One thing that threw me a little when I read Mindfulness in Plain English the first time was how they describe following your breathing in Vipassana.
There are a number of methods people use including the one mentioned in the book, observing the breath at the nostrils, and any of them are ok. I personally find the chest and throat works best for me.
Another thing I found hugely helpful getting started (other than finding a sangha) was getting a sense of body. When you start to sit just feel your body, is it heavy, energetic, etc. Feel places your body is touching, the floor, the chair, etc and then slowly focus in on your breath.
A final piece of advice, try not to meditate on pain if you can help it. When you first start out sitting will probably hurt (that doesn't mean you should fidget or ignore it). However meditating on pain is actually pretty easy. You'll quickly realise that it makes everything else harder to meditate on because it is extremely intense so you less sensitive to other things. The solution is to spend a little time making sure you are sitting right or spending some session in seated meditation.
Contact details are on my profile. Feel free to ask me any questions. I've been practicing Theravada and Vipassana for a while.
First I misread this as "sedated meditation", which had me wondering: Does moderate alcoholic influence impair or improve a meditation session?
I know it may sound weird, but I find it tremendously easier to concentrate on and really understand heavy mathematical material after a glass of whisky or two.
It makes it a lot harder, a light dusting of caffeine can be helpful though.
The purpose of vipassana meditation is "awareness" and alcohol really gets in the way of that because it makes it hard to focus. This kind of meditation is an activity.
That book is heavy with ill-defined jargon. I did try following some of its advice. The book helped me understand precisely what I don't like about Buddhism - that the right direction is always to less attachment and striving. I only agree that it's sometimes the right direction.
If you're set on experimenting with this sort of meditation practice, then I suppose you have to put up with a text like this (since it would be hard to find a good teacher as a novice).
Buddhism makes exceptions for striving for enlightenment, attachment to freedom from suffering, effort in the service of others' happiness, and so forth. I don't find it difficult to conceive of my life and actions in that light (while allowing for a healthy dose of ignorance).
Also, I agree with your first sentence. The language is often circular and muddy, however I still managed to get a lot out of it.
There are a number of methods people use including the one mentioned in the book, observing the breath at the nostrils, and any of them are ok. I personally find the chest and throat works best for me.
Another thing I found hugely helpful getting started (other than finding a sangha) was getting a sense of body. When you start to sit just feel your body, is it heavy, energetic, etc. Feel places your body is touching, the floor, the chair, etc and then slowly focus in on your breath.
A final piece of advice, try not to meditate on pain if you can help it. When you first start out sitting will probably hurt (that doesn't mean you should fidget or ignore it). However meditating on pain is actually pretty easy. You'll quickly realise that it makes everything else harder to meditate on because it is extremely intense so you less sensitive to other things. The solution is to spend a little time making sure you are sitting right or spending some session in seated meditation.
Contact details are on my profile. Feel free to ask me any questions. I've been practicing Theravada and Vipassana for a while.