Saliva.. yes, Saliva.

[light487]

Uhmmm.. how do you people, who have OoBE's et al, cope with saliva build up in the mouth?? One of the greatest distractions I have is that every 5 to 10mins I need to swallow, otherwise I feel like I will choke on my own saliva... as soon as I swallow of course, I am reminded again of my physical body and I am pulled up back to physical a little way, then I need to refocus again.. it's like 2 steps forward 1 step back.. so very slow going.. though there is progress.. just wondering if other people have noticed this and how they overcame it?

[Xanth]

Just swallow.  Calmly. 

Eventually, as you're practicing... you'll just stop noticing it.

[light487]

Just swallow.  Calmly. 

Eventually, as you're practicing... you'll just stop noticing it.

Ok cool.. yer.. I guess it's just like another bodily function.. it happens automatically when I am not thinking about it.. just that when I am focusing on.. well.. not focusing on my body, things like that tend to spike my physical awareness. Thanks for the feedback though.. just another one of the many hurdles on the way. It seems silly that something so simple can trip you up though.

[Xanth]

Oh and if you drink a lot of soda/coke/pepsi/whatever... stop doing that an hour or so before practicing.
Drink just water... carbonated drinks tend to increase saliva production. 

[Orion-]

I drink a bit of water first. On my first tries the saliva was very disturbing, but it quickly stopped and now it doesn't bother me anymore.

[Lionheart]

 I had the same problem at first as well. To get over it I just told myself that the body will do what it will do. I can still breathe, swallow, twitch whatever, it took a bit of getting used to though. Mind over matter always prevails.

[stan]

Like others have said swallowing is a natural function of the body and with intense focusing you shouldn't notice it. But there is other dowfall to swallowing, and that is that it doesn't allow the body to relax past the certain point, because such muscle contraction takes body out of the trance state. You don't need a trance state to project, though trance has a lot of benefits when it comes to projection.

It's possible to train your body not to swallow at all for a duration of a practice. It's a struggle, no doubt about it, but possible.

[light487]

I don't really drink that much soda to be honest.. hardly any unless I go out for dinner. I'll try drinking more water and see if that helps.

[i smoke and drink coffee]

The drugs I have to take have almost stopped my glands from functioning.  Not that I can project with great proficiency as it is, only time I salivate now is when I'm smoking a cig.  Seems that cigarettes and saliva have been linked in my nervous system.

Have you tried smoking a cigarette before bed?  Maybe normal people have an opposite reaction, and the smoke will dry your mouth and defunct the glands temporarily.  Maybe, try it and see.

[light487]

I don't smoke any more. I use an electronic cigarette for my nicotine intake now.. but even with that, I still find my mouth filling up with saliva over about 10 minutes..

[blis]

You need to forget about it(easier said than done I know). Thinking about it is making it happen.

When your body goes to sleep it stops producing saliva. You dont have problems getting to sleep at night from excess saliva production do you? Thats because you dont think about it.

As a workaround you can prop your head up with pillows and let your mouth hang open. Letting saliva drool out your mouth takes a bit of getting used to but can be done.

[floriferous]

I use a spittoon I keep by the bed

[personalreality]

but yea, just try to ignore it.  i mean how often do you think about swallowing throughout the day?  you don't really, not until you do, then you can't not notice it....(don't think about the fact that you're breathing right now......see what i mean).

anyway, you just have to let your body be as natural as possible.  that's what all this meditation business is about as pertains to OBE.  the better you can focus your mind and the longer you can hold that concentration the more likely projection will be.

[blis]

Just did a little saliva meditation to see if I could gain any control over it. Started trying to produce more by focusing on it and thinking about more. Mouth was full of saliva in no time. Swallowed it. Then tried to stop producing it. Visualized turning off a tap (faucet) in my mouth. Visualized my tongue as being a dried up sponge and the whole area underneath it being a vast sandy desert with wind blowing. Mouth dried up pretty quick.

[light487]

Oh the tap thing is good.. I will try that.. I can relate to that and use it.