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I think that I'll stick with the reactive method for next time since it has worked for me before in this case. Hopefully if I end up in that 3D black again I'll remember to get myself out of it

Like they say, "if it ain't broken, don't fix it"! 

I enjoy a good session that is entirely in the 3D darkness. It's a great place to heal, "contemplate" and receive, (normally telepathic), messages.

 Yesterday, while in a Phase session I found myself in a cool experience and in today's session I pondered it further.

I began with some mental counting. I then immediately switched over to a focus on my new Dragon design. I continued the mental counting as well. I worked on my Dragon design and then the screen faded.

When it faded back in I saw a girl beneath me. She was moving closer, than farther away, either, that or I was the yo-you there. She was about 12-14, red hair with 2 ponytails in it. She had her hands stretched above her, like she was reaching for me. I could swear she was on some kind of "trampoline", but I couldn't see anything below her.

I finally caught on and grabbed her hands, giving her a good yank and she released, into my hands, through my grip and arms and then kept on rising. But now she was no longer a girl, well at least a girl as she was before. Now, she was a "Angel". This is the first time I have ever seen a "Angel" in any of my experiences. I have seen many "Entities", but none in the form of a Angel before.

The skies then opened up and I saw a vortex/portal appearing. It was yellow and spinning slowly. She flew into it and I decided to give chase. I found myself in the "tunnels" of this portal veering from side to side, up and down, but I just kept with it. After awhile of this, I decided to abort and ended my practice session.

I have always enjoyed a "disassociation" focus using 6 points out of my body (in front of me, in back of me, to the left/right, overtop and underneath). I have mentioned that in threads here and other places as well. This afternoon while in my phase soak, I experienced the speed of warping forward once again. But it abruptly stopped and I found myself deep in the 3D void. This is when the questions and on some level "telepathy" began.

Could we actually create a "Blueprint" from a "directional" dissociative focus. We already have mental conditioning to directions. Example, up/Heaven, down/Hell You could even say side to side/left or right, would be "beside" ourselves". I would say we could use that one for more of a "real time", more actual OBE like experience. Forward could be the "future" and backwards could be the "past".

I have been reading some things from Albert Einstein recently and he says "The faster you move, the more time slows down".
A point of consciousness doesn't need a physical vessel, per se. Although a point of consciousness will still experience the Journey there, wherever there happens to be.

So we could use up, as the "higher experience", like working with your guides and higher self. Experiencing higher levels of evolution.
Down could be for the "Badlands" experiences. You might want to try that just to experience what is there. I'm sure the Demon Hunters/Zombie fans would love this area. Different strokes for different folks. Sometimes there is light shining in that darkness and sometimes "you" become that light.
Left/Right would be for "etheric" projections, real time OBEs.
Forward, could be your future or just transcending time and experiencing "the" future itself.
Lastly, back. This could be for working on your past or just intending to see "the" past itself.

You will find after practicing the 6 point focus for awhile that it takes no time at all to begin to feel motion. Whether that motion is coming in the form of rising, falling, warping (speed forward or backwards) or just a sway to one side or the other.
Here is a few links threads where I use the 6 point focus.
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_consciousness/cloud_9_and_beyond-t44871.0.html
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/w...rform_the_phantom_wiggle_method-t44583.0.html

Try it. I think it would be a great experiment and we could use this thread here to share our findings.
Thank You!

So my question is, can you just let the vibrations take over and grow until you separate or should you also focus your awareness away from the body when the vibrations are at their height? I don't remember if I focused my awareness away from my body or not when I had my experience but I kind of feel like I didn't because I just ended up formless in a giant "3D" black expanse. This is the last little detail I feel would help me in my attempts tremendously!

I believe you can. I have that happen when I awaken in SP. I will just let everything play it's course, then I find myself out. Normally my spontaneous exits, through SP are either through my feet or legs. I always feel them rising first. Then I am out, down my hallway and shooting through my patio window. Although I have questioned this path, because I do have windows in the bedroom as well. 

