Messages

In my experience, whenever I have gotten 'stuck,' it's almost ALWAYS due to one of any number of things:

1) Fear
2) Doubt
3) Over-excitedness
4) Lack of focus

The good news is that no matter what the cause, I have found a way to overcome this problem 100% of the time.

Whenever I find myself stuck, I just relax, take a few deep astral breaths (because at this point, you are really operating outside of the physical-body mentality), and will myself to become lighter.

In doing so, I ALWAYS feel the experience become much more lucid, and much more realistic.  It becomes easier to control, and separation is as simple as removing a hand from a glove.

In reality, I don't believe you are physically leaving your body, but instead, shifting your focus into another level of awareness.....and this difficulty making the shift is what we perceive as being stuck, or held down.  By taking a few deep breaths, just imagine this shifting focus level becoming smooth and seamless.  That should do the trick.

I definitely second the motion that 'life' seems to hamper our OBE projections.....that is, the daily hussle and bustle of being an adult.

When I was in my mid-20's and still living at home, I had a bunch of projections....perhaps 2 a week.

Then when I got married and lived with my wife in our house, my projections almost became non-existent.  Not only did I have to deal with someone else in the bed, but I had to put up with the occassional, out of control snoring that came from her throat.  Talk about distracting!

Now that my firstborn child has been born recently, I decided to take one month off from work.....and in this time, I am having projections almost every single night.....very controlled projections.

I think this has to do with a couple of things:

1) The wife is no longer pregnant, and able to lie on her stomach which reduces the chances of snoring

2) The time off work has relieved any stress I may have had

3) The crying baby has woken me up a few times in the night, perhaps keeping me closer to a pre-projection mindset.

Whatever the case, from my own experience, my projections have always been hampered by the constant focus of the physical cares of this world.  I think yours may be due to the same thing.  However, by becoming a regular reader of this forum, you're going in the right direction to take back control of these OBE's and start to acclimate your mind into having them again.

I look forward to reading more from you, Dae!

I don't necessarily say that it becomes easier.  In fact, you may make the argument that it can become HARDER, because now you start to think that it should just happen the same way it did before.

From my experience, there is no magic combonation to trigger a projection.  On the contrary, it's more like learning how to control and fly a kite in the wind.  Some days, you may have to run in order to keep it in the air....other days, you may have to "read the wind" to see what's the best way to fly the kite.

OBE's are the same way.  Some days, your thoughts and internal dialog's will be leading you in a different direction, and you will have to compensate a certain way in order to get you closer to a projection.

However, with the more projections that you have, one thing that does remain consistent is that you may start to notice certain triggers or benchmarks that signal a projection is close by.  These are what you eventually learn to reproduce, and they become easier to notice as time goes on.

I agree with Glacius that this is an acquired thing.  Why do I say this?

Well, first of all, I was like many of you.  When I first read about OBE's, I wanted one so bad.  I read, I practiced, and all that good stuff.  I knew that if *I* could have one of these, than ANYONE could.

Well, eventually, when I least expected it, I had my first projection.  That was over 6 years ago.  Since that time, I have had them, and they are increasing in frequency.  They are not increasing because I'm now part of some astral membership club.  They are increasing because the more I read and really analyze my internal thought processes, the more I am able to induce them at will.

It is not an overnight process.  We're all still learning as we go.  But like any skill, the more time you put into perfecting it, the better your results will be.  However, unlike a physical skill where you may strengthen your physical muscles to succeed, this is an internal skill.  You must become really familiar with your thoughts, your fears, and your body's ability to relax.

Those who are diligent will experience a projection for themselves.....and then, as you work on removing fear and doubt, they will become easier and easier.

Hi there Wiley!

Welcome to the boards.  You're asking a pretty broad question, but I'll try to help you out a little bit.

First off, you ask us if you're failing to grasp a concept, or if you're doing something wrong.  However, from reading your post, I'm not too clear on what you're doing at all.  Perhaps you can us exactly what you do.....what do you focus on?  What goes on mentally when you're trying to induce a projection?

