If you want an effective meditation practice, you need to know these essentials:

• Observation of Facts
• Consciousness (Soul, Buddha nature, Essence, Awareness, Perception)
• The Tree of Life (Kabbalah), the Wheel of Becoming (Bhavachakra), and the many dimensions of nature
• Levels of spiritual instruction (Sutrayana, Mahayana, Tantrayana)
• Concentration, Imagination, Liberation (Shamatha, Vipashyana, Samadhi / Calm Abiding and Insight)
• Three Higher Trainings: Ethics, Meditation, Profound Wisdom (Sila, Samadhi, Prajna)