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I've found imagination to be pretty much the creative force.
I can't remember the exact words, but an author who had been trained hermetically and could AP at will said he tells his students that astral projection is just influenced by imagination, it actually is just imagination. He said most seemed to take offence at this at first (thinking he meant the reality of AP was just imagination). His reply to this was we don't actually know what imagination is.

Edit:

The author is JH Brennan. In some of his books on ritual magick it becomes clear almost immediately that imagination seems to drive this area too.

What's striking is how utilizing the imagination can be simultaneously effortless and difficult. In my next LD I'm going to try to imagine rather than manifest objects in the environment; it may be a matter of semantics, but the all-important beliefs behind the two words are very different for me.

Is there a difference between imagining and manifesting in the astral -- are we using the same force to manifest an apple in our hand as we do when picturing an apple in the mind's eye?

For example, while having a lucid dream I briefly imagined a mountain stream which a character was describing. Was there anything stopping me from jumping into the water that I pictured, besides my belief that it was imagined?

I'd also like to know how imagination works in F3.

The electric things might be Scheerer's phenomenon.

That's a common obstacle. Keep practicing, be patient, and eventually you'll break the subconscious linkage of senses to the physical body. It may help to repeat an affirmation such as, "I do not need eyes to see," or whatever you think is best.

I don't know Reiki, but I will say some prayers for her.

There was this green circle light thing in front of me I was trying to keep steady. My head was shaking with instability (not physical shaking).

Could you give more detail on this part?

I'm curious why you went back to your physical body in order to phase. Is it not possible to phase from an OBE?

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James.

It's Cyrillic character encoding (Russian).

This is a case of history being written by the victors.

i wonder if it's from 3 years of bumping heavy beats as loud as i can?

If by loud you mean >100 dBs, then yes, that would certainly do it. Buy yourself some quality custom made earplugs so you don't go deaf!  

Thank you for adding those details. I've definitely had sleep related hallucinations, in fact I just posted an account of two recent ones.

What happens if you listen to one type of sound (speech, music, electronics, etc.) frequently throughout the day? That usually causes me to hear the same sound while in the hypnogogic state.

I occasionally (once per week) see something similar to those blue flashes: a pale lavender splotch, which always appears outside the center of my vision, and vanishes when I try to stare at it.

That is all really fascinating to me. Have you had any tests of your physical chemistry? I wonder if it could be caused by an excess of a natural chemical in your brain.

Recently I've had two experiences in the hynopompic (waking from sleep) state that were surprisingly vivid. In both cases I achieved them simply by opening my eyes very slightly, allowing light through but not details.

The first happened on 11/25: I looked across the street from my bedroom window. This was surprising because I had drawn the curtains the night before, and, even stranger, the view was from an angle that would be impossible to see from my bed. When I opened my eyes fully, the curtains were closed and the room was darker than I had expected.

This morning I had another: a mole-like creature emerged from between the books on my bookshelf, crawled across the spines of several perfectly shelved tomes, then returned to hiding; this I knew was a hallucination because my bookshelves are a complete mess in reality. At some point while I was watching this, I heard the distinct noise of someone gently blowing air into my left ear. Shortly after the mole was gone, I saw from what appeared to be the perspective of a shaky video camera.

The scene was of a black iron fence dividing a green lawn and sidewalk. One or two small pedestrian traffic cones were toppled at the base of the fence, and to their right (maybe 10 feet away), two men were standing. I tried unsuccessfully to stop the vision from bouncing by concentrating on steadiness, and then by slightly opening my left eye -- most likely what ended the experience.

The next time this happens, I plan to close my eyes once the visions begin.

Has anyone used a similar technique to enter the astral? This seems almost like scrying in that I am in a very dim room (pre-dawn light), looking through mostly closed eyes, which causes forms to be indistinct and fluid.

Are your hallucinations occurring during normal waking states? I ask because you say these scratching sounds were first associated with sleep.

Your description of paranoid thoughts reminds me of my own (somewhat disordered) thinking around anxiety. I have found mindfulness helpful in mitigating the emotional reaction, but not the thoughts.

I would like a little more detail on the lights, sounds, and other hallucinations you have. Do the beeps and tones sound like any particular electronic device or musical instrument? Are the blue lights ambient or localized, and do they appear in 3D space or within the 2D plane of your field of vision?

Sorry for all the  :question:  :question:  :question: 's.  

Has she shown interest in Buddhist meditation? If so, I could give you some links for her to read.

Doesnt that just tinkle you off when you wake up? I HATE THAT!!!!

I find it more perplexing than irritating.

yes, I couldn't hear it if it was overpowered by a noisy room.

You might want to check out the potential causes.

Do you hear this in a quiet room? If so, it might be tinnitus.

Depression is caused by the past, anxiety is caused by the future. My user name is the best advice I know.  

Question:

What is lucidity? Why do we become lucid? When we do become lucid, why does it happen, and why isn't it the way we always are? Why is it that lucidity is easily lost and generally doesn't last very long?

I've been taking notes on... notable dreams in an effort to answer those questions.

In a dream last night, for example, there were two heating units in my house where there should only be one (it was cold  ). It caught my attention -- I knew it wasn't right -- yet somehow I managed to shrug it off and continue dreaming without lucidity. The most extreme case was when a dream character told me that I was dreaming, and I denied it!

A week ago I began journaling my daily activities, in addition to my dreams. We know there is a correlation between reality checks and lucidity, so it's worth investigating whether other daytime activities might contribute. If anyone wants my notes, please PM me.

Hello Selski

Buddhist meditation is hugely different from phasing. Astral projection would be a distraction from its basic goal of concentrating on one thing (breath, mantra, etc.)

Those short descriptions of the later jhanas probably made no more sense to you than they did to me. I found a better page here that gives much more information. It explains the jhanas as stages of concentration leading to altered states -- not areas -- of consciousness.

The 8 stages in Buddhist meditation are a road map for helping people identify where they are, much like in Monroe's or Frank's models.

I've had a couple of hallucinations after suddenly waking from a deep sleep. I wouldn't worry about it unless they are persistent.

What criteria of authenticity of experience do you have, "triggered" or not?

Good point... I don't have one.

"Triggering" doesn't necessary mean that you have hallucinations, consciousness is not the same as brain currents!!!!!!! And "bizarre illusions" are not an objective criteria of authenticity.

Yes, I contradicted myself.  

Can anyone suggest how to do this? What application is the best for converting.

You should be able to find free software that can do a simple conversion. Try versiontracker.com.

They are hard core Christians, follow the bible and great friends.

What sect is this priest from?