Now, I will give you some beginner pointers that help ME out.  I say ME in capital letters, because what works for one person (and the terminology of one person) is not the same for others.  Some people choose to sound real esoteric and "new-agey" when talking about these things.  Others have 300 different focus levels that they have categorized things in.  I personally try to keep it as simple as possible,

So first of all, here are some basic things that you can do:

1) Relax - Duh!  Just simply relax your body.  Don't focus TOO MUCH on this.  One of the things I have always said is that most people make the mistake of trying to prepare their physical body for the experience, instead of preparing their MIND for the experience.  Just make sure you're physically comfortable and relaxed.

2) Calm your mind - Quit thinking about your day, your problems, the argument you had with your partner, etc.  Just calm all the errant thoughts that are darting this way and that.  You want to make things still.

3) Make sure your eyes, while closed, are not trying to physically look for anything.  You want to be able to pick up and percieve images that come into your minds eye.....not strain and look with your physical eyes for these things.  For more detailed information on this "eye" concept, check out this old post I wrote here: Jeff's OBE Tips

4) You will start to see some images the more you start shifting your level of focus into this area.  You may see objects, like a tree, a building, etc.....or you may see a shape, like a square, a triangle, etc.....or you may see just colors, swirling and floating by.  Don't try to analyze any of this.  Just let it happen and acknowledge it.

5) Sometimes, you may be able to mentally "lock on" to one of these images.....When I say 'lock on', I mean that instead of it just fluttering past you, you can actually hold onto it.  This seems to ALWAYS pull me into a new focus level......one that is lucid and what many people would call an 'astral' experience.  I used to label this as 'phasing' because it's at this point that I find myself pulled into a new environment with all my mental awareness and consciousness in place.  

One thing to keep in mind: you aren't actually travelling from point A to point B, so don't think of it like that.  When you're relaxing your mind in step 2, just tell yourself that you are not actually travelling from point A to point B.  You're simply shifting your conscious focus from point A (your physical body) to point B, a place where you're already at but not consciously aware of.

Imagine it like this.  Take one finger and touch it on your computer monitor.  Take a finger on your other hand, and touch the wall behind you.  Now, while looking at your finger which is on your monitor, you may have a desire to be touching the wall behind you.......but you already are!  By shifting your focus to your other hand, you will realize that you ARE touching the wall.  It's all a matter of focus and where it's pointed.

So having an OBE is kinda like that.  We just shift our focus away from this base level (physical world) and place it on ourselves in a non-physical world.

I hope this has helped you somewhat.  Like I said, I'm not the best when it comes to terminology, but one thing you'll come to learn with experience: personal experience is the best teacher.  You will hear things said by some projectors and discard the theories that don't stand up to your own experience, while maintaining other things which do conform to your experiences.  From what I have read, Frank who posts here says a lot of things which match up well with my own travels in this non-physical dimension, so I really recommend you pay attention to what he says.

I may say things a little bit differently, but that's because I'm on a different level than he is, and I (like many of you) are constantly changing and reforming our theories on how these things work, and how to induce them.  However, together, we are all working towards the same goal, and man, it's a beautiful thing!  

Congrats....like Frank, this reminded me a lot of my first experience over 6 years ago now.  A whole new world is opened up to you, and you will end up having a lot more questions as time goes on, I imagine.

A couple of other pointers aside from what Frank mentioned.

First, a lot of people (myself included) thought that after they had one projection, it would be like a magic door that they can now open and pass through whenever they want.  This is generally a false concept.

While it's true that after I had my first projection, I began to have more and more, it wasn't something as easy as, say, flipping on a light switch.  In fact, some people get very frustrated and think that this was a one-time thing, and that it will never happen again.

Just stay positive, and reassure yourself that it can.  You've already crossed a major benchmark.  You now know that it IS possible, and that it CAN happen to you.  Therefore, that nagging doubt that you used to have (like 'maybe this will never happen to a person like me') is no longer there.

Hi Kate....welcome to the boards.  I look forward to hearing more about you and your experiences.  This is a great resource to help you in your quest for knowledge.  

