Thanks to EVERYONE for your responses! They are very encouraging.
Let me explain how I got to where I am. About two years ago, I had an interest in meditation, just because it seemed like an interesting thing to do. I meditated about twenty minutes a day, just by focusing on the breath with no real goal in mind. Otherwise I was busy working, having a family, and just living my life like any average joe would. I couldn't quite shake the nagging feeling that there was more to existence, though.
I stumbled upon MCTB when reading an Erowid experience report about insight meditation that mentioned the book. I came to this site, read Part 1, and was fascinated. Yes, the three characteristics are manifesting in everything! I had never even thought of that before. I was a little turned off by the descriptions of the dark night, but surely one would have to be a mighty meditator to make it that far, so it was safe to do a little noting just to see what it was like. So that's what I did.
I felt unusually energized the rest of the day and went to bed late, at which point I had a most interesting dream. I dreamt I was the Buddha. I was in this bright, colorful landscape wearing a red robe. I happened to be standing on top of a hill, under a tree. Directly across from me was another hill of equal height. On that hill there was what I can only describe as an army of darkness, demons or something like them. They noticed me and charged. My first instinct was to turn and run, but instead, I decided to sit and note them. This decision felt very natural. They surrounded me, stabbing at me with swords, but as long as I noted, I could not be touched.
Then, I realized-- the army of darkness represented reality. As long as I noted the sensations that made up my reality, I would not suffer.
The moment I had this realization, there was a sound like rushing water, and reality exploded. It was as if I had conquered or vanquished it somehow. I immediately woke up. What a strange dream! I meditated automatically in my sleep, how bizarre! I had this weird headache, like the kind you get after you study really hard for a test. It's like something weird happened to my brain while I was sleeping.
Obviously, this was A&P. I had no idea what the stages of insight were, what the Armies of Mara were, or anything like that. I never went on to reading the rest of mctb because I had mysteriously lost interest in meditation at this point.
We all know what happens after A&P. It was a long year. I thought about walking out on my family and living in the wilderness, but I didn't want to leave my children. I purchased tons of spiritual books, looking for anything that would give meaning to my life. It was very hard!
Fortunately, I managed to "touch" EQ last year, which put an end to the worst of it. I was still in a confusing and complex place spiritually, though, so I decided to read back over my books. I remembered mctb, decided to finish it, and realized what had been happening all this time.
So, here I am! Bruised and bloody but ready to work, and happy to have attained to the first jhana, which has been my first real relief in two years of the spiritual roller coaster.
Florian Weps:
Stop relying too much on advice. Find out what works for you! Finding out what works for you
is pretty hardcore practice. I like the Buddha's simile of the raft: it's a single-purpose throwaway thing cobbled together from whatever buoyant stuff you can find. Junk time, bad focus, frustration, the smile of your wife, a ray of the full moon, having all your buttons pushed, eating a nice meal, playing with your kids... whatever floats your practice, use it! This isn't an exercise in raft-building, it's an exercise in getting across, and it has to work only once, and it is a single-seater. There are people on both shores cheering you on, but you are on your own, so any advice must come from a distance, and what we are yelling through the noise of the rushing current may not be very helpful, but that floating plastic bottle just under the surface which only you can see will add buoyancy.
Whoops, got carried away there. I hope you got the gist of what I meant

That *was* beautiful, thank you for these encouraging words. The three characteristics are in all things, I just have to remember that, and to note it all of course.
E