<p dir="ltr">Meditation can be gorgeous… and it can be absolutely bewildering. If you've ever wondered, "Am I doing this right?" or "Why does this feel so intense?", this conversation is for you.</p> <p dir="ltr">In this vintage conversation from 2016, Dan sits down with legendary dharma teacher Steve Armstrong for a clear, compassionate walkthrough of the progress of insight—including why meditation sometimes gets harder before it gets easier, how to navigate the so-called "dark night" phases, and how to keep going without getting lost in the weeds of self-doubt.</p> <div class="c-virtual_list__item" id="message-list_1767898569.787279" tabindex="0"> <div class="c-message_kit__background p-message_pane_message__message c-message_kit__message"> <div class="c-message_kit__hover"> <div class="c-message_kit__actions c-message_kit__actions--default"> <div class="c-message_kit__gutter"> <div class="c-message_kit__gutter__right"> <div class="c-message_kit__blocks c-message_kit__blocks--rich_text"> <div class="c-message__message_blocks c-message__message_blocks--rich_text"> <div class="p-block_kit_renderer"> <div class="p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper p-block_kit_renderer__block_wrapper--first"> <div class="p-rich_text_block" dir="auto"> <div class="p-rich_text_section">Steve Armstrong, our dear friend, teacher, and the founder of Vipassana Metta Dhamma Sanctuary, passed away peacefully at home on December 23, 2025. His wife and teaching partner, Kamala, was by his side. We are deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-steve-armstrong-kamala-masters"> the fundraiser we shared</a>, and held Steve and Kamala in their hearts. <br /> <br /> Your generosity made it possible for Steve to receive the 24-hour care he needed in his final months, allowing him to remain at home with comfort and dignity. Your support also helped ease the many practical and emotional burdens Kamala carried during this time.<br /> <br /> Steve devoted more than 40 years to teaching the Dhamma and to building Vipassana Metta Dhamma Sanctuary as a place for deep and sustained practice. His wisdom, kindness, and unwavering commitment to the path touched countless lives and will continue to live on through this work. Any future donations to this fundraiser will go toward supporting Kamala as she moves through this period of grief and transition, and as she continues the work at Vipassana Metta Dhamma Sanctuary that she and Steve began together.</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="c-virtual_list__item" id="message-list_bottomSpacer" tabindex="-1"></div> <p dir="ltr">If you feel moved, you can find the <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-steve-armstrong-kamala-masters">GoFundMe at this link</a>. Our company has also made a significant contribution to support Steve and Kamala.</p> <p dir="ltr">In this episode, you'll learn:</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Why meditation can sometimes trigger emotional turbulence</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">How to understand the "stages" of insight (without clinging to them)</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Practical ways to stay steady when your practice feels chaotic or confusing</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">How to distinguish between a genuine opening and plain old overwhelm</p> </li> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr">Why equanimity isn't passive—it's powerful</p> </li> </ul> <p dir="ltr">Steve has spent decades helping people wake up. This episode is a chance to receive that wisdom—and, if you're able, to reflect it back with your support.</p> <p dir="ltr">Related Episodes:</p> <ul> <li dir="ltr"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/danharris/p/get-happier-without-losing-your-edge-1f4?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web"> Get Happier Without Losing Your Edge | Kamala Masters</a></p> </li> </ul> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Join Dan's online community <a href="http://www.danharris.com/">here</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Follow Dan on social: <a href="https://bit.ly/3tGigG5">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://bit.ly/3FOA84J">TikTok</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Subscribe to our <a href="https://bit.ly/3FybRzD">YouTube Channel</a></p> <p dir="ltr">Thanks to our
Actionable Insights
1. Cultivate Daily Paramis
Consciously practice “paramis” like generosity, patience, and non-reactivity in daily life, as this prepares the mind’s “soil” for liberating insight.
2. Maintain Daily Meditation
Engage in consistent daily meditation (e.g., 1-2 hours) to sustain and deepen the “thread” of mindfulness practice over time.
3. Attend Meditation Retreats
Go on retreats to learn and deepen practice in a focused environment, allowing for immersion into the mind away from daily distractions.
