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This is kind've long - quoted from a website:
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The Sleep Cycle

One sleep cycle comprises of four stages and last for about 90-120  minutes. There are some texts that list five stages in the sleep cycle. Some consider the first five-ten minutes when you are falling asleep as a stage in the sleep cycle. We feel this is more of a transitional phase. In addition, while  the other stages of sleep repeat themselves throughout the night, this phase of sleep does not. For this reason, we have excluded it as part of the sleep cycle.

Dreams can occur in any of the four stages of sleep but the most vivid and memorable dreams occur in the last stage of sleep (also commonly referred to as REM sleep). The sleep cycle repeats itself about an average of four to five times per night, but may repeat as many as seven times. Thus, you can see how a person has several different dreams in one night. Most people,  however, only remember dreams that occur closer toward the morning when they are about  to wake up. But just because you can't remember those dreams does not mean that they never happened. Some people swear on the fact that they simply do not dream when in reality, they just don't remember their dreams

The Stages Of Sleep

The stages in the sleep cycle are organized by the changes in specific brain activity.


Stage 1: You are entering into light sleep. This stage is characterized by Non-rapid eye movements (NREM), muscle relaxation, lowered body temperature and slowed heart rate.  The body is preparing to enter into deep sleep.

Stage 2: Also characterized by NREM, this stage is characterized by a further drop in body temperature and relaxation of the muscles. The body's immune system goes to work on repairing the day's damage, the endocrine glands secrete grown hormone and blood is sent to the muscles to be reconditioned. In this stage, you are completely asleep.

Stage 3: Still in the NREM stage, this is a deeper sleep still. Your metabolic levels are extremely slow.

Stage 4: In this stage of sleep, your eyes move back and forth erratically. Referred to as REM sleep or delta sleep, this stage occurs at about 90-100 minutes after the onset of sleep.  Your blood pressure rises, heart rate speeds up, respiration becomes erratic and brain activity increases. Your involuntary muscles also become paralyzed. This stage is the most restorative part of sleep. Your mind is being revitalized and emotions is being fine tuned. The majority of your dreaming occurs in this stage.

These stages repeat themselves throughout a night's sleep.
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Okay, so that's what I meant about the cycles. OBEs and APing might not follow this trend, but I'm guessing that LDing does. Maybe it's not "absolute" but this is the generally accepted model. And I think that people who say that they dreamt the entire night probabaly feel that way because the only time they were actual "aware" at all was during their dreams.

And this model most likely does not apply 100% to most people in this forum, because most people here don't just "go to sleep". we maintain awareness, and actually consciously alter the natural cycle. However it still applies somewhat. Saying that the physical cycles and mental cycles are unrelated is.. not accurate. Mind and Body are very closely related, even if you can 'project' your mind 32 lightyears away.

Dreaming happens in cycles - but you do a lot more than dream when you sleep. You dream for a while, then go into a deeper sleep for a while, then start dreaming again... I don't know the lengths of times of these cycles, but, assuming lucid dreaming follows this pattern, you can't have one continuous 8 hour dream... Generally my lucid dreams seem to last between five and fifteen minutes, though i have had one extrordinarily long one, which seemed nearly an hour.

My thinking is that the reason I am pulled back from a lucid dream is that the cycle is ending, and frequently i have another lucid dream later that night...

Sorry that wasn't more difinitive..

Hmmm okay, I feel compelled to mention this. I don't think I actually went to the Akashic Records, as I've never APed, but a few nights ago I had a very lucid dream in which I visited an incredible library. In the dream I came to realize that it was the Akashic Records...

During the dream I realized where I actually was, simply by reading the titles of the books. I can't remember many, but what I do remember was the books themselves... Different series had different designs. One series, the one I remember best, was called "Of Civilizations and Empires". There was a different volume for each major civilization, from the Romans, to the Greeks, to America, to many others. There were several dozen. Each book was black leather with ornate inlaid platinum designs, very intricate, reflecting the culture it was about. Down the spine of the book on Romans were various Roman warriors, and buildings, for Egyptians pyramids and egyptian gods all made of pure platinum, overlaying the leather. The actual words "Of Civilizations and Empires" and "The Romans" or "The Egyptians" were also made of platinum, in the same way.

I got the idea that these books were not, and could not have been written by people, rather it seemed that they had written themselves. I also felt that if someone of a different language - any language, even a non existant language, had read the book, it would have made sense...

There were many rooms to the library, with thousands (millions?) of books, and I felt as if I only saw a small portion of it... I opened some, and read a few words... They were about religions, cultures, science, art - nothing about specific people though...

All books were amazingly ornate. There was one that was at least 6 inches thick, the cover was red velvet with overlaid gold in geometric patterns. The pages themselves seem to have been gold leaf, but that's all I remember...

