Thank you Jhanek. Very helpful.
I would like to talk about an experience I had which matches what you have described here. And if I may, change the discussion to the possibility of my own stream entry, as I had not previously considered myself attained to this degree.
On the way home from work some months ago I was sitting on the train ruminating so much about my career that I was in great stress. At this point in my life I was in the midst of good jhana practice. I remember seeing the suffering and all the craving and tension in my self, so I said to myself 'fuck it, I give up' 'I give up trying to be anything' 'I simply give up'. I did indeed give up in that moment a great attachment to my future and suddenly something came over me. My gaze fixed into a position in front of me, thoughts dropped away, and my body, mind and brain all just let go and relaxed to a very deep level. I felt a surge of ecstasy rise up through me. At the time I remember thinking that I had evoked the first jhana somehow. Stepping off the train, I walked home in a state of bliss, everything I looked at was sharp like an ultra HD TV and my only concern was to just close my eyes and be with my experience. I could have sat in the middle of street and closed my eyes and been absolutely fine. The bliss lasted for the remainder of the day and since then I have certainly not been plagued by the level of rumination or stress that preceded it. Additionally, I can close my eyes anywhere and feel jhana, I can bring about good first jhana in about 5-10 minutes anywhere, maybe quicker, just because the feeling of joy is always at my fingertips if I simply relax my body. This is also true of the tranquillity of second jhana, but this takes a little more work. Looking back I don't think I realised what happened. Before this experience I have had two or three other acute mystical experiences very similar to this, but this was certainly a more refined, powerful and definitive moment. Without being to grandiose I felt like I was glowing gold and the world I was looking at reflected this back to me. Since then my ego has reduce considerably, but it still causes me trouble from time to time. The samadhi experienced has lingered since, as if it is always there in the silence, and tuning into it fro a few seconds brings great release and satisfaction.
