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A popular theory that tries to explain the phenomena of the NDE is that it is an evolutionary trait that makes the actual last moments of death peaceful. This would be a great trait to have back when being eaten alive by large carnivores was a leading cause of death. But I have to ask myself why would nature give a damn if any being's last moments of life is peaceful. It only makes sense to me if there is an intelligent design/God/Source behind it.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't one of the key mechanisms of evolution dependent on the ability of a gene carrier to pass that gene on to the next generation [rhetorical question]?

Now obviously the carrier could have already produced offspring that inherited the trait but evolution also depends on the new trait to be beneficial to survival otherwise it will fade out of a population.

The paradox here is how does our physical bodies determine that a trait is advantageous to survival but is only useful at the exact moment of death. I can see the opposite being true where we have a trait that makes us determined to not give up at any cost or for any reason, even if we have to crawl back to our cave holding our guts in a deer skin pouch. Now that trait could stand a chance of being passed on.

A new gene mutation or trait needs an opportunity to be utilized and prove it's worth. We gave up a lot by being bipedal and it made little sense in a world where large carnivores could chase you down with ease because they have four legs to propel them. However, we gained intelligence which served us in many other ways and became a most advantageous trade-off.

So doesn't this theory actually mean that it is advantageous to death and not life [rhetorical question]?

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in the show. As far as NDEs go, these weren't all that spectacular but I suspect that might have been part of the agenda.

It seemed like they didn't want to present experiences that were spectacular which might make it seem less likely to be a real phenomenon.

All in all, they were fair and respectful. The show didn't offer any theories of what might be happening other than than what the people themselves thought.

Worth a watch but don't worry if you missed it.

AZ hit that on the head (as usual), many times in the NPR we do find ourselves acting out of pure instinct. Later we wonder why we reacted that way. It's kind of a fight or flight situation. Even the more experienced people with AP get this time and again.

You're being way too generous. I'm full of BS just as often as I happen to make sense.

Astralsuzy,

I think he chose to contact you because your husband's strong disbelief in this matter shuts him off to contact. So long as the subject isn't too taboo with your husband, I think you should consider telling him. He might find it comforting at a time when he needs it most but you what's best and I'll leave it at that.

My best regards to you and your family right now.

I'm sure there will be no shocking admissions from any doctors but I love to hear new stories.

Even if the atheists are right and we only believe in this because deep down (or not so deep) we are scared of dying, it doesn't detract the value from an interesting subject.

Ironically, they seem more concerned about being right than we do and the beautiful part of it all...if they are correct and there is only an eternity of nothingness, they'll never know. Not that we would be the sort to rub someone's nose in their own crap but we, the believers, are the only ones who stand a chance to say, "I told you so".

Many people like to say positive affirmations as mantras.

Lionheart referenced Tom C. and makes a great point. Tom C recommends using non nonsensical sounds or words so that you are not having to think critically about what you are saying. However, if you say something often enough, you won't have to think about it. It will just come out.

I don't know if Beedeekin is referring to playing out an actual conversation in his head but that is one of my earliest techniques that worked great for me.

I based it off a real conversation that went the wrong way completely. So, I imagined it how I wanted it to go and before I knew it, I was "out". I skipped all the "signposts" such as the vibrations or buzzing noises when I did this because the conversation was intense for me and I would become very engrossed.

Using a conversation is not a technique that is mentioned often (if ever) but it just goes to show that there are so many different ways to get the job done and you need to read about them in a book. Just understand that at their core, every method is trying to accomplish the same goal- remove your focus from the physical while staying mentally awake.

An excerpt from:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/29/us/to-heaven-and-back/index.html?hpt=hp_t5

(CNN) -- One woman is under water and without oxygen for 30 minutes after a kayaking accident. Another has end-stage cancer. A teenage boy suffers heart failure.

On the brink of death, all three tell stories of leaving their bodies, going to heaven and coming back.

For each, their story raises questions: Is heaven real? What does it feel like to die?

And for each, their answer -- airing Sunday on CNN's "To Heaven and Back" -- will be grounded in their experience.

It will air first at 7pm eastern and then be re-aired at 10 pm eastern.

This is great because I don't have to miss my other life after death show, "The Walking Dead".

I'm sorry to hear about your brother in law passing.  :-(I assume that you may have had a good relationship with him since he initiated contact with you.

You simply reacted out of instinct so that can't be judged as right or wrong.

He probably knew that you were in a state in which you would be able to feel his touch so he wanted to get your attention. If anyone reacted wrong, it was Peter because he could have just as easily announced his presence first to give you the time to accept that someone was there with you.

The person in the dream may just be representing the strong love that you want to feel again and not necessarily that you still have any strong feelings for this person.

