Messages

Hi T.L.

That last OBE you recounted was awesome!  It's fantastic that you went outside to see what was going on.  My experiences usually become more dreamlike the longer I'm out.  The semi-accurate RTZ part for me lasts only about 15 - 30 seconds until dream imagery starts appearing until it no longer resembles reality at all.

Good luck with your verification experiences.  If you're able to read a number and whatever else your wife writes, at the very least it will convince you.  Make sure you write down what you saw first before you look at your wife's writing.  I actually am doing this experiment with my next-door neighbor who's very cool.  He's very skeptical about it.  He's written a 5-letter word on a piece of paper on the wall in one of his back rooms.  In my last OBE/LD, I made it inside his house, but I didn't have enough clarity or lucidity and it was overly dreamlike. 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in your experiences you seem to have a lot of awareness where things seem very similar to real life.  Mine often get clouded by a veil of dreaminess.  I want to remember to say "Clarity NOW!!!" like William Buhlman suggests.  I've done it before and it does help some.  I often go around exploring the scenery/setting.  Maybe I should just stand still next time and walk very slowly and just observe.  I've heard my voice before, which kind of sounds like I'm talking into a metal box.  I've also briefly felt that duality of being in two places at once.  It felt strange but not unnatural.  I would like to relax and summon more awareness.

I'm imagining that awareness is like an energy or fuel that you use up.  Maybe by going around a lot I run out of gas (awareness) and things become dreamlike.  Seeing myself in mirrors is probably the same as seeing my hands.  It doesn't make sense, but since my psyche expects to see myself, I do.  Next time, instead of going around doing stuff, I'll try to "experience the experience".

Thanks for sharing your stories.  I hope to hear more of your stories!

Cheers,
Atraveler

Wow T.L.  That's an extremely vivid OBE, and completely different in nature from your lucid dreams.  I think you're right that no one can convince someone else; it absolutely has to be experienced personally.  Robert Monroe talks about beliefs versus "knowns", which are both very personal.

It sounds like most of your experiences have been WILDs.  Practically all of my experiences have been DILDs.  The conscious-exit OBE you described was absolutely fascinating even though it wasn't overly eventful.  During my experiences I have much more awareness than during normal dreams, but nowhere near 100% of my normal waking awareness.  It sounds like you had a lot of awareness in that experience.  Imagine if you could have more of those, what you'd do.  Have you attempted more?  If you did have more such experiences, what would you do?  Fly around the neighborhood or city?  Attempt to verify some facts later?  Find out what the astral really is?

Good luck in your future projections!  Everyone's success benefits everyone else here on the forums.

Cheers,
Atraveler

Thanks Synergy and Shin,

Your experience (Synergy) is very profound.  The conversations with your father are fascinating.  I read that during encounters with other entities in regular dreams, the dream entities aren't really capable of extended conversations or deep thoughts.  They can usually only express one single theme, that of the dream.  In the case of your conversations, the more vivid and complex (back and forth exchange), the more convincing.

Apart from the "dream -> LD -> in bed trying to get out -> OOB" theme which repeats itself in almost all my experiences, OBEs tend to differ from LDs and regular dreams in that the more powerful and vivid the OBE, the less action happens during the OBE.  Regular dreams are like one-act plays in which there's a storyline and characters etc.  During OBEs, I'm in some kind of setting or environment, and all that's happening is that I'm exploring it.  No events happen until after the experience "devolves" back into an LD.

I will keep practicing meditation and OBEs.  This topic is absolutely fascinating.  Once you've had a few of these experiences, you're hooked.  I'm surprised this topic isn't more mainstream.

Hi,

It's been a while since I've posted.  I experimented with galantamine for a while and came to the realization that supplements are a crutch and really are unnecessary (even though they work very well).  After a month or so off the supplements, I started having brief spontaneous lucid dreams, and, this morning (Thanksgiving 2008) I was able to convert one into my typical OBE experience.  I've had about ten such experiences (mostly using the saltcube.com beeps technique)  since February of this year (my first spontaneous OBE).

