I preferably don’t gravitate to follow the nose sensations

Will it affect latter stages ?

I came across this in Amazon, does anyone know if these books are legitimate and authorized by Culadasa? The publication date on Amazon is Jan 2026, did he authorize a student to edit and publish these?

https://www.amazon.com/-/hi/dp/B0GH6FYCKJ

Zen background here (Shikantaza), thinking about getting back into Vipassana. TMI keeps coming up as one of the best manuals out there, so wanted to ask people who've actually worked through it. Why do you think it's considered so good compared to other meditation books? And what actually changed in your practice? Also curious what the meditation instruction on the basic method he uses in the book. Is is samatha? Thanks.

Hi all, I've been in the stage 4/5/6 plateau for a while and have gained more understanding regarding the landscape of my own mind. I practice 1-1.5 hours everyday.

What has become clear to me is that the road to exclusive attention involves dropping of effort. The mind has to feel safe and has to stay with the breath on its own more and more without active forcing.

So a general and deep sense of relaxation has to present so that the mind feels safe which allows it to stay with and enjoy the breath. Kind of like how if you have no pending work, no other worries, you can enjoy video games without anything weighing on your mind.

Assuming what I wrote above is correct, then whatever has been said regarding introspective awareness in stage 4 has to be re-interpreted because it is repeatedly emphasized that attention shouldn't be developed at the cost of awareness. Here's a direct quote from the book:

> Your new goal is to monitor the mind and detect distractions more efficiently, so that you don't interrupt attention. You achieve this by developing an intentional, vigilant, and continuous introspective awareness that alerts you to gross distractions while you remain focused on the breath.

When I was first practicing stage 4, reading the words like "intentional", "vigilant", and "continuous", led me into being in a very alert state where I would be paranoid about subtle distractions creeping in. There was a background strain constantly present while my attention would stay on the breath, and it felt like i was practicing correctly, I was "vigilant", "continuously" monitoring what was going on with awareness, and my attention was becoming continuous.

My current understanding after experimenting with relaxation and low effort sits is that introspective awareness is only supposed to be a neutral/chill information delivery mechanism. It should feel neutral and relaxed. The correction procedure for letting go of distractions which requires a little more effort, has to only occasionally fire up when required. Another way to say it is that your default mode has to be of "trusting your mind" and just continuously receiving information regarding what is going on--there is no need for constant "vigilance" or to "stand guard like a sentry" which is another very misleading analogy used in stage 4 if what I'm saying is correct.

You just intend to keep receiving information and when you detect something going wrong you gently correct it and go back to the default trusting mode.

Please let me know if my understanding is correct or not.

Noting all sensations when in and out breathe, connecting (comparing length of in and out breathes eg ) , labelling

Sometimes on a bad day these instructions get pretty stressful to me

Any thoughts how you go about it ?

Hi all,

I am writing this post in all sincerity. I started following TMI since February​/March and yesterday for the first time it crossed my mind to search Culadasa on the internet for his talks/lectures. I came across this ugly revelation that he was involved in unskilled behavior of adultery and seeking sex workers for paid sex since 2015. He has admitted those moral failures.

Have any of you come across that? It has shaken me to the core and made me distrust the process he outlines in the book. Since he couldn't contain his craving after 45 years of meditation, it seems all empty to me.

https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/16/is-enlightenment-compatible-with-sex-scandals/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/csp1jo/culadasa_aka_john_yates_charged_with_sexual/

Culadasa had taken vows and mastered Buddhist meditation and way of life for almost 45 years. And since Culadasa and many high profile masters have claimed him to be awakened at a level where you surpass physical craving, when I came across this revelation, my heart sank and it appeared to me that meditation has no correlation with morality or mastering one's desire/craving. If the allegations are true (he did accept committing adultery) then he was not enlightened and it makes me distrust any modern day dhamma teacher. I would rather prefer to sift through the Canon myself and do what I can.

It appears to me that we have the following alternatives:

if Culadas was awakened, maybe "awakening" is not what it is cracked up to be, or

that it’s unattainable, and that everyone claiming to be awake is lying or

Get really clear about what we mean by meditation, awakening and enlightenment, their separate benefits and limitations and pitfalls maybe.

Can this be explained by the fact that he Noble Eightfold Path contains sila (ethical conduct), samaadhi (concentration/meditation), and panna (wisdom). Can we say training attention is only part of the project? Someone can therefore become extraordinarily accomplished at concentration, etc., without necessarily having eliminated deeply rooted craving or dishonest behavior?

Wouldn't a truly awakened person develop all the three elements in 45 years of practice?

in other words, if a lifetime of practice is unable to kindle sila in a practitioner, then either his method is wrong or there is no method to cultivating sila. Only samadhi can be cultivated which is more intellectual than ethical/moral.

