MIDL Insight Meditation System
This Insight Meditation Course is supported by donations and offered as a gift.
"Wow - what an amazing course this has been!
All my gratitude to Stephen, Monica & Krister - honestly, the most amazing meditation course I've ever experienced - and I've done a few. A big leap forward in my practice and understanding, thanks to your technique!"
Brendan, QLD, Australia."
Insight Meditation Course Menu
This meditation course provides clear, step-by-step instructions, accompanied by video demonstrations and guided meditations, on how to practice sutta-based Buddhist Insight Meditation while living a household life through techniques in body mindfulness, softening, enjoyment & playful curiosity.
Welcome to your journey into MIDL.
MIDL stands for Mindfulness in Daily Life, pronounced 'middle', as it seeks the middle way in insight meditation practice that integrates the refinement of calm, insight and morality as the natural progression of insight practice. This course will help you bring the benefits of Buddhist Insight Meditation, based on calm, insight and morality, into your daily life. This practical path is beneficial for both new meditators looking for relaxation and experienced meditators wishing to integrate insight meditation into their daily life between meditation retreats.
What sets MIDL apart is its unique approach to insight meditation. It places a strong emphasis on finding enjoyment in meditation and harnessing the spiritual vedana (pleasantness) that arises from the act of softening to train our mind and heart to let go. This path of calm leads to insight, which in turn refines morality, thereby fostering harmony and increasing calm, creating a circular approach to insight meditation that naturally integrates in everyday life.
The framework for MIDL insight meditation is simple.
- Calm: Meditate daily to develop your foundation of relaxation & calm (samatha) in your body, known as kaya-gata sati: mindfulness immersed in your body.
- Insight: Develop insight into the conditions that support anything that hinders or disturbs your ability to access relaxation and calm in seated meditation and daily life.
- Letting Go: Apply the GOSS Formula: Ground > Observe > Soften > Smile to weaken any hindrance or disturbance to your ability to access relaxation and calm. Softening and smiling as you relax will return awareness to your body again and reward your mind for letting go.
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How MIDL Insight Meditation Training Progresses.
MIDL Insight Meditation follows six cultivations of meditative skill that develop during mindfulness of breathing when using relaxation & calm as a foundation for insight.
- Cultivation 01: Mindfulness, Curiosity & Balanced Effort: In this first cultivation, you will focus on learning key foundational meditation skills that will allow you to bring insight meditation into your daily life such as softening, mindfulness of your body and insight through the GOSS Formula.
- Cultivation 02: Enjoyment & Contentment: In this second cultivation, you will focus on learning key meditation skills in mindfulness of breathing to observe the by-itself (anatta) nature of your body & mind in order to train your mind to find enjoyment in letting go and resting in contentment.
- Cultivation 03: Calm & Tranquillity: In this third cultivation, you will focus on learning the key meditation skills of calm and tranquillity to pacify the intellectual activity of your mind so that you can rest in pure, clear, tranquil awareness of body and breath.
- Cultivation 04: Unification & Access Concentration: In this fourth cultivation, you will focus on learning the key meditation skills of using the enjoyment of calm and tranquillity during mindfulness of breathing to access piti-sukha and create the conditions for access concentration and jhana.
- Cultivation 05: Pleasure Jhana & Equanimity: In this fifth cultivation, you will focus on learning the key meditation skill of absorbing into and abiding in the wholesomeness (kusala) of jhana to cultivate the seventh Awakening Factor equanimity.
- Cultivation 06: Insight into anicca, anatta and idappaccayatā: In this sixth cultivation, you will focus on learning the key meditation skill of emerging from the fourth jhana and developing insight into the anicca, anatta and idappaccayatā nature of all experiencing to create the conditions for Sotapanna-Insight: Stream Entry.
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MIDL Insight Meditation Community
The MIDL Community and teachers are active insight meditators with family, work and daily commitments. They share a common interest in deepening their Insight Meditation practice not only on retreat but also in their daily life. MIDL has an active and friendly community that are happy to share their meditative experience and support you on your journey. While meditative experiences may be different for each of us, we share the commonality of wanting to weaken desire and aversion, and to become kinder and more caring toward ourselves, others and the world we live in.
Welcome to the community and on your journey into MIDL.
With kindness,
Stephen Procter.
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Support for your meditation:
Suitability: Everyone.
Membership: No membership required.
Purpose: To cultivate the first three Awakening Factors of mindfulness, curiosity and balanced effort by developing deep relaxation in mindfulness of your body.
What you will learn:
- How to breathe to lower stress & anxiety.
