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An excellent discussion and I agree with all the prior advice that has been offered. I will add a few ideas for consideration.

I have some experience with Monroe and the Focus levels. Understand that the Focus levels are not fixed points; there are gradations to each of them. You can be in a high Focus 12 or a low Focus 12...a high Focus 10 or a low Focus 10. A high focus 10 and yes, your body is asleep and you know your mind is awake; a low focus 10 and you are feeling pretty deep and relaxed, but you know your body is relaxed but not yet asleep. That is okay, you can still accomplish all the goals you set for yourself. If you feel that your physical body is not fully asleep, don't worry about it or get hung up on it...just go about your exercise and continue on.

When I am at The Monroe Institute (five weeks now), and we are doing sessions, I can sit up in my CHEC unit and turn on the light and make notes, and then switch off the light and immediately return to the Focus level (21-35) I was at, with only a minor disruption in my awareness. Now, the first few times I tried this I was very suspicious about losing my Focus level completely, but once I did, I realized it was not the big inconvenience I thought it would be. Admittedly, this is after multiple days and sessions at TMI, but my point remains- your concern about disruption of your own experience, either by body position or Focus level is overblown; just accept where you are and get on with it.

Back home, I am much the same as you maybe...I really have to find the right time for all this to work properly. Sometimes it is an early morning experience when I find that special period of relaxation; other times it is an afternoon nap; or a middle of the night wake-up or WBTB effort. In my case, finding these opportunistic moments also includes Lucid Dream entrances...so I have to be on the lookout for any of these possibilities. 

Wishing you well in your search,
EV

Adding to Lumaza's good advice, I would say this:

1- I don't think you ever "lose the ability"; once learned it is a skill you carry with you. However, most successful projectors seem to find themselves challenged with finding new methods or techniques; often the method just learned can suddenly fail to produce results; so you are challenged to experiment and find another.

2- It could be a "change in lifestyle" as you say. If you are drinking excessively or doing drugs, this can certainly cause disruption and malfunction. The cleaner you can be, the better; it's just that simple.

3- Personal energy is also a possibility. A clean lifestyle automatically builds that kind of energy. Utilizing some simple energy-building techniques will only help and personally, I have had success with Robert Bruce's NEW, New Energy Way techniques. Just ten minutes of energy work, three or four nights before an attempt, either OBE or Phasing, definitely helps.

And don't forget to have a definite and expressed Intention- either to visit a person, place or thing...or to learn something or to have a specific experience.

The details to this whole process can get a bit complex at times, so there is a lot to consider.

GR,
I agree with your first affirmation and the intensity with which you applied it; the results were apparent and dramatic. So that again confirms the power of the affirmation and intent, especially early on in our efforts.

But the conditions change and the goal posts somehow keep always moving, especially in the pursuit of our Art...so if affirmations are still to work for you, how might you need to modify them, given the new conditions?

Love and Happy New Year,
EV

Seasons Greetings and Happy Holy Days to all!
With friends, family and loved ones...remember, reflect, rejoice
Peace to all

Anything we say has to include the repeated disclaimer that our recommendations are not intended to be offered as medical advice; for that you need to seek licensed, authentic medical opinion.

Follow the medical guidelines: the diet, exercise, etcetera. You've known this for 20+ years.

You can add some simple meditative exercises of energy healing, visualizing healing energy in green, yellow or blue colors radiating up and down the length of your body, like a large paint brush moving up and down your body. A deeper read on this technique would be Robert Bruce's New Energy Ways...it really is that simple and straightforward.

