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Perhaps it's that I'm making a mental effort to be aware. On the other hand I feel if there's no mental effort, or some kind of mental direction involved, then I cannot be on the alert as is said to be required for projection.
On the other hand, putting no mental effort in at all just seems to put me to sleep like usual.

I don't know whether I should be consciously directing my focus, or just go mentally limp.
There's many materials on the subject that seem to provide conflicting/ambiguous advice. Some say don't think. Others say think about a vision or a sensation. Some say just passively let it happen. Others say focus on making it happen.
Part of what makes it confusing is the meaning of 'thinking' is defined differently by different people. To me 'thinking' is any mental activity. Thus it is confusing when I see the advice 'don't think', as to me it equates to 'do not be mentally active' Yet to focus requires mental activity.

Trepkos, you said to "get out there" if I get a vision, and Szaxxx said "watch the darkness show whatever comes up whilst being passive" This is giving me mixed messages. Perhaps you guys have different opinions on this.
To think or not to think. To be passive or active. It's all very confusing =-d

Thank you all for your guidance.

Thank you for the quick response.

I've also most always been highly inclined to number 2. Rest-assured I don't need convincing, and even if I never project I'm not going to hold that up as evidence against it. If I don't, I'll just carry on wondering.

Perhaps it is lack of acuity on my part, but I don't feel fear is a factor for me. I'm not a very emotional person.
As for thinking, I make it general practice to maintain a quiet state of mind and don't feel that is much of an obstacle for me, either - at least, I feel I can go without intellectualizing it. Though, I do feel I could focus better. It's the 'stay aware of the thinking you while ignoring the body completely' part that is the core issue; I find myself unable to ignore the body, to seperate 'me' from the body.
Generally what happens is I either focus on being relaxed and end up drifting off, or I focus on mental proactiveness and the body becomes restless as a result.

Another one is 'Only look forwards without moving your physical eyes' I do find my eyes tend to move with each thought and sensation. Perhaps it's too much outside noise causing me to lose focus.

Hey there. I'm new. I've been interested in astral projection for years, tried to do it on and off over the years with no success. I'm generally neutral to the notion of it, neither believe it nor doubt it. It's just something I would like to commit myself to so that I might get personal confirmation.

Some background. When I was very young, I had a few lucid dreams. Just a handful. There was also this weird dream experience I used to get when I was still in pre-school, in which I saw a white background with, shall we say, multiple memories overlayed over it. Like a video slideshow of my memories playing over this white background. I was always aware I was dreaming in this state. Sometimes the memories would stop, and I would be stuck seeing pure white. I would try to wake up to no avail.
When I reached young teens, though, I more or less stopped dreaming altogether. Now I never dream. Haven't dreamed in years.

To the point, the main questions I want to ask to get me started are: Why don't I dream (or remember dreaming) and is this necessarily a hindrance to astral projection?
The other one, the main reason I registered because I haven't seen an answer that satisfies me, is how exactly can one have the body go to sleep while maintaining mental alertness? The problem I have is that mind and body seem to be inseparable in my experience. If I put my mind on the alert, my body gets excited. If I relax my body, my mind drifts off. I don't see how one can be mentally wired without exciting the body, or how one can relax the body without the mind going into sleep mode. How can one seperate mind and body?