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The nice thing about this forum...

Is that you can just be casually browsing through it, and end up finding answers to questions you may not have realised you should have been asking.

Frank, your responses are always so detailed and thought out. I really appreciate the work that you do and the the effort that you put into it. Your level of patience seems quite staggering compared to some. Keep up the good work Frank, many more people will benefit from it.

I guess I'm just saying Thank You on behalf of everyone, including myself.

I agree with BoscosFriend. When you practice enough, meditating regularly, the mind learns not to try and do anything. Your thoughts begin to settle very quickly.
It becomes like a car in neutral with the ignition on - it's not trying to go nor stop, and it's not even poised to do anything. It just sits there, humming. Can you get what I mean? Follow some of the tips Psan has linked, and just trust that once you get there, you'll know that you aren't conciously "making things up".

Reflections on the Winter Water, Beach Night..., and and BirdMan - these are my favourites.

BirdMan in particular reminds me of the type of landscape you could discover in a dream or while consciously astraling. Very Nice.  

Thank you for all the  responses.

Nay: Good suggestion. I actually used to do that a few years ago, but I don't know where my recorder is, and plus, I don't fancy using it any more anyway since it took tape. I'll find myself a digital one with lots of memory. Until then...

Tom: I'm gonna go with your suggestion. Right down the main details, keywords, because it's true that I do only need a couple key triggers to get the dream back. Especially if it was a particularly profound one. I just don't like to miss out any of the information. Hence the in-depth 'Dream manifestos'.

Souljah: I'm an artist too, and do occasionally add small drawings to my dream descriptions. I'll use that more and keep the descriptions simple - unless they're on an "epiphany level". You're right, I do know them when I experience them. I'm also a detail freak, but The keywords should suffice in jogging my memory.

Thanks for all the suggestions and general feedback. Any help on achieving more Lucid Dreams?  

What do you do when you're remembering a large number of dreams with a large amount of detail?

This is the situation I am currently in. I have to record several dreams now from each night, and it has got to the point where a night's worth of dreaming could end up amounting to 10 A4 pages worth of writing. One could say to only write down the ones that seem most important, but how can you really know?

What's worse is that I still haven't been able to take full control of my dreams  in any kind of regular way, though I have had several false awakenings - especially when using a particular suggestion/affirmation to induce Lucid Dreams.

My dream recall is obviously at a relatively high level now, but beyond this, I'm really quite stuck.

Does anyone have any advice/suggestions to offer? Please?

Unless.....maybe I had overstayed in the astral and had to be forcibly yanked back in

That could be it... It happens.

Hey Gem,

I just saw another post from you in a different section. Noticing your name here, I figured I'd say hi, especially since you're on the same island as I am (UK, right?) Anyways, you ever wanna talk directly to some specific, feel free to send me a message. I welcome any opportunity to talk about all things esoteric/spiritual nature, provided I know something about it (and even if don't - learning is a fun thing).

See ya around!  

Lol. Frank I had a good laugh from your post. Thanks! I just thought I'd check to see who's  new and who's leaving - not that I even know 1% of the people on this forum, but hey, curiosity won out on this occasion. I'm glad I popped back.

Nice, Frank. Real nice.

Hi Agntneo,

I've found that if I give myself something to focus on, like concentrating on (and maybe counting) my breaths, it can accomplish both mind taming and deep relaxation, if I do it for long enough. But I do often find it relatively easy to relax. If what you're referring to when you say "deep relaxation" is the implication of a method - like progressive muscle relaxation - then I would say the order you're doing things in is a pretty good place to start. I'm guessing from your post that you're trying to AP through some form of meditation, as opposed to before/after some sleep.

*Note: Attempting projection after some sleep does seem to work a treat for myself, and many others from what I've seen on these forums.

For the most part I think it's about what really works for you, and what you're comfortable with. It'll probably be a case of 'trial and error' in the beginning until you find what works best for you, although naturally, trying to exit would ordinarily be the last step in a list of actions such as yours.

