Thanks for the reply, Daniel.
Daniel M. Ingram:
A&P and Equanimity are both good guesses, but Dissolution shouldn't be written off either, as it can make people miss chimes and have a feeling of calm and the like, along with feelings of Equanimity (remember, it is 3rd vipassana jhana, and 3rd jhana characteristics are most strongly noticed on the path of insight during that ñana), and would come after vibratory stuff.
I'm curious about the vibratory stuff. I've never had a really clear sense of it as described here at DHO, in MCTB, and other places. I had been getting regular tingling in my hands, feet, face, and occasionally all over, but this is lessening, so perhaps I'm indeed leaving behind the A&P. I do pay attention closely to itches, tickles, pains, and they do eventually open up as various multiple irregular (but not necessarily vibrating) sensations. I have felt a whole-body 5-10Hz vibration from time to time, but then again, I've felt this on other occasions not during meditation. I also recently had been seeing a flashing strobe-light effect around the periphery of my vision with my eyes closed.
But, other than some occasional pulsations in my hands, some possible auditory strobing, and one case where I could clearly feel an in-breath as four individual sensations one after another with space between them, I've not clearly noticed what I'd call vibrations in sense perceptions. I've read everything I could on this, and still feel I'm missing something. I'm wondering if not seeing vibrations clearly will hinder me as I move past A&P.
Should I spend more time trying to "penetrate" sensations to get at vibrations? Or, does the fact that I've gotten this far mean that I'm actually noticing what I need to notice and don't need to worry about vibrations so much now?
Daniel M. Ingram:
The spacial stuff is interesting: sound more like Equanimity, but then I would add the quirk of the sub-ñanas: you can be in 2.4 (to use vipassana jhana.subjhana terms) aka 4.11 ( to use ñana.subñana terms) and have it feel like 4.2/11.4 respectively, and the reverse is true also, and there are even more possible sub-mimics if one wanted to get uber geeky, as many phases can look like many others.
I'll read up more on sub-nanas and fractals. Is it possible this is more related to samatha jhana, perhaps? I'm wondering if a lot of the body sensations, tingles, pleasures, rushes, floating feelings, vertigo, etc, are samatha jhana.
Daniel M. Ingram:
Big things:
1) Notice/note whatever is happening: space, attention, wonder about maps, speculation, equanimity, etc. Notice all the sensations that make up these experiences as they shift, present, fade, flux, and vanish, particularly vanish.
2) It doesn't matter so much were you are on the maps so long as you follow the advice in 1) above, as regardless of where you are, there is more to go, and 1) is the method by which the progress you seek happens.
3) Context: see what happens next and then after that, etc.: this is sometimes the only good way to tell.
After reading this, I sat and spent some time trying to pay attention to vanishings. I'd notice a sound or a physical sensation that would pass quickly. Then, I'd notice that a memory would immediately follow the event, and that memory would slowly fade from my mind until it was clearly gone. So, it's not the ending of the actual bare sensation itself, but the trace memory of it that I'd notice fading and vanishing from awareness. Is this what you mean by vanishings, or are you referring to the sensations of the bare event itself?
I'm wondering if, as Florian has mentioned elsewhere, I'm spending too much time looking for stuff, and not enough time looking at stuff. In any case, I'll keep going with 1, 2, and 3. If I am indeed currently passing through Dissolution, then this should be clear to me in short order.
Thanks again,
Andy
[edited 11/12 to add more detail to vibrations question above]