Currently in a period of more intense practice with many more experiences, (kundalini arising, distance from reality) but I will try not to post too much about those. I did feel guided to make this one though.

I try to heed the intuitions that arise during meditation, recently a strong one arose to re-read the Insights Maps in the MCTB. While my own experience hasn't been exactly the same 1 for 1, when I re-read them more carefully, I realized that I had indeed traversed the map territory, though in a non-linear fashion and sometimes not in the context of a formal retreat.

For instance, I had my Dark Nights of the Soul in therapy. There have been periods of what Daniel calls Equanimity and Re-Observation. There has been Fruition, and then it's dropped back into cycling - exactly as the book says. The suicidal ideations I had at some point were also Disgust and Misery. There has been a certain trajectory to all this.

A key insight that has been dawning is that all the books are good, but it takes wisdom to piece it all together. I agree with Angelo Dilulo's point to hold all maps and models lightly (Daniel says the same thing) as the mind tends to overconceptualize. The analogy I use is that it is all illumination - letting the rays refract in different ways, especially as we all come to this path differently.

In that sense, I have a renewed appreciation for maps - as long as I don't expect them to be 1 for 1 to my own experiences. (Like the AtR material has been spot-on in some sections and not that accurate in others - for me, at least.) Also, that "progression" is non-linear and can be individual.

Another wise teacher once told me that your understanding of key terms will also change (mind, being, presence etc) as the process continues - which also explains why I find material that I read decades ago to be more relevant now.

That's enough from me. :) Happy New Year!

​

​

​

​

​

​

​