So you focus on a static point of tactile awareness as a means to keep you lucid for phasing?  Does it actually make a difference where the point of focus is?  I'm not really sure how the third eye chakra correlates to CNPEs.

For me it's not critical to look up at the third eye area with my physical eyes but to steadily focus on a point forward in the blackness when I feel myself starting to go to sleep. That keeps me awake enough (but not too awake) and works like a charm every time. I also try to put all my awareness in the center of my head which is another old meditation technique but it really does work and adds to the stability/lucidity.

If you want to experience an OOBE rather than a WILD (same thing in my book), I add the rope climbing technique (my favorite) or if I'm lazy, I gently lift my hand just a little under a sheet and when I don't feel the sheet I know my astral hand is free and I'm ready to completely lift out.

I have a WILD/OOBE nearly every morning using these techniques and the more you have, the easier it becomes. Enjoy.

Yes, I have no doubt LOA works and it's much like raising your vibration when you're in an OOBE (however in the astral you see the results immediately unlike in the physical there's manifestational time lag).

Since I've been applying the LOA the last decade EVERYTHING in my life has improved and I can honestly say there is nothing I want that I don't have (money, relationships, houses, cars, health, physical appearance, state of mind).

You'll even find people treat you differently than they treat others since you're putting out a vibe they respond to -- some believe you're getting the parallel reality 'version' of them that matches you (i.e. my mother is a nut-case with the rest of my siblings but perfectly charming and sane with me). You'll find that everything that happens in your life (not in the world, mind you, that's where most people get off-track) is a direct reflection of your state of mind.

I'm a big Abraham-Hicks fan and the youtube clips pretty much cover any topic. She mentioned the other day that people who experience OOBEs have a temporary lack of resistant thought (this is where meditation comes in) so they're able to experience and remember the bliss of sleep when we automatically merge back into non-physical source energy. For me this explains the delicious bliss I feel during an OOBE which is nearly impossible to achieve awake.

Fascinating stuff and I love hearing the possible scientific explanations behind our experiences.

I've never experienced drugs other than pot a few times but am fascinated with magic mushrooms and hope someone (come on Amsterdam) makes it legal and synthesizes the drug down into pill form so it's regulated/predictable. My friends who do shrooms often feel sick to their stomachs so I haven't tried them but feel I could totally handle whatever comes up emotionally because of all my OOBEs.

Ha, I never thought of someone accidentally taking their physical body through a window, good point.

I still feel a slight resistance when I go through walls/roofs even after years of doing this so it's probably just mental; there's a theory that we generate some mass when we're in the astral body so there could be some other reason for this.

To his original question about opening your eyes and waking up, this morning I was having trouble seeing so I opened my astral eyes slowly and didn't wake up. Interesting that sometimes I lapse back to old patterns (though thankfully I don't hear sounds/clanking/voices anymore).

Actually, I focus my physical eyes AND my awareness at the third eye. Here's a little more on how it's traditionally done from an online source:

"Concentrate on the middle of your forehead around the area which is a few centimeters above the middle of your eyes.

Keep your eyes closed and draw both of your eyes towards this center point of 3rd eye. I  mean just look upwards with your eyes closed . Focus your closed eyes at  20-25 degrees above just at the center of the forehead (at the place of third eye.) Now slowly at about two-second interval, start counting in your mind backward from one hundred to one (that is 100,99,98,97....and so on). As you do it, keep your eyes centered towards the third eye."

For more go to: http://www.meditationiseasy.com/mCorner/techniques/trataka.htm

Yes, and thanks for the link, this is one of the better explanations of the double slit experiment.

Rather than seeing my Mode 1 experiences as inaccurate you could be right that we just have greater awareness (i.e. linked into the mainframe vs. an individual computer) in this state so seeing myself from two different vantage points would be possible without the limitation of being an individual point of consciousness.

If you choose to think this way it's easier to accept the amazing things you experience in the astral because they're not being generated solely from your own consciousness but you're allowing yourself to access the larger You (which would explain why I can hear/see original symphonies, poems, movies which I know I don't have the talent to create on my own).

Jarrod, with a WILD (wake-induced lucid dream) you never lose consciousness so in that way it is similar to an OOBE. Next time you feel like you're ready to separate, don't try to but retain consciousness by focusing your vision at your third eye and you'll go directly to the 3D black world (just skipping the room phase).

I like "Conscious Non-Physical Experience" by the way. Sums it all up quite nicely. Getting it down to one word would be ideal so the terms phasing, projecting, going astral work too.

This morning while projecting from lying on my side I saw my phantom arm lift and then the view switched so that I saw the phantom arm lifting from my body from an opposite angle across the room (which means I was still in my body when I saw the across the room view which wouldn't be possible).