Bare in mind of that sometimes one can get lucky and only need to do the last step!:D

Another thing to consider trying is Phasing, which seems to be a quite popular (and effective) method of APing ~and~ also a lot easier. I haven't used it yet but people are apparently getting good results. Just do a search, you'll find plenty on this forum.

I hope this helps.

Altering perception of time sounds real interesting. I know Martial Arts definitely improves reflexes: when I was younger my older brothers used to gang up on me (playfully, of course) and through punches at me. I got REALLY good at blocking multiple attacks from both of them at the same time. Although I know that my reflexes had obviously improved due to these 'exercises', I don't know if my perception of time altered as such.

I'd be interested in hearing some other 'tried and tested' techniques for altering time-perception. Oh ya...

Glad to be of service my Astral friend.

I agree with you. I would think you would more likely have more control if not focusing on two different planes of existence at once lol. Sorry, that sounds funny... I'm such a child.

See ya around!

It seems to me violeteye that there's a multitude of explanations for what you're going through. I personally haven't had enough experience with AP to tell you for definite whether it really was him or just a manifestation. I think there is a definite difference between the feel of 'thought projections' (people we manifest from our minds - 'copies' if you will) and the feel of actual people. But at times it can still be hard to tell the difference. The fact that he was in your dreams a lot though makes me consider more strongly the possibility that the two of you just have a strong connection and itself manifesting itself in your OBEs as well as your dreams. Naturally, this is just "my two cents"

However, I do know what it's like for people from the past to keep invading ones dreams. My ex-girlfriend made regular appearances in my dreams in the first few months after we broke up. We too had a very strong connection. I wasn't projecting at the time but I wouldn't have been surprised if there had been a bleed through into my astral experiences if had been leaving my body at that time...so regular was her presence in my dreams. I think the deeper the connection we have with someone, the more likely they are to make the odd chemo appearance - in dreams and even in OBEs, especially if you "call" on them. Even if it is a long time after they have left our lives.

One thing I don't ever bother doing is 'wishing' people back into my life. I figure that if they're meant to be in my life at any point, then they will be. After all, they made it in once, I'm sure fate/destiny or whatever will be able to place us together again if there is a dire need for it to happen. For all you know, the point of meeting him was just to trigger your Astral Experiences. Maybe this is an opportunity for you to learn how to just let certain things go and happen in their own time (if at all)...

Like I said, a multitude of explanations.

One of the few actual "beliefs" I hold is that everything happens for a reason - vague and kinda corny, I know. I'm not sure how much this helps. But it seems that your post was very much necessary, if not just to get the stuff off your chest.

It's been a few days now since your post, so I wonder how you're feeling about things now. I'll check back here periodically to see if you've posted - so even if I'm the only one that replies, you can know someone is lending an ear.  

I read in a book called 'Out of Body Exploration'  (by a guy called Preston Dennett) that passing through solid objects such as doors, walls and windows during a lucid dream can change the lucid dream to an OBE. I guess it can work in reverse huh? When you fell into the dream state were you still lucid or did you just become wrapped up in the 'scenario' like in a regular dream?

I would suggest that next time this happens to you, if you are still lucid when you slip into a dream there are a number of things you could try:

1) Passing back through another surface (wall, window, door etc.), for the reason stated above.

2)Giving a command like, "I want/need to OBE", "erase/remove all illusion" or even "take me to...(insert your choice or friend/family member here)" or "Take me to see my guides" or something like that.

Of course these suggestions are only do-able if you remain conscious in the first place. Otherwise...

* Avoiding passing through solid objects until you have more control or clarity or thought/consciousness.

The thing is, from my own experience and from reading a lot about it, I've learned that being out of body can be like that. Sometimes you will bounce around a little, or find yourself in a completely different place without consciously deciding to go there. If you do find yourself 'slipping' though, try the 'regular stuff' to keep yourself fully alert and conscious; i.e. spin around until your environment/consciousness becomes more stable again, or say something like "I am dreaming! I am dreaming! over and over again. I've found that either (or even both) of these can work incredibly well .

