MIDL Insight Meditation System

Summary.

When an MIDL Insight Meditator sits in meditation, they do so with the intention to cultivate relaxation of body & calm of mind (samatha) by softening and letting go. As relaxation & calm develop, they are curious about anything that hinders relaxation & calm to cultivate insight. By observing the by-itself (anatta) nature of experiences within their body and mind, they train their mind to let go and rest within the aware presence of their body.

Basic Meditation Instructions.

The instructions for meditation based on calm for insight are simple:

1. Sit comfortably for meditation.
2. Be curious about developing relaxation and calm (samatha).
3. Be curious about anything that hinders your ability to develop relaxation and calm.

By making the formula in steps 2 & 3 the foundation for your meditation, a meditative path based on calm for insight will unfold. 

Hindrances & Distractions for insight. 

As relaxation & calm develop, you may experience hindrances and distractions. Hindrances are a sign of an imbalance in your effort, or in the focus of your mind such as sleepiness, dullness, restlessness, forgetting, etc. A distraction is when your attention habitually wanders away from your meditation object (mindfulness of your body) toward sounds, thinking, memories, etc. Learning to recognise hindrances & distractions and being curious about what conditions support them so that awareness can return to your body, is how insight develops.

Learning to Let Go. 

As you relax during meditation, you may find yourself getting caught up in thoughts, memories, emotions and doubts etc. Sometimes, for example, a thought may keep coming up and you can't let go of it. If you find that your mind keeps getting distracted from awareness of your body, and won't let go, you can use the GOSS Formula help it.

GOSS Formula.

GOSS: Ground > Observe > Soften > Smile > repeat if needed.

1. Ground: Ground awareness in your body by enjoying relaxing effort in your body & mind until a mindful presence develops within your body.
2. Observe: From the mindful presence of your body, observe the by-itself nature (anatta) of any wanderings of your attention to sounds, thoughts, memories, etc.
3. Soften: To let go of distractions, take few slow, gentle softening breaths to relax your minds interest in them. This will return awareness to the presence to your body.
4. Smile: As awareness returns to your body, smile with kind eyes toward how nice it feels to relax and let go. This will offer a positive reward your mind for letting go.
5. Repeat if needed.

The instructions for meditation with GOSS:

1. Sit comfortably for meditation.
2. Be curious about developing relaxation and calm (samatha).
3. Be curious about anything that hinders your ability to develop relaxation and calm.
4. Apply GOSS when distracted to let go and return to relaxing and calming in step 2.

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Support for your meditation:

1. Online meditation classes
2. Workshops and retreats
3. Personal guidance with Stephen
4. MIDL community Reddit forum.

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Suitability: Everyone.

Membership: No membership required.

Purpose: To learn to relax your body & mind as a foundation for calm and insight during seated meditation and in daily life.

What you will learn:

1. How to breathe to lower stress & anxiety.
2. How to relax effort in your body & mind.
3. How to soften and relax let go of distraction.
4. How to develop a mindful presence in your body.

New Meditators: If you are new to insight meditation and would like to develop a daily meditation practice, I recommend beginning here. 14-Day Introductory Course.

Meditation Instructions:

Your seated meditation begins by learning to relax your body & mind as a foundation for calm and insight.

• Meditation Skill 01: Body Relaxation.
• Meditation Skill 02: Mind Relaxation.
• Meditation Skill 03: Mindful Presence.

Experiencing Stress & Anxiety? Retraining the way that you breath with slow diaphragmatic breaths can help the experience of stress & anxiety settle down. 

• How to practice diaphragmatic breathing to lower stress & anxiety

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If you enjoyed this guidance, 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.

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Suitability: Intermediate meditator.

Membership: Membership is required.

Purpose: To learn to find enjoyment and contentment during mindfulness of breathing and in daily life.

What you will learn:

1. How to access the spiritual pleasure of letting go.
2. How to find contentment and enjoyment in your body & breathing.
3. How to develop a playful curiosity for insight into mental habits.
4. How to weaken habitual habits by using the circular GOSS Formula.

Meditation Instructions:

Cultivate enjoyment and contentment during mindfulness of breathing.

• Meditation Skill 04: Content Presence.
• Meditation Skill 05: Natural Breathing.
• Meditation Skill 06: Whole of Each Breath.

Support Articles.

• Meditation Markers of Calm
• Meditative Hindrances to Calm

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Suitability: Skilled meditator.

Membership: Membership is required.

Purpose: To learn to cultivate the conditions for calm and tranquility during mindfulness of breathing and in daily life.

What you will learn:

1. How to prevent gross dullness.
2. How to calm habitual mind wandering.
3. How to develop calm and tranquility.
4. How to develop sustained attention.

Meditation Instructions:

Cultivate calm & tranquility during mindfulness of breathing.

• Meditation Skill 07: Breath Sensations.
• Meditation Skill 08: One Point of Sensation.
• Meditation Skill 09: Sustained Attention.

Support Article:

• Working with Dullness

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Suitability: Accomplished meditator.

Membership: Membership is required.

Purpose: To learn to create the conditions for access concentration and jhana.

What you will learn:

1. How to withdraw your awareness from sensual stimulation.
2. How to cultivate piti-sukha through a momentum of letting go.
3. How to create the conditions for access concentration.

Meditation Instructions:

Develop samadhi on whole-body breathing for access concentration.

• Meditation Skill 10: Whole-Body Breathing.
• Meditation Skill 11: Sustained Awareness.
• Meditation Skill 12: Access Concentration.

Support Article:

• Noble Eightfold Path

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Suitability: Proficient meditator.

Membership: Membership is required.

Purpose: To learn to access the first four pleasure jhana and establish equanimity for insight.

What you will learn:

1. How to access the first pleasure jhana.
2. How to access the second pleasure jhana.
3. How to access the third pleasure jhana.
4. How to access the fourth pleasure jhana.

Meditation Instructions:

Use the pleasure of piti-sukha in access concentration to enter the four 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.

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Suitability: Advanced meditator.

Membership: Membership is required.

Purpose: To cultivate deep insight into anatta and idappaccayatā (conditionality), creating the conditions for Sotapanna-Insight: Stream Entry.

What you will learn:

1. How to create the conditions for Sotāpanna-Insight.
2. How to recognise the conditions after Sotāpanna-Insight.
3. How to create the conditions for Sakadāgāmi-Insight.
4. 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.

1. Creating the conditions for Sotāpanna: Stream Entry
2. 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.

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