magicmac2000:
2 1/2 weeks ago focus 10 was no problem. I had intense vibrations & pulsing every day for several days. Then it just went away. It hasn't been nearly as intense lately.

Major Tom:
Do you OBE from focus 10, or pretty much shoot for 12 or higher after you get there?

Last night I seemed to skip it and went straight to 12. I was drifting off and suddenly I was lying in a bed in a dimly lit 1970's hotel room. It had dark red wallpaper and there was a old, dirty lamp attached to the wall right above my head giving off a pale yellow light. I laid there looking at it for a little bit, and then I phased back, but was surprised that the lamp left an after image in my mind just like when looking into a real lamp.

That's awesome. Monroe said that cars can represent our body.

This experience is beyond words which is why I'm just now bringing it up. I've never heard or read of a similar experience, but I'm inexperienced at this kind of thing too.

Several months ago I had an experience that is what brought me back to OBE practice:

I found myself catapulted into some strange incomprehensible world. I was a single point of consciousness that was attached to the end of a "ripple" on this HUGE infinite "curtain". I was totally stationary. Projected on my "ripple" of this "curtain" was my entire life from birth until present. But it was as though all of it was happening before me. I felt 100% at that moment like that state of existence was where I "really" am and that I've been "dreaming" the physical life from there. I sensed that my sister was the "ripple" next to me, and a cousin on the other side. Where our "ripples" connected is where our lives overlaid in the physical. It was devastating to see that my physical life wasn't real like I thought it was. This to me seems like what is referred to as "maya" (illusion). The whole experience probably lasted about 30 seconds, however when I was there, time was infinite. It was not "enlightening" as much as horribly terrifying. Over the next couple weeks, I had this feeling as though at any second I could wake up to an entirely different existence as a totally different person. After the depression went away I decided I was going to figure out what the hell this world is, and went straight to OBE exercises.

I still have no idea what happened, but I guess it was some kind of overlay experience. Maybe I've seen The Matrix too many times. Maybe it was just too profound an experience for my inexperienced self to understand, so it was filtered though my mind in that way.

I just thought I would share since it was a crazy astral experience.

...so does this mean there really are people watching us from the tv!? AHHHHHHHH!!

Or people are constantly watching us on TV! Maybe Earth is just a TV show.

Anyways, I think that the REBAL is an exercise to prove to yourself that YOU are in control of your energy and the flow of it (and the perception of it). Even though Frank says energy work isn't needed, it seems that that's what Monroe has in mind. To make your energy gradually resonate at a higher vibrational level. As you do these exercises over time, your vibrations slowly start to raise naturally.

I think that the energy conversion box has worked for me over time. After putting the things that bother me into it twice a day over a long period, it starts to work on my subconscious to where those things aren't as bothersome or worrisome. I know that many aspects of my outer life have been changing because I'm losing certain fears.

Sometimes I wonder if I have a psychological issue where I intentionally don't allow myself to succeed - like I'm afraid of the change. I've spent so long trying it's like that's what my psyche has accepted as the norm and doesn't want to move on.

mactombs - Maybe you can try putting this into some sort of mental image that you can put in the energy conversion box. I think the name is what it seems: To Convert negative Energy into positive.

I've heard sounds lots of times while doing OBE exercises, most of the time loud pops, like gunshots. But last night I heard, plain as day, a DJ scratch and cut. That was a new one.

have you ever tried neutralizing your food by the laying on of hands. it's cheaper than organic.  easiest to do as soon as you get home and everything in still in the bags. just lay your hands over the groceries and ramble on about how, "i neutralize all poisons and carcinogens in this food. i release all negative and disturbing vibrations and fill this food with positive, healthy energy that is of benefit to me"...etc. of course the intention has to be behind it, but i think you'd be impressed with the effects (if you can stick with it). also remember to give it another little go just before sitting down to eat...i think it's called "grace" in some circles?!?

That's a neat idea, and wouldn't hurt to try. I also remember when reading about NEW exercises, Robert Bruce said that you can stimulate energy centers in your mouth and tongue to fully absorb the good energies out of foods. He even went as far to say that you can live on Pizza and Beer that way (But I wouldn't recommend trying it).

Eating healthy is a hard thing to do in the U.S.  At my local grocery stores, organic foods are expensive. Like if you look at the packaged salad: Regular iceberg lettuce salad is $1.99, but organic romaine is $4.29. I try to eat healthy, but I'm on a budget too.

I've pretty much cut out all refined sugar (no sodas, candy, chocolate) and I drink orange juice pretty much all the time. However, I do like a cup of coffee in the morning and one after dinner. And I can't help but go get a cheeseburger now and then. But a big fat baked potato with some green beans and a salad is good too.

And don't forget exercise. 30 minutes a day on the exercise bike to work off those cheeseburgers.

However, it would be nice if a Subway was the Holy Grail.

