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So I'll soon be finished with Robert Bruce's "Astral Dynamics" and am trying to decide what next to order from Amazon.com - any suggestions?

I picked up "The Field" which has to do with the universe and quantum physics.  But after that, I'm not exactly sure what I want to read.  I think I've read enough about 'technique', so I don't need any more 'beginner OBE' books.

Thank you in advance for your advice!

According to the astral world, when does consciousness enter a fetus?

For instance, when a deceased person wants to be reincarnated, at what point of the pregnancy process does the consciousness enter the fetus?  Immediately upon conception?  At birth?  Inbetween?

[Comprehensive study of 'time twins' debunks astrology]

Thought you all might be interested in this article from the London Telegraph....

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20030817-105449-9384r.htm

Comprehensive study of 'time twins' debunks astrology

By Robert Matthews
LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH


   LONDON — Scientists have once and for all debunked astrology's central claim — that our human characteristics are molded by the influence of the sun, moon and planets at the time of our birth — in the most thorough scientific study ever conducted on the subject.
   For several decades, researchers tracked more than 2,000 people — most of them born within minutes of each other. According to astrology, the subjects should have had very similar traits.
   The babies were originally recruited as part of a medical study begun in London in 1958 into how the circumstances of birth can affect future health. More than 2,000 babies born in early March that year were registered, and their development was monitored at regular intervals.
   Researchers looked at more than 100 different characteristics, including occupation, anxiety levels, marital status, aggressiveness, sociability, IQ levels and ability in art, sports, mathematics and reading — all of which astrologers claim can be gauged from birth charts.
   The scientists failed to find any evidence of similarities between the "time twins," however. They reported in the current issue of the Journal of Consciousness Studies: "The test conditions could hardly have been more conducive to success ... but the results are uniformly negative."
   Analysis of the research was carried out by Geoffrey Dean, a scientist and former astrologer based in Perth, Australia, and Ivan Kelly, a psychologist at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
   Mr. Dean said the results undermined the claims of astrologers, who typically work with birth data far less precise than that used in the study. "They sometimes argue that times of birth just a minute apart can make all the difference by altering what they call the 'house cusps,' " he said. "But in their work, they are happy to take whatever time they can get from a client."
   The findings caused alarm and anger in astrological circles yesterday. Roy Gillett, the president of the Astrological Association of Great Britain, said the study's findings should be treated "with extreme caution" and accused Mr. Dean of seeking to "discredit astrology."
   Frank McGillion, a consultant to the Southampton-based Research Group for the Critical Study of Astrology, said of the newly published work: "It is simplistic and highly selective and does not cover all of the research." He added that he would lodge a complaint with the editors of the journal.
   Astrologers have for centuries claimed to be able to extract deep insights into the personality and destiny of people using nothing more than the details of the time and place of birth.
   Astrology has been growing in popularity. Surveys suggest that a majority of people in Britain believe in it, compared with only 13 percent 50 years ago. The Association of Professional Astrologers claims that 80 percent of Britons read star columns, and psychological studies have found that 60 percent regularly read their horoscopes.
   Despite the skepticism of scientists, astrology has grown to be a huge worldwide business, spawning thousands of telephone lines, Internet sites and horoscope columns in newspapers and magazines.
   It seems that no sector of society is immune to its attraction. A recent survey found that a third of science students subscribed to some aspects of astrology, while some supposedly hard-headed businessmen now support a thriving market in "financial astrology" — paying for predictions of trends such as the rise and fall of the stock market.
   

No one seems to doubt the fact that one can contact the deceased through astral projection, but very few talk about the "recently" deceased.

Dr. DeGracia says he believes that the recently deceased go to a special place within the astral plane where they can adjust to their new surroundings, something similar to a nursing home.

My father passed away unexpectantly two months ago from this Monday, I'm constantly wondering what he's going through right now.  (Though he just passed, this is NOT the main reason why I'm interested in OBE)

So my questions are this - What are your thoughts about contacting the recently deceased?  Do you believe they go to a "special place" like a nursing home?  If so, how long does it take them (approx.) to get used to their surroundings and leave this special place.

Occasionally, I will wake up in what I consider a "bad dream."

I think I am awake, I can see my room completely clearly.  I am unable to move or speak, although I "feel" like I am opening my mouth.  And I don't feel "pinned" down at one particular part of my body like many APers have described.

I'll hear radio stations (although no radio is on) and noises coming from the other room.  This of course scares me because I think that something is in the other room and I can't move or call for help.