- How to relax effort in your body & mind.
- How to soften and relax let go of distraction.
- How to develop a mindful presence in your body.
New Meditators: If you are new to meditation and would like to develop a daily meditation practice, I recommend beginning here. 14-Day Introductory Course: How to Meditate for Calm.
Meditation Instructions:
Create your foundation for mindfulness of breathing for calm and insight.
- Meditation Skill 00: Diaphragmatic Breathing.
- Meditation Skill 01: Body Relaxation.
- Meditation Skill 02: Mind Relaxation.
- Meditation Skill 03: Mindful Presence.
Support Article.
- GOSS Formula: How to Let Go of Distraction.
If you enjoy Cultivation 01, please consider MIDL Community Membership to access the complete MIDL Insight Meditation Course. It costs nothing more than the time it takes to create a login, and it shows your interest to the teachers and the MIDL Community.
Suitability: Intermediate meditator.
Membership: Membership is required.
Purpose: To cultivate the fourth Awakening Factor of joy by training your mind to find enjoyment and contentment in your body and in each breath during mindfulness of breathing.
What you will learn:
- How to access the spiritual pleasure of letting go.
- How to find contentment and enjoyment in your body & breathing.
- How to develop a playful curiosity for insight into mental habits.
- How to weaken habitual habits by using the circular GOSS Formula.
Meditation Instructions:
Find enjoyment and contentment in mindfulness of breathing.
- Meditation Skill 04: Content Presence.
- Meditation Skill 05: Natural Breathing.
- Meditation Skill 06: Whole of Each Breath.
Support Articles.
Suitability: Skilled meditator.
Membership: Membership is required.
Purpose: To cultivate the fifth Awakening Factor of tranquillity and settle mind wandering by developing stable attention on breath sensation during mindfulness of breathing.
What you will learn:
- How to calm habitual mind wandering.
- How to develop calm and tranquility.
- How to develop sustained attention.
Meditation Instructions:
Calm mind wandering in mindfulness of breathing.
- Meditation Skill 07: Breath Sensations.
- Meditation Skill 08: One Point of Sensation.
- Meditation Skill 09: Sustained Attention.
Support Article:
Suitability: Accomplished meditator.
Membership: Membership is required.
Purpose: To cultivate the sixth Awakening Factor of samadhi (unification of mind) on the experience of piti-sukha to create the conditions for access concentration.
What you will learn:
- How to withdraw your awareness from the six senses.
- How to cultivate piti-sukha through a momentum of letting go.
- How to create the conditions for access concentration.
Meditation Instructions:
Develop unification of your mind on piti-sukha in access concentration.
- Meditation Skill 10: Whole-Body Breathing.
- Meditation Skill 11: Sustained Awareness.
- Meditation Skill 12: Access Concentration.
Support Article:
Suitability: Proficient meditator.
Membership: Membership is required.
Purpose: To cultivate the seventh Awakening Factor of equanimity by developing skill in the first four pleasure jhana.
What you will learn:
- How to access the first pleasure jhana.
- How to access the second pleasure jhana.
- How to access the third pleasure jhana.
- How to access the fourth pleasure jhana.
Meditation Instructions:
Use the pleasure of piti-sukha in access concentration to access the pleasure jhanas.
- Meditation Skill 13: First Pleasure Jhana.
- Meditation Skill 14: Second Pleasure Jhana.
- Meditation Skill 15: Third Pleasure Jhana.
- Meditation Skill 16: Fourth Pleasure Jhana.
Suitability: Advanced meditator.
Membership: Membership is required.
Purpose: To develop deep insight into anicca, anatta and idappaccayatā to create the conditions for Sotapanna-Insight: Stream Entry.
What you will learn:
- How to create the conditions for Sotāpanna-Insight.
- How to recognise the conditions after Sotāpanna-Insight.
- How to create the conditions for Sakadāgāmi-Insight.
- How to recognise the conditions after Sakadāgāmi-Insight.
Meditation Instructions:
Use the accumulation of your skill in jhana to establish the Seven Awakening Factors and create the conditions for Sotapanna-Insight.
- Creating the conditions for Sotāpanna: Stream Entry
- Creating the conditions for Sakadāgāmi: Once Returner
**The purpose of this course is to guide meditators interested in developing sutta-based Theravada Buddhist Insight Meditation within everyday household life. Once a meditator's mind has reached this level of insight, website-based instruction is no longer effective, and in-person guidance with a skilled teacher or spiritual friend is more beneficial for exploring deeper paths.