Ron's Stream-Entry Journal

Hi Owen and mumuwu - thanks for the congrats on the PhD - it took up a ton of effort and time but now I'm back and ready to put some energy into the meditation again.

I don't think I've experienced sub-jhanas or nanas yet, but then again I haven't looked for them or even thought about them. I'll keep an eye out for them as I go forward. Are there particulars that can help me to pick up on them? I do know that when I get into A&P there does seem to be a sort of "dip" in the middle of it that seems to repeat most times I go through it.

Today I sat for 30 minutes and again ran right up to equanimity within 10 minutes, remained there for the rest of the sit. I may have had a fruition but I'm not sure. It happened so quick though there was a tremble and calming feeling directly after. Definitely not path, but fun and interesting.

Ron, congratulations!

Thanks Chris - it's not enlightenment, but it sure does feel like I just got rid of a whole bunch of stress!

Congratulations on your PhD!
And thanks for writing your journal!

DOCTOR Ron!
Your self may not be permenant but that title just might be.

Thanks everyone for the well-wishes. Who says having goals doesn't pay off? However, I focused less energy on the practice while preparing for the dissertation defense and it is clear when I sit now. I move up the arc pretty slowly and it is almost as if I "stall" a little bit at A&P and need to go up to it a few times before I get beyond it. Once I do however, I invariably go on up to equanimity.

Anyway, not a whole lot has changed in the sits since my last post. However, off the cushion I'm noticing that there does seem to be an effect from 2nd path that is unexpected. I explained this to Chris (cmarti), Jamie (betawave) and Chris_TK over coffee this morning and got feedback that it does happen as part of the path. What is happening is that I'm getting a lot less tolerant of people's ego-trips. I was always a little irritated by that sort of thing, but it suddenly got much stronger and it has a different quality to it, like an instinctive reaction. It doesn't even have to be very bad either, even just a whiff of people being inauthentic and I have such a strong reaction to it.

This is new to me and I hope it dies down some. Has anyone else been through this sort of thing?

As I mentioned yesterday at our face to face meeting, it happened to me at about the stage you are in, Ron. It seemed to me at the time that it was an effect of being able to see my own crap so clearly and to deal with it more effectively -- to discount or ignore it. I thus had more insight into the crap others were doing and the result was less tolerance of it. LIke any new practice effect it is very prominent at first but fades over time.

Something new is happening but I'm not sure what it is...

On the cushion things have become very intense during equanimity, with a lot of bursts of energy. Sometimes it seems difficult to handle and I literally shake.

Off the cushion I've started having moments of some kind of deep contentment. It is difficult to describe, but I literally had the thought that everything was perfect just the way it is today while stuck in a traffic jam. Very unusual for me. There seems to be some sort of emotional pendulum swinging, and I just went from intolerance to total acceptance.

Not sure what to make of this.

The mood is beginning to stabilize and return to baseline. Not too cranky, not too lovey-dovey, just right. Not sure what that was all about but it really spun me around for a while.

On the cushion I am continuing to move up the arc to equanimity and experience fruitions on occasion. Nothing like path yet. However, I do feel the familiar anticipation and building up feeling that preceded path the past two times. When I sit for a while in equanimity I experience a strobing that I now know is a good indication that something is about to happen.

P.S. I'm packing up and getting ready to move to Hawaii this week - so my posts are going to be pretty irregular!

OK - in the hectic midst of the move, the impending arrival of a baby and starting a new job, I've had a pretty scattered practice and just no time to post. But in the hustle and bustle I'm learning a couple of things that might be of use when it comes to practice.

First lesson - 2nd gear is so precious in crazy situations like this. I found myself slipping into the witness when waiting in line to get on a plane, looking for offices while at my new job and apartment hunting. You can basically function in the concrete world and get simple tasks done while also keeping awareness focused on awareness itself. A huge help in coping with stress and keeping momentum.

Despite the improved 2nd gear practice, my sits have been pretty irregular and I've missed days. The result is interesting. I can still get to my cutting edge, which is equanimity, but what happens is that I sit and it is as if I run up to 3Cs and A&P and hit a rough spot where I slip back down the arc. This goes on three or four times until I get the "umph" to make it past A&P. When that happens I easily slide right on up to equanimity and rest there for the remainder of the sit. So, what I'm finding is that the analogy of "momentum" applies really well in my case. Having gone past these stages I can go through them again fairly easily, but I still need some sort of momentum to build up the energy to get through, and whatever that momentum is, it is built up with regular (i.e. daily) sitting.

The last lesson I'm learning from all this hectic stuff is a real appreciation for the Jhanas. Now that I can select one at will and pretty much rest there and cultivate it, I'm finding that just jumping right up to 4th Jhana and sitting there for a good twenty minutes or so really clears out the stress and other crap of a frenzied day. Also, if I cultivate jhana in the morning I can easily call it up throughout the day.

I dropped off the radar there for about a month while attending to a move to Hawaii and the birth of my first child (!). Now I'm getting ready to get back into regular reporting and have an interesting way to start...

I'm at SEATAC right now and just had a 3 hour flight during most of which I meditated, and think I may have had a path (3rd). But i'm not sure. It seemed more subtle than the previous two - there was a quick "blink-out" that occurred, but it seemed to happen above and behind me, and it was very very quick. Still, I felt a wave of bliss followed by an urge to giggle. Now I'm in a great mood.

Nothing seems different though and I'm not sure how to tell if that was a path or not. Does anyone have any advice?

see what happens.

ride the arc

watch for some new Jhanas at the end

listen to one of the guided tours (nick & kenneth or hamilton project).