It almost always happens the same way.  I'm having a normal dream in my last sleep cycle of the night (usually after 7am).  Then I realize I'm dreaming (LD) and I'll then try to go OOB.  Today I tried after an LD and was having a little trouble but then I felt a rolling sensation and was able to "roll out of my body" like I've heard many people do.  It didn't occur to me to *try* to roll because I'd never done it before, but I just felt that sensation.  Strangely, I didn't feel much vibes this time.  When I was out, I went over to the bathroom, and then out the window to a little adventure.  The brief part of flying through the bedroom, being in the bathroom, and flying out the window was very hazy.  You might say that the further I got "away from my body", the more vivid things got.  Also, the longer the experience lasted, the more dream-like it was and the more vivid the scenery around me was.  In the end I was at a grocery/dept. store and I tried three times to turn some bread rolls into chocolate.  It didn't work but I ate one anyway.

After several "OBEs", I've experienced: the melting hands phenomenon, seeing hieroglyphics close in my vision, feeling tons of vibes, seeing myself in mirrors, lots of flying, putting my hands through walls, being in or around my house OOB, staying awake while my body begins snoring, an extremely brief conscious-exit, and other sensations.  I have not yet experienced: any verification, the dweller on the threshold, seeing my physical body in bed, having only part of my astral body out but part stuck in, having a real conversation with another entity, or any astral realms.

So far, I'm not convinced that it's necessary to invoke the paranormal to explain my experiences.  It seems to me that all that can be said is that I've developed some level of ability (still at the beginner stages) to experience dream phenomena while partially conscious/awake.

Now just because I haven't had the heavy-duty experiences like many book-authors have (verification experiences, substantive conversations with other entities, experiences in astral realms, tandem OBEs with other people etc.) doesn't mean that these aren't all real and that OBEs aren't paranormal.  It just seems that the "dreaming while conscious" explanation is so much simpler.  Not to mention, (which is a real downer btw) Stephen LaBerge doesn't believe in OBEs.  He thinks it's all just LDs.  Does this mean all my favorite book-authors are wrong?

For me, the holy grail for OBEs isn't "proof".  Too many schmucky skeptics can come up with a million reasons why your "proof" is their BS.  The holy grail is to be totally and utterly convinced - like many NDErs are.  What do you think?  Is the paranormal just wishful/magical thinking or does consciousness really transcend the body?

Feeling unsure,
Atraveler

I'm starting to believe that OBEs & LDs for me depend more on when I go to bed than how much I drank.  If I can get to bed before midnight, it'll be much easier.  If I wait too long afterwards it messes up my sleep cycles.  I usually don't have more than 2 - 3 drinks in the evening anyway.

Cheers,
Atraveler

Hi Tongo,

Go to bed at 11pm, and set you alarm so you wake up at 3am.  When you wake up at 3am, take 2 Brilliant Dreams pills + 500mg Choline Bitartrate + 600 mg alpha-GPC.  Then go back to sleep and you'll notice that you're more aware during your dreams.  The supplements usually take about 1.5 hours before they start to take effect.  If you drank alcohol that evening, the supplements can take from 2 to 3 hours before they start to take effect.  The Choline works with the Galantamine to activate your elevated awareness.  The Choline reaches its peak after about 1.5 hours and wears off about an hour later but the GPC prolongs the experience and picks up where the Choline stops.

For maximum results, only do this once per week.  If you've been taking Brilliant Dreams several nights a week for a while, stop taking it for a full week before trying again.  If you do it much more than once per week, your body will start to build a tolerance and your results wont be as good.  Don't worry about the vibrations.  If you want to have an OBE, think to yourself: "Ok, now I will go out of body."  Maybe even say a specific location: "Ok, now I will go to the kitchen (or outside your window or bedroom)."  I haven't yet induced an OBE from the galantamine.  All my OBEs came from the OBE timer CD (blank noise separated by beeps).

For me right now, I think this supplement thing is just a phase, but it's producing interesting results so I think I'll keep doing it for a while until I'm satisfied I've learned and experienced all that's possible with the supplements.

Please keep in mind that I'm not a doctor.  I've never had any side-effects or problems from the above supplements, but I can't guarantee that for you.  Consider my advice an informational opinion from a novice.  What I've written here is just an opinion - not advice.  I am not a doctor and I'm not qualified to give anyone any advice on anything.  Any supplements are always more dangerous than none at all.

Cheers,
Atraveler

Nickspry - thanks for your post.

