Ah, yes - makes sense. It's that extreme fear that throws me off. I expect the A&P to be pleasant, and I just posted somewhere:
A&P: energetic experiences good or bad, overwhelming or not. Rise in mood, fascination with things.
I just read the A&P sticky thread, and while there are some points that does not match up, such is the nature of the A&P.
I don't think that I have stream entry. Some things suggest I do, some things suggest I don't.
I've had many, many A&P's. So many, and so small, that I rarely pick up on them. This one was very big compared to the usual suspect. The one that I picked up on before this one, was simply noticing the two first piano notes of Patsy Clines Crazy.
This A&P being "bigger" than the usual ones might mean it was a next path A&P, but then again - as outlined in the A&P sticky thread - it might just be one more of them.
And I do understand that cycling is supposed to only happen post stream entry. Hmmm... I don't know if I agree with that
Edit:Beoman Claudiu Dragon Emu Fire Golem:
do you have stream entry? maybe it was A&P of the next path. cycling several times might be review, and Fear that you ended up in might be Fear of the next path.
On second thought, this might make a lot of sense. I especially noticed going through some strange muscle tensions and unpleasantness a la Three Characteristics, at least twice, and for the first time in meditation a very mild nausea, and that damn bastard Fear kept popping up. When writing the post yesterday, after the meditation, I saw twisted creatures in the reflection of the windows in the house, had a constant but weak feeling of fear, accompanied by a fear of being in Fear.
On waking up today, I am totally fine, mildly happy.
I find it strange that a meditation session purely dedicated to cultivating the jhanas ended up with me seemingly moving several times through the stages and also dumping me into Fear.