Hope that helps,
EV

And a Happy and 'Togetherfull' kind of Thanksgiving to everyone!
It is indeed a strange couple seasons we are trekking through, so it is a good moment to recognize and remember our fellow travelers on this journey.
Nameless' excellent opening generated some warm and inspiring responses from friends I know are moving through particularly challenging times. There are no words we can share here, that even begin to lessen the difficulty and pain that some of us are moving through right now; but maybe the recognition of that fact somehow helps to place it in a context that is somewhat more bearable and maybe just a little bit understandable. For a time like this, I simply don't have a better answer at the moment. Maybe there simply is no answer at this time...it is new and unexplored territory for each soul to encounter.
One possible idea I can only speak of from an older, personal, 60-ish POV, and that is that by our age we have already dealt with the pain and difficulty of assisting and witnessing our friends and family members moving through these transition periods. At the least, it is difficult and unpleasant...at the more difficult, these are very trying moments for our souls and challenge us beyond what we suspect we are capable of...

Current dreams-
Me included, many of us are getting very important dreams...so we should pay attention and write them down as best we can. They involve current events, but also family themes and longer term themes...this is a disturbance in the 'Force' that generates these 'dream growth' opportunities...this is all reflective of a great opportunity for growth within the natural River of Life, if you like to look at it that way...so, it is a difficult time but take advantage of it regardless...for the dreams...

My final comments will piggyback a bit on both LB and Lu- At this point, each of our Higher Self is involved and the level of communication has never been higher. The dreams are telling us things. Our individual intuitions are communicating  serious insights ( sorry, their emphasis, not mine)...so my advice is to pay closer attention to your own natural inner voice of intuition.

Let me try to explain this a little better-

Twenty years ago,  Non-Physical insights just hit me in the head like a light brick, but a brick nonetheless...that is almost physically how it felt. Over the  later years, insights were delivered in ever-decreasingly emphasized moments, yet still the big insights landed with some noticeable significance. Whether PR or NPR, insights came in from dreams, LDs and NPR events with varying degrees of subtle nature. This was a form of understanding within its own territory. I still don't fully understand it.

My last trips to the Monroe Institute, including a very recent one, involved learning at this very non-visual and somewhat disconnected level, which demanded me pushing my limits on experiencing from levels normally beyond my experience and reach. Frankly it has been difficult and frustrating. Yet, on the plus side I have achieved a greater understanding of recognizing how learning can arrive at a much more intuitive level. The result has been a series of near downloads that I have recognized as happening...it is not a function of immediate gratification, but rather an NP form of delayed understanding...a screwy way of describing it, but I realize that I am entering ever deeper into territory where my language fails to keep up in describing it...lol.
EV

Wherever you are, whether in noise or silence, accept the current noise or silence and dissolve into it.
Find an acceptable center and remain there, allowing all else to minimize as best you can.
You will find a stabilization point and a relaxation...and that is it.
It doesn't have to be perfect, it is just a relative perspective for the moment. Relax into it and let it expand.
That's all...
Let go and just be where you are...

Great experience and I agree with both prior comments by tides and Lu. There is a lot of personal metaphor to reason out here; part of the fun and frustration of these events.
The snake settling down is a metaphor for Kundalini energy settling down? Just a thought of mine.

This whole experience feels very much like a Leland Simulation unfolding; three very separate and distinct events that you noticed. It may have played out this one experience or it may involve a few more experiences to complete. Your feeling of this answer may take several days to a couple weeks to arrive at; it may have even ended in a download of information that your subconscious has to process until it is brought to the surface eventually; how does that idea strike you?

What a wonderful result of an overstuffing of turkey and Thanksgiving dinner and stuffs, lol!

EV

Hello Rajni,
Hundreds and hundreds of astral trips and I haven't had any injuries or physical issues upon return. Now the occasional overnight energy work by an Invisible Helper or an ET does sometimes leave a mark or two, lol. I had one of those nights exactly a week ago.
EV

As usual, Lumaza has pointed us in the right direction. Great insight Lu!

The pixellation phenomenon can be a barrier but I think it's a natural function of learning to "tune" your awareness to the proper frequency of the new energies you are encountering. So it is a lesson that is both demonstrating the issue and challenging you on an instinctive level to make the adjustment. I run into this many times at The Monroe Institute when I am taking a new course and not getting the visuals or experiences that I am expecting.

