Keep a Master practice journal

Why this matters

A short journal helps you remember what you actually did. It also stops a single strong feeling from becoming a rule about your whole practice.

At Master level, the useful question is not “Did something dramatic happen?” It is “What did I do, what did I notice, and what did I decide?”

Use three short lines

Keep one page or one note for each practice. Write three lines, in this order:

1. What I did: the date, duration, position and symbol or focus you used.
2. What I noticed: warmth, tiredness, distraction, calm, nothing unusual.
3. What I make of it: your interpretation, clearly labelled as an interpretation.

For example: “Ten minutes seated. Hands on lap. Dai Ko Myo reference open. I noticed a busy mind and cool hands. I interpret the busy mind as ordinary end-of-day tiredness, not as a spiritual block.”

Review once a week

Spend five minutes at the end of the week. Read three entries and ask:

• Which time of day works best?
• Which posture or duration leaves me comfortable?
• Where did I turn an observation into a promise or a diagnosis?
• What is one small change for next week?

Choose one change only. A journal that produces ten new rules is harder to keep than one useful adjustment.

A worked weekly review

Suppose your notes show that evening sessions are short and rushed, while Saturday mornings feel calm. You also notice that you wrote “my hands were cold, so the energy was weak” on Tuesday. That sentence mixes a sensation with a claim you cannot check.

A more useful entry is: “My hands were cold. The room was cool and I had been outside. Next time I will wash my hands in warm water or wear a jumper.” You keep the observation and drop the unfounded judgement.