I too have a semi-frequent "dream" in which I feel overwhelming love for a certain woman in it but I never see her face. I also feel a little sad when it is over but the sadness fades quickly.

I often wonder who this woman might be because I feel that she is real. I have only been in true love twice but I am a romanticist and float on clouds and hear birds sing all day long every time I start to crush on someone new. I know the difference but the sucker in me can't help but hope that each new one will be another true love.

The deal breaker, however, is that I do not want to get married, ever. Period. It is just a social and legal contract that is becoming more worthless by the day. This is just my cynical opinion and hopefully anyone who does not agree with me can see that I am just full of BS.

As soon as you notice something odd, concentrate on it and ask yourself some questions.

For example, let's say that a pink cat suddenly runs across the room. Most people would find a pink cat as a very strange thing to see.

So ask yourself, "Did I just see a pink cat? And where did that pink cat come from anyways? And where did it go? Is is naturally pink or did someone dye it's hair?"

That may seem silly but it really does work. The exact questions you ask aren't important. All that matters is that you are waking your mind up and thinking critically instead of just being a passive observer.

Since you believe that you can't see colors in the astral, seeing a pink cat should really be odd to you.

YOU can see colors in the astral.  It sounds like all your experiences thus far have been short so you haven't had a chance to really "see" much. Believe me, YOU will see colors and then your problem will be describing how vibrant and radiant they are.

I am hesitant to jump in here because Szaxx is giving you some excellent insights and you are making some great breakthroughs in how to interpret your experiences better.

But alas, I can't resist.

Some of our NPR adventures are just for the fun of it if that's all your looking for but I found that once I took it more serious and wanted to learn more about myself, that's when the real adventure began.

I want to tell you about an experience that I had in which I found myself in the mind of a WW2 soldier.

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Feb. 17, 2013
Edited for clarity

Last night I phased right into a ww2 battle. I entered the scene aware that I was in the body of a badly hurt soldier. There was a loud ringing in my/our ears and I was unable to talk or move. A young soldier kept slapping me in a panic and was yelling, "Wake up Lt. We need you." Another soldier told him to forget it and that I was already gone. Sporadic small arms fire was throwing snow up all around us so the two soldiers left me in a frenzy.

Never mind the chaos and horror, what really confused me is that during the projection we (the Lt. and myself) were both aware of each others fear and thoughts. I was upset at the soldiers for leaving us there and the Lt. was trying to calm me down! He must have been an exceptional soldier.

It's as if I was aware of three different realities at once. I knew I was projecting so I was aware that my physical body was safe although that only a momentary thought, I was aware of the Lt.'s thoughts and of course I was aware of my fear related to the events. It's a hard feeling to describe really but one that I'm sure many of you can relate to.

The Lt. managed to calm me down enough and we finally crawled about 100 feet and rolled over into a foxhole. He asked me to leave [his body] and I wanted to but every time I tried, the Lt. would lose his consciousness. I felt that if I left him, he was gonna die. Even though I had no clue as to what I was doing, I desperately wanted to save the Lt.'s life because I felt that the lives of his men depended on this as well.

I perceived that he was verbally speaking to me aloud but I spoke to him telepathically. I guess this could be described as a sort of possession yet I'm not comfortable in saying that's what it was. Like I said it is hard to describe. I also had an overwhelming sense that I was violating him by "possessing" him.

We argued for a while about me leaving and my shame kept me from doing so. He was in extreme pain and his wounds were most definitely fatal. He had already accepted his fate but my ignorance and inconsideration for his own wishes only prolonged his misery.

Finally my guide showed up and pulled me out. He then showed me the aftermath.

The Lt. never crawled into the foxhole and the other two soldiers were killed by the gunfire that I thought scared them off. All the soldiers ended up lying dead next to each other.

I never changed a thing and obviously it wasn't even possible that I could but in those ultra real moments, we don't think like that. I do believe that this was a real event.

---End of experience---

Obviously this wasn't an experience that I would call having just for the "fun" of it so I had to find some lessons in it. Szaxx gave me some valuable insights and helped me to reach some conclusions on my own as well.

So long as we do not abuse the opportunity to experience the thoughts and feelings of someone else (however, I can't honestly say that I did not abuse this opportunity because I did not respect the Lt.'s wishes and leave when he first asked me too) , it can be a very valuable "gift".

If you think about it, it's as if we are being shown a whole new world. The Lt. may have been human and was from Earth but our perspectives of the world are all relative so seeing life through his "eyes" was to see a new world (scary as it was).

I have since had other experiences in which I was able to see through the "eyes" of others and I know now that this particular projection was a baptism by fire.

