Experiences I'm confused about and beginner questions

[Formless]

Hello,

Thanks for the reading this.. I'm new here and I read some posts about the FAQs, labelling experiences and many topics about peoples experiences..

I've been trying to intently astral project for the last year or so. From about age 11-12 I would wake up almost every 2 days with a strong earthquake like sensation grabbing my bed wondering why there's an earthquake in this area and later thought it was something within that wasn't right in my body.. I had no idea about OBEs then.. My teenage years and early adult years involved a lot of unhealthy habits and alcohol and cigarette/pot use to the point that getting a decent nights sleep was a treat. Anyways its been years since I quit those drugs and started to get interested in OBEs again.

I read the earthquake sensation is a symptom but although I've had moments of waking up after falling asleep and feeling the vibrations I never really 'got out'. I have some questions..

I stopped trying for a while and recently I've had some experiences some in which I gained awareness that I was in another place but it wasn't as clear as I would say this physical consciousness is.. Though it felt real and my reaction and interaction felt real though without a steady fow at times.. It was somewhat like a nightmare often but I couldn't eject until I completed my mission within it.. I had forgotten I had a physical consciousness I could switch to..until i woke up.. I had more similar experiences some more vivid, feeling somewhat real and random/impulsive like jumping to different parts of a video but the colors and detail were not as real as this physical experience now..

- Was any of this anything leading up to astral awareness? All those experiences happened with 0 noticeable symptoms.. I would gain awareness maybe a few hours after falling asleep, realizing I'm in another not very clear reality and just being and doing whatever in it to a certain degree as I desire (subconscious and conscious desires)

- Does the vividness change based on my level of awareness only? Does the brains shifts in states and emotions while I'm astral awareness have an effect on this vividness or does it happen independent of it? Or does physical reality exist only when I'm aware of it making my question absurd?

- If I am the experience.. How can I know what's a projection of my thought or an entity that existed regardless of my awareness to it? Is the astral a place that exists and has manifestations of other individual consciousness or is it a dimension where it is strictly my realm and a place of my projections? (Which include manifestations of individuals)

- I have been approaching this like I'm supposed to force my spirit or astral body out of my physical body.. Is that technique even worth pursuing because I am the experience and I just shift consciousness within without a sense of brute will.and intent?  I just felt like I was exerting myself like lifting a heavy weight..


I've read countless experiences about people 'getting out' and seeing their own body in bed, visiting friends, travelling to other parts of the universe etc..and I can't even remotely relate to those experiences.. Have you ever experienced such a thing in your reality or akasha? Am I way off in my technique and expectations?

Thanks the help

[Nameless]

Hi Formless, I've recently begun looking into these things myself. One thing that has struck me over and over again in all the accounts I have read is how difficult it seems to be. And yet in almost every account I have read where people experienced any of these events (AP, LD and whatever else you want to call them) in childhood, it was almost or always effortless.

This tells me you don't need to do anything. Unless you have a specific goal, then all you have to do is ask/state your intent and wait.

The other thing is the fear. It's just not necessary.

[Formless]

Hi Nameless.. By 'these things' were you implying all of the above. Or parts of the post? I too wonder if I might have experiences them effortlessly.. But got caught up in labels and tons of information after which I started to doubt to my experiences..
I get that my experience is hard to label and comparing it with others' is even more tricky but after seeing common descriptions and I started to think that is a science with clear cut parameters to label something as an astral projection.. Something that I believe I'm not doing right..

Alright I'll try to be as effortless about it and see how it goes.

Thank you 

[Nameless]

Yes, all of the above. With what you said I would say you are already well on your way to understanding about as much anyone. I know there are a lot of 'experts' out there but at this point I don't there really are any. So the best we can do is keep ourselves open to new information that resonates within us.

Good luck with your efforts and let us know how you feel afterwards.

[Formless]

Thanks thats motivating to know . I will post a experience soon as I progress hopefully

[Szaxx]

Focus on keeping yourself aware as your body falls asleep. This is how a child would think and act. Wanting to see what occurs, the child would simply observe and eventually start floating up. I did this decades ago and many others have too.
I don't think anyone would claim to be an expert unless joking lol. I'm sure 'more experienced' or similar would be said.
Daddy pig on the children's animation of Peppa Pig says it all lol.

[ThaomasOfGrey]

I think that the easy access to dreams in children is probably tied to other psychic phenomena that present at an early age. These abilities nearly always fade in the teenage years. Some studies on psychic children in China made some connections to calcification of the pineal in those children that lose their psychic abilities.

My peak ability in dreaming was actually reached in the mid teenage years which is a little unusual. I don't know why my natural ability now, after training for 2 years is seemingly worse than it was at that time. It could be related to the clean diet I was on as I lived on an organic orchard at the time.

[Freaky Doll]

I trained myself to astral project mainly through force, by focusing on my spirit and consciousness lifting out of my physical body and remembering the sensation associated with each time I succeeded. I'm sure there are other methods. Keep trying and you will find yours.

[Formless]

Thanks for replies guys.. I tried some effortless attempts and did have higher awareness but I'm still not sure about what level of awareness. I will try pure will methods and just flooding my mind with that intent.. I too think my child hood days were much more setup for this mentally. My approach now involves a healthier diet and lots of exercise and pro activity before the day ends