It is likely a complex and subtle process I have yet to fully understand and probably won't anytime soon, lol.

I've had the pixellation phenomenon before, and times where there is no visual at all; my first Retrieval was like looking at a 12 inch television monitor which gradually expanded until I was 'almost' completely in the picture. In my Back to School experience, for about five seconds my vision shifted and I saw the environment as strings/wire bundles of multi-colored energy and my assistants as brilliant white energy humanoid forms.

All of this is teaching us different methods of perception. The fact that you opened this topic Bob and asked the question; the fact that PerspectiveShift responded, shows me that both of you are noticing, asking and opening to new ways of perception of these Non-Physical energies. This is all part of the learning process. Hopefully this encourages you both in your NP endeavors. This is where we start noticing much deeper insights into our experiences.

Also, this shows the benefit of reading and sharing our experiences on a forum like the Astral Pulse; we start to realize that it is not just simple, common dream themes that we have in common, but also more complex experiences are actually much more common and consistent than we once considered. This experience that Bob and Perspective both reported, is backed up and confirmed by both myself and Lumaza and of course, others.
This fact really helps to support and reinforce the credibility of our individual experiences.

You really have to search carefully and get some personal recommendations on a good energy healer; probably harder to find than a good doctor or car mechanic; ask around and especially some people you trust for advice in this area.

The Monroe Institute has an excellent CD called Chakra Meditation (with Hemi-Sync) that I have used and can recommend. It's probably $15 USD.

Hope that helps,
EV

Never had that one myself, but Lumaza's explanation makes perfect sense to me. I've had similar minor distractions; it's an interesting body phenomenon.

Sorry for your loss. Personally, when I have lost family or even close friends and set my intention and made attempts to check in on them, I've failed every time but one, when I was guided to see my father. I've heard and read the same difficulty for others and so consistently that it seems evident that some form of restriction is involved. This may be due to the highly emotional nature of the situation and a need to insulate the transitioned person, especially early after their departure.
  Possibly a close relationship with a beloved pet could involve some similar reasons. I see no reason not to make a few more attempts but if unsuccessful, then I would let it go. Maybe a contact comes through later, on its own. You have, after all, set the intent and that doesn't just disappear when you quit thinking about it. These things can take time for reasons we don't fully understand.
  Also, I think the process for transitioning animals is different and much more an automatic process. I doubt they suffer from the belief traps that humans can fall into such as Monroe's Belief System Territories and the various minor and major Hells that I've seen during Retrievals.
  Then again, I've always believed that dogs look up at us because they wish to one day be human; while cats look down on us because they already have been...so maybe another level of complexity does come into play at some point in an animals evolution.
  And I still take comfort in 'all dogs go to Heaven'

More good insights on your part PerspectiveShift-

At this point in your experiences, certain dream characters may indeed be quizzing you with mysteries and watching for your reaction. I will only acknowledge the insights you have recognized (or for that matter, those that I have recognized, lol) because they are so much more fun and meaningful to discover on your own and a wonderful part of the grander mystery.

Praying/talking to and expressing a sincere sense of gratitude to our Teachers/Guides/Higher Self are also great insights.

As you are learning, some of the strange moments/answers/requests are acting as Dream Triggers; other times they want to gauge your response, your instinctive reactions. In these moments, it is best to stay with the current script (recognize there is a lesson happening here so don't go making great changes or flying off).

Your untangling of the Birthday tangle was a good example of your developing quality of cognitive function within a NP environment. Ask yourself if you could have performed the required cognition six months ago without disrupting the NP environment and aborting the experience entirely and awakening in frustration? Developing our NP senses involves refinement of some normal PR ones, such as higher cognitive function, but without disrupting NP considerations. Then there are many NP senses to learn and develop, as well, feel/intuition/knowing being one or more of them...your "feel" of a question/situation/environment takes on much more significance in the NPR. This also enhances the same ability here in the PR world.

