Utter Failure

[personalreality]

This is just me complaining, so no need to help me remedy or anything.  There are some things I need to do to fix it, but I think I know everything to do.

Anyway, I have been a complete failure the past week and a half.  Every time I lay down to project I make it about 15 minutes then fall asleep and wake up an hour later and can't stay still to go again.  Nothing has really changed in my habits so i don't know why i'm suddenly tired.  I have been taking valerian root at night for bed but I was doing that when I started projecting and had no trouble.  I don't know what the deal is but it's getting bothersome.  It wouldn't be so bad if I got at least a little practice out of the work, but I always fall asleep within a few minutes of laying down so I don't even get that trance practice or energy work.  It's a bit irritating. 

I guess I got arrogant.

Maybe my other dimensional selves have decided to show me that once I am successful it's not a guarantee that I'll always get out whenever I want.  It's frustrating though.

Oh, and there was the missing AP.  I projected but when I 'came back' I fell asleep instead of getting up and forgot the projection.  I knew I had it but I couldn't remember any of it so it was essentially not there.

[kurtykurt42]

Try drinking some green tea before you begin practicing.

[missym]

Sorry you're having a rough time.
Perhaps you've plateaued and just need to keep trying to get going again?
I drink coffee before trying and it helps to keep me awake.. maybe it'll help you?
Sending good energy your way 

[astral408]

If it makes you feel any better, I read your "first OBE" thread and I eagerly drank it all up. I admire you every bit as much now as I did then. I haven't even had a confirmed OOBE yet. You have! Came damn close this week. Let us know when you beat this.

As a sidenote, I use to practice self-hypnotism. I ran into a similar problem where I plateaud and I couldn't get any deeper. Frustrated the hell out of me and I gave up. Each re-attempt resulted in the eventual plateau. Never got past it.

[Psan]

It seems the Matrix has corrected itself in your case (that's how I describe it )

In other words, your brain has noticed the funny "anomaly" occurring whenever it tries to do the "important stuff", which is sleeping, repairing, and house keeping and all that routine, and has somehow "corrected it" (switched it off). This has happened to me a few times, and I found it very difficult to revert back. Some people even think that some entity or neg is preventing them from AP, because that's how it seems when the brain enforces its own wish while you are seriously trying to AP.

One trick, that I find useful is to not to do anything at all. Simply give up AP for a few weeks or months and "ground" yourself. But continue the light meditation and mental silence practice. Developing oneself spiritually also helps, which usually means getting rid of materialistic stuff and desires.

I have read your thread where you described your AP method in detail and very beautifully, and I really liked it. It is one of the best posts lately. Keep it up and let us know of your progress. All the best ...

[Tiny]

Dear personreality,

it's that way for me usually.

This is also the case when one receives too little or irregular sleep, i believe.

Another probability is that someone doesn't want you to project (ETs for example).



Good luck to you

[kurtykurt42]

We seem to get energy when we sleep, I don't understand how exactly... Still working on it. 

And if you guys start experiencing strange things lately try visualizing a sword and cutting their heads off. And be ready for 3 days of darkness! 

[personalreality]

Psan, I just did that, well did nothing.  That's how I got my first successful conscious OBE in the first place.  I had been pushing too hard and I stopped doing anything (I still did rune readings) for 2 months or so.  Then when I got the feeling that I should start again I dressed and burned a 7 day candle and created a Sigil to show me what I needed to find in order to project successfully.  Sure enough, within 2 weeks I was brought back to this forum and found the Frank posts.  I haven't done phasing, but the way he described it helped me understand my state of mind better and then I found Robert Peterson's book at my work and that got me out.  But it's only been a month or two that I've been projecting.  It seems kind of early to have plateaued out already.  I mentioned this the other day, but I recently spoke to one of the psychics I work with and asked her why I seemed to have hit a spiritual wall and she told me (that my guidance said) I had done a lot of energy work lately and raised the frequency of my consciousness within the body but the body itself hadn't been restructured to accommodate the increase yet.  Apparently my guidance, higher self, and power animals were doing this work for me, especially while I was sleeping.  When I got out for the first time is when they had finished that part of the job.  I'm guessing that if this is what's happening now that maybe doing the OBE work has raised my energy relatively fast and now my body needs to catch up.  Maybe is I focus on doing some specific energy work it will help my body move faster.

