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Often times when I'm riding in a car I'll do that. Or just trying to hold onto my consious before falling off into sleep. I could be thinking of something else, but for me my mind feels too groogy, so I feel like it wasn't a mind split.

I've been staying away from people in general. They scare me. I have one friend who I can talk to about stuff and he feels exactly the way I do about things. He's really the only one I talk to. I used to want a girlfriend but that has changed. I want to remain single for as long as possible. I think I am aware of something that the people around me are not picking up. This whole thing with the war and the erosion of our Bill of Rights really has me preoccupied. I am angry because why did people allow this to happen? This directly affects everyone in this country in one way or another. Personally I think this has a lot to do with it. Someone else mentioned chemtrails as part of the cause to people getting sick, but I am not sure how believable that theory is. It is said that orgone devices can disrupt these so-called chemtrails. The theory is really strange that someone would spray populated areas with chemicals. I'd like to do some research and find out.

Either way I think that the main cause is that the country is at war and there is a lot of crap going on right now.

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Comments or similar experiences?

Yes, definitely, what you are describing IS the Phasing process!

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Okay i've started to notice a strange phenomenon during my practice sessions. Sometimes I feel like I might be about to phase, or obe, or I'm viewing hypnagogic imagery, and then I will "snap back". This snapping back is something like being in a daydream and then realizing where you are in real life. It's sort of a sudden change in your focus of awareness.

Yes, that's what you should be experiencing. It's a distinct shift in your focus of awareness. And there is no mistaking it too. Like, you are not placed in a situation where you are left wondering did you make the shift or not.

The reason why you currently keep snapping-back, is due to your protective sense of awareness kicking in. It's not something you can consciously control as the protection aspect operates on a very base level. But it does stop happening the more you practice. As your protective sense of awareness gets used to the shift, it becomes a case of, yawn, here we go again.

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What I realized is that every time I snap back it actually feels like a very subtle, quick movement down and to the left. After it happens I feel totally awake, just looking at the backs of my eyelids, my awareness centered behind my eyes. But if I drift off again, my awareness moves up and to the right.

Again, this is how it should feel. Although I only mainly feel an upwards movement, with just a slight hint of a twist to the right.

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Once it moves there, if I can regain control without snapping back, I get all sorts of astral and dream-like symptoms. I may get astral sight, or if not I can easily visualize and actually see whatever I visualize (ordinarily my visualization is the pits)

At first the whole situation can be a bit of a muddle. But after a while you will be able to distinctly recognise the different states of conscious-awareness as you phase through them smoothly.

The point at which your focus of attention is completely directed inwards, this is Focus 10. Following which you then start to see all kinds of abstract movement (or hypnagogic imagery as you term it) this is Focus 12.

If you are in the position where, like you say, you can visualise and actually SEE what you are visualising, this is Focus 22. Note: Focus 22 is basically the same state of consciousness as Lucid Dreaming: only with a very much greater sense of mental control.

Also, Focus 22 is the first proper realm of conscious awareness where thought equals direct action. So, as you have discovered, it is easy to visualise anything simply by thinking about seeing it, and it immediately materialises.

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A couple of things are interesting about this.
1) it absolutely cannot be forced. I only realize it has happened after I snap back. During the process it all seems perfectly natural. I can't reproduce it if I actually try to move my awareness.

That's right, and this part of it I find ever so tricky to explain. You cannot will yourself to have the experience. It's something you mentally allow yourself to become open to.

It's like where I've tried to explain it before by saying that Astral Projection is not about finding the right projection technique, but more to do with developing the right kind of mental understanding. Techniques can be very useful but, ultimately, I believe their effectiveness stems from them acting as a kind of mental primer that serves to kick-start the natural process.  

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2) I'm wondering if this has something to do with the "Brain Method"

I don't know what the Brain Method is exactly. Someone coined the term a while ago and it seems to have stuck. What I can say for sure, however, is that what you are describing are characteristics of the beginning stage of the Phasing process.

If you keep practicing you will find that you will be able to ultimately make a complete smooth transition from Physical to Astral.

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3) When people access memories, or try to imagine, they either look up and to the right, or up and to the left. I can't remember which is which, but one is to remember facts and one is to imagine something. I wonder if this awareness shift is related to accessing a different part of my brain.