Maybe there is a metaphor hidden in the Birthday image that doesn't involve either you or your friend's PR Birthdays...

Good work; this is where the fun and mystery begin to ramp up!

Here is one of mine that involved similar realizations that I had and some excellent thoughts/insights that followed in everyone's responses.

http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_dreams/how_to_avoid_a_ld_despite_9_easy_dream_triggers-t44860.0.html

I find it intriguing that Perspective brought this subject up and that it interested Bob enough to comment with similar experience.

It's just my opinion but I think that it is a good indication to you both that your NP/Non-Physical senses are being activated; and you are beginning to intuitively notice the fact. I noticed this same activity for myself about 10 years ago. And it definitely wasn't the kind of activity that I expected, and it left me with questions which I couldn't find answers to for some time, but nonetheless there it was. As I devoted more concentrated attention to my dreaming awareness, becoming lucid, working phasing techniques, etc...other things began to happen such as an increase in early morning hypnopompic activity: Voices of all sorts, machinery noises disturbing me, firecrackers and cannonades during the Fourth of July (no kidding!)...much of it was disorienting and honestly bothersome. Again, this is why we need to keep a dream journal or take notes of some kind, lol. Much of this we don't figure out until much later...

But then there were the moments of beautiful music, such as both of you describe. Not regularly or even often...but when they occurred they were very obvious.

About 8 years ago, I was at a business conference at a very upscale resort in Phoenix, Arizona and one night at a lounge there was a wonderful young female performer, playing piano and singing cover songs, many of which were Fleetwood Mac, which i love. She was simply awesome and I listened for more than three hours. Around 4 in the morning, I became lucidly aware and realized there was music playing in my head, piano similar to her style. Within a minute or so I realized that I could control the music, the tempo, the chording, the progression. Now honestly I love music but technically I lack the skill at playing. But there in that middle of the night hypnopompic kind of state, I was in control and could tap into a whole new creative frequency. And I played with it, experimented and created my own music for maybe thirty minutes before I fell out of the state and back into sleep.

I have been in that state a few more times and although I am not sure, I think that it is the 'creative state/stream' that many artists are able to access much more than my feeble adventures. And it's not just for musicians...not only Paul McCartney has described this state, but Edison, Ford, Tesla and many authors...

I know that I have seen glimpses of this creative frequency and I would submit that both you have now had glimpses of it. It's part of our NP education and our re-awakening; just one part and there are others. I hope that resonates some.

EV

Bob, me being one of them, thank you from those of us who are technically/computer challenged...I might at some point attempt an avatar now...



EV

Welcome Levi!

It sounds like you have already read some good, reliable material and arrived at your own insights about much of this practice throughout your life. I think you will make solid progress from here on...it is quite an exciting, fun and challenging journey of exploration! (Edit after a couple hours- That sounds upon reflection as way too simple and saccharine...this journey will be really challenging, at times nearly impossibly difficult and yes, you wanted it that way!)

As a personal aside, my strictly Christian grandmother used to buy me DC and Marvel comics a few times a year. Spider-Man, the Avengers, Fantastic Four...along with a few Archies...By chance she gave me a couple issues back in the late sixties of Dr. Strange and his 'ectoplasmic explorations' just blew my mind at how they resonated with my confused personal experiences. If only she had known what she was contributing to, lol!

That a comic book helped launch my Non-Physical voyage of discovery...thank you Stan Lee (and Jack Kirby)!

EV

Welcome to the Pulse, Kim and I wish it were under better circumstances. My condolences as well to your loss of loved ones.
Your recent entry into this spiritual aspect of our existence is an abrupt and difficult one. I hope you can find some worthwhile and reassuring answers on this forum and we are glad to help in any way we can.

