This stage – ‘A&P’ tends to be very impressive.
The applied and sustained effort of attention begin to drop away,
and meditation seems to take on a life of its own, and has
the basic attentional phase quality of having
maximum clarity at the center of attention,
this stage is noted for perceiving things clearly wherever the attention is directed.
In fact,
this is the stage where
clarity of what is going on in the center of attention is greatest.
Some people seemingly spontaneously get into this territory early in life
with no meditative training
and some people who have done decades of meditation practice
never get to this stage.
In the early part of this stage,
the meditator’s mind accelerates more and more,
and reality begins to be perceived as particles or
fine vibrations of mind and matter,
each arising and vanishing utterly at tremendous speed.
Reality may be perceived directly with great clarity;
great bliss, rapture, equanimity, mindfulness, concentration,
and other positive qualities arise.
Bright lights tend to arise for the meditator,
sometimes first as jewel-tone sparkles and then as a bright white light
(“I have seen the light!”).
This stage is a common time for first-time hyper-lucid dreaming,
and out-of-body experiences
As this stage deepens and matures,
meditators let go of even the high levels of clarity and
the other strong factors of meditation,
perceiving even these to arise and pass as just fluxing sensations
and/or vibrations,
to not satisfy, and not to be self.
Wild “kundalini” phenomena are very common at this point,
including powerful physical shaking and releases, explosions of consciousness
like a fireworks display or a tornado, visions, and especially vortices of powerful fine “electrical” vibrations blasting up or down the spinal column
and/or between the ears.
Those who have crossed the A&P event have stood on the ragged edge of reality
and the mind for just an instant, and some will feel certain that
awakening is possible.
~~~
The A&P is a major milestone on the path of insight.
It is also a point of no return.
Once begun, better to finish!”
as they are now too far into this to ever really go back.
Until they complete this progress of insight,
they are “on the ride”, and may begin to feel that
the dharma is now doing them rather than the other way around.
~~~
View on YouTube with inspiring Hawaiian Sailing Photos
From my
SeaPasana
Arising and Passing Away – 4th Insight Stage
In the Hawaiian slack key of D Wahine.
The Progress of Insight
Inspired by Daniel Ingram’s book Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha,
With this section “The progress of Insight”
Inspired by Mahasi Sayadaw
