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I was driving to work this morning. I often raise energy while driving, but this morning I did not. Anyway I suddenly got chills up and down my spine.The feeling of "chills" split up. I felt as if my etheric body was split in two , or had two distinct seperate halves.From my left foot all the way up my left side to the top of my head I felt a constant tingling/energy sensation, similar to what happens when I raise energy, only more pronounced. My right side was the same. The feeling was seperated in the middle, where there was a lack of sensation. This feeling persisted for a good 3 minutes. I felt split. As I focused on it more I realized the sensation wasnt just in my body, but extended up above my head, and to each side of me a few feet.It felt really similar to a partial projection, but it was as if there were two projectable doubles trying to get out. Or perhaps my etheric aura just expanded for some reason? [?]

Does anybody have any insight into a situation like this? I am wondering, what is happenng to my energy? Also, a bit later during the day, I was shutting off my mind just standing there, and it felt as if I was about to float out of my body. I interrupted the process for fear that I would fall down and get hurt If I projected from a standing posistion. Any advice on that? Can you project from a waking trance and not fall down? [?]

Thanks for any input, have a good weekend all! []

I often see something really similar when laying down and shutting off the internal dialogue. Its almost as if its a super simple visualization that my mind has caught onto and learned. I can see it almost instantly , anywhere when I focus and shut down the mind, even superimposed over my waking perceptions if I try to see it with my eyes open. I use it to focus on when I attempt to go into dreaming aware, and I have noticed that it often speeds up the process of falling asleep conciously. When I use this method hypnagogic imagery commonly starts after one or 2 minutes of focus.
I dont know if there is any other signifigance of said "colors", but I learned the method from Carlos's Castaneda's book, The Eagles Gift. He believed once you found a "dreaming color".. orange-red in particular.. that you had permanently "tapped" into the second attention.

Hope you find this information helpful. Late.

I tried it, it was very relaxing and helped me to fall asleep. I didnt have one o.b.e. during the time I used it, which was about every day for 2 weeks. Usually I don't need or use such props but I was going through a "dry spell" and thought it would help me out. I find that it is great when you need to hear that white noise to shut out the sounds of noisy roommates so you can get some sleep! I didnt experiment with any custom presets, just played around with the ones included in the free download.

oooops that must be the one I projected to this weekend, I was wondering what went wrong...

I went through a similar experience, where EVERY time I fell asleep, I would either go into this abyss like place, a strange and scary dream world, or be pulled apart into thousands of tiny particles. I always felt as if there was a vast pressure crushing me and pulling me apart. I began sleeping sitting up in a chair or laying on my stomach, as this seemed to lessen the chance of me dreaming aware. Now I'm not sure I did the right thing, perhaps my fears were unwarranted. It doesn't happen nowadays, I have learned to surrender myself to the moment, and enjoy it. I always felt like I was going to die as well, but perhaps I was only going to die of fright : )

"Also, I have a bit of a fear that when I finally do have an OBE I won't be able to get back inside my body. Can someone please go into more detail about how you get back in?"

Every obe I have ever had, and I have had many, I don't do anything to "get" back in. At a given time the experience ends and I wake up. I never understood the need to get back to the body and re-enter it, in my opinion this happens naturally and quickly when the experience ends, and they always end.

Sometimes I wake myself up intentionally, selling myself short of a longer experience, but I only do this if there is something I absolutely dont want to run the risk of forgetting. Waking up intentionally and writing it down ensures good recall, at least in my experience.

Fears need to be dealt with or they can hinder progression.

Some would argue that it is just hypnagogic "sounds". It doesn't mean your Schizophrenic.
Besides its been happening to me for some 10 odd years or so everytime I try to fall asleep conciously, and I'm not Schizophrenic, and neither am I. Or me. Me either.
We arent.

"one interesting thing I have been noticing lately is when I get my body all relaxed, i will sometimes lose track of where my body is exactly, like I'll be laying on my couch and then I'll think I am in my bed or maybe my chair then I just tell my mind to shut up"

This has happened to me before , where I feel like I'm laying a different direction and on a different bed or couch. Last time it happened to me I realized it was because I was already out of body and got up and explored.
Also I don't feel any vibrations the majority of the time... occasionally I feel a light tingling jolt shooting down the base of my neck or from my head down into my body but that is about it.
I would really pay attention to sensations of movement and feelings of being dislocated, as you are probably already out or partially out when you feel that.