EV

A few points:

A couple members here report of phasing from positions other than lying on a bed. Szaxx has reported phasing from his car after having lunch during a workday (also Szaxx is incredibly talented at this stuff, lol). And on a nearly daily basis Lumaza does his "phase/soak" from his bathtub with his feet hanging off the edge (another highly talented person). So I think this points to two things- one is certainly the confidence and understanding that a lot of experiences brings to one's efforts. The better you get, you realize there are fewer restrictions to your practice. Another is finding a comfortable position, wherever and however you may find it, which likely includes an expectation of silence and freedom from interruption. Your head falling over to one side is a physical issue that would need to be minimized; maybe an airline neck pillow?

Many successful projectors have mentioned the idea that your bed should be for sleeping and so OBE attempts should be tried elsewhere. This theory is certainly backed up by the fact that you have slept in your bed likely thousands of times so a certain subconscious expectation for sleep is pre-set. The recliner satisfies this problem by being comfortable, adjustable and can over time, set up a new pre-set expectation for OBEs. This makes sense to me though I have not explored it since I have no recliner, lol until recently. Maybe instead of a Laz-E-Boy, I should ask for a OB-E-Boy?

A third point is that given enough experiences you eventually realize that your physical environment does not have to be perfect- perfectly comfortable, perfectly quiet or perfectly without distraction. You can itch and scratch, you can clear your throat, you can be distracted by a car horn, etc. It's all very temporary. I learned this through my own experiences going to The Monroe Institute for 4 different courses, each a week long. Now admittedly, this is full immersion in OBE/Phasing practice with approx 7 sessions a day for five days, all with the assistance of Hemi-Sync audio. It is eventually explained and suggested that participants can shift their body position, grab a blanket, turn on the light and make notes or even run to the bathroom and come back to the CHEC unit (bed) and work back into the OBE/Phasing with little to no interruption in the experience. And like most participants, I resisted that notion as long as I could always wanting to preserve the quality of the experience as best I could. Finally circumstance caught up with me- once I had no choice but to head to the bathroom mid-session; another time the batteries gave out in my headphones and I had to grab another set. Each time I was surprised at how easy it was to get "back into" the experience.    

So the short answer may be that it is not as big a problem as we may initially think.

Nothing more than some bruises GR...pretty amazing.

Awesome experience GR!

The "stoplight delay" is just a too impossible kind of experience but it does happen.

I have been in three "totaled car" crashes, the last (1995) upside down in the back seat of a Honda Civic into a creek...just unbelievable...

I think I have the grace of a "group" watching out for me...damn what a bother I must be...

Maybe consider a recliner that offers variable inclinations. I have read of others successes with this and considered it myself. One author that I am not a fan of did report that the Egyptians were keen on a 37 degree back angle and that has been of interest to me, but I have not explored it.

Welcome to the Pulse PerspectiveShift,

This a great thread that Nameless pulled forward that synthesizes and clarifies many of the issues we deal with in maneuvering between Physical and Non-Physical states of consciousness. Yet it is still somehow not complete and I wonder that any single discussion can ever cover all the very subtle and almost intangible difficulties that we encounter in this practice.

I will concentrate on a few areas that may pertain to or suggest further questions-

A very brief summary to emphasize important points: We all want conscious exits into Non-Physical Reality (NPR), but there is no guarantee and we are all different so some few get natural, conscious exits while most of us start with Dreams, Lucid Dreams, WILDs, DILDs and various accidental or unexpected OBEs of varying types. My point is that you take what you can get and progress from there to the more controlled type of exit. Keep a journal and you will soon see patterns and areas of personal exploration that will become invaluable to your understanding. Some of my best experiences have started as Lucid Dreams, so don't ever deny those.

