Just so I know what to expect

[okoklo]

I have yet to AP but I think I'm close now.  I was just woundering about what it feels like.  Basically, is it the same as when your in your physical body, like a dream, or is it a totally different feeling that you have to experience to understand?   

[Stookie]

You have to be open for anything - the experience can vary quite a bit. If you start expecting certain things, your expectations could become a roadblock in your development. Keep an open mind and expect the unexpected.

[Lucid_Learner]

I'm reading Practical Psychic Self Defence by Robert Bruce He mentions Astral Snakes in his book... eek I hate snakes. I know the chances of you coming into contact with something like this is rare if you don't think about it. But as a child I used to have bad nightmares about snakes and I was wondering whether my subconscious could make me come into contact with these?

If you expect the unexpected does that mean you can unexpect the expected??? Cos I expect to see some snakes ... Plus I'm not letting it put me off I'm still going to persist with the OBE.

Peace, LL

[Stookie]

What I meant was, the experience will be something you didn't plan. Don't worry about snakes. Be open to a wonderful, exiting, unexpected experience. 99% of my astral experiences surprise me. It's not something I could've imagined ahead of time. Don't expect what you've read in other's experiences - yours will be unique to yourself and your development. Expect to learn something about yourself.

[Awakened_Mind]

okoklo, what makes you think you're close to having on OBE?

We can try to explain what it feels like, but you'll never actually understand until you experience it yourself. As being in your physical body and dream states are two different feelings, so is an OBE.

-Awakened_Mind

[Zarklon]

Hey there okoklo ...   For me a real OBE is much different from a dream and even the most realistic dreams it doesnt come close..  It feels very real and your thought processes could be as fluid as they are right now while you are awake.. But keeping them that way is a difficult task because after a while that you are OBE , you start to lose control and most of it is due to your subconcious thoughts starting to take over and turn the experience and the surroundings into just an elaborate dream.  When you get used to being OBE you start to notice the feelings of "losing it" and one way I've come up with personally to combat that feeling is to stop what I'm doing OBE , take a closer look at my surroundings and pick something to start at for a few moments all the while reminding myself that I am Out-of-Body and very shortly after focusing intensly on the item of my choice , I'll feel that sensation of "losing it" start to fade almost instantly.. ultimately prolonging my OBE.  Unfortunately I find it hard to go OBE anymore ... theres something I'm doing wrong and I've just not had the patience to change up my routine anymore and try new things to project.  I hope you have one for yourself.. I know it changed my life completely... maybe not the first one but it sure sparked up an interest to have another go at it.. and pretty soon I had some experiences that really led me to believe this stuff is real and I no longer had/have any doubts about what just might be possibly with the whole phenomenon.

One thing to note:
  My first OBE was quite scary.. I remember getting frustrated after trying for the past 3 nights and by the third night I think I projected simply by willing myself out of body with all my anger and frustration built up.. I was literally telling myself.. "This is IT!! i'm tired of trying to do this ! I want it to happen NOW! And I wont take NO for an answer tonight!" And in just a few seconds I felt like I had all this anger and frustration just build up to the point where all of a sudden I could see and what I saw and felt scared the crap out of me... My vision came through my chest .. it was like my eyes and head were where my chest should have been and what I saw first was this huge black orb thing about the size of a bully blown up beach ball and it had these little black spots sucking into it and the next thing I felt was my body being drawn towards it beyond my control and all of my joints in my body were being curled up backwards in the most unnatural way .. it wasnt painful .. it was just a wierd feeling.. like imagine you bending your fingers and toes and knees in the opposite ways that it should bend .. every bone in my body went the opposite way for me as I was slowly sucked into that ball and the only way I woke myself up was by panicing long enough and trying to move with all my might and suddenly I awoke on the bed in the last position I was in and tingling all over with a bit of sweat... I should have been scared to death but something inside me said "Hell yea! I gotta do that again!"  and thus sparked my spiritual journey..

I hope that doesnt scare you.. it sounds freaky and it was .. but the whole experience was way more interesting to me than scary.  I just had to give it another go! Since then all the rest of my experiences have been much more clean and friendly.