More and more I'm thinking that anything I'm seeing in Mode 1 or any mode isn't reality but my brain trying to make sense of the separation process. This explains why sometimes I don't see myself lying in bed but just my husband, plus other reality 'errors'.

I only have persistent "transitional" places. One is flying through puffy white clouds and the other is flying through a starry outer space sky. They are my gateways to other planes/scenes and when I feel the most joyous and free.

It's a fun idea to build a place though. That'll be my goal next time I'm out. Think I'll take the villa from the Lake Como scene of "What Dreams May Come" as my template.

Yes, agree, don't wait till you can see, just fly out through where you would guess is the closest window ASAP.

Also, as far as going up through the roof, I've had years of difficulty going that way and sometimes get stuck in the rafters (probably a mental block but I've heard similar experiences from other people) so head for a window or door and if you have difficulty getting through, put your hand forward superman style which seems to help.

 

I had a series of unusually long OOBEs this AM of almost an hour. A person with a nice energy around her named Laura kept showing up and claimed she was a guide. I think I was in F3 because she and the environment didn't shapeshift and I had no trouble retaining lucidity.

I asked her if she had any advice about future activities and she said she wasn't allowed to tell me the future but after I pressed her she said it would be related to food. Since I have a background in film production I wondered if it would be a food-related TV show and then I found myself with a director and producer I used to work with and they had a script called "Real People, Real Food" and we start talking about pre-production issues.

While I have no plans to get back into production (unless it's a documentary on altered states) it was an interesting thought-provoking session and one where I got an intelligent response where usually dream characters don't have very thoughtful answers.

So long story short, ask away and upon waking if the answer seems valid, write it down or ponder it further. If it's negative or nonsensical, disregard.

Things that keep me lucid are:

. looking at my hands (old trick) and rubbing them together or pinching myself
. looking down to see what I'm wearing (amazing to see the variety)
. spinning in circles really does work (but I rarely do it)
. having a conversation with whomever is there and really focusing on them
. looking for a window and flying through it takes you to another locale (and seems to recharge my lucidity)
. singing or chanting while flying really amps up the whole experience (could be because I'm breathing more deeply)
. having an agenda helps: before phasing I come up with questions or locations since you lose some awareness/judgment after
. avoid getting caught up in sexual escapades because it's distracting (though fun occasionally)

OK, I listened to this Buhlman segment but I'm still not convinced they are different (however, I tend to have WILDs so there may be a different dynamic with those because I'm not waking up within the dream, I never lose consciousness like an OOBE).

I listened to Buhlman yesterday in another video and he said that when we dream (any kind of dream) we separate from the physical body into an astral body so my natural conclusion is all these experiences are OOB (however, I'm open to the idea that we generate an etheric body from the astral body that's even finer as we go into these different dimensions but that can still be done from the classic OOB or WILD state).

It's splitting hairs and I'm not sure why I keep responding to this question - probably because I thought the subject line was too provocative not to.

Works nearly every time for me after I've had at least 5 hours of sleep:

. lie on your back and focus your closed eyes and inner awareness at the third eye area and clear your mind

. breathe deeply, relax and really HOLD your mind blank by concentrating with your closed eyes focused at a point in the distance (if you stop looking forward you can lapse into normal sleep)

. stay calm with an attitude of joyous expectation and inner strength (i.e. martial artist - calm but powerful with nothing to fear)

. do the rope climbing technique and within 10-60 seconds, I'm out

If you just want to meditate and not go OOB, eliminate the last step.

I've had hundreds of both and in my opinion they are the same. I wonder if many of these authors have experience with both or are just parroting what has been said before.

If you have a wake-induced lucid dream it's identical to an OOBE except you skip the room phase and may feel like you're sinking instead of rising. With both you may hear a click/pop and (for the first few years) the vibrations and odd sounds in the room.

Even Buhlman thinks our astral body separates from the physical when we sleep (as I do to) so in effect all dreaming states are OOB, we just bring our waking consciousness with us when we're having a LD or OOBE.

Rolling out using my shoulders (or sitting up) works for me too but I can be not that close to having an OOBE and still get one with the Rope Climbing technique.

As far as your low ceiling, it's not a factor since your consciousness/astral body doesn't need the room so if you believe that it will be easier. Also, as soon as you lift out I'd recommend flying sideways and out through a window since staying near your body can wake you up or suck you back in. For some reason heading sideways always works better for me than going straight up.

My guess is that it's your higher self/guides or even someone from a past life sending you pure unconditional love and acceptance and suggesting you love yourself first since that is what matters most. As soon as you stop expecting others to be responsible for your happiness is when you start attracting those that do (ironically enough).

