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So, I've been experimenting on and off with sleep deprivation for the past few weeks. My current working theory is that my brain is more susceptible to strange phenomena when I'm in the "sleep deprived" state of being, and so naturally I've wanted to investigate any potential. This will eventually give way to me discovering a better method in the long run, hopefully.

Today, I was in my early-morning Bio class, attempting to stay awake to listen to my instructor's lecture. It's fairly easy to nod off and fall asleep under these conditions...but this was different. I don't remember falling asleep exactly. There was no instance of me picking myself off of my desk and looking around sheepishly.

I suddenly found myself surrounded entirely by pitch black, touching...well, nothing. I thought I felt myself standing, but I couldn't exactly feel a floor, or air, or...anything. The most distinguishing feature of all of this was how my mind itself felt. I felt like I was completely awake. My brain was absolutely aware that something had changed, because my first thoughts were, in this order:

1. "Hey, where did the classroom go?"
2. "Did I just fall asleep?"

The thing is, normally I never notice when I'm asleep. Instead, I was completely aware of what was going on. My thinking remained entirely as logical as it ever was.

After doing a lot of reading on these boards from some time ago, I'm convinced that I've found the void, and I need to find a good way to break through into an actual Astral Realm. Nevertheless, I feel that I've made progress of some sort.

Can something be created by nothing?

By my understanding, it is in fact possible when one looks into Virtual Particles in Quantum Mechanics, which borrow energy from potential energy that is going to happen. Wikipedia has an interesting summary that goes into details. Granted, it doesn't solve the whole question of "Well, what caused that to happen?", and probably never will. No matter how many breakthroughs or thought experiments progress, we will never be entirely sure either way, from an academic standpoint. When it comes to Creation (or just plain old Happening), I think it's really just an issue of personal belief. Is it fascinating? Oh yes. But I think too many people spend too much time wringing each other's necks about something that can't really be experienced or observed.

I think the more you experience Lucid Awareness in the Non-physical, the more you'll become familiar with it and the more your protective sense of awarness' guard will let down.

That's my thinking, too. I'm just going to keep trying everyday, until I get something.

I am a little disappointed. I tried some binaural beats yesterday, and while they were really nice to just lay back with my eyes closed and enjoy various sensations associated with the experience, it didn't really seem to do all that much, either.

This sounds not unlike something that I experience from time to time. There are certain evenings in which I hit this state of extreme peace, serenity, and an odd form of hyperintelligence. My logic often doesn't entirely make sense while it happens (I mean, it doesn't make much sense afterwards), but I've come away with a lot of wonderful experiences thinking about how to circumvent death, cure disease, fix society's problems, how to step out of my percieved reality, etc. It is nothing short of awesome, and I always wondered if anyone else had experienced it. I feel like some kind of powerful, multi-dimensional, reality-bending being. It tends to come out when I need it most, too. I just wish I could feel this all of the time.

One thing that works for me when it comes to sleep paralysis is to sleep sitting up. Sleep deprivation usually helps quite a lot as well.

I kind of adopted the Hindu perspective, which seems to be shared in this thread somewhat.

Essentially, I feel that everything is an extension of a higher being. I think essentially everything in existence is meshed together in this way, from the sentient to the non-sentient to the nonliving. The Hindu perspective states that pretty much everything is Brahman, and we are the Atman. The relationship between the two is like us (the Atman) being a drop of water in the ocean (Brahman).

So...yes. I do sort of believe in a God. In fact, it's this belief system that lead me to Universalist Unitarianism.

I made some progress yesterday. I essentially tried a "Self-Denial" technique (although I wasn't it was an actual technique at the time).

Essentially, I was able to be aware that I was dreaming, then work around the awakening by asking "Am I dreaming?" several times, and answering "Nahhh..." each time. It's interesting that my brain freaks out if I admit that I'm dreaming, but doesn't when I admit the opposite.

I'll keep reading up on techniques to initiate a Lucid Dream and let everyone know of my result!

Hi there, I'm Sean. Most folks online just refer to me as DSH. I discovered this site a day ago, and figured it'd be a grand starting point to finding information on Astral Travel and Lucid Dreaming - two intertwined phenomena that I want to involve myself in heavily. Mainly I'm interested in learning the most effective technique possible for myself, but I'm also looking to have some adventures.

