Many of us have a goal of making life less stressful but instead at times it can seem as though our lives are getting even more busy and difficult to manage. Often the worst part of a stressful lifestyle is not the stress at any given moment, but the absence of any reassurance that things are getting better. Therefore, it makes sense that the reason that we encounter difficulty reducing stress is that we have no way to measure whether or not we are making progress. If our lives are so stressful that a small change in the right direction would have no noticeable effect then it will be difficult to know when we’re on to something that should be repeated. By contrast, if we have a way to confirm that our decisions and actions have a good chance of leading to the results we want, each positive action will build on the other. To succeed at insight meditation practice, it is imperative that we always practice with a teacher who can guide us and provide us with feedback to ensure that our practice will lead us to liberation from suffering. In that way, the mere fact that we know we’re progressing can have a relaxing effect on the mind. The Buddha developed and passed down a map for all of us to follow towards happiness. That map is called the 16 stages of Insight Knowledge which arise naturally in anyone who applies mindfulness in the correct way. When you come to practice insight meditation at our centre, we will check your practice regularly against these 16 stages so that you will always know that you are progressing. This will result in some short term and ultimately long term relief from the difficulties of the world.