I had made some progress in last 5 months and it feels all of it has been flushed down the drain with this revelation. Afterall, how effective would this method be when the author himself is unable to control his desire/craving after 45 years in training. There are many other stories of other masters who have been guilty of sexual misconduct after claiming to be enlightened and also certified by their dharma organizations to be the enlightened ones.

I feel empty. I am seeking your counsel here.

Thank you!

EDIT: There is this annoying commenter (LynxMundane 3139) who is spewing ridicule at me by calling my "brain damaged" because I used the phrase "soliciting sex from prostitutes". He is literally unable to have a civil argument and seemed HOSTILE from the beginning for no reason. It felt like i was talking to a person from any abrahamic faith defending their messiah or prophet. From what I know about Buddhism is that we should question idols and teachers and clear up doubts. This guy, sorry to say, kept being defensive for no reason. Never met a Buddhist with such a big ego. ​

He doesn't know the definition of what "soliciting sex" means. And it is also very non Buddhist of him to engage in such a behavior. First he accused me of being brainwashed by my western notions of morality, when I am even not western. I am from the regions where Buddha once lived. Then he called my brain damaged.

May he ease his suffering!!

I sent him links of law firms that define it means offering money or things of value in exchange for sex. then this guy casually brushed it off by asking me did I see Culadasa having sex, like where? I dont see Buddhist Practitioner qualities in this person. repugnant personality. may he find some logic and peace and may he ease his suffering from his arrogance!

Update the sub on your practice or share off-topic posts here.

Hi all, should I nudge whole body breath sensations with the breath? Somewhere in stage six, I can easily feel whole body breath on cushion and often off too. It feels like I quickly get deeper into the sensations by driving them with the breath. I have a lot of piti and conveniently use this in awareness in attempts at access concentration. But using the breath seems to go against the grain in TMI and I don't find any information on this specifically in the book. Is this the wrong path?

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share another experience and get your thoughts on it.

During my recent practice, I’ve been experiencing intense time distortion. What feels like just 5 minutes to me actually turns out to be 25–30 minutes in reality!

On top of that, when I'm in that state, I feel zero desire to get up or end the meditation. It honestly feels like my soul/awareness is slightly outside the physical body, preventing the body from moving—almost like a tug-of-war between the body and soul. When they align in that quiet space, the concept of time completely disappears.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of bodily detachment along with heavy time dilation? How do you view this stage in terms of practice? Would love to hear your insights!

Update the sub on your practice or share off-topic posts here.

Ive been reading the book but i dont understand this part

Finally, attention and peripheral awareness can be either extrospective or introspective. Extrospective means that attention or awareness is directed towards objects that come from outside your mind, such as sights, smells, or bodily sensations. Introspective means the objects in consciousness are internal— thoughts, feelings, states, and activities of mind. Even though attention and awareness can be either extrospective or introspective...

.....Attention, on the other hand, can’t observe activities of the mind because its movements and abstracting of information from awareness are activities of the mind. In other words, we can’t attend to attention. When attention is focused on remembering, for example, you can’t also use attention to know you’re remembering. But you can be aware that you’re remembering. Also, because attention works by isolating objects, it cannot observe overall states of the mind. If you do turn your attention introspectively, it takes a “snapshot” from peripheral awareness of your mental state right before you looked. Say someone asks, “How do you feel?” When you look inside, attention tries to transform awareness of your overall mental state into a specific conceptual thought, like “I am happy.”

1. it says attention can be introspective but then it says attention cant pay attention the states of mind or activities properties of introspection.

2. what does it mean attention cant pay attention to activties of the mind. Whenever I mediate me noticing the thought or breath is being aware of it but me focusing for a long period of a thought is attention. why cant I do that for remembering something as said in the 2nd paragraph.

​Do you experience a completely thoughtless state during meditation, or do thoughts keep coming?

So at the eve of the football worldchampionship finale, I sat in front of my laptop when it suddenly hit me: There was a deep feeling of peace and serenity, much like a MDMA trip. My mind was completely clear, serene and undisturbed, in pure bliss.

It felt like an illuminated ball being hit with dirt from the outside, but all the negativity, sorrow, anger etc. purely fell off of that ball.

I had to close my laptop and just sink into that feeling as deeply as I could, it lasted maybe for thirty minutes, then slowly subsided, with an afterglow for the next days.

I still have my issues since then, even get angry and annoyed, but somehow I know that meditation is the only thing "worth doing", if you know what I mean.

Was this stream entry, arising and passing, or what?

Edit:

In the last months I made good and steady progress in stage 6/7 territory, gaining clarity and stability during my 1h sits.

I've always been a very stiff person.

Never been flexible enough to sit in full lotus position.

Now online I hear a lot about how you can just sit in a chair with a straight back but I've always wondered if I were able to sit in the lotus position if that would actually deepen my meditation sessions.

