~!*!~ The question method ~!*!~

[APGuy]

Welcome to the forums!  That seems like a good idea because it keeps you awake, concentrated on a question while still getting relaxed.  However this method was posted a short time ago in the Astral Conciousness forum as the Koans or I believe Kog-ans as one replier called it.  Also I can give you the answeer to the tree in the woods question[].  It wouldn't make a noise because unless someone or something is around to inerpret it as a noise it is merely a vibration in the air.

[holy reality]

But aren't all vibrations sounds, even if inaudible to human ears?

And isn't all matter and energy interconnected? If so, the vibrations would eventually reach us.

[APGuy]

First off I forgot to say that by defintition clapping is striking one's hands together so unless you go by another such as making a striking noise with one's hands you can't clap with one hand even then notice it says hands not hand[].  Second of all to holy reality vibrations are just that vibrations.  They aren't considered sound unless they are interpreted by human ears as sound.  And yes it would eventually reach us but it wouldn't be enough left over for the brain to interpret it as sound.  After all the whole point of this riddle is that noone was in a large area of the tree and couldn't hear it fall.

[The AlphaOmega]

That sounds like a pretty good method.  It's so strange (only to me) that you would bring up the color thing, because me and my friend were discussing that EXACT same thing last night.  It's a concept that I've never thought of before untill last night, and now to hear you say it kind of blows my mind.  Back on the subject though, this does seem like it would keep the mind occupied enough to stay away, so I think I'll try it.

[OverDriven]

quote:Originally posted by APGuy

Second of all to holy reality vibrations are just that vibrations.  They aren't considered sound unless they are interpreted by human ears as sound.  And yes it would eventually reach us but it wouldn't be enough left over for the brain to interpret it as sound.  After all the whole point of this riddle is that noone was in a large area of the tree and couldn't hear it fall.

Bzzzzzzzzzzz...wrong. Sound is sound, regardless of if it has hit ears yet.  Sound is simply vibration, or rapid fluctuation of air pressure. Using your logic, light wouldn't be considered light till it hits your eyes.

[Jeff_Mash]

I'm glad to see people sharing methods of projection which can help others.  I have heard of this technique in the past.  

However, I don't think it would help me.....simply because I'm so damn analytical, if I posed an unanswerable question to my brain, my mind would wander and soon, I would be asleep, deeply engrossed in a dream!

As an example, taking your tree falling in a forest method, while contemplating on the sound it would make if no one where around, I would start to think about the forest itself, and the next thing I know, I'll be dreaming (instead of figuring out the problem).

I think I'm more of a VISUAL person.  This is why I usually concentrate on the blackness behind my eyes, and try to fixate/stare at things which begin popping up in my mind's eye.  If I have something to LOOK for, it keeps me more focused than letting my mind wander on an inanswerable question.

But to each his own.  What works for me won't work for everyone, and vice versa.  I thank you for posting your methods though, and it already appears to be helping others.  That's what really counts after all, right? [8D]

[Logic]

hey look, my post got deleted weeeee

[mattrox]

yes, what you are describing is using kong-ans to focus your subconcious on one thing instead of several.  This technique is used by zen monks to achieve high states of meditation and/or to project.  Try buying a book on zen to find better questions.  I would type one  but I am quite lazy at the moment. []

[The AlphaOmega]

I tried this technique last night, and decided it wasn't for me.  Just as Jeff Mash said, my mind tried to find the answer to the question and I drifted off the topic entirely untill I was asleep.  I find that using a simple task such as breath awareness is more useful then making your mind work overtime to answer an unanswerable question.  Maybe if you simply asked the question over and over that could help focus the mind, but trying to discover the answer will likely make you lose your focus.

[weagle]

i like the koans that you visualize or imagine you are in that situation you are hanging on a tree by your teeth with the rope on your teeth, tree is on the ledge of a cliff hands/arms tied behind back then you say how you get out of this and you keep swinging hoping answer will come.  two things i heard that help you with koans one you can astral project CONSCIOUSLY no joke i have ap'd consciously with koans and second if your mind can stay silent for a longer time then you can go above the ap plane which is the causal plane (spirit world).

[Zarklon]

Hey! I'm in the same boat with you Jeff_Mash , I would get so involved with picturing the question , I'de forget about it entirely and be chopping the trees down in that forest in a dream 20 minutes later =/  .. SO , I'm gonna post a method I came up with that helped me project and might help you guys like it did me..

