Reddit reviews Shift into Freedom: The Science and Practice of Open-Hearted Awareness

Here is a list of monasteries where you will be able to practice meditation for an extended period of time and eventually ordain as a monk:

-Pa Auk Forest Monastery in Myanmar

-Panditarama Forest Meditation Center in Myanmar

-Wat Chom Tong in Thailand

-Wat Ram Poeng in Thailand

The monasteries below allow shorter stays for first-time visitors:

-Bhavana Society in West Virginia

-Metta Forest Monastery in California

-Sirimangalo International in Canada

-Bodhinyana in Australia

If you’re interested in learning how to meditate, the following books are excellent guides. Each of these authors has a novel approach to explaining meditation that complements the others.

-The Mind Illuminated by John Yates

-Shift Into Freedom by Loch Kelly

-With Each & Every Breath by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. This author has other great books available for free.

-In The Buddha’s Words by the Buddha (translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi)

I recommend that you check out /r/streamentry, an online community of laypeople (non-monks) pursuing awakening. You might also wish to contact /u/Bhikkhu_Jayasara, a fully ordained monk who often participates in /r/buddhism.

Best of luck to you on the path.

Shift into Freedom by Loch Kelly is fantastic, he was authorized to teach it by Mingyur Rinpoche and is able to describe seemingly difficult concepts in clear language. The book has tons of techniques and maps out a clear path. I initially heard of him from a Daniel Ingram and he seems to be a fan.

https://www.amazon.com/Shift-into-Freedom-Open-Hearted-Awareness/dp/1622033507

Non-directive meditation is found in different traditions. The main one's I've found are:

Taoism

• Zuowang, see http://oldoakdao.org/blog/
  
  Buddhism
  
  
• Zen (zazen, inspired by Taoism, see the book True meditation, Adyashanti)
  
• Dzogchen/mahamudra: See for example Shift into freedom
  
  Hinduism
  
  
• Tantra: Doctrine of vibration
  
• Vedic meditation
  
  You also find it in other traditions:
  
  
• Neo-Confucianism: Jing zuo //similar to zuowang and zazen
  
• Esoteric and contemplative Christianity Centering prayer
  
  Perhaps /u/sovereign_self has something in mind as well

Nice. You might like to check out Locke Kelly's Shift into Freedom which has a whole bunch of short exercises like this.

There are methods known as "direct pointing" methods that attempt to point people to these sorts of realizations, which are surface-level available at all times, very quickly. They don't always work. Or, sometimes, as I understand it, the realization is conceptualized as obvious or trivial by the mind ("So what?"). Sounds like in your case that the method actually had a pretty significant impact, which is great. I think that's the idea!

If you want to keep working with this sort of technique, I might recommend Shift into Freedom: The Science and Practice of Open-Hearted Awareness by Loch Kelly. Additionally, Adyashanti (who wrote the introduction to that book) is a great "non-dual" teacher, so you could look up some of his stuff. Finally, The Headless Way is a pretty cool resource.

If you're interested in more resources about awakening generally and what that can look and feel like, I recommend the sidebar resources.

Many folks here are likely very familiar with what you describe, given that your observation seems to accord with mine. I still have yet to nail down precisely where "I" am. ;)