Okay, I'm still trying to work this out. As much as I realize that I'm on whatever path I'm on, I feel deep enough into practice and interested enough in the prospect of attaining paths that I really want to figure out where I'm at. So bear with me as I recount it all. Checking MTCB resources such as those you gave me, reading other people's experiences with paths, etc... One problem I immediately notice is that even though this community is a massive resource compared to what it would be if there wasn't some sort of pragmatic, open-experience community, there are still simply too few data points to come to conclusions, especially since a lot of the people here are MTCB'ers, bringing me to this quote (still not sure who said it though): "You get what you optimize for".
So, someone can go through all the nanas, just doing pure noting, and besides the odd flavors, not really noticing particular states/stages, and especially not being able to understand the implications of them, hence, not having a good understanding of exactly why or how experience (or baseline experience) has changed. Thus, the hardcore yogi who goes on lots of retreats, gains powerful experience with going through the nanas in a concentrated, focused setting, and clearly sees the insight stages. They cultivate strong resolve to hit SE, even within a certain time frame (within a retreat, etc.). They hit SE, see a clear conk-out, and immediately recognize/utilize the afterglow energy to get into jhanas, master the stages of insight at that path, make resolutions, get repeat fruitions, etc... But then you have someone from a different tradition, practices with some kind of mindfulness, and then experiences some sort of shift or change, but doesn't know what it is, still doesn't see the fruitions or nanas or increased ability for jhana, and might not ever see them unless they make an effort to practice with those models/states/stages/attainments in mind.
My practice has always been fairly inconsistent, so this is a factor. I've never had a teacher, and my resources have been MTCB and discussion on this forum. Around the first few times when I started trying vipassana, I clearly crossed the A&P, with shaking, a vision of a radiant Buddha in the center of my vision, intense spinal shaking, flashing light, etc... Clearly the 1st path A&P event. I continued to cross the A&P in practice fairly consistently, but never with that intensity. Up to around when I think I hit SE, I was mainly doing balls-to-the-walls noting, trying to note as much as possible through the day, and building up momentum every so often, doing multiple 1hr+ sits and noting all day. However, I have probably done formal sits 1 out of 6 days since I've began my vipassana journey. I could clearly see myself crossing the A&P, clearly see dissolution, clearly see dark night stuff, and clearly see a release from that stuff into panoramic attention, with formless experiences occurring, mostly without the intention for this to happen. Up to the point of SE, I was obsessed with the idea of enlightenment, desirous of jhanas, and generally feeling like I wanted to go higher and higher, that going into these states and stages was the way for me to improve my life.
Next was stream entry, I think. Here's the post I made afterwards...
I've been practicing vipassana lately, with a combination of noting, just paying attention to whatever sensations are most obvious, and looking into mental states, including formless stuff that has come up in practice, in what seems to be high equanimity. The past few days up to today, there had been a lot of dizziness in equanimity, perhaps having to do with what felt like a massive gravity between my eyes, which sometimes got very intense during practice.
Today, I was doing some simple concentration on the breath, then switched to vipassana. I got into what seemed to be equanimity, and switched to trying to see the whole frame at once. I remember humming along, with the feeling of presence that I associate with basically anything I've ever done. There was this tiny moment though, less than a second long, where perception made a smooth, sudden, yet obvious shift. I've heard this next phrase used before, but I can't remember in what context. Maybe this was the context. In that small moment, it seemed like "no one was home". Then, I was just sitting there in an almost anticlimactic way, wondering what that sudden thing was. Then, this calm and happiness washed over me. It felt like a waft of pleasant perfume had risen up and suffused my body. It was a bit comparable to the body pleasure in 3rd jhana, except much more fine, bright, and simple. I didn't really know what it was, and I was about to go to a buddy's place, so I just figured I'd play with it later.
I got home not too long ago. I got in bed and started meditating. Within seconds, I got A&P stuff, except it was a lot less heavy and perhaps more pleasant. Each nana appeared discreet and separate from the surrounding nanas. Due to the speed of rising through the nanas and the concentration, I was able to see the transitions for the first time. I got up to EQ in about 10 minutes. I was hanging out there, with the intention in the back of my head to see a fruition. I was just cruising along, with the sense of presence. Then, there was the same type of sudden, shifted perspective that lasted less than a second. This one was a different species from the last. It was more shocking, like cold water to the attention. It was over right away. I didn't notice any blip or conk-out or anything like that. However, after, I sat there, anticlimactically again, just thinking, "what was that?". Then, the lightness and bliss suffused me again, like a balloon being slowly, but surely filled with helium.