I normally create a intended destination when Phasing though. Many times that will lead me to "Otherworlds".  It seems it works both ways. So you could either "reactive", waiting for things to unfold or be "pro active" and use a "exit technique".

I will refer you to this recent thread, based on the question of yours here, for more replies by other members.
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_out_of_body_experiences/keeping_still_and_waiting_until_body_goes_numb-t47165.0.html;msg366696#msg366696

 Hello Selski and Welcome back!  

I've have enjoyed reading your past posts here over the years.

Just last night I was reading some of your former posts as a "refresher of sorts" and the question came to my mind what do you know now, that you didn't then, pertaining to this practice?

I have found that every time I started to think I knew what was happening "there", that it changed. One wild, awe inspiring experience led to another and so on. The only time I found myself blocked was when I stuck with some conclusion, instead of leaving myself open to seeing and experiencing more.

My question was spurred on, after reading this thread that you started here. It had some great replies in it from other former members (that I respect) here as well.
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_projection_experiences/differences-t27412.0.html;msg227694#msg227694

 A progressive relaxation technique would do well here. It loosens all the muscles before you attempt a shift in consciousness. You could make sure to pay particular attention to the head/neck and shoulders. Those are normally tightest anyways.

To do this you begin at your toes. Stretch them and then relax, do that a few times until you finish with the relax part, then move on to the next thing, being your feet. You don't have to stretch each area though. Just focus there.  Continue systematically until you end at the top of your head. For further relaxation you can even go "above the head".

When I do this, I use mental affirmations. EX: My toes are relaxed, relaxed, relaxed, my toes are relaxed. I then continue affirming each part of the body that I am targeting my focus on.

At first it took about 15-25 minutes to do just one relaxation session. But now I have it down to 2 minutes. I cut the stretching part completely out of my routine, simply because in it I had to move the corresponding body part for real, which when you are attempting to AP, is a "no-no".

A bit late to post but figured I'd share my experience here as well.

Years back when I was heavily invested in studying and attempting astral projection I experienced something that changed my life forever.

Now I've had my fair share of experience with altered states of consciousness at this point especially when it comes to psychedelic substances and I can tell you that not even a DMT trip came close to the earth-shattering realization that transpired from what was a totally new state of consciousness for me at the time.

Back when this transpired I had been practicing meditation almost every night for quite some time and had begun to get fairly adept at quieting my mind without too much trouble. I could easily make it into sleep paralysis but I had never forced myself to focus long enough to get into a very deep trance state. One night as I was meditating before sleep I decided to see how far I could possibly push myself to lay still and focus solely on counting my breaths from 100 down to 0 and repeating the cycle. I kept this up for at least 5 cycles or so before my body was in an extremely deep state of paralysis and I could barely feel any of it other than how it felt like I was sinking down into my bed from the sheer weight of myself. At this point in the meditation it became almost impossible to follow numerical order as I was counting my breaths because I assume my brain was in sleep mode and things just weren't working out. I continued to choke out random numbers and just focus on it as best as I could but before I even got a few counts in things got really intense. I felt a force that I can only describe as what I would assume the vacuum of outer space feels like pull my entire body up into the air and into the space where my head was laying on my pillow. The whole movement was so extreme that I didn't even have time to react to it before it was over and instantly I went from being in my bed and semi-aware of my physical body to being in an endless expanse of pure blackness that went on forever in all directions. The weird thing to describe about this is that I was somehow able to perceive a depth in this blackness which gave it a 3D effect as if I was in just a massive open space. Words can't really do this experience justice because I felt things that I never knew were possible to feel and its really difficult to articulate for me. While I was in this new space I also did not feel as if I had any body or form whatsoever. I perceived myself to be just a singular dot in the center of this vast expanse of 3D darkness. As soon as I was able to absorb all the information from what had just happened to me I felt what to this day is the most profound peace and tranquility I ever thought possible. I had no emotions or thoughts I was simply there, existing in this brief still moment that I could have stayed in forever. I was only in this state for a very short time though because I found myself faced with a decision to either rest and drift off into dreaming or go further. I decided to just go to sleep because  the whole thing was so draining on me. I had no idea the physical sensations would be so intense or how drastic the shift in how your consciousness actually "feels" if that makes any sense.