This past Sunday morning I had five - seven back to back intense fascinating lucid dreams using 2 BDs, 500mg choline and 600 mg GPC.  I only do the BD once per week.  I had had a couple of drinks with dinner so maybe there was some REM rebound effect going on too.

I agree that the galantamine-induced LDs are different than spontaneous ones.  The spontaneous ones are always much more personally profound.

I did three cool techniques I'd like to share: 1. I did the spinning technique several times to keep the LDs going, which was pretty effective.  2.  I was going to write some of the LDs in my journal and I intended to wake up and get my journal out of the bedside table drawer.  Instead I had a false awakening and realized what was happening and turned it into another LD. 3. I found I can move inanimate objects around in my LDs - like tables and chairs.  So far I've been unable to conjure a person from scratch though.  My next goal is to try to communicate with people in LDs and try to turn them into OBEs.  I've turned several LDs into OBEs, but never while using the supplements - yet.

You mentioned:

I think that certain substances/molecules open doors to different realities.

I definitely believe this is true - especially in the case of DMT, which I've read about but never tried.

Cheers,
Atraveler

Thanks djvtech, I'll give that MP3 a try.

The best supplements for lucid dreaming, which I've tried several times now are described below.  BTW, the best two supplements to get galantamine are "Brilliant Dreams" and "Galantamind".  Look them up on Google.  Everything I've learned so far is from the book "Advanced Lucid Dreaming" by Thomas Yuschak.

Keep in mind - I'm not a doctor.  Don't take any of this without first doing your own research.  I've had some very powerful experiences - LDs only so far, no OBEs with this, though I've had OBEs in the past.

Lucid Dream Supplementation

Supplements:

* Galantamine (in the form of Lycoris Radiata extract) - to induce lucid dreams, is a Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor.  Galantamine inhibits the breakdown of acetylcholine which builds increased levels of that chemical in the body.  Supposedly increases memory and is used with Alzheimer's patients.
* Choline (Citrate or Bitartrate (preferred)) - These "choline salts" are quickly absorbed into the body and intensify the action of Galantamine.  The salts jumpstart the lucid dream process but wear off quickly.
* GPC (choline alfoscerate/L-alpha GPC/Alpha GPC)  This starts up where the choline salts leave off.  The GPC takes longer to take action and to wear off.  It extends the length of lucid dreams.

Extra Supplements:
* Vitamin B complex including calcium pantothenate/pantothenic acid (Vitamin B5)
* Magnesium/Calcium/Zinc supplement
* Melatonin

Dosages:

* Choline Salts: 500mg
* Galantamine:  8mg
* GPC: 600mg - 1200mg (start with 600mg)

Directions:

Take the Vitamin B complex and the Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc "extra supplements" in the morning with breakfast.  Go to sleep between 10pm and 11pm.  Sleep 4 - 5 hours.  Wake up and take all three supplements and go back to sleep.  Once you start feeling them take effect, after 1 - 1.5 hours, you can do a WILD meditation or just go back to sleep and have LDs.  Take this combination once per week - preferably on Friday or Saturday evenings (you don't have to work the next day).  The most often to take it is once every four days.  Limit alcohol to at most one drink the evening before.  For the first few LDs, take just the Galantamine and the Choline Salt.  After a few LDs, add the GPC to the combniation and note the differences.  Add melatonin (less than .5mg) if you're having trouble falling back asleep after waking up after 4 - 5 hours.  I've had no side effects at all.  Do your research first though!

Cheers
Atraveler

brandon89lee,

I'd love to listen to that MP3 audio you were talking about.  That would be totally awesome.  To do that those guys would have to be incredibly advanced.  Let us know if you can find it.  I'm hoping it's external; I just wont be convinced until I experience some verification myself.

Cheers,
Atraveler

I've had two dreams recently in which I'm telling people all about lucid dreams and OBEs.  It feels kind of silly - I'm actually talking about it in the dream but don't realize I'm dreaming.

Hi Colden,

Just to clarify, are you truly interested in the more specific question of whether OBEs are internal vs. external, or are you mainly interested in whether or not OBEs are paranormal in nature?  It would be hard to do an experiment which "proved" that OBEs are external.  If a projector verified numbers on paper (or conversations or any number of verifiable things), a sceptic could merely claim that the person's experience was clairvoyance or remote viewing.

