MIDL Meditation System Classroom
Welcome from Stephen Procter
Welcome,
I say this sincerely, with a happy heart and look forward to sharing this journey with you. Reading this now is a sign that you have decided to bring meditation into your daily life. MIDL is designed to make this journey easier for you; a simple guide for your meditative journey. As a meditator you only need to look at this step, the one in front of you, now. Doing so with curiosity and an open heart. Be curious in regards to what it means to be able to relax, physically and mentally, deeply, yet still remain mentally clear and alert. This is the balance you seek.
It is with this invitation to relax that we start our journey together,
With love and kindness,
Stephen Procter
Mylestom, Australia
STEP 1: Choose Your Meditation Path
Your first step is to choose a meditation path that suits you.
Choose your path:
- MEDITATION PATH 1: Insight first, tranquility second
- MEDITATION PATH 2: Tranquility first, insight second
Introduction to MIDL Meditation System
- MIDL = Meditation In Daily Life
- The Middle Way = MIDL is also a play on words that points towards the middle balance or ‘Middle Way’ (MIDL Way) as revealed in the first talk given by the Buddha (SN 56:11).
The MIDL Meditation System is a systematic Buddhist insight meditation practice based on the Satipatthana Sutta, that has been designed for daily life. The MIDL meditator seeks to find the middle path by neither suppressing or avoiding any experience but rather by softening into and unifying within the experience itself. This path leads to the softening of attraction and aversion towards pleasant and unpleasant feeling and a seamless integration of meditation into daily life.
Because MIDL is concerned with meditating within daily life, it contains two different paths of entry which will adapt to your life situation. Choose a path that suits you. The Buddha offered different paths dependent on whom he was instructing, with all of them following the formula of:
- Sila (harmony)
- Samadhi (unification)
- Panna (wisdom).
Both Path 1 and Path 2 develop sila, samadhi and panna in this order. Neither path is better than the other, they just contain different entry points that both bring maturity to the Noble Eightfold Path.
Choose your path:
- MEDITATION PATH 1: Insight first, tranquility second
- MEDITATION PATH 2: Tranquility first, insight second
MEDITATION PATH 1: Insight first, tranquility second
Path 1 is suitable if you have a busy life.
MEDITATION PATH 1:
Insight first, tranquility second
- Meditation Path 1 is suitable if you have a busy life, such as work, children, obligations, and can only allocate 30min-2hrs daily seated meditation per day. This path focusses on developing insight into any stress based imbalances within your mind, such as anxiousness, restlessness, dullness, wandering and forgetting in a way that significantly weakens them. Once your mind has calmed down you begin a systematic training of your attention to develop deep levels of samadhi (unification of attention) for further insight and tranquility.
MEDITATION PATH 2: Tranquility first, insight second
Path 2 is suitable if you live a simple life.
MEDITATION PATH 2:
Tranquility first, insight second
- Meditation Path 2 is suitable if you live a simple life and can withdraw from daily life for periods of time. For this path it helpful to have the opportunity to meditate for long periods (3+ hours per day). This path focusses on calming 16 Meditative Hindrances in order to develop the samadhi (unification of attention) necessary for mastering the four sukha-vedana jhana (meditative absorptions). Insight is developed on emergence from the fourth jhana, by observing the rearising of the mind with the six sense fields, and through systematic investigations into the three characteristics.
I Appreciate Your Support
Your support enables me to continue to offer MIDL Mindfulness Meditation to everyone who is open to receiving it.
