It is customary in this sangha to provide those members who have completed a significant retreat the opportunity to process the experience during a regular meeting.  Peter annually experiences a two week self-retreat, this one lasting from December 18 until January 1, 2016.  He described the retreat schedule he established and reviewed a book he used to further his insight practices: “The Mind Illuminated-A Complete Meditation Guide”.  The book analyzes the Anapanasati Sutta, the discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing, a classic teaching from the Pali Canon, from the perspective of neuroscientific and systems theory research.  It describes 10 stages of enhanced mental stability and introspective investigation, leading towards experiences of awakening from what are termed the “three poisons”: greed, aversion and ignorance/self-delusion.  Peter described how passages from the book enhanced his vipassana practice.  Even though this recording is longer than most, the information has the potential to significantly increase insights into the process of awakening.

Here are the notes Peter prepared for the talk:   Peter’s 2015 year end retreat