I decided to make a new thread as a follow-up to this one:
http://dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/345535 The question I'll raise follows naturally from there, so reading that might be helpful for answering this one .
I'm certain, now, that the Dark Night has faded. What I think did it was to pay attention to the very sensation of being in the Dark Night, and the associated sensations of misery, pain etc.
And just like that, it was gone. What came after, and is still here, is something that I suspect may be equanimity. This is what I want your opinions on.
Right now, everything feels like it's going correctly. There's a sort of constant awareness of pain, physical as well as mental, but it feels curiously numb. "It's just suffering", is the sensation I seem to be responding to it with. From re-observation, there's been an increase in awareness. As I mentioned, these sensations are 'constant' (I seem to be perceiving breaks in them, but they keep coming back).
In other areas, there are also tangible shifts. Morality feels a lot easier and more natural. There isn't too much aversion from doing stuff, and there's an acceptance that even if I do my best, I might wind up getting it wrong (e.g. I may tell a lie unintentionally, I may mess up my understanding of the stages of insight, et cetera). Concentration seems to be boosted, too. The vibratory experiences that are talked a about often in regards to insight training seem to be fluctuating in and out of awareness at times.
Does this sound like equanimity? Are there things I should look out for that might verify it further? Are there things I should look out for (aside from stopping to practice. I know that I should go on, and I'm actively doing that), and are there things I should focus on now?
I may be going at this with a bit too much enthusiasm (if there is such a thing), and I apologize if I'm asking questions with obvious answers.
Thank y'all in advance once again.