Being an isolated lay practitioner who is dependent on Buddhist magazines and books for guidance I have read seemingly conflicting statements. There are many accounts of enlightenment experiences which sound life changing. We read that we should practice "as though our heads were on fire". Then there are all the descriptions of the jhanas. I have been practicing for 15 years but I have never had an experience of oneness or emptiness. The author Pema Chodron also says she has never had one of those experiences yet she has more books out than John Grisham. She and other authors say those experiences of themselves are not necessarily indicative of depth of understanding. These authors infer that the steady practice of zazen grounded in the present moment result in the "walking in fog" situation where understanding is achieved incrementally rather than the explosive sudden awakening we are so fond of reading of. Has anyone in the Mindfulness and Meditation section here had some experience in this matter ?