Kurt, I'll do that.  I'm gonna go by the local market after work and get some loose tea.  And you say you don't crush it?

[Tiny]

Dear personalreality,

what about focus?
Do you maintain focus all the way through or do you begin to stray thoughts as you go deeper?
If focus is maintained, by theory one should go OBE (instead of dreaming) or slip directly into lucidity, from which he could slip into the etheric double.

I have finally figured out why I have such a time with OBEs.
The problem is my lifestyle. In the last two years I developed out of laziness a habbit to stray in thoughts when doing activities such as kitchen work. Unfortunately this carries over into energy work and my subconscious mind will think "ok while I'm doing this unentertaining activity I could think a little to entertain myself".
I discovered that this habit carried over into my energy work (incl. trance, meditation etc.) was fatal to my OBE-ability.

When I'm trancing (whether for preparation of OBE or not) while I'm sleepy I simply can not stay focused and I will lose thought control and start straying in thoughts and I will not notice that I have derailed my focus. It's as if I lose control of mind as losing control of body.
I do yet not know how to fix this one.


peace

[vipassana]

One thing I've noticed is that once I have a few lucid dreams, they stop for a few months. When I do have them, I think it is to gain some kind of new understanding or enlightenment and I may not know what that may be until a while later. It's weird. Kurt's thread about alien grays led me to do some investigating about the subject and before I knew it, I was pursuing information regarding a different topic. One website led to another, which led to another, and so on. So I've spent the past week researching some other theories and they really caught my attention. My 2 recent dreams occurred last weekend, and I've had none this weekend, which leads me to believe I now have to put the pieces together over the next few months. That's how things have been going for me for probably about a year now. I believe lucid dreams and OBEs are a tool for enlightenment and are not meant to be a fun hobby. That sucks because I don't have a lot of time for hobbies. One that I can do in my sleep would be perfect!   

[RisingSon]

For whatever reasons, things tend to move in cycles.  At times we're more open to an experience, at others the doors close.  Whenever I get upset about my current state I remember these lines from the Tao Te Ching:

So sometimes things are ahead, and sometimes they are behind,
Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily,
Sometimes there is strength, and sometimes weakness,
Sometimes one is up and sometimes down.

Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excesses, and complacency.

Currently I'm on a "down" cycle in my dreaming and OBEs, and yet last night I went into the vibrational state and almost separated.  Time, patience, persistence, and yes, rest between bouts.  A fighter cannot fight for hours on end.  He doesn't question why he gets tired, he just follows what is natural.

[kurtykurt42]

That's how things have been going for me for probably about a year now. I believe lucid dreams and OBEs are a tool for enlightenment and are not meant to be a fun hobby. That sucks because I don't have a lot of time for hobbies. One that I can do in my sleep would be perfect!   

For me it's a way of life. Similar to the dedication and discipline the Japanese show with martial arts. Ironically enough I practice Budo (Japanese martial arts) and have learned a thing or two about self control and discipline.

[SkepticBoy]

Personal reality....you drink Valerian Root? you find it makes a difference? I don't want to veer this topic off course so would you mind if I messaged you and asked you about it? thx.

[Xanth]

This is just me complaining, so no need to help me remedy or anything.  There are some things I need to do to fix it, but I think I know everything to do.

Anyway, I have been a complete failure the past week and a half.  Every time I lay down to project I make it about 15 minutes then fall asleep and wake up an hour later and can't stay still to go again.  Nothing has really changed in my habits so i don't know why i'm suddenly tired.  I have been taking valerian root at night for bed but I was doing that when I started projecting and had no trouble.  I don't know what the deal is but it's getting bothersome.  It wouldn't be so bad if I got at least a little practice out of the work, but I always fall asleep within a few minutes of laying down so I don't even get that trance practice or energy work.  It's a bit irritating. 

I guess I got arrogant.

Maybe my other dimensional selves have decided to show me that once I am successful it's not a guarantee that I'll always get out whenever I want.  It's frustrating though.

Oh, and there was the missing AP.  I projected but when I 'came back' I fell asleep instead of getting up and forgot the projection.  I knew I had it but I couldn't remember any of it so it was essentially not there.

The best thing you can do is remove that sense of 'failure' from your mind.
Try to meditate with no goals in mind... just go with the flow and allow/accept anything to happen.
If nothing happens, then that's not a failure, it just means nothing happened.  I'm sure you can still take something away from the experience.
Whether it be a more relaxed demeanor... or some stress relief...