What if OBEs are paranormal and people have astral bodies which can exit the phyical body, but the astral body dies when the physical body dies?  OBEs are definitely fun and fascinating, but my main goal is to have some experiences which are personally convincing of the paranormal - Robert Monroe's "knowns".

I apologize if my questions take your post off track.  I'm a newbie here with fewer than 10 OBEs and I don't currently have any verification experiences yet.  However, I will share any that I do have.  As a side note, my next door neighbor has posted a piece of paper with a word on it on the wall of one of his rooms which doesn't have any exterior windows and I'm going to try to read that paper during some of my next OBEs.  Wish me luck!

Cheers,
Atraveler

The free fall would be very cool, but you might just find yourself floating up there instead of actually falling.

I think my favorite lucid dream, which was quite profound a couple of months ago was this.  I'm standing in the woods with lots of very tall trees all around.  It's very early morning and I'm looking up at a pale blue sky past the tops of the trees, and it's raining.  The rain is steady but light; and I can feel the cool drops falling on me.  The experience left me with a feeling of peace and awe.  It was quite surreal.

This morning I had a dream that I received in my work mailbox a key that would open every door; I went around opening lots of doors.  A week ago I had an LD where for about 10 seconds I was flying through space and saw lots of stars.  The coolest thing has to be an OBE a few months ago in which I put my hand through the wall and could see it go through; it was semi-transparent.

Hi Tongo,

I wouldn't say these supplements cause vibrations.  Since I've had plenty of vibes in the past, the supplements help me get to the vibes and make them stronger.  From my limited experience, the supplements make these states of consciousness much more accessible, whereas usually they're so darn elusive.

I take one "Brilliant Dreams" pill after sleeping about 4 hours or so.  So, go to bed like normal at 11pm, and at 3:30, take one pill and go back to sleep.  Depending on what you're interested in, you could just go to sleep with the intention of having a lucid dream and then try to become lucid in your dream.  That's what I'd suggest the first time.  Otherwise, once you feel vibrations or symptoms, you might try to wake up and do a meditation to induce a WILD or a wake-induced OBE.

Keep in mind I've only used these supplements once!  However, I'm going to try again tonight and see what happens.  Also, Mr. Yuschak, the author of the book on LD/OBE supplements says to wait at least 48 hours  between using these supplements.  So, for example, if you use the supplements on Thursday night, use them again on Sunday night.  Start with only one pill for several attempts over several weeks and then go to two if you need to.  I'd never take more than two; Mr. Yuschak doesn't ever take more then 8mg of galantamine, which is one of the ingredients in "Brilliant Dreams".  The bottle and website for this product say to take one pill before bedtime, but Mr. Yuschak says to take one after four hours, when you're in the longer REM cycles.

Keep in mind I'm not an expert either at OBE/LD or in supplements or of any kind.  All I can do is relate my personal experiences.  I can't guarantee you'll experience anything out of the ordinary.  I'm not saying you should or shouldn't try supplements and you have to do all these activities at your own risk.  I don't think we're supposed to put links to commercial websites in this forum, but to find it, just type in "Brilliant Dreams" into Google and it'll probably be one of the first to come up.

I would recommend you consult with a doctor before using any supplements of any kind.

Cheers and be careful!

Atraveler

Well, the experiences were very unrealistic.  The vibrations and the flying in space weren't realistic at all, I'd say 2 on a 10 scale.  However, my level of conscious awareness was about a 7 - much higher than in most dreams and somewhat higher than in lucid dreams.  You're right about me needing more experiences, including some validation experiences.  My next door neighbor has already hung up a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper in one of his rooms and he's written a word on it.  Now all I have to do is go over to his house and read the word!

I have some interesting results from my early experimentation with supplements. Last night I tried the "Brilliant Dreams" supplement for the first time, which contains galantamine, choline citrate, vitamin B5, and some melatonin.  I tried it the way Mr. Yuschak from the book Advanced Lucid Dreaming recommended - sleep for about 4 hours, then wake up and take it.  I had what I would call a very sloppy LD/OBE.  I think I was trying to impose my old way of OBEing (WBTB -> LD -> OBE) on this supplement that I didn't quite understand.  Mr. Yuschak says to try to do a WILD or wake-induced OBE, not a DILD to OBE, like my old way is.  I'll try a WILD next time.  Since all my OBEs have been induced from the LD state, I tend to closely associate the two, whereas other people may not.

