Hi All,

Since I've discoverd Jed McKenna three years ago, I've been seeking enlightenment.

At this point,a lot of shit I was attached too like entrepreneurship, money, freedom has droppped off yet I still have further to go.

It seems meditation is the next step, never really done it. Yet after watching this guy called Frank Yang reach Arahatship through vipassana...
I don't know...

One things for sure, I fucking suck at vipassana. It's boring, repetitive.... Not fun but perhaps its not supposed to be fun.

Here's the google doc where I'll be tracking my progress> LINK

Any advice would be recommended as I continue on the path.
P.S. I'd like to get up to 3, 1 hour sessions every single day.

P.S.S. I suck/despise vipassana so much right now that I wonder if I should be pursuing some other way to enlightenment. 

I've always been.. "energetic", maybe even aDHD... Perhaps walking meditiation... Can one note while walking?

Everybody sucks at Vipassana when they first start especially if you have had zero experience. I don't know what to tell you abouut the despise part.

If you want to make progress through the stages of insight to enlightenment:
1. Practice Mahasi style Noting - basically high speed labeling of all your sensations - dscribed in 2)
Noting 1-10 sensations per second would be a good start and minimum of 45 minutes per daily sit. Keep a consistent daily practice as best as you can. 
If you loose mindfulness too often and get lost in scenarioo spinning thoughts and fantasies too much do Noting Aloud where you aloud speak the label like;
if hearing a bird then note aloud "hearing" if you also notice the knowing that its a bird then note aloud "comprehanding" and if you notice an image of a bird on your mind then note aloud as "imagining" and if you notice a feeling connected with all this the note it aloud as "pleasant or unpleasant or neutral" if again you noitce some body sensation like itch note it aloud like "itching" then "unpleasant" and so on until the timer rings 45 minutes or longer or shorter in case 45 minutes is too long. 


2. Must read Daniel Ingram's Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha 

I would suggest, instead of a google doc, that you start a practice log here that others can comment on and help you. Good luck!

You might be interested in inquiry type of practice or koan. 

Where thoughts are happening, where do they stay? Where do they come from ? What is thinking thoughts ?
Who am I? Who is hearing? 

Get interested about your experience

Yes, I think you are right, it's not supposed to be, at least not at first. As Sam says, everyone sucks when they start. It's a bit like taking up running. The first thing that you'll notice is that you are winded after a couple of blocks and your calves hurt the next day. It improves with time. But, unlike physical exercise, finding out that you suck at noticing what is going on is actually one of the points of this particular mental exercise. Back in the bad old days, before you started, you didn't know that it was hard for the untrained mind to be still and aware. Now you do. So you suck less now than before. You know something about how the mind works. One way of talking about enlightenment is to say that it's just a matter of learning how the mind works. 

Keep at it, you are doing great so far. 

Probably yes. The way to make progress (in anything) is to have a long term goal and also to identify the very next tiniest step toward the goal. It's fine to have a goal of arahatship, but what is your next smallest step that you want to accomplish? (Figuring that out might also help you decide what method/practice would work best.)

No one ever achieves a big goal. They achieve lots and lots of little steps.

Hey Brandon,

Welcome to the DhO! You've made a great start! You've already identified the 2 most important of the 5 hindrances to meditation being the most wonderful experience of your life: aversion ("I don't like this") and desire ("I want to get enlightened"). You need to study those feelings as closely as if they were the only thing standing between you and heavenly bliss. What do they really feel like? Where in the body are they located? What sensations and thoughts do they produce? I would also highly recommend starting a practice log on here. There are lots of experienced people who can help you out.

Best wishes
George

Wow!

Thank you for all the replies guys.

Ya I guess my aversion to noting is something I must beat and it can take me all the way. But I need to work at it.

I will start a practice log here...

Thanks again, I will become enlightened in this lifetime.

P.S. I've read Mastering the core teachings of the buddha and contemplative fitness. My lack of skill in vipassana was creating doubt about the practice but I see now that I must dive into it. 

P.S.S. What is POL?

@agnostic I will definitely pay attention to both those things, I haven't thought about the physical aspect of them.. More to notice..

@shargol - the next tiny step then for me is... well vipassana and really mastering it. I suck at it, its not because I'm incapable, therefore I msut push on.

@Samgentile - thank you for your response, when i've been noting I haven't been adding "comprehending" as a note but I should.

What is the next tiniest step toward mastering vipassana that you want to master?

Considering your aversion to vipassana you might want to start with concentration. Concentration practice has the benefit of having a good short term pay-off (it feels good) and is useful in lots of ways once you do decide to start doing vipassana.

Also, there are lots of different forms of vipassana and you may find something that you naturally have less of an aversion to. 

Well.. The tiniest would be 5 minutes of constant, quality noting. But I can do better than that so let's start with 40 minutes daily since my goal before you said that was 3, 1 hour sessions daily. 


@Brandon Dayton I may have gone overboard when I said "despise vipassana"... I'm struggling with it and I wasn't sure if that was my fault or the technique. Reading the replies, I have faith in the technique now. I will develop the practice. And I will develop concentration with vipassana. It's already been three years, I want to put the pedal to the metal. 

When I started I did two half-hour sessions every day. That's a lot for busy people, but it's enough. I think you should think of getting started like its a big project (it is a big project, BTW) - underpromise and over-deliver. Don't aim for the moon if you haven't even gotten off the ground yet. Small steps - per shargrol's advice.

Dear Brandon,
Since youre just starting out meditation, it might be worthwhile to sample a few techniques to see what you resonate with the most. I believe different people may be better suited to different techniques. Check out this Shinzen young video where he answers a question by someone who has A.D.D. and could only practice "Do nothing" meditation.

 https://youtu.be/YNV6Y_JlhoA

Sounds good. So here's my advice. Make your goal to get the seat of your pants onto the seat of the cushion for 40 minutes. Notice I'm not saying "doing great meditation for 40 minutes", I'm just saying sitting on the cushion for 40 minutes. No performance goal -- that can come later. Get your 40 minutes in on day one and then go to your calendar and put a big checkmark on it. Then just make sure you get that checkmark on each day of your calendar. 

I would say you should wait a couple of weeks before you even start judging your sits. Just sit and do the technique as best you can. If you can't go on with the technique, just keep sitting until your 40 minutes is up.

Small steps. Under promise and over deliver as Chris says.

I see that a lot of the more experienced members have stepped in to help. That is good.