thank you for your advice Daniel. I do hope that this thread attracts a few more posts, because as you say, it will vary by the individual, and personal experimentation will be important. If I am able to read several different views on this subject it will give me more ideas for things I can experiment with for myself.
Meanwhile, though I don't want to sidetrack my own thread here, I am wondering about your comment:
Daniel M. Ingram:
I found that in daily life in general practice was hard and I shouldn't expect much
Are you saying that for you daily practice has not really contributed that much to your attainments, only retreats ? If so, I wonder if that is regarded as generally true for most people, or not necessarily so.
In my own case, it will probably be some time before I can realistically arrange the time for another proper 10-20 day retreat, meanwhile 1-2 hours each day is the best I can do. For now, then, I must find ways to get the absolute most benefit I can from such a practice regimen. At the same time, I have also been thinking about DIY mini-retreats at home, of say 1, 2, or 3 days. I believe my family (also all meditators) would support and assist me in doing these, one every month or so. I may try one soon just to see how it goes, but I do want to get a little exposure to noting work through daily sits before trying a mini-retreat focused on noting.
meanwhile, thanks again for the views on noting versus concentration. I will try some pure noting for a week or two, and then also experiment with a few mixing approaches.w