Marcia Beloved I very much appreciate the sentiment knowing your advanced understanding of the practice and glad to hear from you. As you know when having these experiences it oftentimes no words to describe or convey what you witnessed. 

But to answer your question: Marcia Beloved wrote: I always thought it was the mind that is silenced, at which point the core is all alone to make unbiased notations and deductions.  Just wondering what you might think about that.

Dean Archer from what I could sense, it's like the core-self had reached a level that may require it to burst through or out of a layer of whatever substance that it may be contained in. Sounds crazy, but when hearing the popping sounds I felt still, no vibrations in the mind or what Patanjali referred to as “vrttis”. It was clear that the sounds were being produced independently as if there was a layer that was bubbling or dissolving from above.

And to your point, it is difficult to comprehend it because the core-self is in an environment where unbiased notations and deductions exist so how do you properly convey it to others? 

No doubt it is a conundrum. 

Again I appreciate your analysis, and I hope that I answered your question.

Namaste.