Suggestions for a quadriplegic

Gabriel Radke, modified 3 Months ago at 1/13/24 12:01 PM
Created 3 Months ago at 1/13/24 12:01 PM

Suggestions for a quadriplegic

Posts: 6 Join Date: 1/13/24 Recent Posts
Ive been doing concentration exercises for ~2 years. I started with 10 minutes a day and have worked up to 1hr a day and 1hr30min on the weekend days, mostly breath and fire kasina. Daniel said he knew someone who got stream entry from 3hrs a day so that is what I am working towards. Being paralyzed it doesn't appear as if I will be able to attend retreats. Are their meditation leaders I could establish a relationship with over video call? Are there other suggestions you have for someone in my condition?
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Sha-Man! Geoffrey, modified 3 Months ago at 1/13/24 12:15 PM
Created 3 Months ago at 1/13/24 12:15 PM

RE: Suggestions for a quadriplegic

Posts: 366 Join Date: 10/30/23 Recent Posts
I'm not sure where you are based, but if you're in the US then I'm sure there are meditation centers that are ADA compliant. I think IMS might be, but I'd shoot them an email and ask them. 

You could always do a personal retreat though. Many retreats have all their dhamma talks posted on dharmaseed, so you could pick one that looks cool and use those.

Otherwise, I know in a post COVID world, many places are starting to offer more and more online retreats. 

I also know Deb heltzer teaches people who want to get awakened and she does it via video. It's worth reaching out to her! She was a nun under U Pandita 
​​​​​​​https://www.deborahhelzer.com/
Martin, modified 3 Months ago at 1/13/24 12:47 PM
Created 3 Months ago at 1/13/24 12:47 PM

RE: Suggestions for a quadriplegic

Posts: 803 Join Date: 4/25/20 Recent Posts
Congratulations on building up your concentration practice. You mention working with a meditation leader. Joining a sangha, participating in retreats, and working with a teacher are ways of establishing a relationship with a meditation leader, and are all helpful when you have got to that level. All of these things can be done remotely. In fact, video chat is now the default mode for working with pragmatic meditation teachers. I meet my teacher over Zoom, and we live in the same city! In North America, I would guess that more than half of retreats now offer remote participation, and there are lots that only happen virtually. 

If you know what kind of teacher/retreat/sangha you are looking for (concentration-oriented, mindfulness-oriented, etc.) you can ask for suggestions here. Teachers typically cost money if you are able to pay, and usually have a sliding scale or free option if you are not. The same is true of retreats and, to some extent, sanghas, as there is often a request for donations. 

Are you specifically looking for support in doing 3 hours a day of kasina practice?
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Papa Che Dusko, modified 3 Months ago at 1/13/24 2:01 PM
Created 3 Months ago at 1/13/24 2:01 PM

RE: Suggestions for a quadriplegic

Posts: 2734 Join Date: 3/1/20 Recent Posts
Try reaching out to Kenneth Folk at Kenneth Folk Dharma. I know some folks here have personal connections with Kenneth and maybe might point you to him easily. 

He was my teacher over Skype for 5-6 months in 2019 and work with him was very fruitful for me. However I have no contact with him since. 
Adi Vader, modified 3 Months ago at 1/13/24 8:16 PM
Created 3 Months ago at 1/13/24 8:16 PM

RE: Suggestions for a quadriplegic

Posts: 291 Join Date: 6/29/20 Recent Posts
Check out Stephen Procter on midlmeditation.com

​​​​​​​He is also active on the sub-reddit r/midlmeditation
Gabriel Radke, modified 3 Months ago at 1/20/24 9:46 AM
Created 3 Months ago at 1/20/24 9:46 AM

RE: Suggestions for a quadriplegic

Posts: 6 Join Date: 1/13/24 Recent Posts
thank you! I will look into this
Gabriel Radke, modified 3 Months ago at 1/20/24 9:49 AM
Created 3 Months ago at 1/20/24 9:49 AM

RE: Suggestions for a quadriplegic

Posts: 6 Join Date: 1/13/24 Recent Posts
yes, i would be glad for suggestions for concentration focused teachers / materials. The 3hr a day is just what I found for how to get stream entry if you can't make retreats
Gabriel Radke, modified 3 Months ago at 1/20/24 9:50 AM
Created 3 Months ago at 1/20/24 9:50 AM

RE: Suggestions for a quadriplegic

Posts: 6 Join Date: 1/13/24 Recent Posts
thanks for the suggestion!
Gabriel Radke, modified 3 Months ago at 1/20/24 9:51 AM
Created 3 Months ago at 1/20/24 9:51 AM

RE: Suggestions for a quadriplegic

Posts: 6 Join Date: 1/13/24 Recent Posts
will do, thank you!

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