It's supposed to be somewhat hard to go back to sleep after taking galantamine, but I can't count it on this try because it was my first ever try with galantamine and I was kind of scared to take it when I woke up at 3:40am, but I gave it a try.  This stuff is very trippy!

It took about an hour or so to take full effect.  At one point I was totally swimming in vibrations.  I could phase out of the vibes and make them less intense or concentrate on them and make them more intense.  I looked at my hands two times.  One time they were vague and transparent.  That time I touched my non-physical face and it was solid (or "solidish") - very strange.  Another time I looked at my non-physical hands and my non-physical arms and hands were outstretched as if I were flying.  It looked like I was flying through space with stars and everything.  It only lasted a few seconds.  It was very trippy and realistic but only for a few seconds!  It was also absolutely impossible to control.  I kept having all these OBE phenomena but I have to classify it as a lucid dream with OBE symptoms because I never "exited" my body.  It all felt like it was going on inside my head in a LD.  I was too connected to being in my head in bed, unlike my other OBEs where, from my point of view, all of my consciousness is in my non-physical body, wherever it happens to be.  Also, during a certain period, I heard this strange unintelligible voice babbling in concert with other strange sounds.  I can't remember if the sounds were a type of music or just background noise.  At some point I got frustrated at not understanding the voice and I called out to it and said "Speak up, fool!".  There is absolutely no doubt about how intense the feelings were - it felt like I was on drugs!  However, I guess I kind of was .  However, I got up at least twice to go to the bathroom and while I was going back and forth both times I experienced no symptoms at all.  It was only after I got back into bed and then after I started to fall asleep that I felt these sensations.  It wasn't like when you're drunk and you feel bad no matter where you are.  I had almost zero symptoms.  I think since my stomach was mostly empty at 3:40am that it maybe felt a little bit funny while digesting, but otherwise everything is normal.  The dose of galantamine in Brilliant Dreams is only 4mg, and the maximum dose (for Alzheimer's patients) is 24mg per day.

A question worth asking is this:  Since the supplements helped me achieve these phenomena (which I'm sure I'll refine into more typical OBEs with more practice) does this somehow reduce the validity of the metaphysical/paranormal/supernatual explanations for OBEs?  Are these phenomena merely experiences of the brain which can be made more profound with certain chemicals?  Or, did the chemicals merely give me more awareness which allowed me to experience metaphysical environments?  I came to this OBE journey looking to find some spiritual truths about the soul transcending the body and I hope that my further exploration of this topic will strengthen that viewpoint - not weaken it.  Stephen LaBerge from the Lucidity Institute (from what I heard Dominic Attisani say in an interview) takes the position that OBE does not equal human soul leaving the body.  The Monroe philosophy is that OBE does equal the existence of the human soul.  Are some OBEers, including Monroe, too quick to accept the paranormal explanations?  Or, have I just not had enough experiences profound enough to convince me of the paranormal viewpoint?  I so greatly want to believe the paranormal and not the biochemical viewpoint, but I must be convinced.  I'm not going to believe it without enough personal proof.

Here is my plan for the next supplement OBE attempt:

1. I'm going to wait a few days so the galantamine gets out of my system (it usu. takes 48 hours).
2. I'm going to take it again hopefully with a little more choline bitartrate - Mr. Yuschak recommends like 600mg I think.
3. I'm going to take it around the same time - 4am.
4. I'll try to go back to sleep for a while until I start feeling symptoms, maybe an hour.
5. Once I start feeling symptoms, I'll go to my lounge chair in the other room and lie back and do WILD meditations and try to have a WILD or an OBE.

I know a lot of people are against supplementation, and I'll probably go through this supplementation phase for a while and then drop it.  However, unlike some people, I see it as a sort of "training wheels" (not a crutch) for beginners (like me) who are having significant trouble getting to experience these phenomena, or a boost for people who are in a slump.  It can help re-acquaint people with what these feelings and sensations feel like so that later they can induce them without the training wheels.  It's important for people to realize that these supplements are best used infrequently and, in my opinion, shouldn't form the basis of anyone's OBE practice.  Having said that though, I want OBEers to know that there's an available option when all else fails.