4. Seek Skillful Teachers
Find and trust a skillful meditation teacher, especially to navigate challenging “dark night” stages (Dukkha Nyanas) without becoming disturbed.
5. Observe Moment-to-Moment Experience
Cultivate awareness to recognize that in every moment, something is being experienced and known (e.g., body sensations, sounds), moving beyond automatic pilot.
6. Recognize Conditionality of Phenomena
Pay attention to intentions and the interplay of mind and body to understand that experiences arise due to causes and conditions, not randomly.
7. Understand Impermanence
Observe experiences to recognize their constantly changing and impermanent nature, understanding that all phenomena do not last.
8. Turn Towards Unsatisfactoriness (Dukkha)
Turn towards and observe the inherent unsatisfactoriness (dukkha) and insecurity of all experiences, recognizing that even pleasant things are unstable.
9. Recognize Selflessness
Understand that all phenomena are conditioned and lack inherent self, meaning the mind is not fully controllable and experiences arise due to causes, not a fixed “self.”
10. Observe Rapid Arising & Passing
Develop the capacity to observe moments of experience passing by very rapidly, without emotional reaction or cognitive stories.
11. Put Aside Stories & Reactions
Put aside personal stories and reactions of like/dislike to allow the mind to function optimally and experience heightened clarity during practice.
12. Cultivate Equanimity to Spiritual Goodies
Cultivate equanimity towards pleasant spiritual experiences (pseudo-Nibbana) and avoid clinging to them, as attachment impedes further progress.
13. Persist Through Dark Night
Persist through difficult “dark night” phases of practice where the sense of a permanent self dissolves and everything feels unstable, even if it’s scary.
14. Integrate Dissolution Knowledge
Work through fear and resistance when experiencing the dissolution of a stable self, aiming to integrate this knowledge rather than being repulsed by it.
15. Work Through Disillusionment
Recognize and work through the disillusionment that arises when realizing that external experiences and attachments do not offer lasting satisfaction.
16. Recommit to Noticing
During difficult “dark night” phases, recommit to the fundamental practice of noticing that “something is being known in each moment” as the way forward.
17. Cultivate Unshakable Equanimity
Develop unshakable equanimity, observing all experiences (pleasant or terrifying) without reaction, indulgence, or fear.
18. Cease Mind’s Clinging
Cease the mind’s tendency to “reach for” or cling to anything, understanding that all conditioned phenomena are impermanent and unsatisfactory, which may lead to experiencing the unconditioned.
19. Practice Makes Accident Prone
Understand that enlightenment is not forced but rather a natural outcome of consistent practice, which makes one “accident prone” to such experiences.
20. Trust Direct Experience of Nirvana
Trust that direct experience of the “unconditioned” (Nirvana) will provide undeniable self-knowledge, even if it cannot be verbally described or proven to others.
21. Train for Sustained Nirvana
After the initial experience of Nirvana, train the mind to develop the capacity to enter and sustain this reality for longer periods.
22. View Initial Practice as Repair
Approach the initial years of meditation practice with the mindset that it serves as “repair work” for emotional healing and family-of-origin issues.
23. Seek Accessible Instructions
Seek out accessible, codified meditation instructions, especially those adapted for lay practitioners, to learn effective practice.
24. Attend Dharma Talks
Attend Dharma talks or listen to teachings to deepen understanding of meditation and its application to life.
25. Avoid Obsessive Striving
Avoid obsessive striving or intellectualizing the “map” of progress, as this can impede actual meditative progress.
26. Avoid Overthinking Stages
It might be beneficial to avoid overthinking or intellectualizing the stages of insight until direct experience makes them apparent.
27. Understand Non-Linear Progress
Understand that progress through insight knowledges is not linear or permanent; one may “step through the door” and then fall back, gradually learning to access higher knowledges.
28. Maintain Multifaceted Practice
Maintain a multifaceted practice including daily meditation, annual retreats, staying informed, and discussing Dharma with others to keep the mind consistently directed towards insight.
29. Understand Insight Outside Retreats
Understand that significant insights, including “stream entry,” can occur outside of formal retreat settings, depending on consistent daily practice and cultivation of paramis.
Systematically inform yourself about the path, study relevant texts, practice paramis daily, and attend retreats when possible to gradually progress towards initial stages of insight.