*Note: You might be thinking, "Why would I state  that I'm dreaming when I know I'm in fact Out Of Body?" Well, my dear Astral friend, I'm not sure exactly how it works... I think it works in a similar way to when you're actually dreaming and then realise you're dreaming. By emphasizing the fact that you know that you're dreaming, you keep your consciousness 'awake' in a sense, rather than it shutting down and you losing all control over what's going on. I think that's a fairly accurate description...

But do try some of the things I have suggested. I hope they help. Others on this forum will surely have some ideas to share as well.

Keep us posted and let us know how you get on.

Happy traveling!

Personally I prefer to forget about my physical body completely. The few OBEs I've had I haven't thought about my physical body at all, probably because, with all I've read, I'm generally concerned that thinking about it would most likely bring me back to it. Also, I like to be as focused as possible when away from my body so I can be as fully immersed and aware during the experience, and recall as much of it as possible. "Looking out for" my body isn't something I worry about. It sounds like a fear to me, and fears can always add some resistance to OBEs, if not prevent them completely.

Maybe find a way to trust that your body will be fine? After all (if you follow this line of thinking), you leave your body all the time when you sleep - even if you don't remember doing so - and nothing ever happens to your body. You always wake up none-the-wiser .

There can't be that much to worry about can there?

Having said that, if you can deal with dual-consciousness during your OBEs without being sucked back into your body, and it causes no problems for you that you can notice then hey, don't worry about it.  

Hey Leyla.

Question: Do you really not know what's happening? I'm sure you have a suspicion, but in case you don't, I'll give you my two-cents.

What you experienced was classic re-entry from being Out-of-Body. Yep. That's about the size of it. The fact that it felt familiar when it occur ed is testament to that. If you look into it I'm sure you'll find information relating to your experience relatively quickly.

One thing you'll soon come across in your studies of Astral Projection is pre-exit signals/sensations. Well, what some sources forget to mention is that there are also re-entry sensations (sometimes), which is what, as I said, I think you experienced. It's not really anything to be afraid of. But for your own peace of mind, and just to satisfy your intellectual mind, I suggest doing a tiny bit of reading (which I'm sure you already have by now anyway). I think the fact that you slam-dunked back into your body suggests that you were doing some high-flying before you re-entered, but not necessarily. You may just have been hovering over you body and then just *plopped* back in.

I hope this has been of some use to you. It's not the sexiest or most exciting explanation but I think it is a somewhat accurate one. And I know how frustrating it can be when no gets around to responding to your queries.

Happy traveling my Astral friend  

...By the time I finally woke up I was almost in a PANIC!

lol. Sorry, I don't mean to laugh. I know it certainly is a strange state of affairs. No information offered on it yet though it seems...

...By the time I finally woke up I was almost in a PANIC!

lol. Sorry, I don't mean to laugh. I know it certainly is a strange state of affairs. No information offered on it yet though it seems...

Hi all.

Just a curiosity more than anything else.

I've experienced a number of false awakenings the past week. Each one was kind of odd, i won't go into the details of them though. I've only had one full projection since I started (seriously) trying to leave my body. I also had a half OBE this morning - I had a kind of dual-consciousness thing going on, and was also half in, half out. More on that later.

Is this a sign that I'm sufficiently screwing up my subconscious (lol - I'm just kidding) to bring me closer to having conscious OBEs?

I've actually also considered the possibility that I may well have had some conscious OBEs already but didn't retain the memory of them. This only occurred to me because of a couple bizarre dreams I've had (aside from the false awakenings). But that's just an aside.

What is it with the False Awakenings?

Thanks in advance for any help and light shed on the subject.  

Well it's funny because at the time, I didn't realise I was in the RTZ - I thought that after I was taken "to where I need to go", that I had actually been moved beyond the RTZ. So I just expected to be able to conjure/manifest stuff. I guess I was just distracted by the fact that I had made it "out" at all.

I'm wondering though, I had some interesting "communications" during the night when I was practicing balancing on the Awake/Dreaming tight-rope. I was basically being given advice of all sorts towards helping me achieve an OBEs.  Not only that, but the advice was actually good, sound advice that really resonated with me!

Has anyone else ever experienced such a thing? Or is this completely peculiar? (He asks, forgetting where he is...)

And what's with the ecstasy? I know it's called the emotional body but WOW!

