I just completed my daily Phase/soak session. I began as usual, easing into the water and lying back. I then did about a 2 minute progressive relaxation rundown.
Instead of moving into the next step, which is the focus on direction/motion, using a 6 pt directional focus, I focused on just a simple white line. To see it, I had to look through the darkness. As in It being on the other side, if you get my meaning.
I began with just the visual of the line lying horizontally, left to right, about 2 feet in front of me. Once I could get a good visual on it, I mentally turned to a vertical position, going straight up and down. I began moving the line all over the place. I started at the lower left hand corner, then worked up to the top left, over to right bottom and top right. Basically covering all the directions. The thing is, I didn't have to always view the line there, I could sense it as well. I knew it was there. So now to the mental trigger. I then put the line front to back over top of my head, about a foot above it. ...then I was off. That mental trigger put me right out of body, almost instantly, like a cannon.
Robert Monroe used lines in his techniques as well. He kept it really simple though. You saw it in front of you vertically, then tipped it up over your head. He found the "mental trigger" there as well. There is something to the putting your focus on your 3rd eye area or above your head that just immediately creates a impulse. This impulse may begin faded and hard to see. It might just come from a totally tactile way as well. It's almost like a switch has been turned on.
I guess in a way, you could see it a the transition from Focus 10 to Focus 12 that Robert and Frank spoke often about. Regardless, it works.
Here is that transition being described by Frank, when a member asks him if there is any difference between a Focus 10 ad Focus 12.
"« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2002, 07:49:57 »
Reply with quoteQuote
quote:
Originally posted by napoleon:
Is there any difference between Focus 10 and Focus 12 ?
Yes, a distinct difference.
Focus 10 is where you have retreated from the physical about 85 to 90%. You still have an awareness that somewhere "back there" is a physical body. You are aware that you have one, but aren't really interested in it, and receiving next to no input from its physical senses. Your mind is awake and alert, but your focal point of consciousness is contained in what feels like a black 2-dimensional compartment somewhere about the centre of your head.
The primary difference between Focus 10 and Focus 12 is the 2D blackness becomes 3 dimensional. In other words, you get a sensation of an opening up of space, all around you. It's like if you suddenly found yourself in an unfamiliar room, where you were standing in the middle, and there was no light whatsoever. You wouldn't have any spatial awareness at all. All you'd see would be a 2-dimensional blackness before your eyes.
Now, say, someone very slowly began to turn on a light. There would come a point where you'd begin to see abstract shadows. Then, as the light got steadily brighter, the shadows would become more distinct and you'd begin to recognise basic shapes. This is what Focus 12 is like.
People perceive the state slightly differently, but the primary difference is the fact that the 2 dimensional blackness becomes 3 dimensional. Which gives you a distinct feeling of spatial awareness. You can't really see much at this stage, just indistinct shadows, or maybe whirls of foggy sort-of darkness. But, as I say, you cannot miss the *distinct* feeling of spatial awareness that comes about.
From Focus 12, it's like the light progressively gets brighter. Taking the room analogy a step further, as the light got slowly brighter, there would come a point where you'd recognise some object, previously perceived as an indistict shadow, as a chair (say). But you wouldn't know the colour of the fabric or the pattern (if any). As the light got brighter still, you'd start making out that there might be a pattern on the fabric, but you still wouldn't be able to see the colour. As the brightness increased, there would come a point where everything would come into view. This is Focus 21
Yours,
Frank"
Lastly, I wanted to add this reply given by a member here named Jeff Mash, years ago. The thread was based on a "Triangle Technique". I found very inspirational and true.
"A lot of beginners get discouraged because they try to project, and then when "nothing" happens, they feel like they're just wasting their time.
However, GreatOutdoors, you are realizing a very important point. Every time you practice projecting, and every exercise you do is only bringing you CLOSER to success. It may not SEEM like it, but you must believe it.
For example, you may lay down and after practicing a few OBE relaxation exercises, you begin to see some cool hypnogogic imagery. However, if that is all you see, then smile and know that you're getting better and better in developing your technique. I think too many people would discount the hypnogogic stuff and feel a sense of failure for not feeling vibrations, or separating from their body.
So yes, the dog barking you heard was a good thing. You may not have had a full blown OBE, but you are making contact with that part of your subconscious which is navigating you to the threshold of having a fully conscious OBE! Keep it up."
