Upekkha100 said: “These bodily sensations only come during formal meditation right? “
It is possible that one could feel these bodily sensations outside formal meditation sessions. Formal sessions are helpful to get one’s mind to be focused. But if the javana power is strong enough one can feel the effects any time.
This is quite clear from the cases 1 through 3 you listed. It is the “inner feeling” or “how strongly one feels” that matters. This is why just reciting verses is not effective. One must understand the embedded idea and must feel it too.
The following is an extreme case, but conveys the idea: It is said that one could get into jhana in a split second, when one gets really good at it. And that can be done in any of the four postures: sitting, standing, walking, lying down.
– I don’t like to discuss these too much, because these could distract people from following the Path to attain magga phala, which is THE foremost goal. So, we should not focus on these “effects”.
– On the other hand, one MUST BE aware that “bodily sensations” COULD occur, and that those are natural.
A more mundane example: We have heard reports of people doing rather difficult tasks under unusual conditions. I once heard a report where a small-made woman lifted the side of a car to rescue her child. Of course, she was unable to repeat it under normal conditions.
Christian said: “Goosebumps are not related to the spiritual process”.
I am not sure what you mean by “spiritual processes”. There is nothing mystic about what upekkha is experiencing, as I explained with that last example. What upekkha is experiencing is not that different from what that lady was able to experience.
– Even jhana are not mystic processes. It is just that most of us are not aware of the full capabilities of the mind.
Furthermore, experiences are highly personal. What one person may experience may not be experienced by another person. That person may experience a different effect. Some people even experience “pressures”, “tingling sensations”, or even temporary discomforts; see, #15 of “Can Buddhist Meditation be Dangerous?“.
-Some people may not feel any “bodily feelings” and may get to magga phala. It is highly personal.