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Yes it is possible to see through someone else's eyes.  I believe it is termed transference of consciousness by some people, others call it seeing through another's eyes.  In any case, you seem to have tapped into this ability, even if you did it accidentally  

Robert Bruce actually uses magic, although he doesn't state it in those words.

Examples:

The mole removal techniques are a form of magic
The neg removal and protection techniques are a form of magic
Using the power of the subconscious mind is a form of magic
All forms of psychic abilities are using magic
And astral travel itself is a form of magic

People have different views on what magic is, and have different ways of using magic.  You don't have to cast circles, perform rituals, or use ceremonial or high magick, in order to use magic.  It's up to the individual what they want to call it and how they want to access it.

Disclaimer:  In my opinion

If you look at the AstralPulse home page, you will also see clues there as to his views.  I'm only guessing, but I think he is trying to be as open and accessible to all people, no matter what their beliefs are, allowing people to fit what he says into their own belief system.  And maybe to look within for their own answers?

snic,

couldn't have said it better myself

tyciol,

our subconscious, especially when we're in a state of meditation, is able to tap into the universal subconscious, which knows exactly what these brainwaves are.

alpine 9,

thanks for the technique  

I think it's a matter of balance.  Our bodies are composed of the elements in the sense of a tetrapolar magnet and if we have an imbalance of a certain element, we can then draw on the opposite polarity to gain balance.  For example, if you are too emotional (water element - cold, contracting), you can balance yourself by drawing on the fire element (heat, expansion).  You could meditate on the properties of the elements and change the way you react to certain situations by choosing to manifest the opposite polarity, or even to draw that element into yourself through the ether.  The aim is to have balance of polarity WITHIN YOURSELF, and by understanding the properties of the elements you can change qualities within yourself or within a certain situation that you want to change.

At least that's the way I understand it so far  

I know you're not looking for references to books so I won't mention any  

Tombo: Great post!

I know what you mean!  

The pentagram has been very special to me since I was *given* a symbol in a waking vision.

HOWEVER. I recently found out that Wiccans in England use the inverted pentagram all the time, and think nothing of the fact that everyone else thinks its upside down and evil. Are there any Wiccans on this forum who live in England or have visited the U.K., and can corroborate this?

Tisha, I met a group of wiccans last year and they were all wearing their pentagrams the right way round (point uppermost).  Something very strange happened when we shook hands too, and I wasn't even wearing one...

Personally, I have found that the pentagram does have protective and other properties.  This is something that I found out accidentally, so it doesn't have anything to do with "the mind".

One might consider the pentagram as a sort of programable key that can "unlock" the forces of nature

Thanks for that Jeffrey, you've just clarified something for me that I "experienced", although I never knew this until now  

symbolically the Pentagram represents the four elements - Fire, Water, Air and Earth, and the top point represents "The Divine", "The One", "Unity" and all other names for the Great Creator and Master of the Universe.
The principles symbolically represented by the Pentagram are utterly sacred and fundamental to everything in the universe.

Thanks Adrian, this would explain why I woke up one morning repeating 4, and 5...   4, and 5....   4, and 5...   over and over - As someone that "watches my thoughts", this was one that came from a great distance as if from someone else, which was why I didn't notice it for a good half hour or so, unusual for me... It explains a lot.  I have had one other experience like this (waking up repeating a series of numbers) which I can't explain as yet.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to take back what I said... I just checked in my dictionaries (I have a new Collins dictionary and a very old Oxford dictionary) and... erm... it's not there!  

But it's used quite a bit by people I know, so maybe it's slang?  Maybe it'll appear in the next edition lol!

I have to agree with Beavis too  

Strangely enough, no 7 pops up in my life quite frequently too, hence my user name lol  

as in "you're very observative"... yes, it's a real word.  The Microsoft dictionary doesn't list everything, also, some words are different depending on whether you live in the UK or US  

Aww Frank, cheer up, I have some good news... I know someone who'd *love* to have your train set!  So you can rest easy now  

Thanks for that Darren, I've set it to record!

There's a programme on straight afterwards (11:05pm-12:40am) that should be interesting too - The Exorcism - a scientific investigation of what happens inside the brain during an exorcism.

Thanks for this post Gandalf!

I've just begun to suspect that I've been OBE quite a lot (RTZ), but was caught up in the "belief system trap" of expecting vibrations, exiting the physical body etc, so dismissed this, as well as seeing through eyelids, as hypnogogic imagery!  Except for one occasion where I feel I was given information in the astral planes - for some reason I trusted this!  And another recent time when I saw an astral location, which was confirmed when I read the description of it afterwards.