I've recently resumed my efforts and hopefully with more dedication this time around I'll be able to have a full blown projection! This was without a doubt though the experience that proved to me that there is so much more to us than we could even imagine and it has stuck with me all these years as fresh as the day it happened.

No matter how many times you heard or read about an experience like this from another member here, another Astral Projection related Forum or a book, there is no way to fully grasp the "reality" of what they are saying, until you go through it yourself at a personal level. You have described the experience masterfully and to a "T'. Just being in the 3D vastness itself, defies Human words.

Practice, patience, perseverance and true dedication will lead you back there.

By the way, although brief, that was a "full blown projection". Good job! You saw it through! 

[BOLD BLUE LETTERING]

Thank you!  I write in a dream journal every morning and record as much detail as I can recall.  Is that what you're referring to, or do you also mean daily journaling from waking life? 

That's great! 

I am referring to Dream/OBE Journaling. But, there is nothing wrong with "daily/life Journaling". If anything, it strengthens your overall awareness itself, which is always a good thing.

If you wish to utilize this Forum, get acquainted with the many "stickies" in the sub-forums here (threads in BOLD BLUE LETTERING. They are all built around the "teachings", deeper understandings and pertinent info in this practice.

There are many roads/paths that lead to the destination! 

Thank you for the welcome!  I think, for the present, I'm more or less focused on learning how to consistently induce the experience of both astral projection and lucid dreams.  That, and learn to increase clarity, awareness, stability, and control.  Though I would definitely like to think I'm maybe accessing some other layers of reality, I have no way to know for certain if I am, or if I can.  So my focus is more on the experience, even if my curiosity wants to explore the more metaphysical and/or theoretical aspects.  Maybe it's something to explore in the future when I've got a bit more practice with the basics.

Greetings and Welcome to the Astral Pulse! 

Focusing on the experience for now, will lead you to your own conclusions of what is "really" occurring here.

Get into the practice of "Journaling" everyday. It doesn't matter how small the entry may be, (even point form works). Not only will this entrain your mind to stay consciously aware of your surroundings when in a LD/projection, it will also lead to more and more "conscious" experiences. In the future, you can look back at those Journaled entries and find "patterns" emerging.

What other techniques could we try as a form of "fear" training?

EXCELLENT post Thaomas!  

Anything that would involve shifting your focus from the fear could work. You could change your focus to a point outside of your body, you could immediately go to your Happy Place. The problem with the "fear test" is that it consumes your total and immediate focus at the time. It would need to create a stronger effect or impulse then the "fear effect" does on you to work, at that current time. 

A strong "will" will show you can divert just as quickly to something else. Energy work, visualization, they all work because they all achieve the same thing and that is to shift your focus to something else. The "thing" has to be a stronger impulse than the fear impulse though.

I can see how the "shock" of cold water or a focus on the "3rd eye Banda locks technique"could help. Those completely consume your focus and seem to have immediate effects. Hot water works as well!  :wink

When I do the Banda locks technique I see a lot of the color "purple". Many times it is spinning in some kind of tunnel or portal in front of me. The Yogic practice of "Throat Breathing", known as "Ujjayi Breath",  has the same effect on me too.

[Vibrations are "NOT" necessary to project]

 And I felt like I could just fall out of my body into an energetic pool, but I was scared because the space around me felt intimidatingly big, probably because I wasn't use to it.  There was no vibrations that time.
[/quote]
Once again, the "self imposed block" shows it's ugly face!

