Jackson,
glad that you dig the technique

if you want more info on Shinzen's i recommend reading all the materials here:
http://www.shinzen.org/MeditationTraining/retreat_reading.htm
and listening to some of his recorded dharma talks:
http://www.shinzen.org/DharmaTalk.htm
it's important to get familiarized with his vocabulary since he uses more "secular" and scientific terms in his discourse and instructions. but once you get passed that, you'll notice that his style of teaching is very technical yet lucid. there's less dogma, and guesswork. it's very systematic and methodical. that's why it appeals to me

actually, i don't know what stage i'm in. all i know right now is that i picked up on my practice and i'm grooving with it without much effort.
however, i presume that this technique would be very effective for the "Dark Night". in fact, Shinzen teaches this meditation to "break through difficult emotions" -- a characteristic of the Dark Night. he starts with the standard Vipassana or mindfulness and according to Shinzen, the complete experience of the sensation is when we perceive it at its "vibratory" or "wave" level. if we can do that then the content won't matter that much.
that said, i notice that Shinzen doesn't focus on the "jhanas". he teaches Vipassana but with less emphasis on the stages of absorption. however, he does put emphasis on focusing on impermanence. so i take it that it's a short-cut route, i think