Falling asleep

[iamkuljuarenot]

I've been experimenting with astral projection for about 2 weeks now, and the first few times i tried i started getting results..i think.  I would get to a point where my entire body was "tingling" and i was in a very relaxed state.  I would tell myself that i would remain conscious while my body was asleep but to no avail i always end up falling asleep.  I guess the line between mind awake body asleep  and mind asleep body asleep is very thin because i always seem to fall asleep and rarely become lucid in my dreams so OBE via lucid dreams would be difficult for me.  Anyone have any advice on how to take that extra step and keep my mind awake?

[personalreality]

well, first of all, I would start practicing during the day instead of at night when you're going to bed.  should help a little bit.

in addition, I like to practice balancing on the border of wake/sleep at night when i go to bed.  one trick i learned was to tap your finger on your bed as you're falling asleep at night.  if you fall asleep you'll catch yourself not tapping anymore and it will wake you up.  then start tapping again.  just keep doing this as long as you want before falling asleep.  it makes you more familiar with that state so it's easier when you do AP practice.

also, don't be discouraged.  sometimes it can take some time, nothing to worry about.  it will come, all in good time.

[Xanth]

I made a post on my new blog regarding my current methods I'm using.
http://unlimitedboundaries.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/my-current-methods/

The other exercise I do, I generally get a chance to do at lunchtime while sitting at my desk.  I'll sit, with my back straight, my feet flat on the floor and my arms on my desk, generally palms down... not that the position matters in even the slightest.  Anyways... this is an exercise in recognizing when and how I fall asleep.

I sit there meditating until I start to fall forward a bit, this signifies that I'm falling asleep.  Obviously, as my head falls forward, I catch it and this wakes me up.  I keep doing this until I can start to feel the precise moment I begin to fall asleep and I try to passively observe it.  That's it really.  Just an exercise to passively watch how and when I fall asleep.  This is useful for learning how to skirt that fine line between being awake and being asleep.

It sounds like something you might benefit from as well. 

[WASD]

Trying in the evening before falling asleep is the hardest time to do WILD or OBEs.

[iamkuljuarenot]

I dont think time has anything to do with it i have read a bunch of stuff watched videos and it seems to me like once you learn how to do it it can happen at any time, and there is no specific time where it "will" happen.  The main point of my post i guess is how to get better at keeping my consciousness aware that my body is asleep without my mind falling asleep.  Xanth i really found your reply interesting because i too have been in that exhausted state where i'm nearly falling asleep even though i'm not trying to fall asleep.  I think your right about trying to passively observe this for what it is and try to get a feel for what this state of mind feels like and be able to recognize it when attempting an OBE.  I'm also not discouraged because i have seen results, this i am sure of, but since i'm very new to astral projection i have to accepted that it will take time, i guess i just expect too much.

[Inner~Peace]

The time IS a factor simply because it would generally be much harder to keep consciousness at night (in my opinion) , when you're so used to drifting off too sleep and are usually drained.  I like to practice as I fall asleep too, like personalreality, though that's more to familiarize myself with that state than to actually attempt projection.

[Xanth]

The time IS a factor simply because it would generally be much harder to keep consciousness at night (in my opinion) , when you're so used to drifting off too sleep and are usually drained.  I like to practice as I fall asleep too, like personalreality, though that's more to familiarize myself with that state than to actually attempt projection.

Think about that for a second.

Can you remember any of your dreams where you've felt "tired" or "exhausted" in them?
I certainly can not remember a single dream where I ever felt "tired" or "sleepy".

What does this tell me?  Well, it tells me that being "tired" isn't a non-physical thing.  It's a physical thing.
It tells me that we sleep so our "physical body" can rest, not for the benefit of our non-physical consciousness. 

I feel that keeping consciously aware while you fall asleep is definitely something that you can learn.  This also means that "time" of day shouldn't really matter regarding keeping yourself consciously aware, as being "tired" is, literally, all just in your head... your physical head, that is.

This might just apply to me, so I dunno... in any case, it's something to think about. 

[iamkuljuarenot]

Today at around 11:30 a.m. i woke up for a few minutes and then tried to go back to sleep and came as close to an OBE as i ever had.  i recognized myself falling asleep again, and all of a sudden i got these intense crazy vibrations that were soooo loud, i remained calm, it sounded like a jet engine in my room, but just like when an engine runs out of gas it sputters and stops.  thats exactly what the vibrations did, i guess maybe i got a little too excited because i never experienced the intensity of this kind of vibrations before.

[Inner~Peace]

Think about that for a second.

Can you remember any of your dreams where you've felt "tired" or "exhausted" in them?
I certainly can not remember a single dream where I ever felt "tired" or "sleepy".

What does this tell me?  Well, it tells me that being "tired" isn't a non-physical thing.  It's a physical thing.
It tells me that we sleep so our "physical body" can rest, not for the benefit of our non-physical consciousness. 

I feel that keeping consciously aware while you fall asleep is definitely something that you can learn.  This also means that "time" of day shouldn't really matter regarding keeping yourself consciously aware, as being "tired" is, literally, all just in your head... your physical head, that is.

This might just apply to me, so I dunno... in any case, it's something to think about. 

  That's a good point Xanth, and I'm not saying it can't be done, not at all.  I just personally find that I lose consciousness much easier at night than in the morning.  I think it would take more discipline to learn.

Today at around 11:30 a.m. i woke up for a few minutes and then tried to go back to sleep and came as close to an OBE as i ever had.  i recognized myself falling asleep again, and all of a sudden i got these intense crazy vibrations that were soooo loud, i remained calm, it sounded like a jet engine in my room, but just like when an engine runs out of gas it sputters and stops.  thats exactly what the vibrations did, i guess maybe i got a little too excited because i never experienced the intensity of this kind of vibrations before.

Grats man, keep it up    

Peace

[Xanth]

 
  That's a good point Xanth, and I'm not saying it can't be done, not at all.  I just personally find that I lose consciousness much easier at night than in the morning.  I think it would take more discipline to learn.

Oh, I most certainly do as well.    Hence my practicing of "observing" myself falling asleep.
So far, I still haven't been able to pinpoint it.  LoL

I have to believe that it's some kind of pre-programmed autonomic response to the body falling asleep.  Perhaps we're not supposed to be able to remain conscious during this experience?  Hmmm... lol

[grzazek]

I've found that waking up at 4 in the morning is a pretty good time to try AP.

[iamkuljuarenot]

i usually wake up several times during the night and when i do i try it but always fall asleep in like 2 seconds it seems like ive only had the vibrations one time so far and i guess i was too impressed by them to try an exit technique

[The_One]

Can some one ban alicevision for spamming?

[Xanth]

Can some one ban alicevision for spamming?

Cleaned up and done.