From my experience, the only way to get over this fear is to face it.  The next time you find yourself on the border of projecting, just mentally tell (or COMMAND) yourself to relax.  Take some deep breaths, sink into the experience, and trust that everything is going to be OK.  

We all fear the unknown, but until you confront it to see that it's harmless, you'll never know how green the grass is on the other side.  =)

In my opinion, when you say confront the dark, I don't know if that necessarily means locking yourself in a pitch black room until you get over the hyper ventilating feeling.

I mean, if you're not scared to dream and fall asleep, then technically, you can devlop your OBE skills without ever having to be in the dark.  After all, it's completely possible to project into the astral realms in broad daylight.

Now, concerning your fears, these are something you will eventually have to confront.  I'll give you a little example of a fear I had (but one I didn't know about).

In the beginning, when I would OBE, I would find myself outside the body in this dark void.....a big black nothing.  That itself is scary to some people, but the thing which terrified me was when I would start to fly at light speed, in the dark, with no sense of direction.  I would be going millions of miles per hour straight up, turn a few different ways, and then fly straight down.

This scared the blue tinkle out of me, because I started to fear that I would smack right into a big solid wall or something!

I can't tell you how many experiences were ruined because of this fear.  I would become too excited and force myself back into the body because of it.

So after getting fed up of always ruining potentially great projections, I told myself that the next time I felt this way, I would simply "GO WITH IT."

Far out concept, but I was determined.  Anyway, the next time it happened, I felt that familiar grip of fear overtake me, and I said mentally to myself, "No!  I am going to relax and go with it."

And you know what happened?  It became a very pleasant experience!  The terror no longer gripped me, and I found myself eventually to be lowered onto the ground, where the blackness faded away and an astral scene opened up before my eyes.

So sometimes, in order to confront these fears, you have to just tell yourself to TRUST in yourself, and that NOTHING bad can happen to you.  Once you do that, and once you succeed the first time, then you will have that ammunition to fight against your other fears, since now you'll know that everything is going to be alright.

Well, I may not be "up to date" on the correct terminology concerning these things.  Nor do I have psychology degrees or other paranormal badges of honor.  However, I will tell you how *I* personally see the differences....at least, it's how I see them at this stage of my journey.

The first thing you need to understand is that all three (OBE, AP, and LD) are related.  The main difference separating them is the level of conscious awareness that you have at the time of the experience.  It's sort of like driving a car versus being a passenger.  Both are "car experiences" but they are experienced in different ways.

Now for me, I automatically separate LD's from AP's and OBE's.  AP's and OBE's are in their own category.  

So what is the difference between these two categories?

To me, LD's are dreams, and therefore, most of your experience has you in an autopilot mode.  You may be aware of what's going on....you may be able to change things about the experience to some degree, but deep down, you know this is just a "dream."  There is this sense that the experience 'is not real' but you go with it anyway.

This differs in contract to OBE's and AP's, where you KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is real.  You know that what you're experiencing is you yourself in these real environments.  Most of the time, you're so mentally aware during these experiences that you may be tricked to think that you're still in your physical body.  90% of my experiences in this category have me needing to thrust my had or finger through a wall, just to fully ocnvince myself that I am projecting and not just awake in my house.

Ok, so what is the difference between Astral Projecting and an OBE?  Different people have different theories.  Again, I will tell you how I see things.

With an OBE, I find many common characteristics.  First, I always start the projection from within my physical body.  That is, I feel a physical separation, usually where I roll out and flop to the floor next to the bed.

I also usually always find myself in the RTZ, or in the black void.

There is also a bunch of common sensations that accompany an OBE, like a heaviness, a pulling sensation, or a difficulty in getting away from the physical body.

Contract this with an Astral Projection.  With an AP, sometimes I just phase into a scene.  I bypass all the physical separation hurdles, and just lock & phase into a scene that I see in my field of vision.

Also, with AP, I never seem to project directly into my bedroom.  I always automatically end up in some strange place, or a place far away from my physical body.

I also interact with more entities there, who seem to be aware and cognizant of both myself and their environment.