I remember one room in particular... Completely circular, the only room with no books, just a globe in the center. The lighting was dim. There were a few people in the room, and whenever anyone whispered something, it was magnified for all to hear. It seemed that no secrets could be kept in this room, if that makes sense.

Well... while I do think this was just a dream, I thought it might be relevant

Your friend\guide seems to have the right idea... Other people claim that it is beneficial, but I guess your friend was saying, "Don't fix what ain't broke."

What I said about my not being in the right position is that I would like to get a LOT more experience under my belt dealing with astral projection (as in any experience) before I even consider something like that. It may be useful eventually, but for me it's not even an issue right now.

For the record: Salvia Divinorum is not like most herbal drugs... It's really a very powerful "atypical" psychedelic. (according to www.erowid.org) It's the type of drug that one hit will catapult you into completely egoless reality where many things can happen. I've never tried it, but I do have friends that have, and I've read many experience reports, and done my own research on it.

People live past lives, spend eternities in the void, or watch as reality ceases to exist. There are many reports of entities and out of body experiences... And, strangely enough, its legal.

It is a psychedelic drug. It is the number one most powerful naturally occuring psychedelic drug in the world - more powerful than mushrooms, morning glory seeds, H.B. Woodrose, etc. This is not something to take lightly, but if you do decide to do it, you may find it incredibly beneficial. It is nothing like most "herbal smokes"

I'm not in a position to try it right now, though I most likely will eventually. I think it could be an incredibly useful tool for introspective meditation or astral experiences... That seems to be the general opinion.

(oh, on a side note, "Just Say No!")

People tend to believe that all thought is energy and that at some point we might find a way of measuring it reliably. I tend to believe that pure consciousness goes beyond anything energetic and beyond even the concept of having a "state". I don't believe that, at this moment in time, we are capable of comprehending even the questions involved with pure consciousness. So, in regards to how the energy body reacts with other energy "sources", I'm not sure. While it might have a reaction I don't believe that any danger is involved. Again, this is only because I haven't had an opportunity to experience it.

I don't think that thought is energy anymore than data is energy. The way I see it, there are three states of existence that I can think of: Matter, Energy, and Information. Sure the information in this message is technically stored as 1s and 0s, or even more precisely, ons or offs on a silicon chip somewhere, there is no doubt that it is actually information. Matter and Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but information can just by changing matter or energy... Fascinating stuff.

I don't think that thought or the mind are really all that mystical, or separate from physical reality, or beyond energy. I think the mind is similar to the data in this post... The mind itself is not a process, it's more of a... log of brain-activities in the form of information... After all there are many mind altering drugs, and other ways to interact with the mind, such as that link that jub jub posted... I don't believe in consciousness. I don't think it even necessarily exists...

For example, how do you know that everything happening right now didn't really happen three seconds ago?

A hammer falls on your foot. You react in pain, your face contorts, and you say, "OUCH!"

Maybe the hammer fell on your foot, your brain processed the information, contorted your face, sent the signal to your mouth, lungs, and vocal cords to say, "OUCH!" but at this time you're still just becoming 'aware' of your thoughts of three seconds ago? Three seconds later you become aware of the information about your thought processes involving the hammer.

Maybe that's a bit off topic.

While I'm sure this will probably result in conversation about other theories, most opposing, but maybe even one or two supporting mine, I really urge anyone that responds to also keep in mind my original question!

well don't all answer at once 

Let me put it this way.

Have you ever experienced stange effects from electromagnetic fields, like powerlines or electric fences, such as inability to travel through or near them?

And have you ever "flown" in close proximity to the sun, or other electromagnetically powerful celestial bodies?

First of all - hey everyone! I look forward to hanging around this forum for a while - looks interesting. I've been very interested in OOBEs since I read Robert Monroe's book almost 6 years ago. Anyway, on to my first question (of many):

This is totally hypothetical, but I couldn't help but wonder...

I've read of experiences where people seem to be unable to pass through electric fences, power lines, or have been effected by electromagnetic fields in other ways. One of the things I really look forward to is just cruising around space, meditating, but it occured to me that if I were to, say, travel near the sun, the magnetic fields, radiation, etc., might be harmful or dangerous in some way.

Hell, if I could I would go inside of the sun... And let's say I wanted to check out a black hole, supernova, etc. Surely if a powerline or electric fence has such drastic effects, a black hole would too.

Any thoughts?

Just a little background on me: At one time I was actively practicing for nearly a month, and when I finally quit trying I had my first near-experience. It felt like grenades exploding underneath my bed, yet my body wasn't moving, and when I realized what it had been it was already gone - the fear or suprise, whatever, had completely thrown me off. I haven't had another experience, and I haven't practiced anymore since then - I've been very busy. I lived in New Orleans when Katrina hit, and since then I've had other things on my mind - but now I'm settled down again, in Nevada, and I'm ready to continue my experiments!

Thanks in advance!