A lot of the telltale stuff is for sure there. I still remember it clearly. Sitting in high EQ territory, hitting formless realms, sudden, silent and profound, quick event that strongly hints at no-self, an anticlimactic, blank feeling, then the feeling of bliss rising up in my body, automatically and without any intention, and a light, humorous feeling, like all the seriousness was gone, like I pulled the bathwater plug and drained out the waters that built up ever since that first A&P event. The next few days, I was able to go through insight stages very clearly and easily, with quick access to the A&P I noted the particular intensity of fear and re-observation, the most clear insight stages after the ones that correspond to jhanas. It took less than half an hour until EQ. From there, I definitely got the same sudden perspective shift with a blank slate and bliss rising up through me. I distinctly remember how my mind felt so wide, like there was a big hole in my head. I described it as a mix of the perspective of dissolution, and equanimity. I remember being fascinated with this for a month or two. It was clearly nothing like my previous baseline. If I closed my eyes, even when not thinking about practice or anything, there was a weird feeling of "gone". Now that I recall this detail, I can still see this phenomenon now, except it feels normal and not profound, which is probably normal since it became a baseline, I think. I lost a lot of drive to practice because I felt so fine with things, like getting to be an innocent, carefree child again. I indeed felt quite enlightened. Looking back, it was probably a mistake not to dive deeper into practice at that point, since review right after a fruition gives extra mental power. Whatever though, it felt great to be on vacation from always feeling like I was failing for not noting, feeling equanimious all the time, never getting upset and feeling super calm, not feeling like if I stopped practice, that I would fall back and lose my ability to concentrate and notice sensations. That all stayed without me practicing, so I can confidently say, yes, there was a change that outlasted any states or stages. Limitations were clear though, and I went through a lot of doubt. Why could I still get upset with my family? Why wasn't I suddenly good at everything? Why did my mind not feel so powerful that it might explode? Most importantly, why was I left with these events that seemed like fruitions but weren't seen very clearly? I look back now and see that these events would clearly leave me back at the beginning of the insight cycle, bring me back to mind and body then the A&P.
Fast forward a bit. I practiced on and off, always had moments of spontaneous mindfulness, had spontaneous (or not) jhanas arise, even when walking. Inclination towards rising through stages and states was strong. Sitting, then noticing phenomena, then noticing rising through nanas/jhanas... I guess this is really cycling. Cycles aren't so apparent, except the A&P, and dark night stuff. Equanimity appears without practice.
Then, after getting fascinated some more, and feeling like I could work things out further, I started to practice some more, and then came to the event described in the first post. So, my current theories are-
1. My previous SE claim was SE (fairly certain)
2. This event was a fruition of 1st path, and having not experienced it for awhile, the afterglow bliss was intense
3. This event was the A&P of 2nd path. I haven't found much on how these things play out from path to path, but I know 100% well that it was an A&P like nothing I have ever experienced, even after setting things up with jhana.
4. Hell, maybe it was 2nd path. Not so sure here, as I would assume fruitions, cycling, and the like would become increasingly clear. I don't know how powerful the 2nd path shift is compared to 1st path, but there was certainly the extremely lighthearted, lightbodied, humorous, release of vipassana tension which I've never really known to follow the A&P, although this feeling of lightness and humor certainly followed the SE event.
Random detail- About a week after this event, I remember some unusually strong DN stuff happening in daily life. I dealt with it fine, but it was incredibly strong and overpowering. Normally this happens after strong, sustained, momentous practice, but since pre-1st path, there hasn't even been a feeling of needing to get that kind of practice going, and there hasn't been any feeling of falling off the mindfulness train, losing access to easy jhanas and nanas, that kind of thing. There is obviousness though, that this practice is the real deal, no big deal, no holy deal, but the real deal nonetheless. There is a visceral feeling of what the path is and what it can change.
Random detail- I've definitely gotten the feeling described as skull-cap after (but never before) this event, where the skull feels like it's being crushed, like there's a bunch of psychic tension up in the cranium. I seem to remember this from KFD, and some path that it was associated with, but I can't find the thread.
Random detail- The watcher is obvious and easy to find. It's just the point at which one side seems to be watching the rest. It doesn't feel significant at all, but it's clearly different than pre-SE (or pre-event in my original post), where finding the watcher was some illusive goal of insight into no-self. Pre-path, trying to find the sense of self was like trying to find the hay in the haystack, so to speak. If I play with the sense of watcher, I get very weird perspectives, and after letting go of it, I'll continuously get these weird moments of feeling disconnected from reality and suddenly "becoming" part of the experience, like suddenly getting lucid or suddenly finding yourself somewhere and realizing it. I have no idea if this touches on the non-dual, but it sure seems like it might. I remember that a week or so after the event in the original post, I was experiencing quite some trouble looking at the sense of self, with a lot of suffering instantly and intensely resulting. I don't know what that was about but it was also within what seemed to be a dark night episode.
I used to feel very hesitant to post stuff about experience, especially interpretations of events and claims to attainment, but I'm glad I've done so, since at the least, it is useful for me to see when certain things happened, what other things happened, and whether or not things have permanently changed.
Ta-ta
(Still experiencing moments where the mind seems to slow down a lot, get very disconnected and floaty and big, daydreams take over, then there is that sudden, quick event, followed with a feeling of blank-ness (corresponding well to release-of-tension), followed by being in mind and body, or 1st jhana. Rise up to this thing, then back to the beginning.)