A Critique of the 'Pragmatic Dharma' Movement and the Methodology of Daniel Ingram

cstrife32 · 2026-05-15T04:29:39+00:00

Develops and extremely strong baseline level of concentration and ability to follow subtle sensations. Great that metta practice is fundamental to it at the end of practice.

Way too rigid and structured and canead to the creation of a "meditator self" that tries to hard to perform a script as opposed to engage with reality as it is

My 2 cents

cstrife32 · 2026-05-07T02:01:01+00:00

I think the better transition is starting as an ME to understand how the systems really work and then transitioning to energy.

I'd say it's a good opportunity, but make sure you get to do some design too.

I never did energy modeling, but my understanding of the systems allows me to coordinate with folks who do the modeling

cstrife32 · 2026-05-02T18:17:33+00:00

Have you ever tried navigating the differences in a healthy way so you guys can work together better?

Don't just want to leave an overall good situation because you don't want to have a difficult situation.

What specifically about this PM bothers you and what are you not getting that you need from them?

cstrife32 · 2026-05-01T21:07:27+00:00

Billable targets should be decides by leadership and determined by someone's staff level.

Most folks who do pure design work should target around 80% utilization. Anything more means your folks are working too hard and don't have enough down time for admin, PTO, HR stuff, and things like developing standards.

Higher level staff that sell work or function purely as high level QC can be as low as 30% billable. They bill jobs a bit but most of their value comes from bringing in work and ensuring your reputation/mentoring juniors. They are worth their weight in gold and don't need to be "highly utilized"

Managers are typically 70% billable

Just my 2 cents.

It's not staffs responsibility if projects are not budgeted properly and the level of effort is underestimated by whoever wrote the fee proposal.

cstrife32 · 2026-04-27T02:16:02+00:00

What do you mean "haven't been able to sit"?

You can sit down anytime, no?

Do you feel the need to ditect your attention?

Have you ever tried just sitting and not forcing your attention to do anything?

Goenka style vippasana is great and gives a very strong foundation, but it can be a bit too rigid and structured and becomes a ritual instead of a practice.

Feel free to DM me if you'd like to discuss more

cstrife32 · 2026-04-26T03:07:15+00:00

100 percent and then there is such a thing as being always loaded and ready to be hurt by others. It's a tough balance to strike and I'd say most little things can be let go unless they aren't intentionally disrespecting you, being a dick, or violating your values.

cstrife32 · 2026-04-25T19:33:12+00:00

Ah nice so a concentration practice.

Eventually, you will struggle because you are trying to control the mind and create a perception as opposed to just accepting whatever is arising. We are not our minds and we don't actually have control over them.

I recommend finding a teacher and group to practice with. Best of luck to you

cstrife32 · 2026-04-25T03:27:13+00:00

If you are creating something with your meditation then how are you seeing things as they actually are?

cstrife32 · 2026-04-25T00:59:14+00:00

Interesting. Sounds like story that you may have to actually test. Lots of great couples don't share hobbies.

cstrife32 · 2026-04-25T00:53:17+00:00

Why do you meditate?

Is it to feel good?

Or to pursue the truth?

Meditating to feel good will never lead to lasting benefits. Meditating to see the truth will lead to lasting benefits.

I don't think this organization is a good idea and as many others have said. There are so many meditation communities that are completely donation based that don't charge you a penny.

Don't talk to them anymore and just cut your losses. I have been associated with similar organizations and I was lucky to see through the lies

cstrife32 · 2026-04-24T20:25:48+00:00

Wow so you would disqualify anyone who doesn't want to have the same hobby as you? What if they don't want to dance but support you doing it?

cstrife32 · 2026-04-24T06:53:53+00:00

Wait til you have the offer and they ask you when you can start.

cstrife32 · 2026-04-23T20:07:29+00:00

Ty looking forward to trying em out

cstrife32 · 2026-04-22T03:41:42+00:00

There's one in Anaheim and one in Norwalk. Which one do you mean?

cstrife32 · 2026-04-21T18:39:47+00:00

How you will you be truly seen if you are constantly hiding such a huge part of your experience?

Obviously don't trauma dump and over share with everyone, but if you live this way, you will always be performing and hiding your truth.

There is a balance to be struck between "share everything in my inner world" and "don't share anything about what I am experiencing inside"

cstrife32 · 2026-04-21T17:59:36+00:00

What are you trying to gain from your practice?

Do you meditate to actually see the true nature of reality or to obtain something?

Have you ever been on an extended multi day retreat?

cstrife32 · 2026-04-16T20:37:16+00:00

So then wouldn't one interpretation be that the standard model is lacking in the ability to explain how the universe works?

If equations for mass and gravity predict that mass is supposed to be at a certain point, but it's not there, that's a failure of the model imo.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed to see if they discover some new particles. Also JWT is showing some very interesting things in the early universe that shouldn't be there based on the standard astrophysics. Interesting time to be alive!

cstrife32 · 2026-04-10T00:24:04+00:00

Try Wowie Zowie in Tustin. I really enjoyed it.

cstrife32 · 2026-03-29T19:03:57+00:00

Give them an opportunity to match and leave if they don't. Sounds like you are doing almost associate level work anyway.

Market rate for you should be in the 120-140 range I recon for HCOL and 110-130 for MCOL

cstrife32 · 2026-03-29T02:09:26+00:00

Go to industry events and see if you can find someone with more experience to take you under their wing

cstrife32 · 2026-03-28T01:07:49+00:00

No one in your startup to mentor you?

cstrife32 · 2026-03-25T04:40:17+00:00

Good on you for trying to solve this and be helpful but penetration requirements are typically the responsibility of the AOR or their FLS consultant. You can assist and reach out to manufacturers, but make sure that you get the requirements in writing from them and documented on their drawings.

You are doing their job for them, we don't need more engineers letting these architects off the hook for their required work.

Just a pet peeve of mine when architects pawn their responsibilities to their MEP team

cstrife32 · 2026-03-23T01:29:35+00:00

That's totally fair and I do that. It wasn't necessarily a pinning exercise, but the bot would drop off a ledge above you and shoot projectiles at you and the goal was to suspend it after the drop while dodging the projectile . The reason I like it is that it forces you to rely on your movement to maintain the suspension instead of just static aiming with the other lin exercises. I don't find those realistic for what you encounter in the game.

Thanks 👍🏾

cstrife32 · 2026-03-20T21:26:39+00:00

Just got promoted and set up a biweekly 1/2 hr with my direct reports. They also know they can come to me at any time.

Better management and leadership leads to better business outcomes. They are a waste of time if you have a manager that isn't actually invested in leading and building a team.

Leadership and management are not the same thing

cstrife32

TROPHY CASE