Does "silencing the mind" help with OBE?

jc84corvette · November 10, 2003, 16:33:10

Yes it does. It may help to get to the trance state. It also blocks out surface thoughts wile trying an exit technique.

rodentmouse · November 10, 2003, 16:55:18

BEing able to focus/meditate is essential to being able to OBE i think, thats why ive focused more on being able to meditate for the last few months.

Until i can control my mind to the point that i can ignore any astral noise/sights and sounds as i come close to exiting, i wont even bother.

being able to meditate, or to just simply experience an empty mind is an interesting endevour. When i meditate, i feel that as i do so, i am closer to my fundamental nature than who i am when im not meditating- this has caused great angst andf confusion on understanding who, what and why i am- but this deeper knowledge on myself i feel, is worth the mental strife.

Its reading that meditation alone can take the individual beyond time and space and realise his true nature which fascinates me. This is why i see religions which practise it more valid than the ones which dont.

JustLikeThePill · November 10, 2003, 19:44:31

that is so awesome. i'm going to try to meditate for an hour each morning. in fact its GREAT that you guys confirmed that paying attention to my breath wont matter (since its the only way i can do it).

thanks ALOT,rodent and corvette.

Centa Five · November 10, 2003, 19:47:30

Focusing on your breath during the day is an excellent way to block out your thoughts. This should create for you a quiet mind which will carry over into your night time AP practices and will be very helpful. When you first start the relaxation process before a practice it would probably be OK to focus on your breath to stay centered and block random thoughts, but once you are relaxed try switching your focus to a Mantra or visualization and see how that works. Good luck.

ralphm · November 10, 2003, 19:49:21

How about rying to quiet the mind before falling asleep or when waking in the night? I think this is just as important for obe's.

JustLikeThePill · November 10, 2003, 19:59:54

i am horrible at using my minds eye! i cant hold onto one picture for long at ALL. I wish i could "open" it or develope it or w/e but i cant even focus on it.

i would use a mantra, but i feel kind of stupid think "ooohhhhhmmm" all day.... any ideas guys?

something that pisses me off is when people even know i meditate they assume i'm a hippie freak, whats up with that? ppl are so simple.

jc84corvette · November 10, 2003, 20:15:49

quote:
Originally posted by JustLikeThePill

that is so awesome. i'm going to try to meditate for an hour each morning. in fact its GREAT that you guys confirmed that paying attention to my breath wont matter (since its the only way i can do it).

thanks ALOT,rodent and corvette.

No problem! Glad to help.

I tried the breathing tech. but I get surface thoughts every now and then.

WalkerInTheWoods · November 11, 2003, 04:46:38

You do not have to visualize anything if you are bad at it. Try just looking into the darkness of your closed eyes and see what you can see. Just relax, be passive, and watch the darkness.

rodentmouse · November 11, 2003, 11:58:51

Pill - i also use breath awareness to meditate- prior to OBE attempts, i find it the most simplest. When i feel my mind is clear enough i begin to focus on the blackness infront of me, but i stil retain a thread of awareness on my breath, otherwise i would lose focus.
My problem is that anytime i see the strobe flashing in my minds eye, my physical eyes automatically pull my awarenes back to them, thus losing the connection to my 3rd eye.

Ive also tried the AUM mantra, but circumstance in my house makes it improper- but what ive learnt from the times i have chanted AUM is that as you chant it, it creates a vibration or resonance which starts in the chest and works its way to the head.

try it now at your computer, chant:

Ahhhhhh - i feel it in my chest

aarrrrr - in my throat

Mmmmmmm - in my head..

now altogether..

i think the point of the AUM mantra is to mimick an upwards movement of energy which goes to the crown of the head.
Its similar to the NEW system like that in the way one feels it instead of visualising it.

JustLikeThePill · November 11, 2003, 17:02:21

its amazing... just with yesterdays practice i already notice i havn't been repeating what i hear in songs and what people say over in my head.

when i focus on the blackness, my eyes have trouble and strain, so i dont really focus on anything or pay attention to my eyes 9i dont know how to explain it) also sometimes the blackness moves forward and backward rapidly. Very weird.

Fallnangel-- wouldn't it be good to practice visualization? just wondering if its as important as ppl say.

rodentmouse-- thanks alot! maybe when i'm alone i can try the mantra, but i'm already vegan and meditate, so my parents think i'm some kind of hippie freak, and i dont want to scare them lol. i'll DEFINATLY try it when i'm alone. thanks alot for your help.

WalkerInTheWoods · November 12, 2003, 05:08:53

When looking into the blackness you have to make sure your eyes are relax. Don't really look with your eyes, just sort of gaze.

I do not know how important visualization is. Robert Bruce's method does not use it, so if you have trouble with it I don't think it is really necessary. But practicing it cannot hurt.

chupacabra · November 12, 2003, 08:03:18

just like anything, the more you meditate/silence the mind the easier it gets. When I first started, I got real hung up on which focusing technique should I use? Breath awareness, mantra? the important thing is that I stuck with it, and it is now much easier and faster getting to that quiet state of mind simply because I've been doing it dilligently almost everyday for about 4 months.

After quieting the mind, i like to sort of "listen" with my mind, holding a state of awareness in which you're expecting to hear or receive something. i guess kind of like listening for the other shoe to drop minus the anxious anticipation of waiting to hear it (did that make any sense?). holding this sort of attentiveness helps to keep the mind clear and also keeps you open to any guidance, communication you might receive from God or the universe.

congrats on your early successes. Keep on Truckin'!

JustLikeThePill · November 10, 2003, 15:54:18

i've been practicing silencing my mind during the day, and in fact i was extremely successful today, i had few thought all day. Its really hard to break out of the habit of thinking and repeating what everyone says in my mind. Anyway, i was wondering if getting good at this will help when you try to OBE, since you try to eliminate stray thoughts. Also, the only way i can seem to do this for a while is to pay attention to my breath. I know that its best not to pay attention to your breath/body while trying to OBE (or so i'm told), so is it ok to pay attention to breath in the day while silencing my mind?

thanks in advance.
Clint

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Does "silencing the mind" help with OBE?