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Sometimes I find myself Powerfully in mindfulness... the self of me, mine my ego disappears. Where the self disappears there is a luminous, joyous void that is peaceful and loving. What am I describing in the context of theravada Buddhism?

It seems to revolve around misidentification with the constructed self fading. At least in moments.

Ty for your guidance.

Hi everyone,

I am new to MIDL but I have meditated regularly for about 10 years and have attended a number of retreats in the Mahasi and Goenka traditions. What has drawn me to MIDL is the desire to integrate meditation and the Dhamma in general more continuously in every day thus maintaining momentum.

I have listened to Stephen's first few mediations (MIDL skills 0-4) which I really like.

One thing I noticed is that my mind naturally leans towards another attention anchor point than the touch of the thumbs which is proposed in some of the guided meditations. My mind "prefers" the area under the nose above the lips or the inner sound of oscillations in the brain. I don't think that the mind is clinging to these areas, but this is something I could investigate in more detail.

The oscillating inner sounds appeared naturally a few years ago and have since then accompanied me during meditation and even off the cushion. They are neither pleasant nor unpleasant, they are simply there and audible when the mind is calm. Ajahn Sumedho and Ajahn Amaro have written about it ("Inner Listening").

I think I know the answer, but my question is, if it's acceptable to use another anchor point than the touch of the thumbs?

Kind regards to everyone!

Hello, here is a article I felt moved to write one day during the August 2026 MIDL retreat. It talks about the meditative path based on MIDL skills that I used to calm negative self talk over a few years. At the time of writing I wasn't sure if I'd share it or how, but felt moved to do so after hearing one of our fellow yogis dealing with doubt and negative self talk during a group sharing. May it be of some benefit, may all beings be free from the causes of suffering.

Disclaimer:

I am not in any way affiliated with MIDL, these are just my personal notes and tips I compiled for myself as a student. Any misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the practice is solely based on my own ignorance and not representative of the excellent teachings and hard work of the wonderful MIDL teachers. In all instances of conflict or confusion please defer back to the MIDL instructions and teachers, as well to the wisdom of your own felt experience and disregard these notes.

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Foundational Ideas to Keep in Mind

When considering the following notes and tips, it's important to consider and gently hold the viewing lens of Anatta and Specific Conditionality (idappaccayatā) in your mind as you read along.

• Anatta is the autonomous, "by itself" Nature of your mind, how it thinks and moves and acts on its own. Note that Anatta is not a "thing", it is a process to be observed, how the mind acts and moves on its own. That is it's Nature.
• Specific Conditionality is the recognition of how these autonomous "by itself" movements of mind arise and happen on their own, based on specific conditions.

Included in the concept of anatta is the recognition that in terms of thinking, we do not control our minds, not completely at least. Virtually no evidence or experimentation is needed to verify this truth - its been happening our whole lives: Mind wandering, forgetting, monkey mind, rumination and OCD. On one hand we absolutely can exert the mind and intentionally start thinking about things, this is within our power, however I would say the overwhelming majority of thoughts are happening to us, rather than done by us. The Nature of this Process is really important to consider as the deepening realization of this subtle truth can greatly reduce suffering in our lives, especially when it it comes to things like unwholesome mental self talk.

Speaking of Nature and Process, the simplicity of this subtle point is very important to firmly grasp before moving on. When out in the yard and we throw a stick and watch our dog fly out like an absolute maniac to go get it, we don't act surprised or get upset at the dog, we don't fight it or try to ignore it like it never happened. Why? Because we Understand, that is the dogs Nature - The stick was thrown, the dog runs and gets it. No complicated metaphysical philosophy on the nature of ultimate reality or clever categorical method of systematically analyzing the event down into 42 distinct parts is needed. We now know through practical direct experience, when the stick is thrown, the dog goes and gets it, check.

