Pardon me, Andrew and Andy, for being so wordy or “windy” with my question on December 15.
Part of the reason I worded the question in the way I did, was that I wanted the “meditation process” part of the question to be articulated as fully as possible; as opposed to (the question) being perceived in a rather linear or one dimensional way.
On the flip side, in the “cutting-down” spirit of the Via Negativa, the “unflappability” of the Eight Worldly Dharmas, and the inherent emptiness of all things and concerns (not to resort to spiritual bypassing or nihilism in any sense); here is my reworded question, as follows:
“Given the following principle and idea: 1-Become your own meditation instructor. 2-The “stickiness” of the seventh consciousness; I have a question regarding thought related mental contractions evolving to the mind, literally, ‘shutting-down’ or going unconscious during the 3rd phase of open-awareness meditation (formless mindfulness or ‘awareness-as’). That is, with potential ego-based fears occurring during formless mindfulness; is it appropriate to revert back to previous open awareness steps; i.e., mindfulness of form and mind; and stabilize there, before embarking (more) with formless mindfulness?”