Hypnagogic imagery in my experience can appear as soon as 2-3 minutes after laying down and relaxing. Also I have noticed that I tend to "forget" that the hypnagogic images were ever there, much like forgetting a projection. I noticed this when I began listening for hypnagogic guitar sounds that I would memorize and reproduce. Often if I didnt repeat the sounds over and over as I got up to record them they would vanish from memory completely, leaving me with just a vague idea that I had maybe heard them. It was the same when I used to try and draw the images that appeared, if I didnt do so immediately they would often (not always) vanish from memory. Weird stuff : )

I just wanted to say that this is simply a side effect of lucid dreaming and or o.b.e. I have awoken countless times only to still be staring at some image or another present in my room that doesnt belong there anymore. It isn't harmful and doesn't lead to insanity. The image always dissipates in a short time. This happens mostly (to me anyway)after waking up from dreaming aware.
Just the other day in fact I awoke from a dream and saw a black rat scurrying across my room, on top of my closet. I watched in fascination and amazement as it slowly dissipated.

"The question is - what is "intent"? How is "intent" applied? It is clearly more than just wishful thinking - and that is the subject of this topic"

my 2 cent I guess you could say...

intent INtent INTEnt INTENT! Intent is the freedom of personal choice, Intent is the abstract drive to astral project, intent is the force that makes me get up in the morning and go to work even though I want to sleep for 5 more hours, Intent is what made me drink too much beer, intent is everything, intent is nothing. Intent is the freedom of personal choice, the ability to make decisions, and act upon them. Intent is taking responsibility for your actions, good or bad. Intent is freedom, intent is slavery. We can be prisoners of intent, of bad habits and actions, or we can be set free by intent, by intending freedom from our bodies, our physical manifestations. Intent is knowing, knowing what I am doing at a deep bone marrow level. Intent is every facet of living, from being born to dying, and all life in between. Intent is life,death,decision, and conviction! And it is probably much more that I have not mentioned! Intent is belief!

Applications of intent?

Tonight before I fall asleep I tell myself "I WILL GET OUT OF MY BODY AND EXPLORE". I try to make it more than a mere statment, and turn it into magic, a magical application of intent. At times I actually convince myself, yes indeed I will get out of body! And do you know what? At these times, I do. I get out easily and fluidly, totally bypassing trance states and energy work at times. Do you know why? Because at those times I successfully applied an application of intent, and for a moment, the moment of falling asleep, I believed it.I knew it to be true and so it was. Why? Because I intended it.

Intent is much more than wishful thinking. Intent is knowledge, conviction, self empowerment.

Intent is everything, intent is nothing, just like me.

Yes it is excellent, I am actually a member over there myself and post as Ryan. The only thing that sucks is it costs to post there, but it's like 30 dollars for a year so its not too bad. The money goes to help fund their on going research on lucid dreaming.

Wake-Induced Lucid Dream

In short, falling asleep conciously.

Hi guys! I too have frequently experienced this vision problem, and it can be reoccurring. I used a method mentioned in William Buhlmans book to overcome this. It is simple and to the point. Make a demand of your self "Clarity Now!" Sometimes I have to repeat it, but the result is crystal clear vision.  It can sort of become a habit, I always find myself repeating this phrase when I am having difficulties seeing the dream scenery clearly. It is a good habit I have discovered, one that always enhances my experience.

Dream free!
[8D]

****Is it possible to project whilst the mind chatters away, or MUST the mind be still? ******

In my experience if you are going to have thoughts then have them about what you are trying to do, control them with a concious effort. When I can't still my thoughts I will use a repetetive dialogue such as, "Now I loosen from my body". I try to slow the time between each time I think this, but if a rogue thought pops in there, I quickly go back to "Now I loosen from my body". So  I'd have to say yes you can project while thinking, as I have done it this way many times.

*****Does the chasm between a still mind and chattering mind become closer the more someone meditates?****

Shutting off the internal dialogue comes with practice and diligent daily effort. It is definitely easier with practice, and I've noticed that If I quit practicing it gets hard again. Sometimes I can't do it at all, and sometimes it happens so fast and fluidly that it is suprising. Their are many variables such as stress and bad days, where you just can't let go of certain issues that arise in the mind. So somedays are naturally harder than others. But I'd have to say, that like anything practice makes it easier.

Dream free.

I don't want to go into endless detail of my dreams, but just pop in to say that I  have used this technique with success every Friday and Saturday night since this topic began, and for about three months before this topic even started.
I have noticed however that the best results happen for me when I use affirmations during this technique. I will simply say over and over to myself, "Now Im out of body".



Dream well.