I would recommend listening to all the Abraham-Hicks recordings you can handle to jump start you out of your depression and improve the the relationship between and you and you. Here's one of the better ones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCjsgNWVJQQ&feature=related

Animal totems (in particular, hummingbirds, wolves, bats) have recently been showing up in my borderland (between waking and sleeping) world so it's always helpful to look online for their symbology and see if anything rings a bell.

Both owls and ravens are considered messengers, guardians and symbols of wisdom and magic. Here's what I found for the raven:

"There is a lot of mythology surrounding crows and ravens.  For instance in Greek mythology, Apollo instructed a crow to watch over his pregnant lover.  In this myth, crows were white.  But when the crow brings Apollo bad tidings about his lover, he turns the crow’s feathers black.  Good or bad, crows and ravens are represented as guards or sentinels.  Ravens are said to keep guard over the Tower of London in England.  As the legend goes, should the ravens ever leave the grounds, the Tower will fall.  Ravens still inhabit the Tower to this day.  This brings in an element of magic to these corvids, and magic is something ravens are strongly associated with."

Your going in a gully to a tunnel is a classic 'getting into your subconscious' symbol.

Here's what I found on the white dragon.  "White is associated with hope and purity. Though dragons have traditionally been considered malevolent in the Western world, Asian dragons (especially white ones) are associated with benevolence, healing, and sometimes even bringing the rain. They were a symbol of royalty, and both they and their images were considered to bring luck."

And don't worry you have a tumor! It's a gift to have the occasional vision and there's so much going on in this one have fun interpreting it for awhile.

Oops, sorry to have questioned the topic and open up this can of worms - I didn't realize it was in the 'religion' section. Since I grew up as a fundamentalist in a particularly nutty religion (Seventh Day Adventists) I'm perhaps more sensitive to this since I threw off their self-limiting beliefs. While not an atheist, Ricky Gervais pretty much mirrors my thoughts on religion:

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/12/19/a-holiday-message-from-ricky-gervais-why-im-an-atheist/

Why do these Jesus-related posts keep appearing on a forum that has nothing to do with religion? In fact, I would think most people interested in astral projection would be more open-minded/spiritual not religious or downright agnostic but I could be wrong.

Yes, there's a school of thought that we're projecting it all even in our waking state so who's to say what's external or internal. I'm noticing more bleed throughs from other dimensions and uncanny instant manifestations in my waking life so it's not out of the question.

Perhaps it's just part of the physical game to have contrast and 'others' to play with because when you think about it the alternative would be pretty boring.

I believe we're physical extensions of Source Energy/God/All That Is and that our higher self is the larger part of us that we have access to when we're when we're in a non-resistant state (meditation, OOBEs, bliss).

I think guides are individuated aspects of this higher self or part of our soul group that we spring from and in my experience have distinct personalities (two intuitives have independently come up with the history and name of mine that I knew from a past life and his 'bio' was been given to me in written form while in an OOBE).

In addition to our life-long guide(s), we may attract through the law of attraction specialized guides to help us with whatever we are choosing to focus on at the time.  Some people see these as ascended masters, angels, animal totems but many believe it's the same nonphysical energy that is translated by our consciousness in forms our particular culture is comfortable with. It's a wonderful resource to have and since we have free will, something we can access if we ask for it.

If you're not comfortable with having a 'social worker' as you call it, they'll take more of a backseat and just nudge you when you need it in case you are getting on the wrong track (this happens with me when I'm OOB or border state between waking and sleep when I get a quick audible or visual message that is loud and vivid but always positive and affectionate).

Yes, I think unconsciousness has its benefits so wouldn't necessarily want to be conscious all night, however, it would be nice to have the option.

Some of my most profound experiences have come from what has happened in the 3D black world and I think it's because my dreaming/REM mind is in neutral and I'm able to get clearer images and audibles from my higher self/guides that would otherwise be polluted or mis-interpreted by my dreaming, distracted mind.

Esther Hicks recently had a youtube clip from her "Dreams" CD that said people who have OOBEs have learned to sleep without resistant thought (which is the same as being in a true meditative witnessing state) so I think there's a connection between the two for sure.

Yes, I like the magnet analogy - it takes real effort not to lose consciousness, to start normal dreaming or wake up. For some reason when I get to F3 this gets easier for me because I don't have as much dream interference and everything is more stable and vivid.

As far as meditation, the king of meditation Ken Wilber wrote a book "One Taste" where he describes his sleep as being conscious or lucid dreaming all night. During the non-REM periods he has what the Tibetans call "the clear light of bliss" which I think is similar to what we call our 3D black world. He and other monks who've mastered this likely can because they've trained their minds over time (he says 20 years). 

Here's a youTube clip of Ken's brain waves when he meditates and how he can pretty much flatline everything them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFFMtq5g8N4

I usually have them when my husband gets up in the morning so I know what time it is then and when I wake up so have a 'real time' measuring stick although I agree, usually 10-15 minutes is the norm.