I'm gonna post it in a new topic also.

The DunGivaChit Method - (Dont give a Sh*t)

Basically you just lay down and get relaxed , maybe focus on your breathing or whatever you do to reach the hypnagogic imagery state (where stuff starts to make you dream and take your mind away ). Once you start noticing that your mind has wondered a bit and you might be thinking of a huge marshmellow chasing you in a private jet..whatever, once you notice it thinking of random off the wall stuff, start simply commenting on it in your mind. (Ex:  Hmm .. a marshmellow chasing me .. riiight..)-- Would be one of the things I would say to that.  It will either disappear and leave you thinking of nothing at all or you will start to immediately think or something else and you just comment on that..  Find time somewhere in your mental commentary to do body checks to see if you can feel anything anymore.

The way I got it to work was ... after commenting on random things for a while , my mind sort of stopped as if to say (Fine!!! Your not gonna fall asleep? I'm not giving anymore imagery!!) -- and low and behold, after I realized "Hey im not thinking of anything"-I did a body check and I couldnt feel my limbs anymore and entered paralysis shortly after for a full blown OBE almost effortless and it was actually enjoyable to comment on the stupid stuff I think about before falling asleep. But be careful , that is the spot where you can fall asleep "Hey i'm not thinking of anything" is probably the last thing you are gonna think before you just fall asleep so even comment on that if you have to =P .. imagery is sneaky like that.It really gives you a chance to explore the hypnagogic imagery part of the OBE procedure as well , maybe you can tell just how long it takes before you fall asleep or just how long it takes before you get imagery and how relaxed you are when you reach that state , etc... I know it helped me to figure all that out for myself and it definately helps to know all that to project.

I'm 17 myself and i found out about Astralling 2 years ago or so and started seriously doing it last year when i was 16. I've been studying it hardcore and have disproved many things going around in the astral projection community. 2 of the most important things that people say you need to project are listed below.

1) You need a quiet environment to project in.
*--I projected many times in a noisy highschool classroom.. 90+ percent of the time it happends there , I can hardly do it in my bed.

2) You need to have some degree of comfort to project.
*--I have projected sitting indian style on a wooden bench barely even a foot wide , in below 60 degree weather in an old school gym. ... . yea... It came rather quickly .. 10 minutes of sitting liek that almost falling off the bench and my legs cramping , head-ache kickin in , WHAM full blown OBE and 3 false awakenings full controllable-

Sure anyone can SAY they did what I wrote and you will either believe me or not but hey , *dances around* I dont care lol I know I did it and all I'm saying is that YOU can do it too! Dont limit yourself , study yourself and see how you work. Techniques help but developing your own **after****understanding** how they work , is probably your best bet. Now that I've wasted some time , I think im gonna go to sleep .. its only 3:30am on a schoolnight bah!

[pastha]

Hello members of astral pulse
    I am a new memeber to this website. I am 17 years old and i found out about astral projection 3 years ago and starting seriously attempting it 1 year ago that would also be around the time i had my first projection.

    Well enough about me i just wanted to post a method that i have found useful for obe/meditation. Its what i like to call the question method.

    STEP 1: This method starts off by asking yourself an unanswerable question (i.e. what sound is created by one hand clapping? Or if a tree fell out in the middle of nowhere with noone around would it make a noise ( think about the elements which make up noise. if no one heard a noise would it be a noise?) Or a story problem such as the one i began to recently use.

     STEP 1 (continued): Story problem: You have a have a friend with an eye problem. ( he had it his entire life) you begin to suspect that he has been interpreting what you believe to be the color brown as what you believe to be the color red and vise versa. You believe that when you see color red on an object he could look at the same object and see the color that you know as brown however he would still refer to it as red. What i want you to ask yourself is. How would you confirm your beliefs of your friends color mismatch problem. (Think of shades of colors and what makes a color if you know enough about it you could think of what makes us see colors the way they are)

     Step 2: after you pick out a questoin of story problem you must relax, clear your mind of all other thoughts, then begin to think of the questoin/story problem constantly. Let your thoughts wonder on the topic and the topic alone tell yourself their is a soultion i just need to find it.After a while of this ( i say a while due to the fact that the time varies drastically from person to person) you should feel as if you are no longer limited to your phsyical body although this method is used to build up mind power for the solution for a question you still may freely exit your body if you wish to do so.

   [?]Thank you for your time and good luck.
P.S. If you can't understand the story problem ( i made it up ) then feel free to use a question instead.