I have seen through my eyelids several times but thought it was hypnogigic so dismissed it and focused attention back on the body.  I recently realized that I had, in fact, been seeing through my eyelids... More to the point, when I have been relaxing/meditating in bed, I have been aware that I was lying in bed meditating, yet felt,seen, moved etc as I would when sitting in my living room.  Because I was associating OBE with either vibrations or a vision screen, I dismissed this after a while as either dream or hypnogogic imagery and focused back on myself in the bed.  My intention here was meditation by the way, not OBE.

The last time this happened I decided to try to go somewhere, but unfortunately I hadn't settled into it enough (hadn't quite got to the stage where I felt as if I was literally *in* the living room) so nothing happened.  Also, it's possible that maybe I'm too close to my physical body (I live in a small flat/apartment!)?  But somehow I think it won't make any difference - belief systems again!

(When I started practicing for OBE I was bearing in mind the fact that Robert Bruce said to stay near the body and not to go too far, so I would have the intention of going into my living room.)

The only times I have literally stepped out of my physical body were from lucid dreams (again, no vibrations or sounds - just a spinning sensation), and I couldn't get very far before stumbling over my feet.

If I have indeed been OBEing all this time, which I suspect I have, I feel pretty stupid lol  

Every time I experience something I try not to label it, then something happens that slaps me round the face and shows me I've been labelling all along. Doh!  

I've also had other experiences related to this, but am at a loss to whether they are remote viewing, phasing, or clairvoyant perceptions.  To be honest, I don't really care - I'm beginning to realize I have to trust myself and not keep asking "was it this, or was it that?" - everything will fall into place.

There are other non-OBE-related experiences I've had, but these I trust.  I guess I've just been hung up with the whole OBE thing.  I am learning a great lesson - don't label, don't dismiss *anything*, and trust myself.

This effectively makes it illegal to treat cancer with herbs. You can treat yourself but you can't legally use the advice of a herbal doctor.

Yes, and even if you know about the alternatives, a lot of them are illegal, at least in the UK.

The sad fact is, all the natural goodness is now being stripped out of our foods in the interests of "public health".    

Try this link (in Energy Body Development)

http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14409

I tried this in meditation.  Although I can't say whether I was in alpha, delta, theta, etc, it definitely made a difference.

I could feel myself achieving deeper states of relaxation, faster.  And I could feel a definite change when I repeated the different affirmations.

So I don't really think it matters if you know exactly what the specific brainwaves should feel like, as long as it makes a positive difference to your relaxation technique.

I vote for it  

A lot of people experience their hands appear to melt or elongate or otherwise change when in an RTZ astral projection.  It's common, and also a way whereby you can check if you're projecting or not.  So I wouldn't worry!

Personally, I keep forgetting to check my hands! lol

Some time ago I was taught a meditation on this subject.  I found it helpful for me, so it might be worth a try.

First, you imagine that there are cords, or bonds, between people that are in your life, be they friends, family, loved ones, people that cross your path briefly, or people that you are in conflict with and have bad feelings towards you (and vice versa).  These cords are energy attachments at certain points on your body.  You only want to remove those cords that are destructive to you.

In meditation, you imagine yourself by a log fire, next to a stream.  In your meditation you take yourself into your body to find where the energy cords are located which link you to the person you wish to dissolve these energy connections with.  When you have located them, imagining their thickness and texture, you then invite this person to sit across from the fire with you.  You tell them why you have invited them, explaining how you feel, accepting responsibility and apologising for your own part in the conflict.  You listen to what they have to say.  You then explain to the person  how you understand their point of view and how the conflict has arisen, but that you need to now move on with your life and let this go.  Then you check for these cords, and starting with the first, you cut it at both ends (theirs and yours) and place it on a tray.  You seal both on yourself and on them where you have cut the cord (so it doesn't re-attach).  Then you turn to your tray with the cut cord on it, chop it into little bits, then set fire to it, dissolve it in acid, or whatever works for you to disintegrate it.  After that you take your tray with the remnants to the stream, and let the ashes float away, so ensuring it is fully disposed of and scattered.  You repeat this with each cord until you cannot find any more.  When you are done, you thank the person for their participation, you wish them happiness, and watch them walk away.  This meditation may have to be repeated several times.

Another variation on this that I found on a website was to imagine the cords, then send light and love down them in a massive explosion of energy, in the form of a gift for that person (you do not imagine what the gift is, you just ask that it be sent as a gift and leave whatever form it may take to higher powers!), whilst imagining the cord disintegrating behind this energy, like a lit fuse.  Again, this may have to be performed several times.  The author of this meditation said that if all else fails and the cords keep re-attaching, then simply instruct that only your own energy comes back through the cords, their own energy bounces back.  Soon they will drop these cords on their own because they are no longer serving any purpose.