This phenomenon can vary between different people. I'm not sure if they are linked in any way. But the awareness shift you feel is due to the shift in your focal point of awareness. As it shifts it gives a sensation of movement like you were travelling in a particular direction.

If you keep practicing to the point where you can reach the Astral fairly reliably and keep your thoughts/emotions in check; you will be able to contact other members of your Astral Family who I'm sure will only be too happy to explain and give demonstrations and/or exercises that will show you how the Mind is a separate entity from the physical-body and the physical brain.

Yours,
Frank

In the meditation system I am using, losing track of the meditative object due to thinking about other things is called gross scattering. There is another level of it called subtle scattering where the object is not lost completely but the attention is divided. There is also an obstacle called laxity. When the mind gains some stability it can hold to the object, but clarity is lost in laxity when the mind's grip is too loose. It is typical to alternate between holding onto the object too tightly (subtle scattering) and holding on too loosely (laxity). The problem is that the balancing point can only be found through experience.

Pain is unavoidable, but suffering is optional.

Have you looked into the possibility of a physical medical cause? Maybe a food allergy?

What is this feeling like, the one in the pit of your stomach? A warmth, coolness, tight area, tingliness, stabbing, or burning? Is the area around it tense or unaffected? How do you feel about it? Is it constantly there or does it seem to make itself felt more in the mornings, at bedtime, during the night, while you are walking, sitting, standing still? Is it worse when you are around people or alone?

You may be going blind because you're getting too excited about becoming lucid in the dream, and this is causing you to break the flow of it.

Make sure your eyes are closed when you attempt to project. If you still get stuck then maybe you should try and use another method.
A simple way to exit the body is to feel yourself standing up and walking towards the door, or the window. You probably will have to touch the things around you to gain vision, and when you vividly feel yourself there in front of the door or walking you'll be out. It is really about guiding your point of awareness. It should feel as if you're waking up as a ghost.

For more information on lucid dreaming go to: www.lucidity.com
You'll find some very helpful information there.

ash,
sounds to me like u are doing everything correctly and are on the right track.
Not everyone gets stong exit sensations.
Sounds like you are too aware of what is happening to you body ie. the sensations, your breathing. You should only be aware of the rope and climbing it and ignore everything else that is going on.
The other thing that may be holding you back is fear....you are so close but can't take that final step...are you hesitant?
Do you really wan't it? What is your intent?
Hope some of this is helpful!
Good Luck!
Bindi

i have had some brief encounters w/ beings that may have been guides.  unfortunately they were so brief that i couldn't find out.  there isn't any special way to ask that i'm aware of.  you should just be able to ask aloud or to yourself.  intent alone should be enough to show that you want contact.  i remember reading somewhere that the best time to ask is right before you go to sleep.  

i would think that if you were a regular meditator that would also help.  that trance state seems like an easy enough place to be contacted, if you can reach it.  

if you have asked and have not received any contact, it would make sense to me that the time isn't right.  after all, it is your guide that's not showing or making contact so i would think that there is  a reason.  i don't have too much experience w/ these type of experiences and i'm sure some of the other  members here will have soemthing else to add.

Several times I read here on the forums that for people like me who have trouble getting out of body in the traditional way, phasing is a good way to explore the astral planes. I have considered this and decided not to do it because it would be too much like giving up. Then again, it seems like it is common to meet spirits during phasing and to be able to assist them in moving on when they are stuck in an unpleasant situation on the astral. It sounds like people start to meet spirits and interact with them very soon after learning phasing, and in the process their own development / evolution speeds up.

Robert Bruce describes what he calls the mind split. It is in his book Astral Dynamics and there is some information on it in the main web site apart from the forums. Basically you have one main copy of your mind and when you dream or project it is another copy of the mind which is sent out. This then returns and two or more streams of memory exist for the same interval of time. The physical brain prefers to record only one set of memories for a given interval. The physical body's memories take priority, and the dream body has next chance. Then the astral body gets a chance to record its memories. If they get partiaaly recorded you get an experience after the fact which seems to begin in the middle. There are many other possibilities. It is most common to lose the OBE memories entirely. Learning more about how the mind split effect works can help you to continue with your projections.