In other words, "don't give up". Every attempt you make gets you that much closer.
Instead of moving into the next step, which is the focus on direction/motion, using a 6 pt directional focus, I focused on just a simple white line. To see it, I had to look through the darkness. As in It being on the other side, if you get my meaning.
I began with just the visual of the line lying horizontally, left to right, about 2 feet in front of me. Once I could get a good visual on it, I mentally turned to a vertical position, going straight up and down. I began moving the line all over the place. I started at the lower left hand corner, then worked up to the top left, over to right bottom and top right. Basically covering all the directions. The thing is, I didn't have to always view the line there, I could sense it as well. I knew it was there. So now to the mental trigger. I then put the line front to back over top of my head, about a foot above it. ...then I was off. That mental trigger put me right out of body, almost instantly, like a cannon.
Robert Monroe used lines in his techniques as well. He kept it really simple though. You saw it in front of you vertically, then tipped it up over your head. He found the "mental trigger" there as well. There is something to the putting your focus on your 3rd eye area or above your head that just immediately creates a impulse. This impulse may begin faded and hard to see. It might just come from a totally tactile way as well. It's almost like a switch has been turned on.
I guess in a way, you could see it a the transition from Focus 10 to Focus 12 that Robert and Frank spoke often about. Regardless, it works.
Here is that transition being described by Frank, when a member asks him if there is any difference between a Focus 10 ad Focus 12.
"« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2002, 07:49:57 »
Reply with quoteQuote
quote:
Originally posted by napoleon:
Is there any difference between Focus 10 and Focus 12 ?
Yes, a distinct difference.
Focus 10 is where you have retreated from the physical about 85 to 90%. You still have an awareness that somewhere "back there" is a physical body. You are aware that you have one, but aren't really interested in it, and receiving next to no input from its physical senses. Your mind is awake and alert, but your focal point of consciousness is contained in what feels like a black 2-dimensional compartment somewhere about the centre of your head.
The primary difference between Focus 10 and Focus 12 is the 2D blackness becomes 3 dimensional. In other words, you get a sensation of an opening up of space, all around you. It's like if you suddenly found yourself in an unfamiliar room, where you were standing in the middle, and there was no light whatsoever. You wouldn't have any spatial awareness at all. All you'd see would be a 2-dimensional blackness before your eyes.
Now, say, someone very slowly began to turn on a light. There would come a point where you'd begin to see abstract shadows. Then, as the light got steadily brighter, the shadows would become more distinct and you'd begin to recognise basic shapes. This is what Focus 12 is like.
People perceive the state slightly differently, but the primary difference is the fact that the 2 dimensional blackness becomes 3 dimensional. Which gives you a distinct feeling of spatial awareness. You can't really see much at this stage, just indistinct shadows, or maybe whirls of foggy sort-of darkness. But, as I say, you cannot miss the *distinct* feeling of spatial awareness that comes about.
From Focus 12, it's like the light progressively gets brighter. Taking the room analogy a step further, as the light got slowly brighter, there would come a point where you'd recognise some object, previously perceived as an indistict shadow, as a chair (say). But you wouldn't know the colour of the fabric or the pattern (if any). As the light got brighter still, you'd start making out that there might be a pattern on the fabric, but you still wouldn't be able to see the colour. As the brightness increased, there would come a point where everything would come into view. This is Focus 21
Yours,
Frank"
Lastly, I wanted to add this reply given by a member here named Jeff Mash, years ago. The thread was based on a "Triangle Technique". I found very inspirational and true.
"A lot of beginners get discouraged because they try to project, and then when "nothing" happens, they feel like they're just wasting their time.
However, GreatOutdoors, you are realizing a very important point. Every time you practice projecting, and every exercise you do is only bringing you CLOSER to success. It may not SEEM like it, but you must believe it.
For example, you may lay down and after practicing a few OBE relaxation exercises, you begin to see some cool hypnogogic imagery. However, if that is all you see, then smile and know that you're getting better and better in developing your technique. I think too many people would discount the hypnogogic stuff and feel a sense of failure for not feeling vibrations, or separating from their body.
So yes, the dog barking you heard was a good thing. You may not have had a full blown OBE, but you are making contact with that part of your subconscious which is navigating you to the threshold of having a fully conscious OBE! Keep it up."
In other words, "don't give up". Every attempt you make gets you that much closer.