Nothing is ever a failure.  Even in our worst times, there's much to learn. 

[Stookie]

The first thing to enter my mind: every single time I have a pattern down that I'm convinced is the final trick needed, it stops working and I have to come up with something else. This seems to never stop. Of course over the years I've picked up ways of changing my patterns and schedules, but if I don't every once in a while, I get stuck or things become stagnant.

[Tiny]

The first thing to enter my mind: every single time I have a pattern down that I'm convinced is the final trick needed, it stops working and I have to come up with something else. This seems to never stop. Of course over the years I've picked up ways of changing my patterns and schedules, but if I don't every once in a while, I get stuck or things become stagnant.

Dear Stookie,

thank you for mentioning. This indeed ought to have been mentionend all along and according to my own experience applies to many more things, including the practice of meditation aswell.
The fact appears to be that one simply can not learn these consciousness-based things as one would learn an instrument, instead they have to be realized and conducted in conscious awareness every day.



peace

[personalreality]

Handled.  Projected today.... a lot.

Since I'm here though,  @ SkepticBoy -- I take Valerian Root, vegetarian liquid capsules (the capsules themselves are vegetarian, it's a weird thing to say about a pill I know) for sleep usually and yes, it works for me.  What I've noticed that it does is relax muscles.  It really works like taking a muscle relaxer.  I've seen people talk about it online to reduce anxiety, I'm not sure about that, but it definitely helps me sleep sometimes.  It doesn't help insomnia if the problem is anxiety or otherwise mental, but if you're having like muscles aches or Restless Leg Syndrome, it seems to help a lot. 

Honestly, I used to drink a lot of the liquid extract when I was like 18-20 years old, but for recreational purposes not for health reasons.....

[Tiny]

I take Valerian Root, vegetarian liquid capsules

Ah, psychoactives!  

Some researchers have compared this herbal sleep remedy to benzodiazepines such as Diazepam, also known as Valium™. However, This herbal sleep remedy is a much milder and safer sedative. Unlike this chemical tranquilizer, Valeriana is not addictive or does not promote dependency. Its sedative effect is not significantly exaggerated by alcohol and barbiturates (unlike Diazepan), and also has not been linked to any birth defects (again, unlike this sleep drug). This herb is a smooth muscle and skeletal relaxant, as well as a premier sedative that aids in anxiety, stress and insomnia. The primary chemical constituents of natural sleep remedy include valepotriates, alkaloids (chatinine, valerine), valerenic acid, essential oils (acetic acid, borneol, pinene, camphene), caffeic acid, beta-sitosterol, tannin, manganese, calcium, choline, and B vitamins.

I regularly drink a tea from the drug section, One teabags contains 0,5grams of valerian root, 0,480g of passion flower, 0, 394g melissa leafs and a few other herbs.
Now, we usually put two teabags to 1l and let that seep for 10 mins. We barely feel a difference after, the difference it makes being marginal, nothing convincing. Fly agaric did relaxe me better .
Maybe the effects will be stronger if ingested completly instead of making a tea extract. I will try that right now.

edit: I definatly feel a bit sedated now after ingesting the tea bag content, a rather dizzy effect that could also be caused by a lack of oxygen in my room.
I'm considering buying 100 grams of valerian root or more since it's only 3 dollars on ebay..

I'd also like to know the effects of passion flower alone, and it's relatively cheap,  about 4-5 dollars per 100 grams.



peace

[personalreality]

That's exactly the kind of behavior I was talking about tiny.  Sure its just herbal tea, but you're using it in a way that is contrary to the directions given for its use in order to get a more intense response.  That's addict behavior.  Watch yourself, be smart.

[Tiny]

That's exactly the kind of behavior I was talking about tiny.  Sure its just herbal tea, but you're using it in a way that is contrary to the directions given for its use in order to get a more intense response.  That's addict behavior.  Watch yourself, be smart.

Dear personreality,

please chill and listen.
Regular use is within the area of application of these herbs. In fact, it has been shown that for some people the climax of success of Valerian root is said to be days to several weeks. It has been an alternative for long term treatment against insomnia as an alternative to artificial chemicals.

Another possibility i can see is that you were making the ridiculous assumption that I was planning to take several dozens of grams of the above mentioned herbs at once.


peace