Cheers,
Atraveler

Thanks Don.  It could be that the BD product just didn't work well with your system, psyiologically, or that the product's concentrations of the key ingredients: galantamine, choline etc, are weak.  If you're still interested in supplementation, there's also "Galantamind" which has most of the same ingredients.  Also, you can buy those ingredients separately.  I'm researching all methods possible.  I've heard some people who've had great success with galantamine + choline.

One school of thought treats supplementation as a weakness, the other treats it as training wheels.  I need to find out for myself.

Also, thanks for the great Robert Bruce video on your site!

Cheers,
Atraveler

Hi Leary,

I totally understand where you're coming from.  Let me assure you that the people here are not lying, nor engaging in some fantasy.  All this LD/OBE stuff is NOT BS.  In fact, the only part of these phenomena that are really uncertain (as far as I'm concerned) is whether or not the "soul" exists and actually leaves the body, or if the experiences are just very vivid dreams or states of consciousness.  I've been practicing this for about six months now, and I've had about 6 or so OBEs, and numerous lucid dreams.  The difference between normal dreams, lucid dreams, and OBEs isn't merely semantic.  I remember some dreams every night.  The other night I recorded eight dreams in my journal! (last night only one)  Lucid dreams are completely different and easily distinguishable from regular dreams.  They are very cool and can be quite profound.  OBEs are even more distinguishable from regular dreams and LDs and are absolutely fascinating!   You really do experience an "exit" complete with sensations and everything.  This stuff is REAL!!!  (Exactly what it is is uncertain.) I'm a busy professional and family man and I don't have time to banter with silly people about wishful speculation.  The people here on this site are not lying or fooling ourselves.  We're all trying to figure out the best way to consistently achieve these states of consciousness.  Each of us has a vested interest in the others of us experiencing this to its fullest extent.

Currently I'm in a one-month long slump with most of these experiences, and it's becoming somewhat frustrating.  I'm no expert - in fact, I'm one of the newbies here, but here are some tips.  I'm positive that at least one of them will work:

OBE/LD Tips
1. Make sure you're sleeping 8+ hours per night, every night.  More sleep = more peak experiences.  Don't skimp on the sleep!  Rearrange whatever you have to in your life, but you must get 8 hours of regular sleep!
2. Stop drinking.  Period.  If you're really serious about this, you'll have to stop drinking completely.  Alcohol messes up your sleeping and dreaming.  I've had these experiences while drinking moderately, but if you're really serious you'll eliminate alcohol completely until you've had a few experiences, then you can add it back.
3. Get moderate exercise 3x per week, and go outside in the sunshine at least 30 minutes per day.  Exposure to sunlight causes your body to produce more melatonin, and will reduce the incidence of nightmares.
4. You MUST keep a dream journal and record at least one dream per night.  This is absolutely essential.  No argument.
5. Every night before bed, read the last three nights' dreams from your journal.  Re-acquaint yourself with recurring themes and learn your personal dream signs so you can recognize them in your dreams.  My dream signs are: being involved with women other than my wife, and anything to do with bathrooms.
6. Pay the $20 and get the saltcube.com videos.  The videos are very useful but what did it for me was the OBE/LD timer.  I created a timer MP3 CD using my computer and filled it with different periods of silence divided by the beeps.  I put the CD in my portable CD player which plays MP3s and I usually turn it on around 5am (I put in only one ear bud speaker) and go back to sleep.  The beeps wake you up enough to become lucid, from which point I can sometimes project out of body.  I had an OBE the very first time I tried this!
7. Experiment with supplements.  I've been researching them recently and I bought and read the book "Advanced Lucid Dreaming: The Power of Supplements" by Thomas Yuschak.  You can get the .pdf version online for $5.  He recommends galantamine with a choline salt (bitartrate) and L-alpha GPC.  You can get these online, but the easiest place to start is to go to the "Brilliant Dreams" website and try their product first, which has the first two ingredients I mentioned plus others in it.  I haven't tried it yet but my order is currently in the mail.  The Brilliant Dreams website says to take one pill before you go to bed.  However, Mr. Yuschak says to go to bed, sleep 4 - 5 hours, and then take the supplements.  I'm going to try Mr. Yuschak's method first, using the Brilliant Dreams supplement.  Mr. Yuschak says to only use these supplements once every four days, whereas the BD site says you can use them daily.