[Lucid_Learner]

It came to my mind that if there is instant manifestation in the astral then you could mould the landscapes with your thoughts... I just wondered, what if your subconscious thoughts expected a certain landscape and you changed an entire "Astral Town" with this thought..

Would it permanently be changed or just while you were there?... thats if you can change places simply like that.

Peace, LL

[Synergy]

I will explain what they are like for me.. but remember that they could be different for you...

For me, what it feels like depends on what type of OBE I am having.  Most of my OBEs have been etheric or 'real-time' which is the typical 'floating over the body', seeing the physical surroundings just as they should be, with nothing out of place as would be in a dream.  I have had some astral projections as well, and these were completely different in that things seemed more mystical, it was as if everything there had an aura, even inanimate objects, and it was like being able to see sound and hear color. 

As for the actual separation... for me I usually get the static like sounds, the vibrations, and the feeling of falling or spinning upward.  That's usually just before actual separation.  One time, I remember I woke up in sleep paralysis, and closed my eyes and just let go, and  I actually was aware of floating through my eyelids... like I passed through the skin or something.  It was a very weird feeling! 

In etheric projection, I am usually floating instead of walking though I dont really think about it. So I find myself hovering above the ground, as soon as I am out.  Sometimes I am in a position above my physical body facing upward (I never have been facing down looking at myself) or hovering as if I was standing upright.  For a few moments just after I am out, sometimes I notice that movement seems distorted as if I am underwater, like if I move my head it takes a second for the images to catch up.  To move about the surroundings all I have to do is tell myself  "go to the other side of the room" or "go out th window".

Anyway thats all I will type for now as my fav show just came on "Ghost Whisperer"

[Awakened_Mind]

Just so you know what to expect?

Expect wonders beyond your imagination. Expect your whole perception of the world to change during and after the experience.  Most importantly, expect nothing at all.

-AM

[Lucid_Learner]

I've heard that the astral realm is the 5th dimension... Is it true you can see 360° all at once? surely the mind wouldn't be able to handle that.

Peace, LL

[okoklo]

I've heard that the astral realm is the 5th dimension... Is it true you can see 360° all at once? surely the mind wouldn't be able to handle that.

Peace, LL

That's exactly the sort of thing I don't unserstand, it seems like there are things about it that I wouldn't be able to comprehend, which is exactly one of the reasons why I want to be able to project, so that I can experience this kind of thing.

[Awakened_Mind]

At the beginning you will not be able to comprehend. Simply because it's a new experience (Seeing in 360 degrees). However think of it as being the same as your normal vision. Right now you are focussed on computer screen. Everything around it seems like a blur, so to speak. 360 degree is not much different except there is more blur with potential to be looked at.

The mind cannot handle the astral dimension at all. As I've stated earlier: Your mind is not capable of speeds over 24 frames per second and cannot handle analyzing the astral realm while you are out. It does not come a long for the ride. You mind begins to interpret and analyse the experience once you re-enter.

The vision can be difficult to understand in the early stages. Simply because it's new. You'll get used it.

-AM

[okoklo]

Damn, I can't wait to have my first successful projection 

[Lucid_Learner]

The mind cannot handle the astral dimension at all. As I've stated earlier: Your mind is not capable of speeds over 24 frames per second and cannot handle analyzing the astral realm while you are out. It does not come a long for the ride. You mind begins to interpret and analyse the experience once you re-enter.

Meaning that what you re-enter your mind makes you doubt what you saw?? Maybe try and make you think it was all a dream.

Also theres all that stuff about how an hour in the astral can be a minute in the physical and vice versa. It sure is very unpredictable, guess you gotta take it as it comes.

Peace, LL

[Gleznov]

The way OBEs feel can vary greatly - I've had OBEs that felt light as a feather, I've had OBEs that felt "normal", and then those that feel like the whole astral world is a thick heavy clay that you are having to hold together with your mind.  I imagine that last one is where I didn't have much energy or wasn't vibrating at a higher frequency.  For me, those that feel normal are the most common, although that could be due to expectations.

[okoklo]

I guess there is no point in trying to figure it out until I have my first OBE eh.  Man I can't wait 

[Lucid_Learner]

I guess there is no point in trying to figure it out until I have my first OBE eh.  Man I can't wait 

Too right... bring it on

Peace, LL