I need to remember---

Any time that I visit the NPR, I am likely to be given a problem-solving challenge
and not just a sight-seeing tour.

This is important to remember. We often come away from the experience just feeling blessed to have it in the first place and then forget to think about what lessons we can learn from it. No matter how short or long, beautiful or horrifying-there is always a lesson(s).

They [NPR lessons] are not always obvious and the best ones rarely are but they can change our lives like nothing else can. It's a beautiful thing when you think about it. We have the opportunity to "live" out different lives, be thrown into the most dangerous circumstances and have the same thoughts, fears and reactions that we would have really felt had the experience played out in our waking lives. Not to mention, we can get a "do-over" if we aren't satisfied or failed to realize the lesson.

I hope that I did not derail your thread to badly but I just wanted to share one of my experiences in which I got to see through the eyes of another.

Welcome to the Pulse.

You should be able to find tons of techniques and methods by doing a simple search and looking at all the stickies.

Please feel free to tell us about your experiences and ask any questions if you are unsure of something or need more clarity.

If you want to feel better about your proficiency in speaking English, just ask me to speak French. You should feel a lot better about yourself after that.

Many members have found that they have become better at projecting just because they stay active on the forum and this helps reinforce their "sub"conscious mind that they mean business.

I won't deny that there are negative beings in the astral and "elsewhere" but I am very hesitant to use the word demon.

Just seeing or hearing the word makes some people want to run and grab their cross and say a thousand "Hail Mary's".

I have encountered more than my fair share of these "negs" but I simply don't pay them any mind. I refuse to let them dictate my OOBE. They may appear to have a lot of power but anything that comes from a negative place is limited.

They have a high level of entropy which means they are chaotic and have no order. This is a very limiting factor and a great weakness. Whereas someone who is full of love and compassion can withstand their "attacks" because where there is great order, there is great power. Ans power coming from a positive place is limitless.

That;s why it is important to always react with compassion and love as your inspiration.

Sorry for my off-topic ramble but I saw some relevance for it.

Mon, you said that you went to a Catholic Priest and he just said a few prayers over you. That is not a Catholic right of exorcism, it's just a  priest saying a few prayers over you.

The Catholic Church follows a very strict protocol before they decide to perform a right of exorcism. First you meet with a local Priest and tell him in detail what you are going through.

If he believes that you are truly undergoing some sort of an attack and not mentally disturbed, he will then report it to the Bishop that heads the Diocese. The Diocese is the "headquarters" and is run by a Bishop. This Bishop oversees all the affairs of every catholic Church within his "district".

If the Bishop is convinced by the original priest that something is indeed happening, they will then send an additional Priest as well as another who is a certified psychologist back to meet with you. The psychologist will then determine for the church if it is just a case of mental illness.

Besides signs of mental illness, they will also be looking for supernatural phenomenon. Most notably, they are looking to see if the person can speak and understand a language that is completely foreign to them, possesses superhuman strength, knowledge of things that are currently happening at a great distance which can be later verified, as well as a great aversion to anything that has to do with, God, Jesus, or scripture.

If any three of those criteria are met, then the Bishop or an Arch Bishop may  then grant a right of exorcism by a different Priest that is highly experienced in such matters.

If this is not what happened to you Mon, then you did not undergo an exorcism.

The most important thing in all of this is that you have an unshakable desire to be free of whatever it is that is tormenting you. If you don't, no Priest, Shaman, doctor, or Jesus himself can help you.

Good luck and please don't be so quick to dismiss professional help. 

It sounds to me like you may be suffering from a mild form of sleep apnea. At it's severest sleep apnea does pose major health risks but rarely in healthy young adults.

Sleep apnea is generically described as a condition in which the inflicted can have "attacks" (usually while sleeping but not necessarily) or bouts of being unable  to breathe but it can also be brought about when someone becomes so engrossed in a subject that they forget to breathe. Not to worry though, healthy young people are generally very fine and healthy enough that it is almosst always a  non-issue with them.

Be safe and good luck.

Corpus Christi (body of Christ), Texas.

Why does it feel less real afterwards? Was it not a true experience?

I think it only feels less real to some because they have accepted that this physical reality is all there is.

Whether it happened in your waking life or a non physical experience of any sort, it is a memory now and what criteria makes one memory real and the other not...without invoking discussion on memory manipulation and implant.

It isn't a matter of losing that feeling of joy and love, it is a matter of finding it again.

Fear is neither rational or irrational, it just is. How we let it affect and control us is where rationality comes into play and even then, it isn't for the observer to decide but rather the one having the experience.