You have never handled/confronted the "fear tests". Even though you hear from us how safe it is, you still don't believe that on some level. You "MUST" confront that to move on.

I had the "twitching eye" problem as well. Just as I was about to have a full on OBE, my eyes would twitch and sometimes feel like they were opening. My screen would also get really bright and then I would question whether what I was seeing was through the slits of my eyes or was it the "NP/other realms". That thought was enough to cause "doubt" and I found that "any doubt will knock you out". So, that session ended then and there.

I fixed the problem through common sense. I began wearing a "blindfold". I then know that everything I saw was in indeed produced by the shift in my consciousness. I set out to purchase one and found the "Mindfold". It worked very good. After awhile (a couple of years) it fell apart, so I purchased a better blindfold called the "Escape Luxury Sleep Mask".
Sure it was a tool, but more than that, it showed myself on all levels how far I was willing to go to fix whatever problem was set upon me. In other words, it was a very powerful form of focused will and intent.

The twitching eyes stopped right away as well.

There many different exit signs that can stop you dead in your tracks. That's if you let them. If they worked once, they will be used over and over again until you confront them. Vibrations are "NOT" necessary to project.
I know you have seen this thread all ready. But take a refresher on it again.
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_out_of_body_experiences/exit_symptomssignposts-t46206.0.html

If you are interested, here is a link to that Escape Sleep mask. It is very well made and comfortable. I use it every night when I go to sleep and normally when I attempt a OBE as well.
I don't use it in my Phase sessions though because those I do in my bath tub now while soaking and the closed shower curtains seem dark enough.
http://www.dreamessentials.com/product-66/dream-essentials-escape-luxury-sleep-mask-with-earplugs-and-carry-pouch
 

[will]

Consciousness realities are such an unimaginably vast ocean; I think it is a combination of both. There is raw data out there to suit a wide range of scenarios that we seek out and draw on intuitively or with the guidance of other beings perhaps.

There is definitely phenomenon of time dilation in focused experiences such as astral projection, but it also extends to things like near death experiences or even just being in the zone while playing sports or a video game.

I don't think time can really be non-existent in the astral world in most of the systems we imagine because the structure of cause and effect events require an order that represents time. If the actions you perform have no "time" or "order" it is hard to understand how learning or growth could be possible.

One explanation of time which I find useful is to imagine that the granularity of time in higher dimensions has a kind of gear ratio to our time where a single tick of our experience might be hundreds of millions of ticks in the dimension above. Transitioning your state of mind into something like projection or the flow state allows you to operate at the scale of the millions of ticks, sometimes while continuing to experience normal reality such as in a near death experience.

I like the way you think Thaomas! 

Your deeper mental inquires will lead to deeper experiences. Slowly but surely you are releasing your "Human" mindset. You can still have balance. But thinking of things differently, in a deeper sense, brings more profound experiences. There is no limit to this.

Once you get beyond the "Human" conditioning, you will find there is so much more to see and be. 

 Very true, Nameless and Thaomas! 

Tom Campbell once said, in one of his many videos, that you need the mindset that "if this is the end, then so be it". Meaning you need to see it through all the way no matter what. Of course you will find out you will return unscathed. But no matter how many times that you hear that, if you haven't experienced it for yourself, it doesn't matter to you at a "personal level". This is what I mean when I use the term "self-imposed block". It will continue to "make" you fail, until you learn to confront, then overcome it.

My sig here says "To be successful with Astral Projection/Non Physical Exploration, your will to succeed must be much stronger than your acceptance of failure" and it's true. This is where being determined and even stubborn, really helps.

 Prometheus and Interstellar were well done as well. Recently I watched "The Arrival". That was a fantastic movie! 

Once in awhile Hollywood puts out a real "gem". They are few and far between though!   

It is funny how we tend to imagine the island paradise. My zone is a mountain rimmed basin with a rainbow tower in the center and purple cosmos above. I have never actually experienced it though.

