Hi!
I am waiting for the book to arrive, and in the meanwhile, I am reading randomly on the forum (and continuing my practise).

I recently switched careers and am at a place where I will need to be pretty focused and intellectually astute for some time.

After reading some stuff on dwelling in the dark night I am beginning to wonder whether I should hold on with trying to travel this road some...

So, is there anything to consider when it comes to timing? I mean, it is hard to know when and what experiences will come, but I don't want to throw my new job away.

This may be a very naïve question, but I know you have great insights into this.

Thanks!

First, I generally assume that most who are poking around hardcore websites like this are already above the A&P, meaning Dark Nighters, and that would probably include you. Generally, with few exceptions, people are not into this level of stuff unless they are already half-way in.

That said, each time we re-cross the A&P, there is a period after it when the Dark Night tends to be more freshly intense, though some here say that with AYP (advance yoga practice) one can mitigate some of this: maybe.

Thus, from a strategic point of view, there is something to be said to for not re-crossing the A&P if one really needs to be all into one's daily life job/relationship/studies/etc. thing, and thus something to be said for not doing insight practices, or any other meditative anything that may cause that. That said, some people just can't help but re-cross it even if they do nothing (I crossed it at least 6 times in daily life before my first retreat over those 10 years or so, and I know many others in the same boat).

While Trent is currently not in as much of an insight-advocacy mood, and is more in to the AF thing now, or at least was the last time I talked to him, he currently holds the honorable reputation of most accomplished DhO guy at figuring out how to make fast and powerful progress while holding down a hard job, though I believe his quest did have some relationship consequences. Regardless, I would ask him for advice, which, if I understand it, could be summarized: "Really engage with what the core teachings of vipassana mean and practice every single spare second you have," though I would confirm this with him.

My thoughts as they come to me at the end of this long night shift. Good luck figuring out how to play this. Realize that the Dharma may have other plans...

Hi, Daniel, and thanks!

Interesting...
I've been into this stuff for some time (first time I sat zazen was 20+ years agom and regular meditation maybe the last 3 yrs after some pauses), but I wouldn't have thought that I could've had those experiences already.
But today I read in a text by you that I may not even remember having crossed A&P.
I don't figure I have that much of concentration ability for longer periods yet, and I often feel that my noting is either too slow, as in I know too much happened without me having actually "noted" it, and sometimes I feel like the verbal noting just slows me down (I can't verbalize the note quickly enough), and all this makes me feel I am just a beginner.

(mind you.... I began noting practise a couple of days ago, so the word "often" is maybe an exaggeration :-) )

But maybe I am further along then I thought, and maybe than again not..?

What I figured I'd try to do is to go to a retreat this year and see how far I can go. What worried me was perhaps the notion that I'd come out of the retreat so fearful or sad that I lost some of the ground I thought I was standing on, that maintaining the tempo of my job would be too strenous. And that I would just try to bail out and later regret it...

Make sense?

BTW, thanks so much for being so down to earth in your responses guys!

Makes sense. Reasonable thoughts. Bad Dark Night things can happen sometimes... happened to me, in fact.

While the A&P tends to blow peoples' doors off, not everyone remembers it or can identify it, and it is possible you haven't crossed it, but not that likely, given your practice history and interests.