Consciously practice virtues like patience, generosity, loving-kindness, and non-reactivity every day to prepare your mind for liberating insight, as this is crucial even outside formal meditation.
Maintain consistent daily meditation practice (e.g., 1-2 hours) to keep the thread of awareness going and support your spiritual progress.
Go on meditation retreats for deep immersion into the mind, allowing you to settle in, understand your inner workings, and gain a different perspective on life.
Become familiar with how your mind works by observing it, which helps you see life as it truly is and reduce reactivity and recreational distractions.
Put aside assumptions and beliefs acquired from family, culture, and education, as they may be fantasies not aligned with your deepest experience of reality.
Approach spiritual practice without obsession or excessive striving, as trying too hard can impede your progress and lead to an unskillful attitude.
Be aware that pleasant experiences like ecstasy, bliss, and joy (pseudo-Nirvana or spiritual goodies) are temporary stages, not the ultimate goal of enlightenment.
Cultivate equanimity towards pleasant spiritual experiences and avoid clinging to them, as attachment can prevent further progress beyond the ‘arising and passing away’ stage.
During difficult stages of practice (Dukkha Nyanas or ‘dark night’), seek guidance from a skillful teacher to navigate fear and disillusionment without becoming disturbed.
When facing challenging phases, reaffirm your commitment to simply noticing things as they are being known moment-to-moment, without judgment or expectation.
Understand that profound spiritual insights, including stream entry, can occur in daily life outside of formal retreats, especially when paramis are cultivated consistently.
Educate yourself about the meditation path by reading books and finding out what’s involved, which helps you understand the process and what to expect.
Utilize meditation practice for emotional repair, healing family-of-origin issues, and addressing other emotional challenges.
Reframe enlightenment as a grounded, ordinary understanding of moment-to-moment life, free from suffering and entanglement, rather than a grandiose or mysterious concept.