What do you focus on with the noticing technique?

[Kree]

I have some issues with phasing.
I can either, focus my eyes on the blackness or defocus and concentrate on my mind's eye's visuals.

Focusing on the blackness almost strains my eyes but lets me see some detailed visuals and helps stay alert. Eventually, I get tired and defocus, this causes me to daydream. Sure, daydreaming is also a phasing technique, but I can never go deep enough no matter what, also, the visuals keep randomly changing and I'm also hearing music nonstop so I'm not very immersed in anything. Every single time what happens is I spend an hour on the technique, get vivid visuals, get bored and start having a conversation with myself in my mind to stimulate myself.

I'm not really sure what to do to make the NP the most interesting place for my attention to go to.

[Nameless]

There are several things you can do.

You can pay more attention to the music, forget the visuals. Let it take you where it will.

You can focus on the visuals. Allow the visuals to flow freely till you find something to latch onto then follow it.

Also you can just let that conversation flow. You may find yourself having a very interesting conversation with 'other'.

You're doing well. Don't give up but if you find yourself frustrated give it rest. Sometimes you need to relax and take a break to give yourself time to incorporate your experiences. Like a reset button, go out and do something physical. Enjoy yourself, get some sun and earth and air and water from natural sources. Then come back to practicing refreshed and ready.

[Xanth]

I have some issues with phasing.
I can either, focus my eyes on the blackness or defocus and concentrate on my mind's eye's visuals.

Focusing on the blackness almost strains my eyes but lets me see some detailed visuals and helps stay alert. Eventually, I get tired and defocus, this causes me to daydream. Sure, daydreaming is also a phasing technique, but I can never go deep enough no matter what, also, the visuals keep randomly changing and I'm also hearing music nonstop so I'm not very immersed in anything.

You're actually doing just fine.  The daydreaming is what you want.  That's the beginning.
It's not really "daydreaming"... it's hypnogogic imagery.  Each time you delve into the imagery increases the chances of you staying there.

That *IS* phasing.

In order to get "deeper", each time you "day dream" you need to move your focus further and further from this physical reality.  Remove all aspects of what binds you here (your physical senses). 

Every single time what happens is I spend an hour on the technique, get vivid visuals, get bored and start having a conversation with myself in my mind to stimulate myself.

I'm not really sure what to do to make the NP the most interesting place for my attention to go to.

Haha!  You don't even realize what you're doing. 
That's a mental rundown... the rundown doesn't have to be visual, it can be a simple conversation. 
Have you ever read anything from Bruce Moen?  He's now passed on permanently to the non-physical (just last year), but that is EXACTLY how he projected.  He had conversations with "people" in his head.  He would start off making up the entire conversation himself, then eventually, he would begin to notice that the conversations were taking on a life of their own.  It *IS*, in its very essence, a mental rundown.  At the point when the conversation took on a life of its own, he just went with it... he allowed it to take him where ever it wanted to take him.

THAT is phasing... THAT is projection.

[Lumaza]

I have some issues with phasing.
I can either, focus my eyes on the blackness or defocus and concentrate on my mind's eye's visuals.

Focusing on the blackness almost strains my eyes but lets me see some detailed visuals and helps stay alert. Eventually, I get tired and defocus, this causes me to daydream. Sure, daydreaming is also a phasing technique, but I can never go deep enough no matter what, also, the visuals keep randomly changing and I'm also hearing music nonstop so I'm not very immersed in anything. Every single time what happens is I spend an hour on the technique, get vivid visuals, get bored and start having a conversation with myself in my mind to stimulate myself.

I'm not really sure what to do to make the NP the most interesting place for my attention to go to.

Your initial post here is basically almost everything that I experienced when I was "newer" here as well.

I first had the "eye strains". Then it was the eyes automatically "feeling" like they were opening. To fix the eye opening problem, I used a blindfold. The one I use now is great. I sue it when I sleep at night too. I fixed the straining eye problem, but learning how to "passively observe" things.

I flitted around in visuals as well. I was mentally jumping around constantly, that is, until I learned the importance of "passively observing" and allowing things to manifest before me. I could lock onto a visual and soon join the scenario or I could just wait until a full in my face scenario was already in paly. To jump start that process, I used a mental focus on what I consider my "Happy Place". Mine is a tropical Island paradise with large beaches and all kinds of interesting things to explore. But yes, sometimes it would take hours and could be quite boring. That's when I learned how to utilize a active mind while the natural process of shifting occurred. You can find out more about that in this Sticky here:
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_consciousness/the_doorway-t46013.0.html
The techniques in that thread have really evolved. I recently have learned the importance of "defocusing" immediately after I close my eyes. This makes the shift almost instantaneous. This revelation came to me after years of daily practice.