A key component to having almost any of these experiences is the Timing of the event and that typically involves a trial and error process of finding the right Time when you are in that perfectly relaxed state of mind to either have an experience or to initiate the proper sequence of events so that an experience will occur, either soon or sometime later. A certain disconnection of the normal "aware" mind is necessary; so daily meditation, while it is excellent and recommended training, may not get you the results you are seeking, but is excellent preparation. As this SSILD technique describes sleeping for 4-5 hours, then staying awake and active for 5 minutes and then applying the Noticing/Cycling technique...this is an effort to relax and get your PR mind out of the way so you can be open to the hypnogogic visuals. An alternative that I would suggest is the classic WBTB technique which is to awaken by alarm after 2-3 hours of sleep, then stay awake for 45 minutes or so and then try the Noticing technique. We can debate between hours to sleep or minutes to stay awake, the point is to experiment to find what works for you... so you need to experiment with the process. You may find that an afternoon nap on your day off has some great opportunities. Or you may find that awakening two hours before your normal morning pays dividends. I have found opportunities in all these different times and not always knowing when they would pay off. What helps is to know the other necessary aspects such as Noticing/Cycling and how to just Passively Observe until the NP Scene takes on its own life and action. Our earliest NP experiences really seem to depend on these two aspects, plus another.

That other aspect can deal with Intent. You need to have and to express an Intent or a reason for why you want to do this in the first place. Intent almost definitely works on multiple levels. If you just want fun, sex and excitement...that may get you something, some minimal experiences but probably not much more than that. It may be enough to get you an experience that invites you to seek further. Intent can also involve a process of "asking permission or granting permission" from your inner Self to do this highly unusual OBE thing; that is another possible aspect. But if you really aspire to a higher, spiritual cause then you should express that through your Intent. Expressing that Intent through a feeling or an Affirmation is not only an instruction to your Subconscious/Higher Self, it is also a declaration to the NPR, our Afterlife and the totality of beings that exist there. If you actually believe they exist and you wish to help, then this is your current form of communication with them and I advise a certain level of sincerity and gratitude for their assistance in your development. Because once you start down this road and have a few dozen experiences, it becomes quite apparent that others are involved. We all have Guardians and Helpers...

So, as a possible answer to your last question...when the hypnogogic imagery gets really intense...just passively observe it while remembering your basic Intent...and just observe...let it develop and transform until you are literally pulled into the scene...and then go with it...

And if nothing is working and you can't fall asleep, then just reaffirm your Intent once more and let it all go and relax into sleep as best you can. Maybe a LD will surprise you by morning!

EV

I think your answer confirms what I'm going to tell you but ultimately it is your experience and you will need to determine the meaning it has for you. I read back through many of your posts, back to 2009, to get a sense of where you are, at least from my perspective. You have tried many techniques and had sporadic successes, some good insights yet that overall pattern still hasn't quite taken an understandable form.

I think this experience is a very good one and shows some ideas that will help give you a greater and wider perspective, as well as recognizing the quality of your Non-Physical NP thinking and mindset.

First you had the insight that you were in a "school". That was correct but you didn't immediately understand the significance. This was not just a simple OBE or lucid dream; it was an LD within the context of a school and a learning environment that I have come to recognize as a Simulation.

Second, you had the insight to notice the "pull", but again you missed the significance and actually willfully resisted it. Good on noticing, not so good on resisting but that's understandable the first time. Next time you'll know better. Also reflect on your quality of reasoning at the time as you made your choice. Having chosen the door to the right led to an immediate exit from the Simulation and you woke up (which is why I asked what happened).If you had followed the "pull" in the other direction, the Simulation would have likely continued, developed further and led you to more experiences and more chances at learning.

Congratulations! You wanted the next level and greater understanding, this is the beginning of it. These are Simulation learning environments that are set up to teach you NP skills and abilities.

Take several minutes in a relaxed state and thank your Higher Self/Teachers/Guides. Some genuine appreciation and gratitude is deserving for their efforts and yours. Also ask for more, ask for 'the next best lesson I need to learn'. That's always a good default request.

Again, this is my interpretation based on the learning I experienced; I hope it resonates with you. This was a very exciting time as I realized what was opening up for me.

Well done and we look forward to more posts like these!

EV

So what happened when you went through the door on the right?