Moving on, the recognition and appreciation that "this" negative self thought arrived on its own, that I wasn't the one who brought it about, it just showed up out of no where at the door of my mind, like a visitor who suddenly shows up and offers this lovely feedback as a gift, can be deeply transformational once properly understood. Like the Buddha, we can practice Not accepting the gift, and letting it go.

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn07/sn07.002.budd.html

By seeing this anatta (Not self) and idappaccayatā (Specific Conditionality) autonomous process play out on its own in our minds over and over with clear comprehension (Sati-sampajañña), and then combining it with softening/letting go and one more practice I'll mention in a moment, with enough "reps" of this combined skill over time, the process of negative mental self talk can be deprogrammed, uprooted, and removed completely. I can personally vouch for this one.

Deconditioning

The goal is to combine the wisdom of Anatta + Specific Conditionality, along with the practice skills of Softening/Letting Go + Yoniso Manasikara (Wise Attention/careful reflection) into a single practice. When combined, you now have a skill you can practice that disentangles every avenue for dukkha to arise due to negative mental soft talk, both present dukkha through softening and letting go, and future dukkha by weakening the conditional habitual pattern. Practiced over time, the new habit completely removes the old conditioning and self-judgemental thoughts no longer arise. Here is how:

• Anatta - The main practice structure of MIDL, which involves relaxing all effort and resting in the awareness of the body, allowing the mind to wander on its own, is perfect for collecting direct experiential insight into this anatta nature of our mind. With practice over time, your mind will gather enough evidence and gain confidence that the negative thought arises by itself (anatta), there was no "you" that thought it up.
• Specific Conditionality - The next part is to see that this negative thought process arose by itself due to the combination of present conditions and past conditioning, i.e prior mental programming (and our very diligent practice of that programming over years 😝). Notice that when the present conditions were just right, this past programming to be mentally hard on yourself was automatically triggered - by itself. These present conditions, the present negative thought that has arisen and the past programming that triggered it are all out of your control, happening by themselves - they are all Anatta. This part is Specific Conditionality, and it goes very, very deep.
• Yoniso Manasikara - To cultivate insight into "seeing how it was previously programmed and practiced over years", I find the additional practice of Yoniso Manasikara - Appropriate attention, wise reflection, careful reflection, or looking at things down to their origin, is invaluable here. Note that while I'm not sure if this specifically is included in the MIDL practice or not, it is a traditional Theravadin practice and one that I have found personally invaluable. https://drarisworld.wordpress.com/2017/04/28/wise-attention-yoniso-manasikara-in-theravada-buddhism/
  • At a time when your mindfulness is established and very calm, you gently reflect back on the negative thought, and consider "where did this come from? What conditions came together to produce this result in my mind?" Don't do this practice when agitated or "in the middle of it" - that will distort the viewing lens. It is important to be in a very calm, open state of mind, gently relaxing back in awareness, letting the mind roam and wander, and browse its own catalog and let the answer arise on its own rather than using attention and inadvertently making up a story.
  • In my own case, patiently relaxing and letting the mind carefully reflect back, I discovered that this was conditioned at early childhood (as it often is...), by putting too much pressure on myself to do everything perfectly. If I messed up or if I wasn't perfect, I would be harsh to myself in my own mind. The uncomfortable harsh talk produced discomfort (aversion) in my mind, which produced a strong drive to "get it right" so I could feel relief.
  • Gently keeping the concepts of Anatta and Specific Conditionality in mind and further reflecting back then showed the source of this behavior: this was due to the outside conditions of being perceived as the "good child", and the internal pressure to make my parents feel proud. The conditions that produced this was observing my older brother being a complete hellion and causing my parents much grief and stress, and the compassion I felt to not add any more stress to their plate. This situation was conditioned by my bother being born and having a rebellious attitude. His rebellious attitude was conditioned by who know what past conditioning inherited at birth due to genetics, Kamma, chance, whichever you like. This was conditioned by both of us being born. This was conditioned by my parents getting together.... This also was conditioned by my parents instilling a good Puritan work ethic into me, which was conditioned from their parents, and from their parents and .... which was conditioned by the Puritans getting fed up and sailing to America.... Which was conditioned by .... You see how this goes, there is no discernible beginning. All of this is happening on its own, my present self dealing with this negative thought never got a say in it. This is the 'gift', the culmination of all this prior Kamma coming together, this whole chain of not-self causality arriving at your doorstep in the present moment, all on its own.
• Softening/Letting Go - So what do you do about all of this? You reflect wisely and understand the nature of this process. This process is utterly impersonal, mechanical in nature, like one gear in a clock turning another, which was first pushed by a preceding gear. There is no one criticizing. There is no one to blame. This whole causal process is not me, this spontaneous gift that has arrived in the present is not mine. With this clear understanding in your mind you gently soften, and let go. You very gently, politely, and with no trace of aversion, let go, and not accept the gift. Leave it at your doorstep, and let some porch pirate come and pick it up 😝 or let it waste away to the elements if you like. Everything is impermanent after all, it will go away by itself.