As Xanth said. "That IS Phasing ...THAT is projection" or if you would like another term, "consciously shifting".

[EscapeVelocity]

The advice given so far is very possibly relevant to what is obstructing you. There may be another aspect to the situation, and this reflects on the subtlety and quality of our individual experiences.

You may need to define your 'Intent' more clearly. What exactly do you want to do once you are out?

You are getting visuals and audios and mental wandering; you may actually be on the edge of, or in the black 3D Void...and it sounds like you are close to a projection/phasing...kind of hovering at the edge...so what is left as a requirement? That might possibly be the quality of Intent.

Before you begin each experiment, do you have a destination in mind? A person, place or thing? An idea of some sort, a process you wish to understand? A person you wish to visit? A place you wish to travel to? A lesson or event you wish to experience? To wander your bedroom, your apartment, your house or the local neighborhood? To go flying or to travel underwater or to fly to the stars? To meet a Guide or have greater contact with your higher self? To learn the next best lesson available to yourself?

For many of us (myself included), this progression of each OBE experience strongly requires an 'Intent', whatever form that may take; it needs some form of definition and declaration/expression. Wanting to have a fun adventure, just wanting to freely explore...these are all valid...just be mature about your choices, be honest and express your desire...your Intent...and what you get will reflect the innermost you.

So, explore that idea and find a way to incorporate it into your practice. It can only help and it may give you access to far greater insights that will be of benefit as you progress.

Before you start the journey, you must have in mind a destination. You have to have a valid reason for going there.

[Kree]

There are several things you can do.

You can pay more attention to the music, forget the visuals. Let it take you where it will.

You can focus on the visuals. Allow the visuals to flow freely till you find something to latch onto then follow it.

Also you can just let that conversation flow. You may find yourself having a very interesting conversation with 'other'.

Focusing on music would be a really easy technique, though that and the random visual technique seem like advanced techniques as they seem to require extreme alertness when done at night and a lot of curiosity when done during the day.

You're actually doing just fine.  The daydreaming is what you want.  That's the beginning.
It's not really "daydreaming"... it's hypnogogic imagery.  Each time you delve into the imagery increases the chances of you staying there.

That *IS* phasing.

In order to get "deeper", each time you "day dream" you need to move your focus further and further from this physical reality.  Remove all aspects of what binds you here (your physical senses). 
Haha!  You don't even realize what you're doing. 
That's a mental rundown... the rundown doesn't have to be visual, it can be a simple conversation. 
Have you ever read anything from Bruce Moen?  He's now passed on permanently to the non-physical (just last year), but that is EXACTLY how he projected.  He had conversations with "people" in his head.  He would start off making up the entire conversation himself, then eventually, he would begin to notice that the conversations were taking on a life of their own.  It *IS*, in its very essence, a mental rundown.  At the point when the conversation took on a life of its own, he just went with it... he allowed it to take him where ever it wanted to take him.

The conversation rundown sounds interesting, I tried it one night but it made my mind so overly active that I had serious issue falling asleep afterward, maybe if i'm deep enough I can see it working but the intellectual thought required has so far only made it harder to focus on the NP, thinking just feels like a physical thing to me, makes me feel here, maybe getting used to thinking with eyes closed will help with that. I've also started watching Bruce Moen's talks, will see if he has anything educational to say.

I guess that is technically phasing, but that kind of phasing is not the goal, I want to be able to visit places other than the ones created by my mind.

Your initial post here is basically almost everything that I experienced when I was "newer" here as well.

I first had the "eye strains". Then it was the eyes automatically "feeling" like they were opening. To fix the eye opening problem, I used a blindfold. The one I use now is great. I sue it when I sleep at night too. I fixed the straining eye problem, but learning how to "passively observe" things.

I flitted around in visuals as well. I was mentally jumping around constantly, that is, until I learned the importance of "passively observing" and allowing things to manifest before me. I could lock onto a visual and soon join the scenario or I could just wait until a full in my face scenario was already in paly. To jump start that process, I used a mental focus on what I consider my "Happy Place". Mine is a tropical Island paradise with large beaches and all kinds of interesting things to explore. But yes, sometimes it would take hours and could be quite boring. That's when I learned how to utilize a active mind while the natural process of shifting occurred. You can find out more about that in this Sticky here:
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_consciousness/the_doorway-t46013.0.html
The techniques in that thread have really evolved. I recently have learned the importance of "defocusing" immediately after I close my eyes. This makes the shift almost instantaneous. This revelation came to me after years of daily practice.

