I still cant achieve jhana. My mind goes Into daydreams during an hours practice. Would noting help. Or would that take me into insight practice by defacto .   I'm getting so frustrated the thought if just switching to vipasana is over whelming. I ordered mahasi sayadow s. Practical Insight meditation.. o wander if I should just use his technique

Hi Matthew, when you notice the daydreaming, that in itself is an act of progress. Just note "daydreaming" and then return to the concentration object.  You will need to do this repeatedly over a period of time, maybe even for all five hindrances as they arise. But keep at it, and you wll get there.

Good luck!

Malcolm

Sorry if I've said this before, ( if so, repeating it may help someone else) ...

Try meditating after a meal when your brain is more likely to have plenty of the nutrients it needs to produce neurotransmitters that produce bliss. 

Try doing relaxation exercises before meditating.

And also try meditating when you feel naturally happy, focus your attention on the feeling of happiness, that should get the feedback loop going and increase the intensity of the feeling.

If you can experience that, next try to meditate by  focusing on the pleasant feeling of relaxation as you breathe in a relaxing way.(Take a deep breath and exhale and relax. That feeling of relaxation is what I mean. You can also notice it in a more natural breathing pattern when meditating.) In time (30-40 min) focusing on that pleasant feeling should be enough to start the feedback loop, be patient and relaxed..

When I meditate with strong concentration sometimes it seems like concentration locks the brain into it's current state. So that it is only if I stop concentrating for a moment that I notice the jhanas coming on. I stop for a moment, open my eyes, look around notice what I see, and notice if I feel the jhanas or bliss coming on. Then I return to meditating, if I feel a bit of bliss or a pleasant relaxed feeling, I concentrate on that feeling.


(Sometimes I wonder if it could have something to do with the quantum zeno effect.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_Zeno_effect)