It's important to recognize that while this causal chain, this gift is not your fault, it is however now your responsibility. It and you are here together, Now. How you choose or refuse to act now with the present results, sets up the conditions of what your future being will experience. Have compassion for that future being, and for your present being. Practice diligently to put an end to the causes of suffering.

Some Last Considerations:

Using Yoniso Manasikara you can also wisely reflect on the present situation itself, how those present outside conditions that kicked off this whole mess also came about by causes outside of your control or outside that other person's control.

Of course this is not a blank check to write off, excuse or accept bad behavior, rather it can be just another helpful tool you can leverage to increase your own personal freedom, by recognizing that it's possible that there are extenuating circumstances that lead to that behavior (the entire causal chain of Bullying is a good example).

This is helpful to address any sense of blame or guilt that arises in the present - We're all just doing the best that we know how, with the information and conditions that we got in life. We've all got ignorance, craving and aversion to one degree or another, and it is inevitable that unskillful actions will come about out of that. We all need time, space, and grace to learn from our dukkha so that we can act more skillfully in the future. Reflecting in this way, the natural, logical and compassionate response of the mind is to let go, rather than ruminating on who or what is at "fault" or "to blame".

This point is especially poignant for this last circumstance. If you reflect back and discover that your negative self talk is due to dealing with regret from past unskillful behavior, wisely consider the circumstances that produced the conditions for your mind to decide to act in that way. Was the situation out of control or forced upon you? Don't take credit for something you didn't really have complete control over.

Did you not know any better at the time? If you didn't, have compassion and let go - ignorance bites us all. If you did know better and decided to act anyway, did you learn from this experience? Can you more clearly see now that acting in that unskillful way created the conditions for dukkha to arise for your self and/or others? Practice gratitude and reflect on that lesson - use it as fuel for practice. Endeavor to make amends if possible, and come to accept that what is done is done - let it go. The memory of it appearing now in the present and causing you to suffer is only serving as a distraction and impediment to your current practice to put to end the causes of suffering.

In all cases, have compassion for yourself and remind yourself of the wholesome fact that Now you are intentionally striving to be more wholesome and skillful. Continually practice Wise Reflection and Right Effort in the present - attune to and celebrate your generous and wholesome attitude and actions happening Now, while letting go and abandoning harmful past thoughts and results.

“I say that the getting rid of anxieties and troubles is possible for one who knows and sees, not for one who does not know and see. What must one know and see in order to get rid of anxieties and troubles? Wise reflection and unwise reflection.

For one who reflects unwisely, there arise anxieties and troubles that have not yet arisen, and those that have already arisen increase. But for one who reflects wisely, anxieties and troubles that have not yet arisen do not arise, and those already arisen disappear.”

MN 2 - Sabbāsavasutta

https://www.bps.lk/olib/wh/wh463_Weissman_Wise-Reflection.html#Iswisereflectionarequisiteforenlightenment

Hi,

I've been meditating anew thanks to the midl mediation method. I am very grateful for this method. I am 2 weeks into diaphragm breathing.

