MIDL Insight Meditation System

Your first step is to create a foundation of mindfulness of body (kaya-gata sati) from which you can develop the first three Awakening Factors of mindfulness, curiosity & balanced effort. Mindfulness of body combined with softening skills in relaxing and letting go, will create a foundation for calm during mindfulness of breathing and insight in daily life. 

Suitability: Everyone.

Membership: No membership required.

Purpose: Insight into weakening physical & mental restlessness + sleepiness & mind drifting and creating the conditions for mindfulness, curiosity & balanced effort to grow and establish.

New Meditators

• 14-Day Introductory Course: How to Meditate for Calm.

Mindfulness of Breathing Skills 00-03.

Develop insight into the left-hand hindrance to transform it into the right-hand marker of calm.

• Skill 00: Stress Breathing → Diaphragmatic Breathing.
• Skill 01: Physical Restlessness → Body Relaxation.
• Skill 02: Mental Restlessness → Mind Relaxation.
• Skill 03: Sleepiness & Drifting → Mindful Presence.

Support Article.

• Article: GOSS: How to Let Go.

Optional Meditation:

If you experience stress, anxiety, or brain fog, practice this first.

• Meditation for Anxiety: Stress Breathing Pattern Retraining.

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.

Your second step is cultivating the conditions for the wholesome qualities of contentment and the fourth Awakening Factor of meditative joy. 

Suitability: Intermediate meditator.

Membership: Coming soon.

Purpose: Insight into weakening habitual forgetting, habitual control & mind wandering and creating the conditions for contentment & meditative joy to grow and establish.

Mindfulness of Breathing Skills 04-06. 

Develop insight into the left-hand hindrance to transform it into the right-hand marker of calm.

• Skill 04: Habitual Forgetting → Content Happiness.
• Skill 05: Habitual Control → Natural Breathing.
• Skill 06: Mind Wandering → Length of Each Breath.

Support Articles & Meditations:

• Article: Meditation Markers.
• Article: Meditative Hindrances.
• Meditation: Forgiveness & Gratitude.
• Meditation: Metta-Loving Kindness.

Your third step is cultivating skill in stable attention during mindfulness of breathing to create the conditions for the fifth Awakening Factor, tranquillity in heart and mind. 

Suitability: Skilled meditator.

Membership: Coming soon.

Purpose: Insight into weakening gross dullness, subtle dullness & subtle wandering and creating the conditions for calm & tranquillity to grow and establish.

Mindfulness of Breathing Skills 07-09. 

Develop insight into the left-hand hindrance to transform it into the right-hand marker of calm.

• Skill 07: Gross Dullness → Breath Sensations.
• Skill 08: Subtle Dullness → One Point of Sensation.
• Skill 09: Subtle Wandering → Sustained Attention.

Support Article:

• Article: Understanding How to Work with Dullness.

Your fourth step is cultivating skill in samadhi (unification of mind) to develop the conditions for access to concentration. 

Suitability: Accomplished meditator.

Membership: Coming soon.

Purpose: Insight into weakening subtle distraction, anticipation & fear of letting go and creating the conditions for access concentration to grow and establish.

Mindfulness of Breathing Skills 10-12. 

Develop insight into the left-hand hindrance to transform it into the right-hand marker of calm.

• Skill 10: Subtle Distraction → Whole-Body Breathing.
• Skill 11: Anticipation of Pleasure → Sustained Awareness.
• Skill 12: Fear of Letting Go → Access Concentration.

Support Article:

• Article: Understanding the Noble Eightfold Path.

Your fifth step is cultivating skill in meditative absorption (jhana), to establish the seventh Awakening Factor of equanimity as a natural tendency of your mind in daily life as a foundation for deep insight into the anicca (impermanent), anatta (autonomous) and idappaccayatā (specifically conditionality) nature of all experience and experiencing. 

Suitability: Proficient meditator.

Membership: Coming soon.

Purpose: Insight into weakening unstable unification + enchantment with piti, sukha & happiness and creating the conditions for equanimity to grow and establish.

Course Lessons:

Use the momentum of letting go and the pleasure of piti-sukha to access the pleasure jhanas.

• Skill 13: Unstable Samadhi → First Pleasure Jhana.
• Skill 14: Enchantment with Piti → Second Pleasure Jhana.
• Skill 15: Enchantment with Sukha → Third Pleasure Jhana.
• Skill 16: Enchantment with Happiness → Fourth Pleasure Jhana.

In this Cultivation, you will learn how to create the conditions for more advanced levels of insight once you are proficient in at least a second pleasure jhana (absorption) in Cultivation 05.

Suitability: Advanced meditator.

Membership: Membership required.

Purpose: Insight into increasing the perception of anicca, anatta & idappaccayatā in all experience & experiencing and creating the conditions for saddha & equanimity to grow and establish.

Course Lessons:

Use the accumulation of your skill in jhana to establish the 7 Awakening Factors and create the conditions for Nibannic-Insight.

1. Creating the conditions for: Sotāpanna: Stream Entry
2. Creating the conditions for: Sakadāgāmi: Once Returner