It is a good breakthrough. Your insight is more on second stanza. Both stanzas must be thorough.

You may want to reread:

And

From AtR guide:

“First emptying of self/Self does not necessarily lead to illusion-like experience of reality. It does however allows experience to become vivid, luminous, direct and non-dual… ...First emptying may also lead a practitioner to be attached to an 'objective' world or turns physical. The 'dualistic' tendency will resurface after a period of few months so it is advisable to monitor one's progress for a few months.” - John Tan, 2012, Advice for Taiyaki https://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.com/.../advice-for...

"AF is part of the deviation (Soh: of Phase 5) looking into purely physical flesh and blood of pure experience... Some went into details some does not" - John Tan, 2013

John Tan has undergone a phase initially after his realization of anatta where he became very “physical”.

“Also John Tan told me a few times many years ago when I met him privately that he has gone through the Actual Freedom phase by his own practice without having read about actual freedom. That is, during his earlier years in anatta, he has gone through a phase where everything is very physical, and there was a sense that he was no different from cats and dogs and trees, physically. It even led to a sense of despair or existential angst. Interestingly, I later found out that AF Richard has also went through a period of existential angst in his earlier years after attaining AF, but I am not sure if it is the same thing. However, Richard often talks about the cats, dogs, trees, carrots being of the same stuff as his [physical] existence as the body only (not exact words but something like that), which was similar to how John Tan described that period for him.

Personally I don't recall having been stuck in that condition (extremely physical and existential angst), or even if I had it was not for long, perhaps due to the aid of right view (emptiness + dependent origination). My guess is that (and John Tan would agree) not everyone will go through sidetracks like AF Richard or U.G. Krishnamurti after anatta. E.g. Kyle's insight of anatta was followed shortly with realization of emptiness due to the help of right view.” - Soh, 2019

“(Is your experience now) more physical or like awareness become like a gust of wind or reflection, or holographic?” - John Tan, 2013

“Yes and very good. There is a very big difference between substantialist non-dual of One-Mind and what you said. In this experience, there is no background reality. It is not about the background Awareness but rather the foreground aggregates that you are talking about - A thought. There is just aggregates that are like foams, bubbles, ethereal having all the same taste without substantiality and implicitly non-dual. No sense of body, mind and the world, nothing actual or truly there.

Before, when insight of anatta first arose, you still risk the danger of seeing the physical as inherent and truly existing. Therefore there is a period that you are lost, unsure and AF (Actual Freedom) seems appealing - a sign that you have not extended the insight of emptiness to phenomena though you kept saying twofold emptiness.

At present you focus on the following:

1. When there is no cold or heat (Soh: See glossary at the bottom of the article)

2. Total exertion

For 1, it is not difficult to understand now but for 2, you have not directly or adequately replace the 'Self/self' with the interdependence of whatever arises.” - John Tan, 06/12/2011 E-mail

“André, to me anatta is a very specific and definite phase of seeing through the background self/Self quite thoroughly at least in the waking state but there is a tendency that experience can somehow turn very "physical, sense-based and causal" for me.

Every experience is direct, gapless, non-dual, non-conceptual and radiance even total exertion is present, just not empty. Almost equivalent to Actual Freedom as narrated by Richard. In fact I find Richard's description very much my version of arahat .

For Kyle, due to his view in emptiness, the experiential insight of anatta not only pierce through the self/Self but also triggered the arising insight of emptiness. However this may not be true (imo) in most cases if one's view isn't firmly established. For me when I first encountered the chariot analogy, there is an immediate and intuitive recognition that it is referring to anatta but I am unable to grasp the essence of the phrase "emptiness and non-arisen" there and then.

In other words, in addition to self immolation, a specific insight must arise, it is the prajna that clearly sees through the referent is empty and non-arisen. So anatta I would say is about severing the self/Self whereas phase 6 is the blossoming of this specific insight. Extending this insight from self to phenomena, from conventions to magical appearances is then a natural progression.

As for first bhumi (Soh: related: [insight] [buddhism] A reconsideration of the meaning of "Stream-Entry" considering the data points of both pragmatic Dharma and traditional Buddhism , Definition of First Bhumi) I am seriously not sure and never thought of it.

I can only say if we practice long enough, there is a frequent occurrence of a clear, clean and pure spring of joy that emerges from nowhere, floating like cloud. A very helpful antidote for negative emotions.

Even the experience of drinking water is like experiencing a clean and pure stream of luminous sensations in zero dimension similar to a mirage flowing spring water floating in the air.” - John Tan in the Awakening to Reality Discussion Group, 2019, John wrote this maybe a month or two before a breakthrough that Soh had which led to the writing “The Magical Fairytale-like Wonderland and Paradise of this Verdant Earth Free from Affective Emotions, Reactions and Sufferings”

“Soh: as Richard said, the out of control experience can happen even before anatta (the complete dissolution of self/Self), that is why the "doer" dissolves but the "be-er" is still there, but in actual freedom both dissolves

John Tan: Quite acute insight and thorough for the state no mind. Means "being" is also deconstructed.”