I find commentary as a very useful road in to the practice. so i use it as like an initiator. And if I lose the mindfulness, briefly using commentary to restart it can help it happen with more ease. Also, it is useful to know that the following stages of, realisation of nature and not me don't need to be rushed and forced, they should arise naturally from doing the mindfulness practice.

Yes! You have understood it perfectly, and your approach is not just "okay," it is highly skillful.

What you are describing is the heart of a wise and practical practice. You are using commentary as a "skillful means" (upaya)—a tool to get you to the doorstep of direct awareness, rather than mistaking the tool for the destination itself.

Let's refine this understanding, because you are on exactly the right track.

Your Approach: Commentary as a "Bridge" or "Ignition"

This is a very effective way to practice. Think of mental commentary as:

· The Key that Starts the Car: You use it to turn the engine of mindfulness over. Once the engine is running (awareness is present), you don't keep turning the key. You drive (you rest in direct awareness).
· Training Wheels: It provides stability and confidence as you learn to balance. Once your balance (continuous awareness) is natural, the training wheels (commentary) become unnecessary and can even hold you back.
· A Nudge to a Drowsy Guard: When the "guard of mindfulness" has fallen asleep, a sharp, verbal nudge ("Hey, wake up! What's happening?") is far better than letting him sleep. The goal is for the guard to be wakeful, not to be constantly nudged.

Your insight that it helps "initiate" and "restart with more ease" is spot on. This is the pragmatic, functional use of thinking within a practice that ultimately aims to transcend it.

The Crucial Shift: From Commentary to Embodied Knowing

The key, which you've already grasped, is what happens after the initiation. The commentary creates a moment of space. In that space, you have a choice:

1. The Loop: To generate the next commentary, and the next, creating a chain of thought about the practice.
2. The Shift: To drop the words and plunge your attention into the raw, felt experience itself.

For example:

· Commentary (The Bridge): "There is tightness in my chest. This is a sensation. It is nature."
· The Shift (The Destination): You stop the internal monologue. Your awareness moves from the words to the actual, physical reality of the tightness—its texture, its temperature, its boundaries, its pulsating quality. You feel it without naming it. The understanding that "this is just a sensation arising and passing" becomes an embodied knowing, not a thought.

Your Key Realization: "Don't Rush the Realization"

This is the most profound part of your understanding. You are correct:

"the following stages of, realisation of nature and not me don't need to be rushed and forced, they should arise naturally from doing the mindfulness practice."

This is 100% aligned with U Tejaniya's teaching. He says the understanding (panna) grows naturally out of the awareness (sati), just as a fruit grows naturally from a healthy tree. You don't glue fruit to a tree; you water the roots and let the sun shine.

· Forcing: "I must see this as not me! Why can't I see it as not me?!" (This is striving, creating tension, and is all about "I").
· Natural Arising: You simply keep being aware of the anger. You notice it arose because of a condition (someone insulted you). You notice it changes intensity. You notice it makes you feel tense and unhappy. You notice it eventually fades. After observing this pattern countless times, the insight dawns on you: "This thing is not a permanent, controllable self. It comes and goes on its own. It is a natural process." This realization has weight and liberating power.

In conclusion: Please continue to use commentary as your helpful "road in." It's a wise and effective strategy. Trust the process. Use the tool skillfully, and be ready to set it down when it has done its job. The fact that you are aware of both its utility and its potential limitation shows tremendous mindfulness in itself.

You are practicing correctly. Keep going.