Man, I can barely contain my excitement!

I don't want this to turn too long but... I was basically in the middle of a dream and for some reason beyond me, it suddenly just *clicked* that I was in a dream! But I was still a bit skeptical. I was in my bedroom and my brother turns up at our house and he walks in and he looks taller than usual, and strong and powerful. I go up to him and tell him to say my name (kind of like a test, I'm not sure). He argues/queries me about it for a moment but then says it. He says it really slowly, pronouncing every letter and syllable perfectly, and powerfully. His voice seems to resonate. Immediately I become supreeemely ecstatic...I don't even know why! But I realise I'm lucid in a dream and I'm my proper self again.

The virtual Ecstasy though almost blows me right out of lucidity so I start spinning around enthusiastically saying "I'm dreaming! I'm dreaming!" I stop spinning but see that I'm not there yet so I spin a little more and then stop again. Everything is crystal clear.

Now I'm at a point where it looks and feels so real (even down to the texture of the carpet under my feet, and the hardness of the floor - bizarre) that I'm wondering if it actually is real? So I try to manifest a chocolate gateau cake -mmmm..- . But nothing happens. I try again, but still nothing. So I shout (or think) out, "Take me to where I need to go." or something close to those words, and there's suddenly a kind of 'shift'. I'm in *a version of* my bedroom. I look out the  window and see a different area of my flats and figure I must be creating part of what I'm seeing (if not all of it). I lose interest in whats outside and walk out of my room. I can see my brother asleep in the bedroom next to mine (definitely a thought projection - it aint really him). I turn to my ma's room and she's in there with my youngest niece. I'm pretty sure they weren't real either. Then I think to myself that I'd like to tell them all that this isn't real and that they're dreaming, but get worried that I might freak 'em out lol, especially if it actually *is * real. Then I see my older niece (a 10 yr old) and I say to her, "K- Do you know that you're dreaming?" She giggles and replies, "No I'm not", continuing to laugh. I'm also laughing and in a state of sheer bliss...

With that, everything disappears, and I'm back in my bed feeling fresh as a daisy! lol. Not feeling groggy or anything. I'm so Happy right now it's ridiculous. There's so much more to say about the whole night last night but this'll do for now. Thanks for baring with me!

Lucid dream, or OBE, or both...It was f---ing awesome!!!

I feel like I wanna tell the whole world!

I think I just might...



abyss.

Froglet, I have encountered the same problem.

"...when I try to hold consiouness before going to bed that when I wake up I rarely remember dreams."

Thats what I was doing last night/past couple nights. Yesterday I managed to remember one I think, but today, I woke up and I could swear that I didn't dream once last night. I have absolutely no recollection of any dreams.

Ivanda makes a good point though. I couldn't meditate last night (not feeling too well) but I did do some mini-meditations during they day. Do you normally meditate daily? I find that, for me, it not only increases dream recall, but actually enhances the vividity (is that a word?) of my dreams.

If you don't meditate, I suggest you give it a shot - there's plenty information available online on meditation.

If you do meditate (regularly), maybe try and think of anything else that might affect your dream recall.

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone might be able to help me make some sense of something that happened to me last night. All input appreciated!  

Basically I was practicing last night (like a good boy) astral projection techniques. What seemed to be working for me was to sit in a comfortable chair, and spend just a moment quieting my mind, just a minute, while deep breathing. Then I went through progressive muscle relaxation until I felt physically relaxed all over. Again, once I was physically relaxed, I took another moment to still my mind again and then done an energy raising exercise I read online in the Treatise on Astral Projection by Robert Bruce (he's awesome). Then once done with the energy raising (which I shortened slightly so that I wouldn't get bored or restless) I stopped again to relax my mind for a minute before going straight for the 'Rope' technique, again from Robert Bruce.