Also, cute baby you have.

" Does anyone have any advice?"

Order a Bloody Mary. Best airplane drink there is!

Can you access the PL Jhanas or NS? That was my 3rd path diagnostic tool. See if you can ride the arc with us on the podcast or the videos, you might find you have some new toys.

Happy baby day! Congratulations, Ron.

As to the Paths, remember that the one-to-one correspondence wherein one Progress of Insight equals one Path attainment only works through the attainment of 2nd Path. After that, you may have any number of full cycles before attaining 3rd Path. I went through dozens, most of which seemed to be shooting blanks, although some of my students have taken far less time and fewer cycles to go from 2nd Path to 3rd. The only reliable way I know of to diagnose 3rd Path is to see that a yogi can consistently access nirodha samapatti or the Pure Land jhanas. I like to triangulate using both of those criteria before I feel confident that a yogi has the 3rd Path attainment. After 3rd Path, the rapid and copious cycling continues, with cycles lasting from about one to three weeks on average and occasionally speeding up to many cycles per day.

OH Yeah! Believe it or not I forgot about that shift in number of cycles to a path after 2nd. That would explain why nothing feels different. I don't know about NS or PL Jhanas yet, but I'll check them later and report back.

After a week with a newborn, the only attainment I wish for is a full night's sleep! Even if he is the cutest thing that ever wiggled around on the planet. Thanks for the well-wishes everyone - now, to take Chris' advice, I'm going to find that bloody mary now...

Just saw this, Ron. Congratulations!

Fantastic news Ron... Mostly on the baby but also for your practice

Thanks for the congrats guys - I'm really happy being a dad. I've got to say, it's a great fit for me.

Practice related stuff - I've had one more blink-out since I last posted. However, it certainly doesn't seem to be path and doesn't resolve anything. When I had it the equanimity stage was extremely vibratory, so much so that it seemed like everything was humming. Probably the strongest I've had it so far. High equanimity seems stronger now than it did when I first encountered it back at first path. Each time I sit the vibratory nature of everything becomes clearer and more "harmonized" if that makes sense. What I mean is that though the vibrations are perceived as extreme, I'm able to just go with them and groove on the strong quality rather than be overwhelmed.

Don't know if that makes any sense. I'm a little rusty explaining myself and need to get back into the habit. Luckily, I just got internet at my new place, so I should be posting more regularly now and following the community more.

It's great to be back!

Congratulations Ron and welcome back

How's Hawaii?!

Hawaii is amazing! Though I have to admit I've spent most of my time here going to work and changing diapers. As time goes on I'll see more of the island.

Update: I've been doing much more of the 2nd gear practice and have perceived a definate change in how strong it has become. I am able to stay in the witness much longer than before and getting into it takes no effort - just placing my attention on it does it. I am also seeing the "upstream from suffering" quality about it that Kenneth describes, especially when going through DN in the witness. I can watch the aches, fear, anxiety and all the rest with a calm dispassion.

Another observation: I've found that having a kid does wonders for metta meditation. I've been able to have very powerful metta sessions lately if I start off with visualizing the kid and moving out from there. Works well and very strong.

"Another observation: I've found that having a kid does wonders for metta meditation. I've been able to have very powerful metta sessions lately if I start off with visualizing the kid and moving out from there. Works well and very strong."

What a wonderful thing, being a parent!
Great to hear about your progress, Ron. Having a little often works as a great motivator to get this whole things done!
Keep up the great work on your practice and continue to enjoy your wonderful life! after all , that is the end goal of this whole thing!
with metta,
Jorge Freddy

I've been getting good at what I call "guerilla meditation", that is sneaking in a meditation session at work or while waiting for something or in between tasks.

Last night the baby was way fussy and wouldn't fall asleep without being held. Each time he fell asleep and I put him down, he woke right up and started to cry, so I was locked into a good long time of holding what Erin so aptly calls "the crib-midget". So I decided to see if I could sneek in a mediation while he snoozed in my arms. The result was interesting. I had a very strong meditation, but an odd thing is that the baby seemed to react a little to it. At first he relaxed, then as I got into DN territory he whined and squirmed, then as I got up into equanimity he became very still. It struck me that the way I was reacting to him, by holding and soothing and staying with him, was a pretty good metaphor for how to work with the stages themselves. Rather than ignore or trying to change them, the best way to move forward is to embrace them and treat them with something akin to metta. A warm comforting regard for them. It is a little weird to think of the stages as needing something from us, but they really do. They need our total attention and care.

So anyway, the meditation is about where it was last time I posted. No blink-outs or events have happened since, however, I move up the arc pretty swiftly these days and equanimity seems very strong. The vibrations are very intense and there is a lot of activity at the crown area.

Strangely, when I first came upon second path, I was eager to move right along to third. I had a tremendous amount of motivation. Something else is replacing it though. I'm feeling more relaxed about the path. Now I feel as though it will go at its own pace and I just need to keep meditating. No more effort than that is required. Whether I want it or not does not matter. I can't will it.

That's probably a gateway to third path

I led a meditation group at my job today. It was a funny thing how it happened. I mentioned that I meditate to some of the senior staff at work and when somebody who was supposed to lead a workshop on stress reduction bailed, they asked me to do meditation instead! So a lot of it was off the cuff.

I never tried to do anything like that before and I wish I could have taped it to get feedback from you guys. The crowd was made up of psychologists and neurologists and social workers, so I was pretty careful and tried my best.

The organizer at the end asked me if I wanted to do it again and I said yes, so I might become the resident meditation guy. Does anyone know of any good techniques for teaching meditation?