If you simply bounce the negative energy back, the other person may perceive it as an attack, which serves no purpose to either of you.


Hope you find this useful.

I don't know if it would work or not - certainly a good head massage on a regular basis is a good idea, not only to stimulate the hair follicles but also to stimulate the blood flow to the brain.

As far as putting energy into the scalp goes, it may have the effect of overactivating the crown chakra before the other chakras have been developed, possibly leading to problems, but then again, it may not.

My question is:  Why does it matter so much?  Plenty of men lose their hair and to many women it's a sign of virility - in any case, it's only self-image and it's the person inside that counts, not what's on the outside.

I personally worked on a vanity or self-image problem a while ago which wasn't easy (and perhaps more difficult as a female?) but I decided that as long as I was caught up with self-image, it wasn't doing me any favours, and I found that once I'd carried through my intent, it actually didn't really make any difference to the way people perceived me.

Not having verbal thoughts is something I'm finding difficult right now, but like I say, I know it gets easier.  I suppose I'm just frustrated because I allowed myself to slip back into old habits and am having to work hard at it again, but that too will pass.

Why "enlightenment"?  I guess because I feel it's the path I'm being led to.  Maybe also because I've never felt permanently connected to either the physical life or the spiritual, just little bits of both - a lot of the time kind of lost somewhere in the middle in a great void, with occasional glimpses of something else.

I guess really I just want to feel whole and connected, not fragmented disconnected parts.

I suppose deep down I already knew the answer:

I think that all you need to learn controlling your thoughts and reactions, is to be in a "observer"(as you described it) mode, and observe your emotions for about 10 or more minutes per day. There's no need for all those lotus positions, etc, it's about the mind, not body. If you will become tired, observe tiredness, if you will become bored, observe boredness. When observing thoughts you must have a clean mind, and not use verbal thoughts. It is not needed that you will feel that you are doing this right.

It really helps to have it confirmed though!

Thanks.

Tayesin is absolutely right - everyone who enters our life comes into it for a reason.  Sometimes they are there to learn something from us, and for us to learn something from them.  They can provide us with the challenge to alter patterns of behaviour in ourselves, or simply just to appreciate that they are who they are.

I sense you are talking of soulmates in the respect of physical love?  The trouble with human relationships is that they are often addictive.  When we first meet someone we always show our "best side", then some time into the relationship we relax into who we really are.  This is when we start feeling that the other person has let us down and our expectations get in the way.  A lot of people are also addicted to the "in love" state, which generally doesn't last, at least in that form.

When you meet the one you are destined to spend the rest of your life with, the love will most likely be entirely different.  It also helps to really get to know someone first.  If you can get to know them as a best friend for, say, a year or so before entering into the relationship, you already know eachothers irritating habits and bad points and choose to be with them anyway.  That is true love as opposed to infatuation, and it is a calmer, happier state to be in!

Are there any techniques you can post here?  I can't twist myself into the lotus postition and my knees cramp up just sitting cross-legged after a few minutes, but I'm looking for techniques for focusing and calming the mind in meditation rather than positions here!

I know it's possible to reprogramme the mind, or brain, and I am working on this at present.  Perhaps my interpretation of ego is somewhat different to yours - to me, ego or mind is things like fears and negative unthinking reactions, rather than actions based on conscious, aware thought.  To eliminate these and control my mind rather than let my mind control me is my goal.

My interpretation of ego and mind is the same as described in books such as The Power of Now (an excellent book and truly worth reading if you haven't yet - I guess it's the western way of putting the eastern philosophy in a way that we here can understand it lol), but I do understand how the word can cause so much confusion to people.

I'm working on being an observer and being aware of my thoughts during day-to-day life, and I know this is going to get easier.  I was really doing well prior to relaxing my practice and it's so frustrating having to start almost back at square one again - but at least I've been through it before so I have the advantage of knowing it won't be driving me mad forever.  What I still have difficulty with is actual meditation - I feel somehow that I'm not doing it right?  It's hard to explain so I'm hoping you will understand what I mean.

I have always had an interest in occult stuff but I have dropped that as I realized a short time ago that it's a shortcut to "abilities" but not to actual "enlightenment" (just words! but ones that explain where I'm headed I hope).  My experiences taught me that all the abilities in the world mean nothing unless you can transcend the me/ego/mind - whatever anyone chooses to call it.  I had some interesting results with channelling but quickly stopped that - it was addictive with quick and easy results - and deep down I realized that I was really cheating myself and it was, for want of a better word, the ego of greed for advancement that was at the root of this - a "quick fix" without doing the neccessary work first, a bit like building a house without foundations.