I 'felt' myself reaching out just ahead of me, and grabbing hold of a thick rope. I slowly reached one hand in front of the other and I could actually feel pressure within myself, as if I was torn and part of me really was trying to pull out, but just wasn't loose enough. At this point I imagined/felt myself putting one foot up (as if there was a wall in front of me) so as to give myself more leverage, and then the other foot. Imagine someone sliding down the side of a mountain or building on a rope, abseiling . It felt like it was working for a while but then the harder I tried to focus on this reaching and pulling, the more I noticed a couple of my fingers and toes twitching. So, I decided to stop and relax my muscles again, realising that they weren't as relaxed as I thought. Once I had done that, I started again with the rope technique but then decided instead to just sit with a quiet mind and see what happened...

I'm not sure how long I was sat like this, maybe a few minutes, when I felt something change. My awareness seemed to "move" from being "where it normally is" to the background. It felt like my consciousness had literally "moved back" and sunken a little deeper into my head/body. Also, I felt the temperature drop by a noticeable amount, like a there was a sudden draft, but obviously, there wasn't. The skin on my arms and legs and face were all suddenly cooler. The darkness changed as well. I'm sure in fact that there was a second or 2 when I could actually see my legs (or astral legs) through my closed eyelids, but then I lost it to another sensation...something peculiar. I felt like I wasn't upright  It was like I was suddenly tilted about 45 degrees to my left, and I seemed to be stuck there. I could barely feel my body but I knew I could still move it though - I wasn't at full Paralysis. I felt lighthead, kind of disoriented (as you could imagine). I stayed like this for maybe a few minutes - kinda just soaking in the atmosphere and getting used to the sensations - but I was also trying to decide what to do next. I wasn't scared but the sensations were definitely quite distracting for me - which is probably why I thought it a good idea to take the opportunity to really experience the situation and get used to it. I knew I was too caught up by it all to continue any further so I slowly brought myself back.

Quite pleased with myself I went back upstairs and stopped off at the bathroom. I was washing my hands when I looked in the mirror and noticed something odd. My eyes looked different - quite noticeably. When I say my eyes, I'm talking more specifically about the iris (coloured part) of each eye. They looked much brighter and lighter than usual, with an orange tint to them, they looked almost on the verge of glowing!  Now I know perceptions are altered when you go into any form of trance and I considered maybe I didn't come out of it properly(?). I don't know, but my eyes were definitely different in appearance from usual. My eyes are normally a deep kinda brown by the way. I'm a black guy so use your imagination . I stayed in the bathroom a couple of minutes looking at my eyes. I looked around me but nothing else looked different.

They're back to "normal" now (next day) but I'm wondering if anyone can relate any experiences they've had with what I've just described. It wouldn't be the first time I've seen things after engaging in Astral Projection exercises but those things were ghost like and "airy", and quite some time ago. This was much more solid and real, and fixed.

Any comments/feedback would be greatly appreciated

Frank:

The replies that you've posted have been very useful to me in that they make me feel more confident about working with the method you described. I've tried many techniques but I definitely think I will have more success with "phasing" if I just relax in my bed before Sleeping and don't make as huge a deal out of it.

Creating a setting and engaging it enough to keep the mind from getting bored sounds great, and I know its something I can do because I realised its something I tend to do anyway before I fall asleep (without even realising it). I'll try it over the next few nights and post my results.

Mactombs:

Thanks for sharing your experiences here. They too have been very inspiring. Its nice to know I'm not the only person that finds some of the many methods available out there somewhat difficult to comprehend. This method certainly does sound simpler. Though I still understand that like anything else, it will take practice, its always best to work with the techniques that you are the  *most* comfortable with.  

lol Swaroop, funny, I've seen you on astralsociety as well - Loved your work by the way. I think the veiw from titan was my fav (can't remember the precise name...)

anyway...

what did you mean by not sleeping in the "supine position"? I'm not sure what that is (or is it a typo?). So, sleeping on your left side will improve your sleep, will it improve your chances of AP too?

Me again. I thought I may as well take the chakra test. Here it is.


Root:   under-active   (13%)
Sacral:   open   (63%)
Navel:   open   (50%)
Heart:   over-active   (88%)
Throat:   over-active   (88%)
Third Eye:   open   (63%)
Crown:   over-active   (81%)

Looks like I find it hard to find the middle-ground in some respects, which is true of me anyway.  Some more question might be useful though, for more accurate results.