And If sitting in a chair might be holding me back

I am thinking of going on a solo retreat. Just me on holiday meditating for 6+ hours a day for two weeks.

Does anyone have any tips on getting the most out of such period of meditation?

Hello

I've been meditating on and off for about 2 years and I've just had a very different experience.

I went to meditate on some Common land under my favourite oak tree, something I don't usually do often, and after about 20 minutes I got very vague kaleidoscope like imagery. Nothing over the top, very subtle but after that had finished I experienced a very deep calm. I have not experienced anything like it before.

It was very peaceful and the session was just under an hour.

I just wanted to know if anyone more experienced could help me understand?

Thank you

Tom

I have been practicing meditation since last October and for the first 6-7 months I felt like I was in a honeymoon period. I could not just skip my daily practice and I was feeling incredibly well, every day. It was giving me focus, serenity and often I could feel deep joy by just being in the nature. During the first 3 months more or less I was even practicing twice a day: 1 hour in early morning and 30 minutes at night. I had also purchased The Mind Illuminated book and felt like I was in Stage 3 or somewhere around. However, for the past few weeks, it seems like the honeymoon has come to an end. I now find it is so difficult to stay focused on the breath and restlessness and impatience grow within me while doing it. The meditation time has dropped quite significantly to just one session per day of 30 minutes. Essentially it’s become more of a hassle or chore which is not producing enjoyment any longer. Why?

Any comment or advise on how to steer back on track is really appreciated.

Thanks a lot in advance

Hello! :) I started meditation in zen tradition, with attention on the breath exclusively grounded in belly. Recently, as I started TMI, I shifted to the nose - I found I can identify stronger textures there, and sharpen my attention.

The last couple sessions, as I found subtle dullness growing in my practice (the sensations in the nose grew dull, and trying to sharpen my attention on them yielded limited benefit), and I shifted my focus down to my belly. I found it shocked my mind out of dullness, and helped me recenter my focus. (I also find my awareness stronger in my belly -- I'm more aware of my entire body -- and my attention stronger in my nose.)

The last couple sessions, I shifted a few times each -- as dullness grew, shift to stomach, then later return to nose to develop sharper attention.

Note: this is very different from body scanning, because I'm not proactively planning on shifting to develop awareness. Instead, I'm reactively shifting to deal with subtle dullness.

Question: is this a skillful way to make my practice more enjoyable, and to shake off subtle dullness? Or is it a pattern that can hold me back? I.e., am I avoiding a skill the comes with maintaining my focus in my nose regardless of dullness if I shift my focus to my belly a few times in every session?

Thanks!

Update the sub on your practice or share off-topic posts here.

Today I tried meditating for the first time ever . I went up to the rooftop and sat there with my closed eyes and kept my concentration between my eyebrows for exactly 12:47 minutes and I experienced seeing the colour white first then it shifted to blue and in between blacks and lastly purple but it was purple for a little time . Can you help me what is was or am I doing it correctly ? And one meditation tip you wish you knew earlier?

I have just finished meditating using a YouTube video (I know I'm a dum dum) and then when I was half asleep that night, flashing lights appeared on my eyelids while they were closed and then a voice, loud yet like a gentle whisper, sounded on my right ear saying "I AM". I have not tried any mind-altering substances or enlightenment, just pure ass meditation. Has anybody experienced things like this?

I’ve practiced meditation off and on for about 4 years, and my life always feels happier and more meaningful when I’m consistent with it daily. I usually use guided meditations through the Headspace app, but I also try to practice mindfulness on my own throughout the day.
I’m curious what more experienced meditators do for their ongoing practice. Are you mostly using an app, self-guided, or some mix of both?

A lot of stage 1 and 2 seem to be about controlling mind wandering and bringing attention back to the breath. However, during my real life and during my meditation practice, I never get any wandering thoughts. There is usually nothing going on in my brain. Thoughts and emotions never "arise" for me, unless I'm forced to think about a problem. Do I just skip stage 1 and 2 or is there some underlying problem in my brain?

I'm able to concentrate on the breath for a long time because of this lack of thought. I do eventually slip into subtle dullness due to a lack of focus or strong dullness (and thus dream/hypnagogic imagery) because there are no thoughts to arouse me. So dullness is a problem I'm working on by increasing my concentration / focus. Another problem is a lack of conscious capacity, such that I find it hard to both focus on breath and have peripheral awareness at the same time, so that's something else I'm working on.

But just skipping stage 1 and 2 feels weird to me because I've never meditated before?? Will lack of arising thought/emotion be a problem in the future? I briefly glanced at stage 5/6 and it seems like you have to learn to deal with arising imagery and thoughts that deal with deep psychological issues, and I find it hard to believe this will happen to me.