Again, these are all MY interpretations of the differences between LD's, AP's, and OBE's.  As any experienced projector may tell you, you never feel like you have all the answers, and the way you see things is subject to change all the time as you have more and more experiences.  I try not to get caught up in what 'other' people say is truth, but instead, follow what I feel is the truth at the time, based on my personal experiences and observations.  

I hope that this post helped you in some way.

Hey guys,

As usual, whenever I have a nice OBE, I like to share it with you.  Here is the entry as recorded in my OBE Journal program:

************************************

Wow, it's been awhile since I've recorded one of these.  But then again, it's been awhile since I've had one so lucid and clear.  Up until now, I've just had a lot of vivid dreams and what not.

I remember lying in bed on my back, and astrally seeing the ceiling above me.  As I concentrated on it, I imagined myself getting closer and closer to it, which started to happen.  I then reached out my arms and I was touching its rough surface.  I knew that once I felt that tactile, physical sensation of something relatively solid, that I was projecting and not just having some mind hallucination.

I then turned over in mid-air, dropped to the floor, and went out of our bedroom.  I walked down my hall, turned towards my front door, and decided to walk face-first through it.  As usual, I felt an invigorating sense of freedom as I felt myself pass through the much denser wooden material and out into my front yard.

It was night time, but very illuminated by the face of the moon.  Even though my calculations show the moon to be only 16% full right now, during this projection I saw a full moon.  Not only that, but it almost appeared as if there were THREE full moons.  However, that may have been my eyes playing tricks on me.  I remember that when I turned my head to look at the one full moon, another one seemed to pop up a little bit away from it.....almost like those optical illusions on the internet where you're asked to count the number of black dots, but everytime you do, another one seems to pop up next to it.

It was also slightly raining outside, and I felt very free and happy to be breathing in the nice, cool air.  Normally, in my waking life, I wouldn't just walk around in the rain, but in the astral, I feel very refreshed.  There was no cold or anything else normally associated with a winter rain.

I decided to float across the street and see about going into my neighbor's house.  They are new neighbors, and I haven't been in their place since the previous owners lived there.

I made it to their garage door, and walked right through it.  Inside the garage, I was a little surprised to find a girl in there.  She was probably only 10 years old, with brunette hair.  No one matches this description in my neighbor's family.  

Trying to be friendly, I said, "Hello there."

She responsed with a "hello."

"What's your name?"  I asked.

"Chrissy," she told me.

"Hi Chrissy.  I was just going to go inside the house."  

I then began to walk towards the door leading to the house from within the garage, when it suddenly hit me.  'What if this girl needs help?  What if I am supposed to do a retrieval and help some lost soul or something?'  I have never had to do anything like that before, but the more advanced I get in my travels, the more I can't help but feel that this is something most of us feel compelled to do.

I turned back to Chrissy and asked, "Are you dead or alive?"

She looked at me, almost surprised at my question, and said, "I'm alive."

I responded, "Oh ok.  Me too.  Is there anything I can help you with?"

She told me "No" and continued to play in the garage.  With that out of the way and off my conscience, I turned towards the front door of the house.  I just barely entered it when I saw a mother figure come towards me.  She looked a little uneasy and asked what I thought I was doing.

I responded that I simply wanted to see the house.  However, I was getting the impression that this wasn't the right time (or perhaps like a dummy, I never asked permission!), and therefore, I was being turned away.  Not wanting to force the issue, and being the polite guy that I am, I complied.

I then returned to my body.

************************************

That was it!  Hope you enjoyed it.

I can't beleive no one has mentioned the following two movies:

What Dreams May Come
Waking Life

Both of them are great and will mean more to people who are into OBE's and LD's than the average Joe.

Hi Carla!  Great to see new faces around here.  I look forward to reading future posts from you!  

Snic,

Welcome to the AP.  But please don't float around me too closely.  I had a little too much alcohol this past weekend, and I might get a little vomit on your astral shoes if you're not careful!

Nice to meet you, AgentSartori.  I look forward to reading more posts from you in the future!

I agree with Frank on this one.  Your heart rate increase is likely due to fear.