Fear mongering is humanity at it's lowest. It's people trying to make us afraid of the same things that scare them and it works great.
Does it make sense for someone in Antarctica to have a fear of rattlesnakes? This is just a mini-rant and was not used to imply that you don't understand this all.

I can't answer your last question with any real confidence. I have had more than a few encounters with some psychic abilities but I never had any desire to have or control them. I will say that I never had one until I changed my mindset.

They were not insignificant to me. I appreciated and felt blessed to have them because they reassured me that I was not crazy, not that I ever questioned my sanity...just my understanding. It let me know that I was right to question what I was holding onto for dear life and to let much of that go.

Szaxx and many others, will have a lot more to say on this than I.

I can completely relate to your early experiences and having the medical tests done, though I might have taken it to a bit more "extreme" level.

I had all the tests done and was not convinced that the Dr's believed me because I was so young. This led to a fear of death (specifically a heart attack) thus leading to panic attacks which can mirror all the sensations associated with AP.

We can't live in a constant state of fear so we adapt and this becomes our new normal though it is anything but.

Through my own research and listening to the experiences of others, I am now completely comfortable with what the Dr's said (I was healthy and had nothing to fear) and let that part go. I haven't had a panic attack in years and no longer dread them either. But during that part of my life, I could not imagine that I would ever be free of them.

I hope that you have reached that same conclusion already and if not, that you will soon.

Phasing is just a new metaphor used to describe the ancient practice of using meditation in order to reach a higher state of consciousness without ever losing one's awareness. This means that you are consciously awake during every step from start to finish. It does help me remember many of my experiences but I see no difference in them regardless of how I achieved the state be it phasing or lucid dreaming. I will admit that I do not like the term lucid dreaming but that's my problem.

From what you have written, I can't tell if having an OOBE or an astral projection is important to you but I do think that you are very close to one should you choose to pursue it.

And welcome to the Pulse.

What made it happen quickly for me was belief. I had two OOBE spontaneously and I believed wholeheartedly that I could have one intentionally.

It can take a long series of realizations or "A-ha" moments to finally see it and then it becomes easy/easier. At least easy enough that you wonder why you never saw it like that before.

In the meantime, have you really done everything that you can?

Are you using affirmations and doing "dream checks" through out the day?

Do you really have your fear and excitement under control? I would imagine that one or the either has prevented you at the last moment on more than a few occasions in three years.

If so, have you taken time off from trying? This is when it finally happens for many people who are struggling.

I'm sure you already know more than you need to in regards to all the techniques. Hopefully someone will say something or use a metaphor that just makes everything fall in place for you. One phrase may be the key to making it "click" for you and unfortunately, no one has a clue as to what it might be.

There are no silver bullets but belief will get you a lot further than lead.

Hi Loki.

I remember an early experience in which I awoke and sat straight up. I noticed that the t.v. was airing a very odd show and I knew then that I was OOB.

I looked down to see what I perceived as my physical body lying down on it's stomach so this would have made me 180 deg off.

Very, very strange.

This made me think that I was indeed leaving my body in some way. Later on, I began to think that the orientation of my awareness in regards to my physical body and my perception of them being out of sync made more sense to me if our consciousness wasn't grounded in our bodies in the first place. That's what I'm working with today. 

I find it interesting that we used to have much higher levels of crystal and other minerals broken down by the water we ingested.

Now everything is filtered.

In the state of Texas, if your city wants a "superior" label on it's municipal water supply, it must have three different filter systems.

And then there is bottled water that is supposedly the best of all.

I wonder what we are missing out on if anything at all now.

I really enjoyed reading that. I wish more people would start sharing more of their experiences.

It's as if we are only discussing the test questions here and no one is talking about the course work anymore.

The results of any study on NDEs and OOBEs will always be interesting and will garner much attention from interested parties but ultimately, nothing will come of it. Believers will believe and skeptics will doubt or outright disbelieve.

I wouldn't call the fear irrational because we  are in a state of ultra awareness and our belief systems and cultural conditioning tells our rational mind that what is happening isn't possible. It was instinctive for me.

Of course not everyone is raised in the same belief systems thus they aren't taught that this stuff is impossible so they wouldn't freak out and some welcome it.

It made me question everything that I believed in and ultimately has shaped me more in the last 14 years than anything else.

10 p.m. milkshakes are doing more to shape me now though.

I teach 6th grade World History and not because I like the subject, it's okay, but at this point it one of the only subjects that doesn't have a standardized based assessment so I still have freedom in how I teach it. And it's not as stressful because I'm not worried about test results, so I can focus on my interactions with the kids more.

I feel for reading and math teachers 

History fascinates me to no end but I'm sure you can only touch on the good stuff with the kids. Just set the spark and they'll fan their own flames.