I would say door #3 the "?" is the right one here. It didn't seem like a Retrieval. I feel the Monk was the guide you asked for and he taught you to just sit back and "passively observe" all that was occurring with the flame.
Your whole scenario began with a focus on a "Fantasy/imaginary" scene. But it soon morphed into much more, as you have stated here.
I see you are really focused on the physical even while in the NP. It took a while until you got the idea to fly, thus losing your focus on this physical ruleset here. When I am in the NP, I begin as a point of consciousness and only use a "physical vessel" per se, if the scenario calls for one.
I lie back into the water and my first mental affirmation or declaration, I should say is "By my act of will I "RELEASE" my focus on my physical body". This is the same mental "command" I use nightly as well. I found that by losing my physical mindset focus right away, opens me up to much more unique experiences right off the bat.
I do have a few questions though. When looked behind and beside you to "ground" yourself there and take in more of the scene, did you "turn" your head or were you seeing from a 360 viewpoint? You mentioned that you had no "tactile" sensations earlier in the experience, did that change later on into it? Could you feel the heat of the flame? Did the flame scare or shock you?
When I use my "Happy Place" focus, which in case mine is a Tropical Island Paradise, I first look around. At that point I feel the sensation of moving my head. Then I will become aware that I am lying on the beach. I will then pick up some sand and watch as it sifts through my fingers. This will help me to "ground" myself in the scenario. I will do that for a few minutes until something lese catches my attention. That new occurrence will then pique my curiosity and quickly become some kind of new happening or experience. Sometimes along the line, movement becomes more smooth, as in floating. Once in awhile I will also spontaneously find myself above the beach, as in flying, taking in the overall scene from above.
I mentioned on another AP related Forum my Happy Place technique and another poster there, a Moderator named Novice, shared the way she sees this Tropical beach scenario. She always begins her journey on a cliff looking over the beach scene. I tried that a few times and it lead into a jettison to space experience. The times I attempted it, the scenario I was viewing got "hi-jacked" into being launched into the air like a rocket, viewing the planets, the Universe/s, the space warps, it really was a spectacle.
Your detail in recall is very good. I normally have to abort a experience, to be able to have such good recall. The longer the scenario goes, the more seemingly important points I forget.
You are doing fantastic. I look forward to hearing more from you!