And if not fear, then it's increasing because of anticipation.  It's like standing in front of someone, knowing that they are going to grab you from behind, and you don't know WHEN it's going to happen.....so you stay as still as possible, bracing yourself for this experience.

To me, that is the WRONG way to approach astral projection.  The key isn't to remain physically awake and aware.  This is why you are focused on the physical body and its condition.

Instead, try to relax yourself, slipping your focus away from the physical mumbo jumbo that accompanies our daily thoughts, and become aware of the non-physical things.  Become passively aware of shapes, colors, lights, and sounds that may jump out at you behind the darkness of your closed eyes.

You will start to SENSE, not see, these things.  We are used to SEEING with our physical eyes.  You will eventually SENSE the non-physical through your non-physical eyes.  Gosh, I sound so esoteric and 'out there!'  I guess it's harder for me to explain than it really is.

Just ask yourself during your relaxation phase, "Am I trying to physically see something in the darkness of my closed eyes?"  If you feel your physical eyes straining to see, then you're doing it wrong.  By relaxing your eyes behind your closed eyelids, you're heading in the right direction.  You're training yourself to start PERCEIVING things on a non-physical level, instead of relying on your physical faculties to look at something that isn't physically there.  That's a good start.

Projecting with fear seems to be a very common thing with a lot of new projectors.....and sometimes experienced projectors.

Even myself, after hundreds and hundreds of projections over the last 6 years, once in a blue moon I'll find myself starting to project and a fear will come over me....

On rare occasions, I will fight the projection reflex and resist the experience, taking everything in my power to remain in my bed.  Why?  Usually during experiences like this, I am either awakening from a bad dream, or I just feel something negative.  

It's also a key point to note that when most people are in this sensitive stage of separation, your logical mind is very fragile.  You can literally be the bravest person on the planet, but finding yourself in a projection state can revert your mentality back to a little child, scared in his room because of a monster living under the bed.

The best thing I have learned (and yes, it's taken lots and lots of botched projections to barrel through this lesson) is to remain CALM in the face of fear.

I'll give you a perfect example that I'm sure many of you can relate to.  More often than not, I exit the body and I find myself in the familiar black void.  Now, for me, this isn't scary......the scary part is when you start flying at light speed in this darkness, twisting and turning every which way......especially if you start flying DOWNWARDS!  Oh boy!  Then you start thinking, "What if I slam into the ground?!?!" or "What if I am flying downwards into HELL?!?!"

Like I said, I have screwed up so many experiences that way due to fear.  The way I got over them was to analyze my feelings when I came back, and vow to learn from them.  So the next time I was in a fearful situation, I told myself, "Alright Jeff, you remember what happened last time....and the time before that.  You get scared and lose the experience.  So let's just see what happens when you don't get scared.  Just GO WITH IT.  Trust in yourself that nothing will harm you, and everything will be ok."

This is all a mental dialog that happens in my mind at the time.  And you know something?  99% of the time, the blackness starts to fade, and an astral environment opens up before me, and then I'm able to have a great projection!  Our minds blow things way out of proportion when we let our emotions take over.

So I don't know if this has helped you, because the only way you can learn this lesson is to go through it yourself.  But use my testimony as a stepping stone in your own progress, as a verification that it CAN be done.   You can get over the fear.  

Thanks Frank and Gandalf.  It's reassuring to see my old time buddies still holding the fort over here!

I'll keep you posted as to the progress of the pregnancy.  =)

Thanks Coral....I know that my hands are really going to be full these next few weeks.....but I am taking a month off from work, so hopefully in the wee hours of the night, when I am taking care of the baby, I'll also be able to come in here and contribute to the forums like I used to!

Hi Nick....of course I remember you!  Good to be back, no matter how short-lived it may be!

We just got back from our OBGYN appointment.  My wife is now dilated at 2 cm., but they don't want to induce yet.  We have to wait another 6 days to see if she starts labor on her own.  If after that time she hasn't, they may induce.  Otherwise, since the baby looks BIG (8-9 pounds) and my wife is small (5 foot frame), they may just do a c-section next Wednesday when we go in!

Needless to say, I'm a bit anxious and nervous right about now!