I think "Hollywood" has had a say in this, lol. So many great movie scenes and even Travel commercials showing a beautiful aqua ocean and fun everywhere.
About 25 years ago, I lived in Hawaii for 5 years. I didn't care for it though. Too expensive and I actually enjoy a change in seasons (snow/Winter). I did love the feeling of sand under my feet though and "love" was everywhere. I wonder what a person that already lives in a tropic paradise would have as their "Happy Place". I think it has to do with the opposite of what they currently have now.

Speaking of opposites, I don't want to hijack your thread Thaomas, but I know you will appreciate this conversation as well.  
We speak often here, or at least I do, about our "NP personalities" (in our LDs) being different then our regular one. After seeing mine over and over again I have come to the conclusion that it is the opposite of what I am now. That makes sense because "balance" is so important. It being the opposite, kind of completes me. It's like the yin to my zang.

it also aids in making me consciously aware very quickly in my LDs, in whatever scenario I find myself in. It is always getting me into some kind of precarious and dangerous situation, then it moves aside and lets me handle it from a different point of view. This happens constantly now.

Does anyone have any theories on why our ability to join each other's paradise and accurately perceive it is so flakey? It seems like an easy enough thing to ask for with clear intent.

It all has to do with perception. The way you perceive a place or target would be likely different then the way I do. You would need a complete "blueprint" and stay to exactly what was on that blueprint. But, we can make a intent to see each other in a scenario. That isn't so "exact".
I liked the look of the Astral Island here on the Pulse. But I tweaked it to my own liking and those tweaks are responsible for altering my perception of it.
 If you look at the work that is being done at the Monroe Institute with the Focus levels, the members are targeting pretty much the same locations time and time again. I believe that there is enough people that have put their conscious will and intent into it that they have really created a accessible area or location in the Astral Planes. I have personally accessed this area that they call Focus 27 many times. At first it was completely spontaneous and involved "Retrievals", (which were also spontaneous to me). But then I began accessing it through my Doorway technique by targeting a office door with the words/number Focus 27 on it.
The first time I went through the door there I found myself in some kind of "screening room". The entire room was "white". I was alone in it. But I could feel eyes upon me. I was being tested. That test was about "patience", because nothing was happening in the room for a lengthy amount of time, yet I still held my focus there.

@Lumaza how would you describe your happy place location? Is it comparably stable to a physical reality location that has simply been on pause since you last visited, or do you get the impression that it is unique reconstruction from the essence of the idea? I think either should be possible but I am curious.

It begins with a simple view of the Island scene. It is the same general Island I find myself at. At least that is the "impression" I get. I know that because I built a Pyramid and some other things there years ago, lol. I wanted landmarks there. There is always something new or out of place there, like for instance the orange two seater sailboat that I saw yesterday. That leads to some kind of adventure or puzzle. Why is it there? Who brought it? There is enough in a simple out of place thing like that to get the curiosity juices flowing and that leads to a deeper involvement in the scenario at hand.
...but, if I am need to see or do something else, the Island experience will soon disappear and a new imagery will appear, just as it did yesterday.
That's why I tell people that if you are needed somewhere else or need to see something, no matter how deep you are in your current simulation, you will be diverted to whatever is necessary. Whether that something is a conversation with your "higher self/Guides, etc.
The "Happy Place" is simply a launch pad. But you can stay there the entire session if you wish to .

That is an incredible recollection of a retrieval. I feel like I may have participated in retrievals before but it is just a Claire-knowing rather than being told by some entity in common language. Do we ever get told literally?

I am never told directly it is a "Retrieval". I just find myself in a situation and somehow know what is going on. This likely came about because like you, I have been doing these Retrievals unconsciously for years now. Now, I am being shown how to do them consciously.
When I had my first one, I didn't know what it was. I just thought it was another one of my LD "Hero" simulations. But that one came to me while attempting a Phase session.