You seem to be on the right path. If you made it to Focus 10, I say just sit there and enjoy it. It's the first big hurdle in the OBE process, and if you can get used to it and do it over and over it will pay off.  From what I've recently learned, it's not "maybe I'm there". When you're there, you will know it. And be patient. I'm a beginner and still learning myself, and I'm expecting to have to keep "trying" for years to come. To be honest, I've been trying for about 10 years. It's only recently I've been putting discipline and time towards it, which I think is necessary for results.

Good Luck!

I bought a Rio portable CD player that plays MP3's & WMA's for about $60, then I ripped the CD's to WMA format and burned on 1 disc.  Much easier that way (if you want to invest in the player. I use mine all the time).

Focus10 on the other hand was, I must admit was different to what I had previously thought it to be. Although I've certainly managed to achieve a very similar states of mind when practicing the noticing exercise and WHY, but more than anything else it reminds me of the what had happened the other night, when I woke up early, felt deeply,deeply relaxed.

Lately when doing the CD's I've been reaching this strange state where it's like a part of my brain shuts off. However it only lasts for a short while. The other night I was in hypnogogic state hearing some strange conversation, and suddenly I can't remember anything. I don't know what it was I was doing, or what I'm supposed to be doing, or even have a clue I'm doing OBE exercises. I probably couldn't have come up with my own name. Sometimes I forget what time of day it is, like think I have to get up for work even though it's late at night. It passes, but it's like a strange amnesia state.

I love the resonant tuning. When I started I had never done any chanting or humming before and was like "I'm not doing that. That's just weird. I'll sit still through that part." But the first time I did the CD, I tried it because the manual says to at least try all the exercises once. Now I've found that when I first start to feel any vibrations, it's during the tuning. I do it 90% of the time. The sensations I get from it are very relaxing and buzzy. Then I increase the vibes with the REBAL exercise, and by the time I get to Focus 10 (if I get to 10) the vibes move on their own.

It's funny you should mention "Eva"--I just borrowed the box set from my coworker!  I tend to think that's true. I look around me these days, and all I seem to see is people just going along in happy "bubbles." I'm usually torn between feeling disdainful and feeling very envious!

Reading The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis has really been helping me understand why I'm going through such hell. And Astral Pulse has helped a lot too!  I agree that now, the most important thing I have going for me is my spiritual development.

...and it's funny that you mention C.S. Lewis, because I just started reading "The Screwtape Letters" (by C.S. Lewis). I had it in my closet for years and just pulled it out the other day.

My friend always tells this story:

He took some LSD with a group of people (he's a little "funny" in the head now, so I'm not suggesting it to anyone). They were listening to some Hendrix when the music got really intense and he couldn't take it anymore and left the apartment. When he got outside he got really sick, and when he finished vomiting, he saw a bright hand come down (he said it was the hand of God) and told him that he had a choice to make: He could straighten his life out and choose to live, or he could die in a bad car accident that night. He said he voiced out "I want to live!".

He's still alive now and no longer does acid. Whether it was real or just a bad trip, it changed his life.

I've been thinking a lot about this. My first impulse would be to say, "Hell YEAH, I want to die!" I have no one who's dependent on me, I have no one to live the rest of my life with, I'm not the most indispensable worker, and frankly, I regard this so-called "life" as nothing but one long, painful dying process. Everyday another battle, everyday another mortal wound, which only gets healed in order to be inflicted again. *sigh*

I'm much the same way. I live alone, have no one dependent on me, date rarely. I've read some of your posts and although I haven't experienced the loss you have, the only person I did ever love that way left me because of my spiritual practice (indirectly, but it was the cause). The main thing that really keeps me happy and fulfilled now IS my spiritual practice. The reason I want to live long is because I want to figure out as much as I can before I pass on. And maybe get to share it with others. Life is filled with pain. The people that don't experience pain in your way have probably never experienced love like you have either.

In "Neon Genesis Evangelion" they break it down like this: A life filled with the reality of pain and depression is infinitely better than living an illusion of happiness.

I have had this happen more that once. It's one thing for people to tell you that you snore, it's another thing to actually hear yourself snore. I'm not advertising or anything, but I bought this contour "Memory Foam" pillow at Target for $20, and it did the trick (90% of the time). It keeps my neck elevated and my head straight for better airflow.

When your screams start to wake you up, that's when you've got a problem:

http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19842&highlight=yelling&sid=3ae78743b27ab025f284f4a896eaf7ba

For me, the vibrations feel like being electrocuted intensely, but without pain. It's never hurt (However is has frightened the living bejeezus out of me). I would say the most uncomfortable thing is the pounding heart sensation. The first time I felt that was about 2 years ago and I thought my heart was going to explode in my chest. It's only in the past week that I'm starting to realize that it's not my heart. And I'm beginning to grow accustom to it and even enjoy it. Now it's more like "here we go!..." instead of "Oh God, no". I'd really like these sensations to become second nature and use them as a tool to OBE.