Daniel Johnson:
1) Yes, that's what happens for me, but then how did you build the "momentum" which is so often talked about here, how did you scrape together enough mindfulness, given the gaps in the day when your meditating brain would shut off. So far, stream entry hasn't been something that I can just stumble into. So, I'm going with plan B... maximally perfect technique executed with maximal effort for maximal duration. If I can pull that off, then at least I will know that I've done my best and if still no stream entry, well... I'll just continue with the plan until I get stream entry or die trying.
I figure I might as well describe how I got SE, since my situation seems similar (practicing daily life). Maybe the story will help... I will summarize what I think were the important parts at the end.
I had far less meditative experience than you... having started 11 months before. And I think I was a pretty poor meditator in terms of concentration and stability. So I don't think you are lacking in those qualities. I also really, really wanted to get it without having a clue how, which it seems you do too. So far, so good.
My problem, though, was that I wasn't getting to Equanimity (the nyana). Once I got to Equanimity the first time (in a clear way where I knew what it was, at least), it took a week or so... here is where we differ since it seems you've spent plenty of time in Equanimity based on your other posts.
Let me back up a bit. I had been practicing, not having had a clear A&P so with no clue where I was, though it was definitely Dark Night looking back. Then, for 2-3 days or so, I noticed really clearly that I was in the A&P (see old post
here). I would see colors whenever I closed my eyes and meditating was remarkably easy and pleasant and fun and seemed like I was gaining insight. Then that abruptly stopped and this time I knew I was in the Dark Night, only now it was even more amplified than before. (This was all in daily life practice, with mindfulness shutting off when busy and agony coming back when not.) I think what helped here was that I started doing
candle flame kasina. This seemed to boost my concentration enough so that I could actually realize what was going on.
Then I went to visit family across the country. 6 hour plane ride meditating in re-observation was not pleasant. Clenched my muscles so tight and was so angry that I couldn't even meditate properly. Next few days, more of the same. Then one night instead of watching a movie w/ my family[1], I did some candle flame kasina, since I associated it with good things (noticing A&P), and then sat down + meditated... in the midst of irritation and frustration and anger and why-is-it-all-so-painful it all suddenly lost its edge of being painful. The same things were there, but, in 2-3 seconds, the suffering from it was just gone[2]. And I realized that it was only the reaction to it that made it painful. Equanimity!! (old post about it
here).
The next day was rough. Suffering came up again and I panicked. I really did not want to go back into Dark Night. I read MCTB chatper on Equanimity, which said that the entrance to it could be rough, so I attributed it to that. And I meditated every chance I could.
The next few days up to plane ride back, meditation was different. I noticed I could pay attention to awareness - I noticed if I inclined the mind to the foot, for example, first there was inclining, then attention moving to foot, then foot sensations. And I got really sleepy. The visual field got deep calm blue and for times I wasn't sure whether I had nodded off or whether there was so little going on that I just wasn't noticing it...
Back at home, started going to work again. I took frequent breaks meditating in the bathroom, spacing out at my work station, etc. Basically slacking off in order to meditate. Around this phase I got nifty 3D visuals (blue visual field turned into 2d-flat smoke turned into 3d-cool smoke).
I don't remember the day it happened. And looking back, I have no idea why what I did worked. It was almost like spacing out, except not quite. There was no irritation. There was boredom, but no irritation.. and I just kept looking, I guess. And one day there was a weird thing and I wondered if the feelings in my body afterwards was a bliss wave. It didn't seem like it, and I thought it'd be funny if that was it. The next day I got really blazed and then was very obviously cycling A&P-Eq-Fruition-Afterglow-A&P-etc. So by then the deed had been done.