I had a rare conscious projection once that comes to mind in the way you describe the experience beginning in a house that is yours, but not yours. Initially I was terrible at going with the flow and would wake myself up, but it has become pretty easy after basically learning it the hard way in many experiences.

I find going with the flow to be incredibly important to further success. You will be shown what you need to see when you need to see it. The more you see and learn, the more you are shown and taught.

When I imagine the astral home however, it is a higher level of experience, like Reality+.

It is, if you allow it to be. Learn to be a good observer first. You will always know when it's time to join the scene. It becomes automatic. You are viewing in 3rd person and all of a sudden you are in 1st person view.

I would love to view the data on ancient Egypt and see our planet's Pyramids in their prime.

They are fascinating and they are in many "Otherworlds" as well. I am quite partial to them. Our home has many of them in it. I keep abreast of the Russian Pyramid technology as well. Many people don't even know the Russians made over 150 Pyramids of all different sizes. One of the largest can be found 5 miles out of Moscow. Although they have chosen a different "angle" then the ones that are found in Egypt. I own mini replicas of the Golden Section Pyramid.
 http://www.pyramidoflife.com/img/pyramida_main.jpg

Just watched the movie "Contact" based on the book by the late great Carl Sagan. It's a great film with a stunning ending. If you watch it DO watch it right through to the very ending, therwise you'll think it's just another science fiction movie. Stunning.

Seen it multiple times over the years. It is stunning and is one of my favorites! 

 Today while perusing through some of Frank Kepple's old posts here on the Astral Pulse Forum, I came across this gem of advise. In it he spoke of accessing your "upper screen", which occurs when you move your awareness to the top of your head. The quicker you can do this, the faster your shift in consciousness will be. I do this fast because using the "bottom screen"/physical eyes for me causes pain due to my TN.
He also spoke of how focusing on a "single still image" can be boring and I agree. But it is great when you are first starting out and if your focused will is strong enough, the image won't stay "still" for long.

   
Trance Questions

« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2002, 09:33:08 »
Reply with quoteQuote 


I read quite a bit on this BBS about keeping a quiet mind and I always wondered exactly what people meant because, when I am preparing to project, my mind is far from empty.

After reading your post, Shayde, the thought occured to me that maybe beginners were getting the wrong idea thinking that their minds had to be completely void of anything prior to projection.

The beginning phase of projection is all about using your imagination.

Of course, what you have to be completely devoid of is surface thoughts of the kind that generally come across in a verbal way, in your mind. Like, if you read to yourself, there is an inner voice that reads the words to you. Those kinds of thoughts are a bar to projecting.

Igniting the projection reflex involves getting your focal point of awareness up to the top of your head. The place where it needs to be is where your imagination resides. Think about eating your favourite food. At the same time, try and sense *where* in your mind that imagining is happening. Because where that imagining is going on, is exactly where you need your focal point of awareness to be.

In other words, what you need to do is to step into the realms of your imagination, but do it in a controlled way.

I often feel that people don't realise just how close the Astral is to ordinary consciousness. I was quite surprised to find out just how close it is. The Astral actually begins fractionally beyond the border of your imagination, and there is a thin buffer-zone that separates the two. My theory is that, in completely enlightened incarnates, this buffer zone no-longer exists. 

An effective way of getting your focal point of awareness to the right place, is through use of meta-physical imagery. One concept involves imagining you are stepping through a mental doorway. Another involves imagining climbing a rope. Others involve imagining symbols and entering through them, etc. Basically, it doesn't matter what you imagine provided it is stable enough. In the sense that you don't want to be flitting from image to image as this will dull your concentration. Then again, there may well be people for whom having multi-images works best.

The point is, you can basically use whatever imagery you like, provided it serves the purpose of getting your focal point of awareness to the place in your mind where your imagination resides.