I forgot about my eye problem, I think I fixed it by just not even trying to keep them closed, if they're opening I don't pay attention.
I guess a location to focus on would help with consistency of the visuals and staying alert but in the past it's been just so mentally straining and my mind would still want to do something more interesting, maybe if I make it a really happy place, the desire to stay in the visuals would be there.
I've tried the doorway technique many times as it makes so much sense, I should probably keep trying it but I think I'll focus on some of the others suggested here for now.
It's interesting what you say about defocusing, it's what I usually do as it's easier than focusing, I can do it immediately even with eyes open.

The advice given so far is very possibly relevant to what is obstructing you. There may be another aspect to the situation, and this reflects on the subtlety and quality of our individual experiences.

You may need to define your 'Intent' more clearly. What exactly do you want to do once you are out?

You are getting visuals and audios and mental wandering; you may actually be on the edge of, or in the black 3D Void...and it sounds like you are close to a projection/phasing...kind of hovering at the edge...so what is left as a requirement? That might possibly be the quality of Intent.

Before you begin each experiment, do you have a destination in mind? A person, place or thing? An idea of some sort, a process you wish to understand? A person you wish to visit? A place you wish to travel to? A lesson or event you wish to experience? To wander your bedroom, your apartment, your house or the local neighborhood? To go flying or to travel underwater or to fly to the stars? To meet a Guide or have greater contact with your higher self? To learn the next best lesson available to yourself?

For many of us (myself included), this progression of each OBE experience strongly requires an 'Intent', whatever form that may take; it needs some form of definition and declaration/expression. Wanting to have a fun adventure, just wanting to freely explore...these are all valid...just be mature about your choices, be honest and express your desire...your Intent...and what you get will reflect the innermost you.

So, explore that idea and find a way to incorporate it into your practice. It can only help and it may give you access to far greater insights that will be of benefit as you progress.

Before you start the journey, you must have in mind a destination. You have to have a valid reason for going there.

For now I just want to develop the ability, so I sometimes intend to be above my building, though I do forget about that intent when I start on some technique.
I could intend to go to the place I'm visualizing, though the reason would be just for practice.

[Lumaza]

 So how far are you getting? What is it you "expect" to see? What problems are you still having. I am perplexed here. You say you have tried everything  that we all propose to you, yet you don't tell us what the results were. Once again, I have to think that the problem isn't with the method or the techniques. It seems the problem is with your ability to actually release your control. You do it every night while you go to sleep. You just need to learn how to stay consciously aware to obtain that conscious shift.

I have to comment on a few of your quotes quote from you here Quote 1"I guess that is technically phasing, but that kind of phasing is not the goal, I want to be able to visit places other than the ones created by my mind."

It may start in your mind, as in imagination, but then it begins to take on it's own life. When I do this, I am not consciously imaging the scenario anymore. Example 1: I focus on visually tossing a basketball into the air. Sooner or later a net appears. Now I feel motion like I am going for a lay up. Someone passes the ball back to me. Those aren't things that I willed. All I did was "get the ball rolling". I started a sequence then let it go where it wanted to. But I held my focus completely 100% on the new direction of the scenario.

 Example 2: I begin to focus on simple candle flame. I can see it, now it fades, so I bring it back. I can see it again and it fades. The more I bring it back, the stronger the visual is. Now that flame is beginning to morph into a Fireplace setting. I am not consciously directing this. I am just "passively observing" it and "allowing" it the freedom to go in whatever direction it wants. At that point, I have absolutely 0 focus on my "physical body". My entire focus is on whatever I am experiencing there. I have already shifted.

I then end that scenario and see that I am in the 3D zone, where I can now create a mental intent to do what it was that I wanted to do for that session. In this case, your intent is to visit places, not created by your mind. I have been to numerous places and numerous things that mind could not even fathom, until now that is. Spiraling in vortexes for examples and I mean, seeing the entire spiraling vortex to it's end. To do that, many times you have to ride the wave for quite awhile. I can tell from experience, that is quite hard to do, but it's also incredibly rewarding when accomplished.

Quote 2:  For now I just want to develop the ability, so I sometimes intend to be above my building, though I do forget about that intent when I start on some technique.
I could intend to go to the place I'm visualizing, though the reason would be just for practice.

That "intent" IS your technique. You have chosen to target the top of your building, so stay with it until you see it and experience it. But then what happens after you find yourself above your building? What happens if you find yourself shooting a mach speed, akin to being shot out of a cannon? Do you abort out of fear or do you hold your focus entirely on the experience? You had a simple goal of being above your building. It turned into much more than that, so what happens next?