Anyway, I'm rambling again!  Any meditation techniques you can post here would be really appreaciated.

Thanks!

CaCoDeMoN,

"Becoming an observer" as you explained in your post is a technique used in Vipassana meditation. I've used it frequently, and the effects are amazing. Not only controlling the emotions and thoughts is easier, but also it gives interesting results, when used for fun. When mind is not occupied with thoughts, it can notice much more things, when I've reached the state of "observing" when driving a car, I've had a feeling that I've spent whole life with eyes closed...

I've had the feeling I've spent my whole life with my eyes closed *for* my whole life.

I didn't know this technique was used in Vipassana meditation, although it's one mentioned frequently by a variety of schools and disciplines.

I do practice it and it does give interesting and positive results.  But I don't always succeed as it takes sustained concentration and I find I can't always hold that focus.  Sometimes I get very depressed about it although I realize that that is also ego (or the animal brain "me"!), and I try to observe these reactions as much as possible too.  It does get easier with practice though.  I took on other commitments for a while and relaxed my practice, so I'm now in the process of getting back to where I was before.  I won't be relaxing again!

In any case, "ego" is only a word, but one which people tend to get hung up on.  What I really meant by my post was to tell people that when they read or hear about giving up the ego, the meaning of ego in this context refers to unthinking, unconscious reactions as opposed to the actual personality.  And now I've just realized that I could have said what I wanted in a short paragraph instead of a long essay...  Well I do often have problems communicating, hence my usual long posts when a sentence would suffice  

I find it far easier to be aware of my thoughts when there is silence, ie no TV or other distractions.  If there are distractions, I'm not generally aware my mind is even wandering, although I know it is as I often "miss" things.

Do you know of any meditation techniques for someone who's finding it hard to "get off the ground"?  Sort of a meditation-for-absolute-beginners?  I mean, should I try to just empty my mind and keep perservering at that, should I try to focus on an object, should I try to focus on a question or a sound?  I've tried all of these and my wandering mind is still driving me nuts!

Being an observer and energy work seem to be the only things that work consistently as at least some form of meditation at the moment.


Advice appreciated,
Stephanie

I know much is said in New Age circles about giving up the ego, and to be honest, I have trouble with that concept. My hope is that the ideal spiritual existence is a dichotomy of holding on to who we are as individuals, while still feeling Oneness with the rest of humanity

I agree with you on that, I think that when ego causes problems(and this is very common), you have to work on it, and not just destroy it.

The ego is *not* the personality.  You can give up the ego and you will still retain your personality.

If you are uncomfortable with the word "ego", perhaps another word for it would be "mind" - the mind's control of your personality through fear, as opposed to *your* control of your mind.  It is possible to use your mind without allowing your mind to control you.  This is what is meant by ego.

Egos are things such as fear, greed, selfishness, anger, hate, etc.  They are unconscious reactions to circumstances.  

Why wouldn't you want to give that up?  I know I do.  Ego is just another term for mind, meaning the mind's fear of losing control.

If you try to become an observer of your reactions instead of reacting blindly or unconsciously, you will notice that you become conscious of your reactions, which automatically changes the way you react to things.

If you do energy work you will probably find it easier - by becoming an observer of your reactions you will notice where and how the energy feels in your body.  Regardless, by becoming the observer instead of the unconscious reactor, this in turn has the effect of bringing the reaction, or "ego", to consciousness, which gradually dissolves that particular ego.  Darkness cannot exist in the light.

For example, if someone starts shouting at you for no reason, instead of either shouting back, hitting them, running away, feeling panicked (fight or flight instinct), try becoming an observer of your reaction and how it feels in your body.  You will notice that the simple act of observing yourself removes you from the situation and can even make it interesting!

Of course the "fight or flight" instinct is there for a good reason, and in circumstances where it is necessary we will still retain that instinct.  It just won't kick in every time through habit when we don't require it.

This is why so many of us are always living in the past or in the future, but never in the moment.  Our ego/mind is afraid of the unknown, so always brings up excuses from the past,  or hopes & desires for the future.  When we stop living in the past and in the future, and stop reacting blindly to any given situation without any conscious thought behind it, we have let go of our ego.  This is when we become who we truly are, our "higher self".

Here's another one that looks good:

http://uk.dk.com/static/cs/uk/11/features/reflexology/extract.html

I'm still looking for one for the hands.

From my own experience, I think it's important to start raising energy as soon as possible, or as soon as you feel ready to do so.  But it's also important not to ignore your feet/legs and hands/arms, as when you start raising more energy, you will find that you are more aware of blockages and also you can always make new pathways.  The more energy you raise, the more you become aware of the energy flow in your body.