Wow, what a wonderful experience.  Thank you for sharing that, kmD.  There is nothing more reassuring that meeting up with a loved one who's already crossed over to the other side.

At least now, in your heart, you know that your brother is alright, and watching out for you.

Cube is right on the money with this one!  This is something that I've always done and it works 100% of the time.

First off, keep this in mind: the more you FIGHT the experience, the heavier you will feel.

Most of the time, in a pre-exit state, you have this 'feeling' that you can separate and get away from the body.  It's during this time that you usually feel the heaviness.

Now, our first reaction (or at least mine was) is to roll out and get away from the body as fast as possible.....Why?  Because I know that once I get a good distance away from it, I won't feel as much magnetic pull on me.

However, what ends up happening is that you start thrusting and pushing yourself, with a lot of force, away from your body....often crawling on the floor....just to get away.   More often than not, you end up getting too excited and ruining the experience.

The key is to recognize these roadblocks, and instead of getting excited, just relax.  Simply lay there, and take long, deep breaths.  With each breath, you will feel yourself not only getting LIGHTER, but you'll feel yourself becoming more lucid and in control of the experience.

NOTE: I am not talking about doing this during a relaxation state while you're awake, although there is certainly nothing wrong with that.  I am mainly referring to this technique AFTER your mind has made that crucial shift to the 'other side'.....the time when if you move an arm or leg, you'd be moving your astral arm or leg, and not the physical.  It is during this time that these deep breathing techniques will greatly help your experience, and make it last twice as long as normal.

Well, if you want one THAT bad, why don't you just run your head into a wall?  j/k

Pulling someone out isn't as easy as many people think.  In fact, from my experience, it's damn near impossible!  That's because you, the projector, not only has to be 100% in control of your projection, but the person you're trying to pull out ALSO has to be 100% lucid and aware.

From the times I have pulled people out, 100% of them have been too tired to do anything!  Usually they don't want to come with me, and those who do are not experienced enough to remember anything in the morning.

Even myself, who some would consider to be an experienced projector by most standards, have been pulled out by someone else, and I had no memory of it.  I was just too tired at the time.

So try not to think that someone can just whip on over and rip a person out of their body.  Chances are that those people are going to be distracted by the thousands of other thoughts and ideas that enter your mind once you're having an OBE than to be worried about pulling someone out who they don't know.

Hey Enderz,

This is something that has not only become quite common with me, but it's anticipated and welcomed!

I attribute these "glimpses", as you call them, to my astral senses turning on.

Imagine being dead asleep in your bed.  During the course of the night, you might turn to switch positions, open your eyes for a second, and nonchalantly go back to sleep.  You don't even think about what you just did, because it's all a natural reaction to getting comfortable.

Well, I see these "glimpses" as the same type thing.  As you're laying down and mentally preparing for an OBE, your astral senses (in this case 'sight') starts to awaken.  At first, these glimpses catch us offguard, but the more you relax and accept them (instead of over analyzing what just happened), not only will they happen MORE, but they will last longer and longer.  

It's a great platform from which you can phase directly into the astral environment.

Hope that helps!

Hey guys and gals,

Some of you may remember me.....others have no idea who I am!  I used to be a very, very regular member here (was a moderator in fact....sniff sniff....no longer though, it seems!).

Anyway, due to my hectic work schedule, I was forced to give up some of my online surfing and focus more on boring, work-related nonsense!  In fact, the only reason why I'm able to come in here now is that the boss is away and I've got some free time today!

So I guess to recap, my name is Jeff.  I live in Northern California.  I'm 29, married, and expecting our first daughter in probably a matter of days.  Woohoo!

I had my first OBE back in 1998, and since then, I've been a regular traveller, so to speak.  Some of my best times during the last few years have been posting here on the AP, and interacting with you guys.  I only hope that I'll have the time to be here to help and contribute like I used to.

Frank, my man, it's good to see you back.  I missed you partner, and you had me worried sick about your absense.  

Anyway, there are so many articles and topics here that I can't possibly get to them all.  I'll just skim and contribute as time permits.  Looking forward to getting to know all of you again!