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So, to sum up: it seemed momentum started building, starting from that clear-A&P that I went through, as a result of doing the candle-flame kasina. The broken-up daily life stuff after that was just lots of pain mixed with distraction. The vacation was like a quasi-retreat, in that, although I was still distracted by family, I was able to meditate for longer periods. This got me to Equanimity, which was quite important. Then I had quasi-retreat conditions again due to plane ride back, and that combined with extra slacking at work and meditating at home was enough to do it. It might just have been that moderate temporary increase in meditation time which jiggled the conditions enough to let it happen, along with the slightly better concentration from doing a bit of candle flame.
I don't think I can shed more light on why it took so little time from Equanimity to SE... terrified of falling back along with knowing that buying into that terror would cause falling back led to practicing with enough intent + proper effort, I guess, and then interesting things were happening with free-floating awareness so that captured my attention enough to pay attention to things but in an unfocused enough way to allow the supramundane thing to happen.
Daniel Johnson:
2) Does the TWIM approach lead to the benefits reported with MCTB stream entry: notably, a dramatic increase in ability to concentrate, a dramatic increase in the clarity to distinguish phenomena, and a life-changing permanent shift in personality and perception? If so, I may be interested.
I'm not sure whether it will lead to the same shift as MCTB stream entry. The practice seems to be aimed at getting you to experience what they call NS (which I think is different than what we call NS), to watch dependent origination stop + start again, and to let go of ignorance by watching how it stops+starts (using NS to stop+start it). Once you see this to some degree you get what they call stream entry (basing all this off of
this post). I don't know the details of that.
However, it's probably not helpful to think of it that way. It's a different approach to practice. I mentioned it because, in my own practice, there has been far too little emphasis on tranquility and equanimity, which I think has caused lots of pain and also hindered progress. The TWIM method seems to lead to calm states of mind that are also highly conducive to investigation. When I can do it right it's like how I would want my mind to always behave.
Daniel Johnson:
btw, right now my assesment of the situation is that actualism practice has been really useful for me, but seems to be limited by: 1. the lack of ability to achieve highly effective and prolonged concentration 2. the immense haze of unclarity over phenomena. So, I've been practicing noting vipassana for the sake of penetrating through the vast onslought of delusions which fill my mind, along with the idea that perhaps there is some point (called stream entry) in which there will be a shift and many of the delusions will be wiped out in one fell swoop.
Good you bring up actualism, cause I think the TWIM method is far more in-line with actualism. Actualism is all about lessening 'self' until it is no more (with PCEs in the meantime). TWIM seems to have the same approach - lessen the 'self' (the RELAX step). MCTB-Vipassana, on the other hand, is about really aggravating the 'self' until it manifests in all sorts of twisted ways (dark night), settles down (equanimity), until something interesting happens which causes it to change its shape 'permanently'[3] (change of lineage).
Maybe MCTB-stream-entry would help. But I think an effective TWIM practice will lead to more effective concentration on the cushion and in daily life, as well as tranquility so you aren't suffering so much during the mean-time, which tranquility will also allow closer investigation of phenomena (that is the limiting factor for me, currently - tranquility.)
Another way to look at the two approaches: on the one hand you can aggravate those delusions until you feel like you are exploding and reality is crumbling around you in a glorious ruin until you can't take anymore and you finally let go, then you push your concentration up until your brain does something which doesn't necessarily end those delusions (and might introduce new ones) but at least allows further clarity... on the other hand, you can work on lessening those delusions as they come up, paying attention to them more + more closely, and calming them down which only allows you to look even more closely.
Take this all with a grain of salt, since I haven't tried it before stream-entry. This is all in hindsight and just reflects my current take on practice (namely that I wish I had been more tranquil about it). My take on TWIM is also highly informed by my take on Actualism and understanding of suffering in general, which might differ from others'. You should probably read more about it before deciding whether it's for you...
Anyways, that was sort of a ramble, sorry about that. I hope you find some of it useful.
[1] I noticed several times that I opted to meditate instead of doing an activity, and I was always happy I did.
[2] By my current standards it wasn't, but at the time that's what it felt like.
[3] Until the next change of lineage, or self-extirpation.