Finding a place to begin can’t come from history. Intuitive faith / saddha is useful to distinguish the mundane from the place where truth, the unconditioned, can be revealed.

Effort: taking an overview, we can recognize the first effort is to generate right view, to note the conditionalities in which we find ourselves. We see which ones lead to stress, and which allow it to cease.

We use retreat to learn how to soften and loosen the worldly ways of stimulation and action, and to enter the space and silence of our temple.

With integrity as a basis for mindfulness, we can go beyond calming down in sports, the office or even the army. Through meditation we see there is something deeper in the heart that needs to be unpacked.

Signs / nimittas are significant. Ajahn examines what is meant by these words.

Steady the citta by replenishing it with good food. These include the fruits of friendliness, goodwill, ethical sensitivity, stability, and a steady resolve. These become a drip feed.

On retreat we can develop a frame of reference which becomes a reliable way of filtering – not controlling – experience. Retreat structure, silence and participation are key ingredients.