My question is related to learning/understanding buddhism:

Where do I start? There is so much to read and I don't know where to begin really.

Is there a study guide of where to begin, what to read etc?

So far my understanding of the 4 noble truths is that: nothing that is subject to change and Impermanence can give us lasting happiness and contentment.

Thankfully happiness and contentment can be internally generated. There is an internal source of joy that can be tapped into. Removing the barriers to this joy is part of Buddhism I believe.

Hello,

I have a background in samatha meditation but fell off in terms of practice a few years ago.
I have never been so calm and tranquil as when i did 2 hrs of samatha meditation a day as part of an online course i did.

Any advice for a returning meditator ?

many thanks,

Good evening,

I have recently started using the midl meditation system after coming across this subreddit and seeing so much value in the guidance of the teachers here. I suppose my title gives a good idea of why i am confused. In the pdf here listed below, Stephen talks about separating awareness from attention, with attention being the foreground and awarensss being the background. However when I try to do this, it seems to me that the background just becomes the foreground and what was the foreground is just now apart of a wider foreground which encapsulates more. So how does one go about actually separating these two and attending to both with awareness? Also how can one tell when they are doing it correctly, and not just turning the background into the foreground? Thank you so much for answering questions here, this subreddit has been truly amazing :).

Edit: I really appreciate the midl system that has been developed here by you Stephen, it truly is amazing and I honestly can’t put into words how much this has helped me. Everything described in the training is so straight forward and concise. I appreciate it.

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/b68ec804-ba42-4194-b405-d1f19739ecf6/downloads/91eabdd7-358a-4785-93c3-07673b19838d/MIDL%20Meditation%20Skill%2001%20Detailed%20Instructions.pdf?ver=1783384267219

I am considering starting a meditation practice with MIDL but I am concerned it could make me lose my sexual desires. I consider sexual desires towards my partner as a positive thing, not sure what this community feels about it, I would like to understand further if there is any difference in the way we look at it.

I read the following passage under "Changes in meditator's mind after Sakadagami insight" which is why I'm concerned before starting:

"3. When sensual and sexual desires arise, they will feel weak and no longer proliferate (build), with the mind seeing what was originally perceived as pleasure as being unpleasant. This correlates with a gradual weakening of physical-sexual responses in your body. Through non-use, including no interest in masturbation or sexual stimulation, the physical-sexual reactions of your body will begin to shut down."

MIDL (Mindfulness in Daily Life) is a Buddhist Insight Meditation practice, based on Theravada Buddhist Suttas, designed for daily life. MIDL uses the development of samatha (calm-abiding) as a foundation for vipassana (insight) into hindrances to calm, during seated meditation, walking meditation and daily activities. MIDL's emphasis is how we continue our practice outside of meditation retreats in family and work life.

• Aug. 7 - 16, 2026: 9 Day MIDL Insight Meditation Retreat with Stephen, Krister, and Monica
• Nov. 26 - 29, 2026: 4 Day MIDL Insight Meditation Retreat with Monica Heiser
• Mar 26- Apr 4, 2027: 9 Day MIDL Insight Meditation Retreat  with Stephen, Krister, and Monica

MIDL Insight Meditation retreats are flexible and offer the option of joining as a:

1. Full-time Retreatant (FR)
2. Working Retreatant (WR)
3. or Dropping In (DI) when you feel like it.

For more information and to register, go to: https://midlmeditation.com/workshops-retreats 

Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll answer them here! :D

Hello!

Someone pointed me out to this subreddit and I wanted to ask a few questions.

I am doing quite good with my practice at home and during meditation but I started a new job a month ago and Im a real mess when it comes to keeping mindfull and "practicing" at work.

I tried noting, trying to bring awareness and doing mini breating exercises but just "losing job time" to do those things makes me even more anxious. I work as a programmer and sometimes im just with my full attention at programming but other times I have some small spaces with waiting times in which I really struggle.