My belief system has always been a struggle for me personally. I've bounced back and forth between major religions in my search for answers and Truth, and my ultimate goal is to figure out what said Truths are by finding a way to travel outside of myself. I figure that at the very least, these kinds of adventures would allow me to grow as a person.

But, all in all, I am interested in opening my mind, and seeing what wonderful opportunities lie ahead of me.

I personally think that there is a grain of truth to this. Just look at what our government did back in the 60's to try and keep the Counterculture Revolution down. Acid and other drugs were thought to have been given to some of the most vocal opponents so that they never got too strong.

But, I think these days, the oppressor is not the government. I believe it is human apathy itself. We are raised in a mindset these days based on immediate gratification and convenience. Think really hard for a moment. Astral Projection/Spiritual Awakenings more often than not require quite a bit of investment of time and energy from the average person. More often than not, that person needs to conduct their own research, take notes, read up on famous techniques, and so on and so forth. For this generation, I'd wager that it's not done as much not because we're being directly suppressed, but because it's "hard" and "takes time". People that dive into it and don't get any results whatsoever could definitely decide to give it up right then and there. Heck, I've had the "on and off" struggle with a lot of self mind-experiments throughout the years. When there's no immediate results, a person becomes disappointed, and their resolve begins to break.

So, in several instances I've ended up in a dream where I began to realize that I was, in fact, dreaming. However, the realization that I am in a dream actually ends up causing a disruption in which I rapidly begin to wake up. One could almost equate it to a sort of "pulling downward" sensation in which one begins to feel outside of the dream very quickly.

I've tried a few techniques to remain in the dream itself. One solution that I've come across is spinning, which I've read confuses the mind's sense of place in such a way that it no longer can feel, say, the blanket on you, or the back of the bed. In theory, it's supposed to work, and to an extent it usually buys me an extra second or two of time.

But really, I'm at a bit of a loss about what to do. To be lucid, I think I need to have the realization that I am in fact dreaming (in order to attempt manipulating aspects of it), but I need to do so in a way that doesn't cause me to wake up.

I can imagine quite a few people here have struggled with this problem at some point, so can anyone offer any tips as to what might have worked for them? I could compile a short-list of things to try and keep logs of them, night after night.

It's funny that you've mentioned this. I saw it maybe a month ago with a friend. My mind was blown at some of the ideas and dialogues.

Ah, okay. Thank you for clearing that up.

I've heard cases where people live for "years" in the astral and have only spent minutes out of body. I'm also pretty sure Robert Munroe (father of astral projection, basically) did this but don't quote me. So as for your specific question... I suppose in theory.

Thanks, I was really wondering about that. I'll keep that in mind.


Also, what happens when a person is astral projecting, and their physical body just dies on them. Are they stuck in an astral form?

Hi, everyone. I joined these forums today looking to answer a couple of questions pertaining to Astral Travel that I really haven't found any resources to answer on my own. Also, as this forum seems rather large, I wasn't sure which section this would best be posted under, so please bear with me. Without further ado...

My first question boils down to technique. I've read quite a few different articles on techniques for meditation, simplifying ones own state of thoughts, self-hypnosis, and frankly I'm stuck on this one. I'm not sure whether I've ever projected at all, and so you can imagine my frustration. I realize that not every technique works for everyone, but sometimes it's all a question of "What state should my mind be in right now?" or "What mode of thinking and perceiving do I need to exercise more?".

Secondly, a question of perception. When one Astral Travels, do you literally see the environment around you (like one does with regular sight), or is it more of something you sort of "see" in your mind's eye (like when you imagine something?)

How can one make it easier to project at will?

And finally, my biggest question so far: due to the human mind's own ability to alter its own perception of time, is it possible to alter how long you project based on your own perceptions. (In layman's terms, suppose you need some time to think peacefully to solve a complex problem, and you don't have a lot of time. Could one in theory astrally project in the span of five minutes in earth-relative time, but experience hours of time to think while projecting, with only five earth-based minutes passing by?)

If someone could help point me in the right direction for some of these questions, it would be a really big help for me. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about Astral Projection in order to learn more about life and existence itself.