Andres Coca Lopez:
Do you want to master these practices because you want to be free from fundamental suffering, or are there other reasons?
If I
only wanted that I would stick to vipassana and that would be the end of the story. But because I also want to achieve the other goals (to be present,healthy, and to have fun) I also would need to do the other practices, although maybe it is best to leave AF or gears 2 and 3 until after stream entry or more?
If you are saying that you would stick only to vipassana so as to end the story, you would likely be disappointed, as vipassana will only end one kind of fundamental suffering (the struggle between who I think I am and of who I feel I am). I recommend ditching the whole mess (elimination of who I think I am and who I feel I am), as that is the only way to guarantee you are always present, healthy, and having fun. It is very nice to be alive; far better than 'I' / 'Me' ever thought possible.
Whether to pursue an actual freedom before or after stream entry is a point of stasis as of now; I don't think there is enough precedent so as to understand the situation well enough to say definitively one way or another. Although, I recommend just shooting straight for AF, as history has shown quite clearly that enlightenment can itself be quite a difficult nut to crack. In my opinion, this really boils down to how sensible / understandable each seems to you. If the material on the AFTrust website makes a lot of sense and employing the methods therein seems enjoyable, sensible, and doable, then one needs not bother with meditation. If, however, that is not the case, perhaps shooting for stream entry is a better idea.
Andres Coca Lopez:
I'm assuming that my practice and my studies/relationships can both happen at the same time, so my true priority is to get both things going as much as I can.
Well, in a sense they can, but in another sense, they cannot. It is pretty unlikely that you will attain stream entry while having a conversation about a television program you're watching with your family, regardless of how mindful you're trying to be at that time. Radically altering one's entire way of perceiving one's self and the world is not going to happen if one's dedication to it is akin to that of a hobby.
Also, if you do decide to pursue an AF, the relation part of your "relationships" will have to fall away completely if you are to achieve such a goal. This does not mean you cannot interact with the persons 'you' use to have a relationship with, but as all relating is a product of an impassioned imagination, it must fall away eventually; 'I' am 'my' relationships and 'my' relationships are 'me.' (And this is quite a favorable circumstance to bring about, regardless of how one may perceive it when imagining such).
Andres Coca Lopez:
Ah, and I haven't yet done much research in AF, so I haven't done any practice yet, I don't really know how it works.
If you don't really know how it works, having not yet done much research, how do you even know whether you want to do it? To wonder about "when" before "do I want to" is to put the cart before the horse. Try setting aside a few hours one day to really dig in, read closely, sincerely investigate, and later try the methods out for a while. At the very least, you will have more information so as to make your decisions.
Andres Coca Lopez:
I tend to give more credit to people that are trusted by people that I respect, and that I think know what they do or seem to get good results. If Daniel recommends something I assume it is good stuff. That's why I started reading Alan Chapman, and he also seems congruent and makes sense to me so I pay attention to what he says. I would also give some credit in the same way to people or books that Alan recomends. Of course, if I think that something is obviously bollocks I would have to do more research and not take in blind faith that that source is good, but generally I give it some credit.
Trust, eh? I once employed such a thing, too, and I recall being easily convinced of lunacies such as "Santa Claus" as a result.
I suspect much of your hesitation is due to trusting people whom seem to you to be presenting contradictory information. Whether that information is indeed contradictory or not, you will have to decide what the best course is for yourself. And further, if you want to see results, you will have to find conviction in your decision, whatever it may be.
Try, if you will, to think of these questions-about-life as if they're simple math problems. What is the answer to 2+2? To solve such a question, you don't need the input of Daniel or Kenneth or Alan or Trent or anyone else you correspond with. Consciousness is fundamentally a very simple process. You are here and the time is now; this perfect body perceiving this perfect universe; what a marvel!
Trent