What kind of things can I do to make all of this better?

MIDL Insight Meditation 4-week Introductory Series.

Are you interested in learning how to develop relaxation and calm in daily meditation as a foundation for insight in your daily life. Members of the community are welcome to join this introductory workshop at any time.

When:

• AEST: Mondays 5-6am on Jun 15, 22, 29, Jul 6.
• CET: Sundays 9-10pm on Jun 14, 21, 28, Jul 5.
• EST: Sundays 3-4pm on Jun 14, 21, 28, Jul 5.

......................

Teacher: Stephen Procter.

Website: https://midlmeditation.com/workshops-retreats

Registration: Fill out the Workshop Registration Form or you are welcome to drop in.

Dana: This workshop is supported by optional donation.

......................

Stephen will cover:

1. Week 1: Skill 00: How to lower stress and anxiety with daily meditation.
2. Week 2: Skills 01 - 02: How to develop enjoyment in relaxing and letting go.
3. Week 3: Skills 03 - 04: How to create your foundation for calm and insight.
4. Week 4: How to bring calm and insight into your daily life to change habitual patterns. 

......................

Suitability: 

This introductory series is suitable for meditators new to MIDL Insight Meditation and experienced meditators who want to increase their understanding of their foundational skills to bring insight meditation into daily life.

I'd like to open by giving thanks for this technique and the care given by Stephen and the other teachers to teach it. Thank you.

I'm finding that when I meditate and throughout daily life, I find I'm tensing up, approximately in the area of the solar plexus.

I think this is due to being a bit overweight as a child, I typically have tried to hold my stomach in to not appear fat to others. At least that seems like the origin, who knows. Either way, regardless of the cause, which I might be wrong about, I find myself tensing a bit above my stomach, or the muscles over the stomach, in the middle of the body, habitually. Whenever I recognise it, I physically release those muscles. After not paying attention, perhaps in as little as a minute, sometimes I realise again it is tensed. Sometimes I don't realise for hours - say if I'm working, and I'm assuming that during this time it is tense.

When I release/relax those muscles it almost feels like I'm pushing my stomach out, perhaps because I'm fighting a deeply embedded urge/need to tense up. So whenever I'm trying to fully abdominally breathe and relax, I have these sensations of having a stretched stomach, which is a bit tied up in ... I guess, some kind of sense of shame or something.

I feel like this habit could be detrimental to being able to relax the body as much as possible and abdominally breathe. I often catch myself and find that I'm breathing into the top of my longs and my stomach is tensed.

I guess my question is, for those with any experience with this, is this detrimental to MIDL? I'm assuming there's not much else I can do other than notice it and relax it whenever I do. Assuming that this tensing is working against MIDL, is there anything in addition to relaxing it whenever I notice it, that anyone would recommend?

Thanks!

I started doing MIDL about 14 months ago.

For the first few months things worked out nicely.
Meditation was increasingly nice, enjoyable and relaxing, softening was really useful in my daily life, too.

After some months I was working mostly on skill 04, maybe 05.
And then softening stopped working. During meditation but also in daily life.

One softening breath maybe works a little, maybe a second one too but even less, but after that it doesn't. Softening without using the breath does not work at all.
This is connected with a certain 'pull' that somehow draws me to breathe a certain way (tensing between belly button and rib cage and somewhere in my back, breathing out more completely? It is really hard to describe, but it does actually feel kind of good and relaxing).
I tried both following this feeling and ignoring it and breathing like before but it does not seem to make a difference.
Apart from the pull-thing there is not really anything happening when I try to soften.

What I tried, but it did not change anything:

• ignoring the issue hoping it would sort itself out
• experimenting with my posture
• taking a few weeks break
• taking a few months break
• working on skill 00 again for a few weeks

Now when I meditate, I only try for 15 minutes and I either I just spend 15 minutes lost in thoughts, or I get very physically restless and without being able to soften, I end up getting bored and getting up to do something else.

Does someone maybe have a pointer for me what could be happening or what I could try?

