Guidance Please!

[cmarti]

Maybe you should just relax into things and just go with what's presenting for a while. Give it a month. See where you "are" after that amount of time.

[Robwynge]

I think you are twisting yourself into knots trying to figure out where you are on the path, what insights you have attained, etc. How about just watching the next breath? And then the next one...and the next one...

Read Tolle or Thich Nhat Hahn. Just now.

ps
Speaking of breathing, I have rediscovered yoga pranayama over the last 6 months after years of ignoring it because Buddhists usually advise that the breath should just be observed rather than manipulated. I find it very grounding and it helps manage anxiety greatky. Play with either alternate nostril breathing or just good ole' deep yogic breathing (also known as "the 3-part yogic breath"). But if you want more backgrond first, this is the best book on the subject, imo:

http://www.amazon.com/Prana-Pranayama-S ... +pranayama

[joelchigliak]

haha - ok guys, thanks - points taken!

It's just that I've suffered from mental illness for so long, and the changes to my awareness this summer have been coming so thick and fast I just wanted some validation that I was at least heading in the right direction with these kinda perceptions (however clumsily described) and not further into la-la land.....

Off to dust off my Power of Now and keep my trap shut for a bit....

[Robwynge]

I don't think we were advising you to keep your trap shut (I know I wasn't). I think reporting on your practice is helpful for the more senior people (I'm not one) to judge you situation better. My comment was directed at your focus and your great concern for figuring out your attainment levels. It just seems you would benefit from keeping thing simple for a bit, letting things stabilize, and then judging your practice.

I wish you all the best.