Am I the only one who finds it impossible to get OBE when sitting down?

[Jdeadevil]

I just can't do it, I find sitting down easier for simple meditation because I don't get tempted to turn round and go back to sleep. And where the chairs are in my house, there usually isn't a window with annoying distractions right next to it like annoying neighbours or a birds nest (seriously!), but when I'm sitting with legs uncrossed and hands on lap, my hands keep involuntarily jerking and even with isochronic tones, I can't get out of body. Anyone else have this problem? Any practical advice anyone could give me?

[Amorda]

Hello!
I have a bean bag chair for which I use for two things. Meditation and video games!
I, like you, find that I am much more comfortable laying down which really allows me to fully relax and let go. Sitting is great for meditating but for some reason my I find myself drawing attention to my eyes and neck. I guess because my neck is pushed back against the chair? Not sure about the eye thing though. They just feel funny when I'm sitting. Hard to fully relax them. For projection I always do well when I'm laying in my bed.
But maybe the chair is the next step? Who knows! Sometimes meditation leads to projection!

[Jdeadevil]

I remember a while ago I was looking into getting a bean bag for projection purposes, couldn't really find one that wasn't too expensive though. But yeah I guess, I remember once when I was meditating on a chair, I wasn't even that comfortable, but I almost left the body. The only reason I didn't was because my body didn't really want to be left laying their with my neck stretched and my head hanging down, I'm sure it would hurt if left like that for too long. And resting my head back towards the head-rest, that's what I was trying to do on my recliner sofa before making this thread. I only called it chair because, well, the main idea is that you're sitting down so there's not much difference.

[Xanth]

I just can't do it, I find sitting down easier for simple meditation because I don't get tempted to turn round and go back to sleep. And where the chairs are in my house, there usually isn't a window with annoying distractions right next to it like annoying neighbours or a birds nest (seriously!), but when I'm sitting with legs uncrossed and hands on lap, my hands keep involuntarily jerking and even with isochronic tones, I can't get out of body. Anyone else have this problem? Any practical advice anyone could give me?

You should keep trying until you can anyway.
Desensitize yourself to meditating in as many different ways and situations as you can.
Then you'll find you can do it anytime, anywhere.

[Astralzombie]

I have never been able to project or meditate sitting down either. If I sit too long in one position, my legs start to go numb and then burn. This is from a high fall that required some months in rehab and gave me some permanent nerve damage. I was eight when that happened and I have completely healed except for back pain and that.

[AstralJames]

I've tried it while sitting, but I can't seem to relax as well as I can while lying down. Plus, I feel lots more comfortable laying down to try it.

[Jdeadevil]

The thing that makes me tempted to go to sleep is probably due to my sleeping pattern, so I'll probably give up for a few days until I have that sorted,

[Astralsuzy]

I have tried sitting lots of times but I find it too uncomfortable.  I try to put my mind to it but I am still not able to sit for a long time.  I can ap lying down but my goal is to be able to ap anytime I want to.  I took your suggestion and that was to get a bean bag.  When I try it out I will let you know how it goes.  I will not be able to use it for the next few days as I will be away on holidays.

[ChopstickFox]

Once I can have success on command laying down then maybe I'll try from sitting. Well, I've tried, but I can't get comfortable. Though I had some luck sitting in a car, I guess. But I was comfortable and not sitting straight.

I made a few attempts when I was flying from America to China (there was plenty of time, ha!), but my seat was waaaaaay too uncomfortable. I couldn't even sleep.

I would say, if you can obe from even laying down, that's a really good thing. You're certainly not the only one who isn't able from a seated position.

[Dean01]

I agree with Xanth. You'll eventually be able to do it anytime, anywhere. For instance, just the other day my bro was driving us to his track meet. I was sitting in the car in an upright position... not sure what my intention was with this, but in under a minute I left my body or had a remote viewing experience wherein I was able to see the cars outside on the highway very clearly in my mind's eye.. for some weird reason, though, in this particular experience, I saw the cars driving on the highway in an upside-down manner (kind of intriguing -- if any of you have any idea explaining this, I welcome them!). My lil bro was in the car too.. to my left... I noticed that when he touched me, I basically then immediately had the experience/saw the cars outside on the highway. When I got back, I asked him if he was looking through the car window while I was sort of meditating in the car/when he touched me. He told me he was so I was thinking that it may be relevant considering the timing and nature of my experience.

[Astralzombie]

I'm sure we can all master the ability to meditate in any position but that isn't my goal nor do I think it will be anytime soon, so long as I can get in a position without pain. Then I will have to overcome that pain like I know is possible. But that's really far more dedication than I'm currently willing to invest. I guess I haven't evolved as far as some. If I get some personal evidence that suggests my inability to meditate in certain positions is hindering my current goals, I will work on that accordingly.

[Dean01]

For sure. I remember when I used to meditate in a simple crossed-legs position. I then went on to the half-lotus position, which was a little bit uncomfortable for me at first but certainly not for long.. now I always meditate at least in the half-lotus position. I finally learned to do the full lotus position a mere week ago... very verryyyy uncomfortable/painful but at least I know I can do it -- before I thought it was basically impossible for me. I'm gonna build up my tolerance in the full lotus now that I know I can do it... I believe that it will facilitate a more balanced flow of energy throughout my body during meditation. The half-lotus apparently facilitates this awesomely and in a near-definite manner, but apparently the full lotus will facilitate this in its entirety in the sense of being grounded. The pain I'll feel from increasing meditation in the full lotus will also help in the cultivation of my character, wherein my endurance, determination, and will power will sure have improved. My older bro meditates now and still does it in a sitting down position because he feels as if crossing his legs in even the common or traditional sense is very uncomfortable for him... He's very muscular, especially in his legs, so I can see how it may be difficult... Still, he finds his method of meditation very fulfilling and comfortable so, like you suggest, its_all_bad, it's not necessary to train yourself in all of these positions until you see it as something fitting to do. Learning's a process.. shouldn't be rushed.

[Astralzombie]

Hey Dean, has your brother had any similar incidents of phasing without intending to? Or do you not talk about that with each other?

[Dean01]

I have 5 brothers -- only one of them meditate.. took nearly a year to get at least one of my bros into it, but finally he is on a good level with respect to it. He's taking a religion elective in uni abroad on meditation. I don't get to talk to him much about meditation specifically seeing as he goes to school abroad.. but I was with him abroad for the past 3 weeks since Thursday and we meditated together thrice (first time we meditated together, btw). We went off the techniques he learned in class (involved a sequence of mantras/auhm-ing and mmm-ing, along with rapid and deep inhalations, which I normally don't do). Uhhm, I discuss my experiences with him when I can and feel the need to. He tended to discuss his experiences after we ended meditation (or after I did, at least, since I typically meditate for a bit or much longer). The first time we meditated together, he told me he perceived negative entities of some sort and then a bright white light directing his attention away from that... or something to that effect. He also said he had the sense of seeing his surroundings with his eyes closed. Can't remember what he said -- or if he said anything -- about his other two experiences during meditation with me but I do remember him yapping about feeling the "buzz" as he calls it... and making jokes about only meditating in order to feel the buzz LOL. Fully told him that doing it to merely "feel the buzz" is dumb but I'm sure he already knows that. Not entirely sure if he was joking when he said that loll