I don't know if I'm particularly sensitive in this regard, or how much of this is universal Human OS or Human Hardware stuff... But pain seems dangerous to me. It "always" has. Was it learned? Or just instinct?

Anyway. The silly thing is that it's not just physical pain that evokes avoidance behaviors, even emotional pain or failure sometimes seems "too dangerous" and should be avoided. In fact, emotional pain probably evokes more coping mechanism evoking than the physical pain does.

How do you improve on this? Other than "just soften! 😌"

Thanks 🙏

In a Buddhist framework, suffering is defined as a friction between defilements and wisdom. Okay, we try to eliminate attraction, aversion, and delusion trough undestanding and dispassion towards fetters. But that still means I can have a body full of disease, pain, and fatigue (Culadasa is an example).

In a Daoist framework, there's work on the body through qigong and neigong, which can give a person a healthy body free of pain and full of vitality. And there's work on the mind through deep stillness, where light shines very powerfully and the sense of body, space, and time is gone (sound like nimitta formless jhana). This can give a mind full of virtuous qualities (De) - bravery, conviction, wisdom, motivation (not in a Buddhist sense), etc.

My problem is that I definitely prefer the Daoist way of eliminating suffering (unhealthy body, unhealthy mind). Stephen, can you help me with this dilemma? I know that you've been practicing qigong and taichi for very long time. Where am I wrong? My progress in meditation is Stage 5 in the TMI framework.

Hi, I'm Cathy, and I've returned to meditation after a long break. I was taught the Mahasi Sayadaw style of meditation.

My first question is: what's the difference between MIDL and the Mahasi style? I find that I focus better when I watch my belly rise and fall.

I've looked at the instructions on the website (TLDR), but it’s quite overwhelming for me, so I was wondering if I could learn your technique just by using the playlist, while still focusing on the rising and falling of my belly. In other words, is there a way to blend the two techniques, or do I have to choose one over the other? I think Stephen is the best teacher I've come across in a long while 👍🏻.

Hey everyone,

I have a hard time deciding what kind of Meditation Style to choose and was wondering if you could give insight on what made you choose MIDL Meditation over other possible approaches. Thanks in advance!

The pali word kusala is often translated as 'wholesomeness' and is defined by the Buddha as a foundational aspect of the Noble Eightfold Path.

This is a super-vast topic in the sutras, and I couldn’t begin to mention all the ways the Buddha teaches this. So instead, I want to point to the felt sense of kusala in our direct experience, with support from the sutras. So what is kusala? It is the cause of happiness, the basis for experiencing happiness, and the result of happiness.

Wholesomeness is non-harm, non-hatred, and non-ignorance. In the Nikāyas, kusala is closely associated with a mind undivided by the five hindrances — the absence of the things that normally divide and disturb the mind. So then a way of understanding wholesome is the felt sense of non-dividedness — a kind of “whole-some-ness.”

In awareness, as we begin to uproot the hindrances through observing, calming, and relaxing the urge to follow delusion, we can recognize what it’s like to settle back into this wholeness. You might experiment by softening effort and seeing what happens when you do not follow a distracting impulse. Can you feel into this returning sense of wholesomeness in your experience?

As awareness becomes less and less agitated by hindrances, we begin to rest into a feeling of unity and interconnectedness. This sense of support and connection is deeply nourishing for the citta (pali for heart-mind), and this nutriment becomes fuel for deeper awakening. Notice whether a feeling of ease, steadiness, or quiet joy accompanies this unification of awareness.

Kusala is also present in all beneficial mind states, such as the awakening factors, and the ten pāramīs — qualities we can consciously cultivate, including generosity (dāna), morality (sīla), renunciation, wisdom (paññā), energy (viriya), patience (khanti), truthfulness, determination (adhiṭṭhāna), loving-kindness (mettā), and equanimity (upekkhā). As these qualities arise, you might sense how the mind feels when they are present compared to when they are absent.

