Traditional silent meditation has different forms of practice, each guided by different instructions. Insight Dialogue also has meditation guidelines to support meditators as they change their habitual ways of interacting with others. Each guideline can be used in daily life as a simple reminder to calm down, become aware, and notice and release old habits. In Insight Dialogue practice, the same guidelines work together to point the way toward profound spiritual awakening.
The practice involves discussion and contemplation of profound subject matter—fear, joy, desire, and the inevitability of change, for example. The content of an Insight Dialogue discussion is not the primary focus, however. Becoming aware of how the heart-mind functions is at the core of this practice.
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What habits hold us captive? What is left when these habits fall away?
We can pay attention to our bodies and to the ongoing stories we tell ourselves. We can observe our reactive emotions. It is not easy. The mind is very quick. Reactions feel automatic. But as a result of practice, we can calm down. We discover we can become more alert, better able to notice the movements of the body-mind. The Insight Dialogue guidelines support us as we notice these things, release attachments, and relax out of stresses.
The first steps help us calm down and pay attention to whatever we find in the emerging moment. As we move into dialogue, our spoken exchanges are simply a part of what is emerging in the moment. We become aware of the thinking and emotional processes of our body-minds, even while we engage with each other. As we calm down, our sensitivity heightens and our awareness broadens.
On this web site, each guideline is introduced briefly, followed by a fuller presentation of that topic. The guidelines are easiest to understand when they are read in order. Each contains the seed of all the others, but they do build on each other in sequence. If you read these descriptions mindfully, you will gain some impression of the practice. But Insight Dialogue is experiential in nature. It may be helpful to bracket any conclusions about the practice until you have experienced it—ideally, with the support of a trained Insight Dialogue facilitator. Retreats are offered worldwide (ID Retreat Schedule), and local groups are also available in many places.