EV gave you some great advice on "intent" and I don't really quite understand your reply. That IS the practice!


Remember these? They all knew the truth! They all knew how it all works!

 "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."
                 Albert Einstein

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will."
              George Bernard Shaw

"Everything you can imagine is real."
             Pablo Picasso

"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things that escape those who dream only at night."
            Edgar Allan Poe

[Xanth]

I guess that is technically phasing, but that kind of phasing is not the goal, I want to be able to visit places other than the ones created by my mind.

You're falling into the trap of "real vs illusion"... that kind of thinking is going to set you back many years.
Suffice to say through using the technique you're already using, you have direct access to the whole of consciousness. 

WHAT you experience is objective.  The only thing created "by your mind" is HOW you experience it. 

[Kree]

So how far are you getting? What is it you "expect" to see? What problems are you still having. I am perplexed here. You say you have tried everything  that we all propose to you, yet you don't tell us what the results were. Once again, I have to think that the problem isn't with the method or the techniques. It seems the problem is with your ability to actually release your control. You do it every night while you go to sleep. You just need to learn how to stay consciously aware to obtain that conscious shift.

That "intent" IS your technique.

You're right, my main issue is most likely the inability to release control, yes, I do it every night when I go to sleep but I have difficulty with even that, I usually fall asleep after I get tired from trying dozens of sleeping positions, I usually end up sleeping on my front probably due to it being easier to breathe, it might make sense to use this position for phasing but I've always found it harder for some reason and so have most other people I've read about. Sitting might be another option. On my front I kind of automatically ping pmr with my attention occasionally even if it is just by thinking and feeling like I'm thinking in my physical body's head. In most other positions I get distracted by the discomfort.

I never really thought about intent being the technique, I always assumed just getting absorbed into any technique will at some point result in that becoming the prominent reality. It does make sense that aligning the intent with the technique will have better results.

"I begin to focus on simple candle flame. I can see it, now it fades, so I bring it back. I can see it again and it fades. The more I bring it back, the stronger the visual is. Now that flame is beginning to morph into a Fireplace setting. I am not consciously directing this. I am just "passively observing" it and "allowing" it the freedom to go in whatever direction it wants. At that point, I have absolutely 0 focus on my "physical body". My entire focus is on whatever I am experiencing there. I have already shifted."

So just imagining a flame and if it disappears bringing it back, not doing anything else? That's kind of a different approach to something like the doorway technique which requires a bit of thought. Might have to try this.

You're falling into the trap of "real vs illusion"... that kind of thinking is going to set you back many years.
Suffice to say through using the technique you're already using, you have direct access to the whole of consciousness. 

WHAT you experience is objective.  The only thing created "by your mind" is HOW you experience it. 

I know that it's ok to start off with an illusion and that there is value in illusion type experiences, but what I meant was that when I make an attempt I don't get to the stage where that place feels as real as here, I can see things if I make a conscious effort but I can't just turn my NP head and see what's there, I can only kind of RV whatever I want to see, and I'm the one providing the data. I can spend an hour in a visualization but it still feels only slightly more intense than what I'd get if I'd visualize right now with my eyes open.

[Nameless]

It sounds to me Kree that you just are not yet fully inclined to trust yourself. You think it is you and only you. It sounds so easy I know but it the ease is deceptive. Maybe try color. For example visualize a blue candle flame. If it changes color without your conscious thought to do so then you indeed are on your way. If that should happen just go with it, don't stop to think about it.

[Lumaza]

 Kree, just know one thing "It doesn't have to be drawn out or difficult". You will learn in time to just shift at will. Once you do, you will see how close the NP really is!  

My Doorway technique is a bit more involved because people that are new to this practice have a really hard time turning off their physical focus. The techniques found in my Doorway thread are kind of based on "mind games", per se. Those mind games come through the use of "mental associations". Example of this: Geometric shapes. We live in a World of geometric shapes. The focus on simple square can actually bring all kinds of mental associations to mind. I used to say you then need to "allow" the scene to manifest. But last night I watched "Dr. Strange", for the second time now and in the movie, they kept saying "surrender" to it. That movie is based on a really fantastical use of Astral creating physical manifestations. But it has some great tips in it if you are really listening to the teachings of the "Ancient one" in it.
The focus on a basic color does the same thing. The use of a Doorway correlates to the fact that that is exactly what you are doing in this practice. You are opening a conscious doorway between here and there. Those doorways will bring you deeper if or should I say, when, you are ready to open them.