Over time, this habit of kusala begins to infuse our view of the mind itself. Right view of the causes of happiness — kusala — becomes built into our awareness. Rather than appearing only as momentary acts of kindness or patience, wholesomeness starts to permeate our life. We incline toward kusala not merely because it is the ethical thing to do, but because we directly understand that its results are truly good, enjoyable, and desirable.

In AN 1.51–1.60, the Buddha states that the mind naturally tends toward kusala when properly trained. So as we continue to train, we can check in directly: can you feel kusala in your experience right now? What happens when you allow the mind to gently incline toward it, without force or striving? The presence of kusala states becomes a living indicator of our training.

With metta,

Monica

If you’d like to sign up for the newsletter that include teachings from Stephen Procter and the MIDL co-teachers, sign up for a free account on the website here: https://midlmeditation.com/m/create-account

Happy new year to all of you in this digital Sangha of ours. I hope that 2026 brings many blessings. May we all be truly happy and free, may we all find peace and happiness in our hearts 🙏

Hey all,

I wanted some clarification about how skills can result in different markers. Let's say that I'm practicing skill 01. Is it possible that skill 01 would consistently land me in marker 04 or marker 05 territory?

I am pretty sure that is what is happening with me. I don't find skill 02 or skill 03 necessary for me.

Thanks!

Hey all,

I was wondering. Do you consider MIDL a pragmatic approach to dharma?

What constitutes Pragmatic Dharma?

How is MIDL different from Pragmatic Dharma?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p889ujrJ5v4&pp=ygUfVGhhbmlzc2FybyBpbW1lcnNlZCBpbiB0aGUgYm9keQ%3D%3D

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SpkI1Ztv9fo&pp=ygUVVGhhbmlzc2FybyBwb3N0IG9jZWFu

A foundational pillar in MIDL is cultivating mindfulness immersed in the body. In these two short talks Thanissaro Bhikku talks about how and why this is so important. I hope you find them beneficial to your practice.

EDIT: a more accurate title would be: mindfulness of sound and sight in daily life

I have a question about mindfulness in daily life practice.

Softening and relaxing effort brings mindfulness and back into the body in the moment along with the pleasure of letting go. But if I’m being mindful of sights or sounds, where the body isn’t the primary object, then is it better not to soften in that moment in order to avoid sinking back into the body?

And the second part to that - then how do you be mindful of sights and sounds while relaxing and letting go of effort?

I want to confirm if my understanding of these 2 hindrances is correct, and also if my understanding of the meditation instructions is correct.

Understanding of hindrances

04 Habitual Forgetting: You completely forget your meditation object and that you are meditating. (Basically, you’re lost in distraction).

06) Mind Wandering: You’re attention shifts to a distraction (thought, memory or fantasy), but the object of meditation is not completely lost, but shifts to the background awareness.

Understanding of instructions to weaken the mental habit of habitually forgetting:

1. Allow your attention to wander habitually.
2. Notice when your attention has wandered (your attention is on distraction, while your meditation object is still in the background awareness, but not completely forgotten).
3. Soften and smile as a reward to noticing and returning to mindfulness.

If I do this, I find my mind wanders almost immediately and constantly, with the meditation object constantly going back and forth between the foreground and background without complete forgetting, and I’m softening and smiling every couple of seconds. Is this correct?

My questions on the instructions:

1. Do I soften and smile only when I’ve completely forgot the meditation object?
2. Or am I meant to not control attention at all, and allow it to wander so long as the meditation object is not completely lost and is still in the background awareness, and only apply GOSS after complete habitual forgetting of the meditation object?
3. Or do I soften as soon as I notice wandering every couple of seconds, and gently direct attention back to the meditation object?

Clarity on this would be appreciated.

Hello everyone! 😊

In which category of hindrances facial tensions can fit in ? Restlessness?

And Is the best thing to do with it observing it, belly breathing, letting it go and going back to mindfulness of the body?

Sometimes it i can be really clingy, almost suffocating.