I had the cigarette battle. I went back and forth. I'd quit for a bit, then start up again. I met an old man that my grandma knew. He was dying of emphysema from smoking. He told me that it was a most excruciating, painful, slow way to die. He was hooked up to a breathing machine. He told me don't do this to yourself. That was the end of the conversation. It disturbed me, but I didn't quit.
The next I heard of him he had died. His last days were spent in terrible pain and misery over his decision to smoke. His attempt to help me quit smoking stuck in my mind. I thank him. This haunted me, every time I lit up a cigarette. I knew I didn't want to die a painful death of emphysema. I always thought in the back of my mind, this won't happen to me. That's bovine excrement man. We have to be responsible for our actions. When you smoke, you are killing yourself. Slowly, deliberately, poisoning your most precious organs, the lungs that allow you to draw breath. It's not painful now, just a far off idea that it might kill you when you are old and gray.
I was finally able to quit smoking, thanks to a dying old man that knew he could help me. I can't thank him enough. Let death be your advisor. Chance a painful death of emphysema or lung cancer at worst; live with poisoned lungs that aren't functioning to their full capacity at best. When you get the urge to smoke, visualize the crusty black lung that you are creating. Fight the urge. Be a warrior. Make a decision and act on it.

Yes I have some tips for you. Keep moving! Stay active. Don't think on it too hard, unless your are already engaged in tactile sensations. It is quite common to get excited and not engage the dream body. While one is sitting there excited, the dream fades! Often I will walk or run in the dream. Anything that helps give the feeling that one is interacting with the dream scenery can serve as a point of focus. If the dream starts to fade and you can still feel yourself running or walking, keep it up. This can trigger the scenery to reappear. As you are moving you want to really feel your feet hitting the ground.
I have found that tactile sensations are very helpful for stabilizing the dream content. Experiment with any tactile sensations you think might work for you. I once danced myself into a dream that started out as hypnagogic imagery. If its something you can "feel" it will usually have good results. Some people conjure and carry around an item the entire dream. Experiment and have fun.

After almost 20 years of experimenting in this stuff; and I have yet to be possesed by Satan! When you tell your friends about this kind of stuff, whomever they may be, odds are you have challenged their belief system. But the truth is always found in the perceptual corner of the observer.
It's in your corner now.
Good luck, and may the journey be magical.

Just curious Tia, do you stay awake for an hour or so then try to project?

Or do you awaken and immediately try to project?

I find it works tons better if you actually get out of bed and thoroughly wake up.

I have experimented with different time intervals. If I'm not awake for at least 50 minutes after sleeping about 4 to 5 hours I usually fall asleep straight away, resulting in a failed projection. But if I wake up and read a book for about an hour or some other activity, any activity really, then my mind gets active and the resulting projection is usually successful. I wish I could get away with only five minutes, then I'd be projecting all over the place every night.  : )

It's like your body is nice and relaxed after 5 hours of sleep, and an hour of mental activity has awakened your brain enough to keep you from falling asleep right away.  I rarely ever wake up briefly in the night and have a successful projection, though everyone is different. I encounter the same problem as I suppose many do, simply falling asleep. That is why I feel it is important to get out of bed for an hour or so, then proceed with the projection attempt. Not convenient on work nights, I know.

Yes that can be annoying writing out all those o.b.e.'s

Ever since I read astral dynamics I just jot down key words that I am certain will trigger full recollection. If its on the weekend, which it usually is when I try the nap technique, I wake up and drink coffee while writing the dream

I don't know why, but this technique works for me 9 times out of ten. I sleep for 5 hours, stay awake for one hour and meditate or read about dream related stuff.

When I lay back down I don't bother with relaxation exercises or trance induction..
Also I don't move my body at all once I find a comfortable position. I think this is important, I have found myself ready to exit time and time again, then I move to itch or stretch my limbs, and it seems as If I have to start all over.
I find movement interrupts the natural flow of hypnagogic images that start to appear at a given moment.

When imagery appears, I try to involve myself in it with tactile sensations or visualizations.

The drag part of this technique is that I can never seem to do it if I have to work the following day. Must be the stress of knowing I have to get up shortly; which in turn doesn't allow me to fall back asleep easily. But on the bright side I have 1-4 projections every weekend.  I find they often happen in clusters, one right after another, if I do one thing... not move the body after waking from a projection. This becomes a habit after awhile, resulting in some very satisfying clusters of projections.
May you all have similar great results with this technique. : )

LOL; Just tell your partner that your doing a lucid dream exercise its more scientific that way. Throw them a Stephen Laberge book and say "See, it's been scientifically proven!"
Actually heres a great link to his version of the nap technique and the study results, it works for obe or lucid dreams. I use a slightly altered method combining induction techniques rather than M.I.L.D.
http://www.lucidity.com/NL63.RU.Naps.html
late!
Also they have a cool forum too;
http://novadreamer.com/discus/

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