One thing I found, though, is that if you try and imagine just one still image it can get rather boring. To get around this, you need to make the image do something fairly simple like turn around, or swing from side to side or whatever. Have just enough of a movement to keep it interesting, that's all. Otherwise you may start to indulge in the mental act of creative visualisation, rather than Astral projection.

As your focal point of awareness rises (it does so quite quickly) you will simply lose all sensation of the physical. So you don't have to pay any attention to the physical body accept to make sure it is comfortable and will remain so for the duration of your projection. Just take a few deep breaths, lie back and relax. Or sit back, whichever you prefer.

Yours,
Frank

OK so what would you recommend for a comprehensive guide on how to astral project? Thanks.

Do you mean to say you have been here as a member since 2010 and have never had a conscious OBE? ... or are you are amassing this info for a friend?

I ask that in sincerity because if you couldn't do it in the past, you need to find out what your "self-imposed block" is before you can do it now. It is likely something pretty strong and dear to you because it has stifled your success for years, it seems. 

This will come through some personal "soul searching". You need to jump every hurdle that has been put in your way, before you will find success with any technique out there.

Do you think you were supposed to learn something from it or do you think it was random

Yes, there was likely a "unconscious" lesson there, but even more then that, it was a new experience.

We come here to this physical realm to experience all kinds of things. We go there to the "other realms" for the same purpose too. Some experiences come in the form of "life's lessons" or Guidance and aid us in our physical manifestation here and overall evolution period. Others may be more like other realms in "Otherworlds"  and contain all kinds of unique adventures and quests. But in the end, they are all "experiences". 

[CONGRATULATIONS]

For recognition of their helpfulness and knowledge, I'd like to welcome ThaomasOfGrey and Nameless as new Moderators!

Congrats you two. 

Awesome!  CONGRATULATIONS, to both of you.

I couldn't think of a more deserving couple of people here! 

LOL, I would expect nothing less from you and in fact intend trying to locate your Island Paradise (if that's okay) when I can get back into focus.

Sure, the more the merrier! 

Lately I have been giving this exact idea some thought. I'm leaning towards building a place where I can leave 'clues' or 'notes to self' and filling it with things and ideas I mean or wish to carry over. I see no reason not to try.

If this is the case and we can really construct a area that we go when we transition, then I know that all the hard work I put into creating my Island Paradise has really paid off. It has paid off in many ways. This is just one more way to make it even more awesome then it was.

..and yes, for those that know me, there is a huge Pyramid there as well! 

 I use it often and call it my "Happy Place". Mine is akin to the Astral Island, being a tropical paradise and such, with a few of my own personal tweaks. If you repeatedly start there, this will become part of your own "mental conditioning".
On another Forum, we have experimented briefly with finding a mental construct/destination that a number of experienced members could meet at. We have had limited success though. One time, almost all the women that attempted, met up in some way shape or fashion. But not the men. I called it "Ladies Night out", lol.  

When I go to my/the Island Paradise, there is always something to be discovered or it will just be a great launch pad to some other adventure.

I would like to share with you a very cool experience I had this afternoon, (I just finished), that began with a simple focus on my Happy Place and soon changed to other.

I was doing my Phase soak. Just climbing in the tub has become an incredible mental conditioning. I then use my intent to "release my focus over my physical body". I have noticed that that is what has changed so much from the way I used to project.
In the past, I would focus on my Island, but begin with just seeing my feet, then the sand around me, hands, then I would pick up the sand and activate my tactile/sense of touch into the scene.
 On another Forum that I frequent a Moderator named Novice shared her technique, which is similar in the fact that we have both chosen a tropical paradise as our "launch pads", but she sees it from atop of a cliff.  She is looking down at the beach. I like that tech because I can use my "point of consciousness" focus instead of my "etheric body" focus. That's a hard one to understand, but if you have been doing this for a while (like I know you have Thaomas), you will understand what I mean.
By changing my mindset, I have changed my reality. I no longer need to see or be a body in the "other realms". This opens up completely new channels to experiencing things.

