“is some kind of vague idea of sensations not ‘touching’ me” & “3rd path seems to be about ironing out any creases in perception between you and emptiness”
It’s hard to tell exactly what you mean here, but this could be, exactly the thing that Daniel was warning me about, when he spoke about the anagami wanting to get into a state of pure emptiness. This “vague idea” that you’re discussing may be the exact place that you (and I) need to turn out attention and investigation, though it seems like you’re investigation is going well. It’ll be interesting to see when some other folks feel pretty confident that they have gotten 4th path, and we can all compare notes…
“I also don’t expect 4th path to make me rich (ha!) etc, I just expect what I experience now in terms of real life success to continue as it is (after all, it doesn’t actually involve my doing).”
Well, I’m sure you know as well as I do that certain things are unpredictable in life (enlightened or not). Economics, global politics, the unpredictability of health issues, etc. all are outside our sphere of influence. Though it’s likely that building up momentum in a particular area of life will yield results, we can’t completely bank on that, can we?
Again, these were all great points, all very thought-provoking. It's great to be able to have to this discussion in a public forum. I look forward to yours and others replies.