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I've been attempting to astral project for almost 3 years now, practising almost every night and thinking about it constantly. I'm finally reading Monroe's Journeys Out of the Body and am finding myself enthralled by what he describes. I haven't managed an OBE yet but am hoping it's just a matter of time. Last night I thought I experienced the beginnings of one, I felt as if something was tugging gently at my hands and feet and at one stage felt a distinct pressure at the front of my head, as if part of me was trying to get out. I kept at it but after a couple of hours knew it wasn't going to happen and gave up.

Another thing I always experience is a kind of throbbing sensation in my hands and feet which I never have when I'm fully conscious. Are these vibrations? Am I headed in the right direction? And how long should I be practising for each time I make an attempt - if it's going to happen wouldn't it do so within say an hour of starting? I'm not in any way desperate about being able to project, just hopeful and excited.

I tend to always remember my dreams and have lucid dreams from time to time.
In one recent dream I was flying (I do this regularly) but I was also saying to myself,
I know that if I'm flying I must be having an OBE.

For the past 9 months or so I've meditated every night and get into a deep trance
state but am still not sure whether I've ever exited or not. Just wondering whether this
recent dream experience was an indicator of an OBE?

I've been attempting an OBE for about 4 months now but don't think I've achieved a full-blown one yet. I fall into a deep trance really quickly, after about 10 minutes and get lots of hypnagogics. I've read a bit about vibrations but am not sure if I'm getting them.

What I do feel is intense tingling in my hands and feet and quite often a tugging feeling in my limbs as if I'm being pulled. And recently I've been feeling a strong sensation of movement, as if I'm on a roller-coaster. I believe that means I might be quite close but I can't seem to do the final bit and get out. I've tried the various methods often mentioned to no avail. I'm not frustrated by this as I find the whole experience immensely enjoyable and really hope that I'll get there in the end; I do it every night for around an hour. 

Whilst I'm in this trance state I definitely go places and see things but it's all very disjointed and mostly fuzzy. The places aren't real places though and I never see my own body or room. I've noticed too that in the last couple of weeks I've been able to remember my dreams every single night. Not had any lucid ones I don't think but the last few have all featured animals. Strange....Anyway, I'd welcome any thoughts and am particularly interested in what you might say CFTraveller as you're a woman around my own age and seem very wise!

I'd really like to know if anyone else experiences attempts at OBE in a similar way to me; I've been practising for about 3 weeks (no past experience previously) and am getting a lot out of it. But my experiences are more subtle than the various OBEs I've seen described here and elsewhere.

My nightly sessions follow this pattern:

1.     I lie down and go into a meditative state. I use music (Kelly Howells and Jeffrey Thompson are
        favourites) and within 5 minutes I'm completely relaxed and the hypnagogics kick in.
2.     I start feeling the vibrations and intermintent swaying/floating sensations.  It feels as if I have
      a heavy weight on my feet and hands, sometimes there's tugging in my arms and legs.
3.     I may hear a strange popping sound next to my head or something similar.
4.     All the while my eyes are totally asleep and I don't consciously focus on anything; the hypnagogics
      (if that's what they are) shift from being quite abstract (pulsating lights, orbs floating) to being
       more concrete - sometimes I'm travelling through deep space or going through a tunnel of stars.
       Sometimes I see the clouds parting and a light shining through which I can move towards.
       I get glimpses of unearthly buildings and landscapes. But I rarely encounter any "beings", just the
       occasional disembodied face.
5.     And within 10-15 minutes of first lying down, I'd describe myself as being in a state of bliss - I
       envisage the love pouring out of me and feel totally disconnected from my body. I can stay in this 
        state for as long as I want. I'd liken it to having taken some particularly good MDMA (something I
        stopped doing years ago) but plus the visuals.

        But my question is, I haven't experienced the traditional exit where I 
        have a distinct feeling that my astral body is separating from my physical one and I don't float above
        my body and see it. So I'm unclear as to whether I should be determined to try achieving what I
        can only term as a more apparent type of OBE. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to
        achieve the state I describe at will and don't know whether I should just be happy with it and not
        try to project in a more conscious way.  So far it all seems to be happening moreorless at once and
        not in the distinct phases that are so often mentioned. I am doing a lot of research but there's no
        substitute for sharing personal experiences here.

        Any thoughts? 
        Many thanks, threemoons

       

I started meditating just a few weeks ago and took to it like a duck to water. I'm also very interested in astral projection and have been delving into it for about three weeks now. I go into a very deep meditative state really easily and after about 20-30 minutes, I start to feel really strong tingling in my fingers and toes and my mind just seems to float away from my body.

I see amazing things - lots of different coloured shapes pulsing and moving rythmically, a bright white light that I seem to get closer and closer to, I get the sensation I'm flying over forests and through space with the stars whizzing past me. I get occasional glimses of towns and huge cathedral-like buildings and sometimes faces appear. Throughout I feel blissfully happy and just consumed with love and sometimes I cry.

It's a wondrous experience but I don't know if I'm actually out of my body or whether I'm just meditating really deeply and am in a trance of some sort. Has anyone else had a similar experience?