awake or asleep, no middle ground

[ssake]

Hi,

I've introduced myself on one of the other forums. I had one brief OBE many years ago, and I'm new to (intentional) astral projection. I'm starting to work with William Buhlman's materials, starting with his CD of affirmations. What I find is that much of the astral projection techniques have to do with getting in that space between sleep and waking; but for me, it seems to be one or the other. I have trouble sleeping; I'm either tense and physically uncomfortable, or I'm "out"--one or the other. When I listen to CD's intended to put me in a trance state, that's my experience--either I can't relax, or I wake up and realize I've been "out". I also have the kind of mentality that I am rigorous about what is real and what isn't--so I have trouble accepting affirmations, because my mind is always saying, "that's not true yet".

Suggestions?

Thanks,
Steve

[Tiny]

Dear ssake,

I don't have any success working with my subconscious either, especially these "I will realize i'm be dreaming" kind of affirmations.

Since then I came to the conclusion that I can not will my success into existence for I must exert a quite relentless focus.
Continual focused meditation gives one's body the signal to shut down and feeling this especially by the brainwaves slowing down, he must manage to continue focusing very tightly. This will result in a projection of the astral body with the consciousness being active and present in that body.

kind regards,

Paul

[Xanth]

Hi,

I've introduced myself on one of the other forums. I had one brief OBE many years ago, and I'm new to (intentional) astral projection. I'm starting to work with William Buhlman's materials, starting with his CD of affirmations. What I find is that much of the astral projection techniques have to do with getting in that space between sleep and waking; but for me, it seems to be one or the other. I have trouble sleeping; I'm either tense and physically uncomfortable, or I'm "out"--one or the other. When I listen to CD's intended to put me in a trance state, that's my experience--either I can't relax, or I wake up and realize I've been "out". I also have the kind of mentality that I am rigorous about what is real and what isn't--so I have trouble accepting affirmations, because my mind is always saying, "that's not true yet".

Suggestions?

Thanks,
Steve

Hi there ssake.

There's that "fine balance" between being awake and falling asleep that you need to learn to tread.  It's all about keeping your mind consciously active while your body falls asleep. 
I've been trying to do this lately by offering my mind an "active scenario" for it to take part in.
Last night I tried imagining myself walking on a beach by a lake nearby my house.  For the most part it was working wonders... until I kept snapping back out of it.

Give that a try...
During this "imagination" try to enable as many of your senses as possible.  Sight, sound, touch...

[ssake]

Thanks,

Will try both methods. I do see in his book that Buhlman started by imagining walking around the living room in great detail--each object, etc. etc. I used to do zen meditation so the forceful concentration thing comes a lot easier to me than imagination or visualization. I'll report back after awhile with the results of both.

Thanks again,
Steve

[personalreality]

I practiced for a long time before I had a successful OBE and it was learning how to teeter between awake and asleep that put me over the edge. 

[ssake]

I'm slowly going through William Buhlman's materials, starting with a CD of affirmations. As I'm doing them, I'm trying to loosen my astral body, by feeling my feet stretch beyond my physical feet, then my head the other way, and my hands. Hard to feel that my head is stretching upward, but having more success with my feet, and occasionally I'm feeling a vibrating, tingling sensation in my legs and feet even when I'm not concentrating there. Hard for me to really relax, but I think this is progress. At times I feel I want to "lift off" but I can't (or I try too hard), like a hot air balloon tethered by a rope or something. I'm also starting to practice visualizing an object in another room in detail, involving all senses--this is how Buhlman says he stumbled upon astral projection in the first place. I gather this takes a lot of determination and perseverance!
Steve

[Psilibus]

This may be too simplistic but I had a foolproof technique when I was a teenager. I would lay on my back and stare at the "popcorn" ceiling in my room. I would notice the patterns, how the thousands of little bumps cast tiny shadows from the light coming from my window. I would toe to head relax, taking my time to be comfortable. I would then close my eyes and try to see the ceiling through my eyelids. I would be able to visualize the same patterns and soon I was off. This worked almost everytime and especially for an OBE in the daylight.

[personalreality]

Be careful not to try too hard to keep your mind active.  You can inadvertently keep your body awake by thinking about bodily sensations. 

Personally, I don't do anything with my mind but focus intently on one thing (I don't keep my mind very active).  However, if you are going to do something with your imagination you need to make it as engrossing as possible.  You don't really want to put your body to sleep, you want to dissociate from it.  You wanna be so involved in your mental activity that you forget about your body.

You might wanna try some exercise, especially martial arts, to relax more.

[Undertones]

Hi,

The phasing thing, and the teetering between awake and asleep, is going to work for me really well I think. So far, after about a week of using it I am getting good results with getting closer to the MABA stage. I think I'm right on the edge of projecting with it.

When I do project from this state, does the "teetering" continue while in the Astral? Or once I'm out does this in-between type "confusion" carry on?

I've heard people say vibrations stop as soon as they are clear of the body, and that other things change as soon as you get out.

Thanks.

[Xanth]

Hi,

The phasing thing, and the teetering between awake and asleep, is going to work for me really well I think. So far, after about a week of using it I am getting good results with getting closer to the MABA stage. I think I'm right on the edge of projecting with it.

When I do project from this state, does the "teetering" continue while in the Astral? Or once I'm out does this in-between type "confusion" carry on?

I've heard people say vibrations stop as soon as they are clear of the body, and that other things change as soon as you get out.

Thanks.

Actually, you shouldn't even have to worry about "teetering"...
You shouldn't even be worried about your body being asleep.
I've actually come to the conclusion that, when Phasing, you don't have to worry about your body falling asleep at all!

You just need to remove awareness of your physical body.  This is the point of doing a "rundown".  It shifts your senses from receiving input from the outside world, to the inside world (the rundown).  In theory, you can be wide awake and still project your consciousness.

I'm slowly figuring this thing out.  Day by day, I get a tiny bit further in my understanding.

~Ryan

[personalreality]

yea, the process of phasing is different.

however, you still want to relax and be more interested in your mind than your body.  but that's the good part in phasing, there apparently aren't any physical sensations to distract you.