Having these experiences can be very tricky and difficult, but it is possible.  Don't give up!

Cheers,
Atraveler

Hi Advent Cloud,

The best way to avoid nightmares is to spend some time in the sunlight every day.  Your body, throughout the day produces a substance called melatonin.  It will produce more if you spend time in the sunlight.  While you're sleeping, your body is converting melatonin to seratonin.  When your seratonin gets to a certain level, you wake up.  There's a lot more to it than this that I don't understand, but this is the basic gist.

Have you been spending time in the sun recently?  I think it's awesome that you find a sword - that rules!

Cheers,
Atraveler

Hi maverickthree,

That was an interesting post.  I posted lately about whether there are supplements that will help enhance the vividness of dreams.  I know there's one called "Brilliant Dreams" and I'm tempted to try it but I want to wait to get some responses first.

It's interesting about your vampire dreams.  Vampires have been a theme in my dreams for many years, though I haven't had a vampire dream in many months now.  I'm always in a town or city or building surrounded by vampires and I'm afraid that they'll find out that I'm not a vampire and that they'll come and get me.  I wouldn't mind having another vampire dream though so I can kick their butts!  The best way to avoid or eliminate nightmares is to spend some time in the sun every day.  The sunlight boosts your melatonin and helps your balance with seratonin.

BTW, I'm also a vegetarian and for the past several months I've been taking this hemp protein powder called Manitoba Harvest (they have a website), from Canada (I live in the USA).  It's very easy to digest, highly nutritious, and tastes fine if you mix it with fruit to make a smoothie, which I do every weekday morning.  I highly recommend it.

Cheers,
Atraveler

Thanks SilverSlider,

I went right to my copy of Astral Dynamics as soon as my experience was over and I read one of his passages about the heart chakra sensations.  It had been a long time since I'd read it and though I remembered it was in there, I was never sure if it would turn out to apply to me.  Personally, I consider having had those sensations a small milestone because I'd never had those before.  Wish me luck in projecting!

On a side note, I've listened to many Robert Bruce interviews and I now sometimes imagine hearing his accent as I read his books.  I'm American and I think his accent is very cool.  There's an English guy in his mid 20s with long dark hair and light skin on YouTube who has posted several videos about lucid dreaming.  He has a really cool accent too.  I'm interested in languages and I often pay attention to peoples' accents, regional, foreign, or otherwise.

Cheers,
Atraveler

Has anyone ever used "Brilliant Dreams" or some other dream-enhancing supplements?  The claims on their site seem pretty lofty.

http://www.brilliantdreams.com/

There's even a book out on the subject "Advanced Lucid Dreaming: The Power of Supplements".

I have a feeling that supplements are a crutch and that the real goal is to develop these skills naturally.  On the other hand, some people might need a kick-start to get things going.  I wonder if these kinds of supplements could be dangerous?  Any comments?

Thanks,
Atraveler

Hi ka0s,

I've never experienced black particles before, but I can relate another strange experience.  The good thing about this experience is that I had it before I ever read anything about it.  A month ago or so, I had an OBE after my usual vibrations after a lucid dream.  While experiencing the vibes, I saw what looked like heirogliphics scrolling in front of my line of vision, like the frames of film at the end of an old movie.  I thought it was quite strange and recorded it in my journal that morning, but then thought no more about it.  A week or so ago I read a post on the AstralDynamics forum by Tempestinateapot where she said:

With hypnagogia, I often get what looks like parchment scrolls with hieroglyphics moving across my vision. I once asked Robert what this was, and he says he also gets it, but has no idea what it means.

You might try searching on the forums to see if you hear of anything similar.

Cheers,
Atraveler

Hi Zante,

I agree with you.  It's one thing to have experiences, teach others, comment on them, and speculate on their meaning.  It's yet another to make inferences and start trying to explain "how things really are", what they should mean to you, and what you should do about it.

Cheers,
Atraveler