I got stream entry around 5am on Nov 1st. Waited a couple of days to post this in order to be sure because it seems too soon, and it seemed like a very small discontinuity.
Since then my mind has been noticeably different and calm. And had another more noticeable (more of a clonk, the first one was more of a blip) discontinuity yesterday. So I am pretty certain now.
Also my concentration is great, and can access the 4th Jhana directly.
Had been sitting around in equanimity for a bit, getting lots of good advice from the poster Tommy M, that helped me progress quickly. Also observing the 3Cs all the time, not just while sitting and having very few responsibilities other than meditation helps...
My Practice JournalSome equanimity based journal entries...
Noting the tingling, noting the dread, and noting pain when ever it comes to the center of attention. Attempting to mindful of atleast 1 of the 3 characteristics in each moment. There were a few lapses in noting here.
I find my concentration growing and entered into the first Jhana, which slowly turns into the second. I keep noting the breath and notice the unsatisfactory qualities of these states.
I try to notice the feelings of an observer and allow the mind to let them go. I enter a distinctly different Jhanic state where the sense of self is dissolved into sensations, and there is a feeling of spaciousness. Still noting, I get excited, mark the excitement. It stops. Speculate Note speculation. It stops.
Till finally back to Ra, Ra, Ra, Fa, Fa, Fa. I decide to stop noting for a bit. And bask in the tingling sensations of this new jhana (probably should have been paying attention to the 3 Cs of the jahna. I notice the sense of self has expanded into the large background. The jhana collpases. But I manager to enter into it a second time and again stopped noting to just bask in the jhana.
The senses seem interconnect but still distinct. What I mean is that I can still hear sounds, but they also distort the visual flickering that is going on.
If I pay attention to the flickering without reacting everything becomes more shaky. But I am unable to do so for a sustained period of time.
I wrote this after the first blip...
I was laying in bed not feeling sleepy at all, too much energy, so started meditating 'informally' just for fun. Started observing for a while. Get to the point where all senses are felt as vibrations, which I explained earlier.
This time I kept observing, in the way I used to observe the pleasurable sensation of the breath to get to the 1st jhana.
The vibrations intensified. Soon the field of holding the vibrations gets shakey. Keep observing.
A sudden dip followed by a calm arising. All those vibrations that were being built up are gone. The words anti-climatic fit. I fee a big sense of relief.
I don't know what it was but I know I feel calm and a sense of completion. My concentration is suddenly much better, not sure which concentration Jhanas I am getting in and out of but they are great. Something is different.
Going to wait a little bit before posting on DhO to make sure it is what happened, in the mean time going to continue my usual practise
The second clonk, I didn't write about when it happened...
I have been busy with something, and unable to formally meditate. But enjoying my ability to access any the 4th concentration jhana at anytime, and also just how at peace my mind seems. The no-self stuff I would have dismissed as nonsense last year, makes intuitive sense. The world just makes more sense.
Just paying attention to things as I drive home. Mini A&P to Dukkha to Equanimity. A couple of hours after getting home, another disconitnuity, a clonk. Much more noticeable than the blip. Very little effort, compared to how hard I have been trying over the past little bit.