Just thougth I would add a little random practice note:

Tons of complex and intricate explorations of morality, ethics, magick, energetics, and what is best to do with complex emotional energies recently, particarly my vajra nature, which is a mixed blessing. Still listening to the Dhammapada/Udana/Itivuttaka (key texts from the Khuddaka Nikaya) audiobook and really enjoying it.

Then, out of the blue, this morning, after working the night shift in the pediatric emergency department and being moderately exhausted from way too much work recently and a long and buy night, and when trying to get sleep before the night shift tonight, suddenly this heavy, retreat-level jhana just showed up spontaneously. Bliss pervaded things, clearing things out, pushing through old patterns of habitual tension, filling the body with a great degree of clear stability, then cooled down, then got wide and very equanimous, then finally this very well-defined square of uniform white on a black field with high-definition resolution showed up, then it devolved into skulls and the like, then fell asleep. I awoke some hours later after strange dreams of magick and flying and finally dozed a bit again, then, right when my alarm went of, this pattern of round spinning mandalas that itself was spinning in the opposite direction of the round spinning mandalas within the pattern showed up and caused a no-self door Fruition, which was very odd, as it spun in the vertical plane in front of me and took everything out that way, rathern than spinning in some way that involved this side in any obvious way, so that was strange. I don't typically see mandala patterns like that, and never in a Fruition entrance: meaning unclear, but I took it as a good sign somehow. No further obvious changes afterwards: just working and going along tonight.

Working too hard, as usual. Lots to do when not working. It is a rich, rewarding, but complex life these days.

Happy Holidays, everyone, and Happy New Year,

Daniel

I'll have what he's having ;)

Daniel M. Ingram:

"...I awoke some hours later after strange dreams of magick and flying and finally dozed a bit again, then, right when my alarm went of, this pattern of round spinning mandalas that itself was spinning in the opposite direction of the round spinning mandalas within the pattern showed up and caused a no-self door Fruition, which was very odd, as it spun in the vertical plane in front of me and took everything out that way, rathern than spinning in some way that involved this side in any obvious way, so that was strange. I don't typically see mandala patterns like that, and never in a Fruition entrance: meaning unclear..."


Christmas morning visions of dancing suger-plum fairies?

Most of that sounds plausible from my experience, but wonder about the "Fruition" aspects; probably reflecting limitation in my experience.

Anyway, perhaps you could offer a bit more of phenomenological description of fruition entrance, e.g. as in this instance? (Probably all in MCTB somewhere, but that might take hours or days to research.)

In lieu of full-fledged, with solid after-effects, experiences on the order of "path" or "fruition" moments, I've had inklings, a certain confidence in the possibility, just around the corner somewhere. My current model is that a "path" moment reflects the actual change in the mind, training having gradually reshaped the neural pathways and suddenly a whole new route is established; and the "fruition" as the mind then taking that new route out for a spin?

The Three Doors!

Yeah!

Fruition is the vanising into Nibbana for a moment. It happens one moment after Path is attained the first time for each level, then it occurs at the culmination of Review cycles later on for those with that skill.

Happy New Year!

This is way above my pay grade, but sounds like you're having fun  

Happy new years in any case and thanks for all the work you've put into the book, this site and everything else!

I'm grateful that we can become familiar with the dharma stories/paths of others and then follow new developments in real-time (in the Fire Kasina Retreat didn't you also have an unusual Fruition: blissful, on Tantric images?). I hope these experiences pan out into new lessons/models that can benefit some of us here. Awaiting the new installments earnestly.

Can you go into the details of what your mandalas look like? I've been having a similar experience of waking up and seeing spinning patterns and I'd like to compare

My first two fruitions featured extremely colorful and intricate mandalas just before the cessation/entry to nibbana occurred. I wonder if there's more to this. I've never had one like that again and I've never thought there might be some kind of information contained in the symbols that flashed into my mind at those moments.

Any thoughts on a possible meaning behind the pre-cessation seeing of mandalas, Daniel?

There were about 10 or so of them and they rotated at a sufficient clip that I am unable to remember the specific symbols and patterns that made them all up, so I am not sure, but still, the fact of mandalas alone seemed somehow significant, and I do wish I could remember the find points.