But back to my session. So, I begin with my intent, then focus on seeing the Island paradise from atop the cliff. It took no time at all until I saw something "out of place". This something was a orange small sailboat. Like a two-seater. I willed myself closer to it to take a better look and the scene totally faded out.
The scene now fades back in, but now I am in a Kitchen. It looks like mine, but I see that the pan I made eggs with this morning is not on the stove where I left it. I then go into my dining room and see the table looks different as well. I spin around, with just a thought and head down my stairs, which are in back of me. I find myself outside, by will now I wish to go see MJ. She is down the driveway in the garden n "real"/physical time.
I see the garden, but she isn't there. I then head down the road to a little bridge, where a small creek is. But the small creek has been replace by raging rapids. I see a huge pipe there too. Upon further inspection of the gushing water pipe, something shoots out of it. It's a baby. I immediately will myself to it and find that even though the rapids are brutal, the baby seems to be enjoying them. It hasn't sunk and is maneuvering through them pretty good. If anything, I was the one having a hard time maneuvering through them, lol.

We get further down the rapids and now they are calming down. Ahead of us, I see a land. It's a Island. Now I see the Cathedral white structures appearing and realize where I am. This was some kind of "retrieval". I think it was on a real "stillborn" child. But the child didn't need help moving on, they just needed someone to safely watch over them while they arrived at their next destination.

See how a simple intent can morph into a incredible adventure? I went with the flow. When things changed or morphed, I allowed them to and for that was given and shown a incredible journey. This was the first time that I ever experienced a retrieval or should I say in this case a
"guardian" duty/opportunity like this.

Those 2 stories you and Stillwater have given me a better idea how all of this really works. But I got two questions that I was thinking about while reading this. Were you guys fully aware that you were both asleep while you were living these lives? And did you both have the ability to leave when you wanted to? I know Stillwater was talking about how he was stuck there but he never described himself trying to leave the school

Initially, I was completely aware I was Dreaming. But that had to become a "afterthought" if I wished to stay where I was. I learned that too much focus on the fact that we are consciously aware in a Dream will lead to a early exit from that Dream simulation.
After a while, you learn to hold the "semblance" and that creates a balance of sorts.

I didn't get the "urge" to leave at all, even though there were some trying times during the entire scenario. So, truthfully I don't know if I had the ability to leave or not. The click ins and outs showed that there was some kind of "recess" in between the changing of the years. But not once did I fully awaken during this "lifetime" experience, until my morning awakening that is.

Now I have constant tension in my right foot. I can't stop it by even going to sleep. It's always there, even when resting. Would this really be a hindrance to astral projection? Should I wait for my foot to heal before I continue?

If you believe it will be a hindrance, it shall be. You need to find a way to get your focus completely away from it. I had to do that when I was first stricken with Trigeminal Neuralgia. I had relearn everything again. But it taught me quite a bit as well.

This whole practice in general involves loosing your focus on your "immediate" physical body. There are a number of ways to do this. Any of the actual projection techniques you read would work. They all involve the same thing and that is to stop focusing here and turn your "complete" focus to there.

Is time nonexistent in the astral realm? Like if I astral project can I make a few hours seem like a few days/weeks/years? Of course I mean with enough practice and mastering astral projection.

I find that yes, it is.

Here is a link to a great thread. describing some very long "NP" (non physical) experiences. My name at the time here was "Lionheart". The thread was started by a Moderator here named Stillwater. 
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_projection_experiences/months_long_experience_at_quotthe_schoolquot_postphysical_rest_area-t43572.0.html

I know you mentioned on another thread here how these threads were very lengthy. Many of the threads on the Astral Pulse Forum are lengthy, but they are loaded with helpful info as well. So, it does pay to read the whole thread.
Almost any question you have on Astral Projection has already been answered here somewhere on this Forum. Many of the same questions have been answered repeatedly.
The upper right hand corner "search engine" is very good for finding these answers. Just use "key words".