Hi. My natural tendency is to want to know everything all at once and when there is lot’s of information available I go off on a tangent and get overwhelmed. Is it best to start with the 2 DM meditation sessions per day? What time timescales before adding other practices? Which book is best to start with the enlightenment series DM book or the basic practices book? Lastly I’m clean since 2022 but before this lived a chaotic and traumatic life,in the past I struggled with intrusive thoughts when doing certain practices are there any precautions I should take. Thanks. Paul.
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Hi Paul!
Yes twice daily DM is best to start with, 20mins twice a day. If you find 20mins difficult for whatever reason try 10 and work up gradually. Twice a day is best as if u miss a session it’s no biggie 
The lessons page on the AYP site are free so just go through them one by one. If you do want to buy a book (i think it is nice to have a physical copy) I have found the DM and the spinal breathing ones the most useful.
Maybe just stick with the DM for a month before adding spinal breathing to your practice, although if you feel you want to add SBP sooner then that is no problem.
A tip- with DM, be sure you are practising with the correct level of focus. Many confuse meditation with concentration. Concentration is a ‘hard’ focus, whereas with meditation it is a relaxed focus, when you realise you are off the mantra simply return to it without any judgement on yourself. I found ‘Beginners mind’ by Suzuki very useful for understanding the subtleties of correct attitude in meditation.
The gold in meditation is in the ‘coming back’ to the mantra, and you cannot do that unless you’re attention wavers from time to time 
Also,a meditation practice helps us to make better choices, and drinking, smoking, drugs and other unhealthy habits gradually become a thing of the past, so just stick with it, know you are doing something good, and let it do its thing without judging yourself
I wish you all the best in your practice!
Remember it is a marathon, not a race
Tom
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