember]

Huw,

Three 40 minute practices per day is diligence. So happy for you that you have found the book, and are working through the exercises.

In regards to your question about what may seem like contradictory advice, I went through a phase where my mind did visualize the meditation object. I use the sensations of the breath at the abdomen, and for awhile, I “saw” a balloon. Eventually, with enough diligence, and understanding to tune into the actual sensations, as opposed to the mind’s visualization of them, it passed, and my mind now mostly just registers the sensations. It just took time, and intention.

I would set an intention for a sit, and a few times it was to actually note the sensations as opposed to my mind’s visualizations.

I agree with Michael regarding your second question. Although it may seem repetitive, repetition pays off. Joyfully notice that your attention has changed to the traffic noise. I even said something to myself like: “Atta girl, good job” for awhile, when noticing the mind had wandered away from the meditation object. And know that the mind doing this is very normal in the early stages. And every time you note it, you will be building introspective awareness.

Eventually, your mind will notice an “urge” to move from the meditation object to a sensations or thought, and that’s really cool.

About how to keep your practice fresh, since you report that the initial mindfulness and attention off the cushion has faded, Culadasa suggests adding walking meditation from the get go. There are instructions in the Appendix.

And maybe choose one activity each day that you decide to do mindfully (with full attention on what you are doing). Early on, I chose brushing my teeth.

Welcome to our group.

Mary, teacher in training

[maryhillMember]

Louis,
I’m Mary, and in teacher training with Culadasa as of Sept. 2016. I’m in agreement with Sergey, and also really appreciate the suggestion of comparing sits.
When I can be in Stage 4 or higher during the majority of my sit, then quieting the mind has led to an insight later.
I also incorporate mindfulness in daily life (mindful walking meditation in the index of TMI), and one mindful activity each day (currently it’s brushing my teeth).
There is a fine line, with progressing, involving diligence (daily practice) and intention. Sometimes I still have to re-set my intention with each breath 🙂
Being a person who previously was quite into “stiving”, this finesse of effort and diligence is new.
Anyway, occasionally a still, quiet voice gives me the solution to something I had been previously tring to understand with lots of thinking.
Blessings, Mary

[maryhillMember]

It just happened for me yesterday for the first time in meditation. It felt like an inner “tug” or “hunch” that a thought was about to arise and I noted it. Happened 3 times in a 45 minute meditation. I have been setting the intention to note introspective awareness, and actually using “checking in” every 6 breaths, by counting the breaths. I always set my intention before meditation, and this has been my intention for weeks.
I am a student in Stage 3.

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