I always just considered these "nightmares" (although, I VERY rarely have nightmares) but after reading through Dr. DeGracia's 1994 online OBE notes, I'm thinking that I could have been on the "esoteric plane"

So my question to you all - Where do you think I was?  If I was on the esoteric plane, what kinds of things can I do on the esoteric plane?  Why do you think this happens to me even though I wasn't trying to go to any planes?  

Thanks!

I am new to the world of AP and have read the first 100 pages of "Do OBE" by Don DeGracia PhD. while I'm waiting for my AP books to arrive from Amazon.com.  I've also done some research around various AP/OBE websites.

Dr. DeGracia is the first writer I've come across that says "lucid dreaming", "astral projection", and "out of body experiences" are all the same thing....it's just that different people (occultists, parapsychologists) have different names for it - But it's all the same thing.

Now "lucid dreaming" can be described as 'consciously dreaming' or 'having control over your dreams'.  And this usually seems to happen while you are dreaming, and something triggers your mind then suddenly you realize you're dreaming.

Am I right so far?

And "astral projection" is also described as 'consciously dreaming' but it seems that people AP when they put themselves in a trance (or another method) and then pull themselves out of their body.

Now these two things (AP & Lucid Dreaming) seem like two totally different experiences but Dr. DeGracia says they are basically the same.

Okay, here's my question (finally!)....

I have control over my dreams often.  I'll be dreaming and for some unknown reason, I'll realize I'm dreaming and have more control....but I'm still in weird dreamland, it's nothing like what people have described about APing.  But according to Dr. DeGracia, I'm APing.  But I hope this isn't what an AP is!  Is it?

From the information I've gathered from other sources, it seems as if AP & Lucid Dreaming are two totally different things - Lucid Dreaming is what I experienced, while AP are the experiences that are discussed in this forum and books etc...

So are lucid dreaming & AP the same thing?

Do any of you have any experience with the IAC (International Academy of Consciousness) or any of their courses?

They are coming to my home city of Helsinki later this month to conduct a two-day introductary course.  I'm trying to decide whether it's worth the 90 euros (approx. $100 US) or should I stick to the books I have ordered.

Thanks!

Well, it looks as if I've finally found a great discussion board for open discussion of AP/OBEs.  

At first I went to mysticweb.org but found that the moderators would instantly delete any messages that had to do with AP books other than the one they sell from their website.  They also delete any postings with links to other courses online that would compete with their online course.  Also, any mention of the IAC would immediately be deleted.

I'm sure this same problem won't happen here on Astral Pulse.  It seems obvious that mysticweb's first concern is money and not teaching.

Well anyways, I look forward to many interesting discussions on here astralpulse in the future!

Ketamine experience is NOT what you all are after.  Although ketamine is alot of fun and very interesting, you have no control over your experience - You're just strapped in to a rollercoaster and have to go where it wants to take you.

You'll retain most of what happens during the experience but all the visuals are very fuzzy/blurry and you'll never communicate with anyone or anything.  It's much closer to a NDE than AP, but definitely is an OBE.

If you want read a detailed, easy-to-read, and unbiased book about ketamine, definitely check out Dr. Karl Jensen's "Ketamine: Dreams and Realities"

People say they have talked to aliens, the deceased, and God during ketamine but I know NO ONE who has experienced anything remotely like this.  I think those kinds of people are just f**ked up to start with and heavy ketamine use doesn't make them any better.

Ketamine is NO SUBSTITUTE for true astral projection!

quote:Originally posted by Hephaestus

Persoanlly I believe consciousness enters the foetus when the foetus grows its first ever brain cell.

And at what stage during the pregancy does that happen?  A couple months?

quote:Originally posted by Nick

Hi Phil,

This topic would probably fit better in General Metaphysics rather than OBE discussions so I moved it. If you have a different forum you'd like to see it in, PM me and we'll work something out.

Very best,

No problem Nick.  I'm new to AstralPulse and am not familar with all the forums yet.  Thanks for moving it for me!

quote: Things may take on a slightly different hue (its happened to me a few times,and things normally look slightly blue-tinted.)

Thanks for your help Mark!

That's very interesting about how you mentioned about the "hue", I didn't mention this because it was tough to describe, but "hue" is a very good word to describe it.  I was thinking of using the word, "tint".

Whenever I have this experience, it is true that the colors of the room all have a certain 'hue' to it, usually red (nighttime) or maybe a white/yellowish (like a morning sun).

There is also a very fine "fuzz" around everything, not "blurry" but more like if everything had static electricity around it and I could see it.  Very strange but very interesting.

Well thanks Mark for bringing that up!