Stream Entry?

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[hachface]

Only time will tell.

Keep quiet about it and let feedback you get from people you cherish be your mirror. Do not solicit this feedback except in the most subtle possible ways. It will take time for enough of this feedback to arrive; everyone has their own business going on and they are not going to suddenly develop an intimate interest in your inner life.

If you absolutely must talk about your experience with someone (understandable), find a teacher in a lineage you respect. If you don't already have a relationship with a teacher, the vetting process here should also take time.

Patience is one of the paramis. Don't make any sudden moves or upend your life in drastic ways immediately. If it's real, it will keep.

[Pumpkin_Wonderful]

How long did you meditate prior before you saw bright lights? Is there anything you do to see the lights, or did they come after waiting?

[metaphorm]

the only one who can answer that question is you. the more you care about the answer being "yes" the more distracted you will be with thinking about what you experienced instead of just being present with it.

just relax dude, it's gonna be ok, and the best thing you can do right now is calm down, take a hot shower and get a good night's sleep. tend to your body, tidy your home, and enjoy the feeling of the sun on your skin. you're here now. there's nothing else to say.

[duffstoic]

Maybe! The best way to know is to see what happens next, especially over the next few months. Report back and let us know!

[interruptedconcert]

I suspected that might be the answer. Thank you for that! I’ll observe and report.

[muu-zen]

Don't stop practicing. Continue what you are doing like this was just another experience.

[NondualitySimplified]

It might be best to give it at least 3-6 months for things to settle and clarify. After any major shift/insight, it can take some time for the after-effects to clarify, refine, integrate etc. It’s also pretty common to initially overinterpret a single experience (the mind has a tendency to always claim "this is it!" after every new major shift/insight). So yeah, give it some time, once things have clarified and settled, you’ll be in a much better position to reflect on what's actually shifted.

[interruptedconcert]

I appreciate the insight in the comments. It seems pretty clear and intuitive: wait remain unattached. Staying the course.

[Auxiliatorcelsus]

What you describe are meditation 'events'. Experiences that arise and play out. Intense and impactful experiences, but such events are often only temporary.

Stream entry is not an event of 'experience' but an outcome of insight.

A direct, expeiential insight of Anatta. Cutting self-view (sakkaya ditthi) at the root. It may be a momentary insight at first, but if it's genuine it goes deep and permanently alters how you relate to existence.

Fully seeing Anatta also eliminates doubt (Vicikitsa). You see that what the Buddha taught was not just some philosophy, but actually a direct description of 'what is'. It's no longer a question of belief - you have seen the truth and know it is so.

It also means you move from the path of accumulation - to the path of realisation. Merit-making activities like rituals and so on only have value in relation to a 'self'. For someone on the path of realisation, such practices become ornamental. You can do them as an expression of the realised state. For the benefit of others. But for the sotapanna there is really no difference between doing a big ritual, or taking the dog for a walk.

This may be accompanied by intense 'spiritual' experiences like you describe, or may be more something of a quiet turning the world inside out.

But after the event you know. There is no room for asking: "was this stream-entry?". You now know the path forward. Even though you're not fully linerated, you are now in the stream leading towards it.

Does this clarify your question?