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Second-
This is an area and time during the progression of your experiences and your interpretation of them that you are basically on your own, finding your way through the darkness and mystery of your own consciousness, as it were.

I think you're basically telling me here to trust myself and not worry to much, and progress will come. I suppose that makes sense. I kind of find myself worrying that maybe I'm doing it wrong and I will not (bannish the thought!) get to master the NP. Today for example when I tried earlier I got totally zero mini-movies... But I suppose that when dealing with such a subtle topic I really must get into the habit of trying, experimenting and trust my higher self to guide me...

This thread is complete gold. I just came back from half an hour sessions trying this out. I got a few of those mini-dreams. Sometimes it felt like a brief and partial pulling away of the veil of the blackness, uncovering that which is behind. Sometimes, I felt as though I was briefly viewing through my closed eyelids. Sometimes, it felt like a short but full blown dream.
All the experiences were very brief and when I then tried to lead by actively imagining, it didn't feel as real anymore. Reading the last posts here again, I'm thinking maybe that's part of the process, i.e. the mini-dreams are in indicator that you're at the verge, and then you have to start leading by actively imagining, and it's ok that it feels a bit artificial as compared to the mini-dreams which felt totally real, and it's just a matter of persisting and then you'll find yourself in an interactive and stable environment (similar to a LD, I suppose). Does this seem correct?

I feel myself strongly drawn to giving this exercise a serious try, so I hope it's ok to revive this post after what exactly a decade to the day!
1. Frank also mentions things like directing your attention upwards towards the top of the head, or looking through the third eye. How, if at all, does this relate to this exercise?
2. So, basically it should be possible at any time of the day, to close one's eyes, start noticing, and if left undisturbed, eventually drift into the astral?
3. I tend to experience movement in my eyes as I notice phenomena at various locations in my mind. How to deal with this?
4. Would you say this is an appropriate main exercise for explorers relatively in their early stages?

Have to say, everyone here are really so nice and helpful!
@Lumaza - thank you for the pointers, I will check those out.
@Xanth & EscapeVelocity - yes, over-analysis is definitely an issue for me. I must say I'm quite surprised that I've been able to have a few successful OBEs and LD inspite of this trait of mine. I do know, however, that practice and surrendering to the experience is key, not theoreticizing, so that's for sure where I put the onus. But, on the other hand, sometimes a bit of theory is necessary to get the practice right.

Regarding what I asked concerning Frank's take on using Wave 1, I would like to dwell on this a bit more. It makes perfect sense to say that it should be your imagined body doing the resonate tuning and your imagined body doing the progressive relaxation, as the idea is to remove focus from your physical body. It just seems like this isn't what Bob Monroe meant, as he said nothing of the sort. But, then again, maybe Frank never intended to interpret Monroe but simply felt the track was useful as some kind of an anchor for the mental rundown he himself designed. If that's the way, however, I wonder what exactly he felt was so special about the track...

check out this sub-forum, it's loaded with great techniques to help with a daytime shift in consciousness.
@Lumaza - could you perhaps point us to your top three techniques for beginners?

@nameless - thank you for the welcome, and I'm certainly looking forward to take part here. The forum struck me as holding a high intellectual level as well as a positive and friendly tone, which was one of the reasons I chose to join.

Thank you, @EscapeVelocity.
I myself have taken the Gateway retreat (the new virtual version), and I appreciated the experience very much indeed.
Two follow up questions:
a. What would you say is the main indicator of having achieved focus 10? I thought it was merely feeling really relaxed, but considering the times I have had success with OBE (assuming focus 10 is enought for that) which was using the wake-back-to-bed method, I tend to think much deeper relaxation and or detachment from the physical is needed (as is natural waking up from sleep, sometimes). Frank mentions focus 10 as being the stage when you can "step into" your imaginiation, ie like a proper dream. I'm not getting there at the moment listening to Wave 1...
b. Do you think Robert Monroe intented for Wave 1 to be used with the kind of visualization (mental rundown) Frank describes? I wonder about that, since that would mean the resonate tuning should be performed in mind only (probably not the way they do at TMI, right?) and not verbally and that the progressive relaxation exercise should be done not on your physical body (since you've visualized already leaving that behind at the very beginning of the track) but on your imagined body...

Hi all,

I've only recently been exposed to Frank's writings and I have a few questions I'd really appreciate advice regarding.
1. Using Wave 1 to train yourself to attain focus 10, mind awake & body asleep - Assuming there are people here who have a perspective of a decade or so on this, would you recommend this for a beginner who has projected a few times but still is far from being able to project at will?
2. I understand from Frank's writings that he uses the wave 1 track 2 CD for training purposes only, but that the actual projection would be done (once mastery of focus 10 has been attained) without the CD, just going through the mental rundown on your own. After all, not much time for projecting during the few minutes before Monroe tells you to go back to F1. Am I correct in that?
3. What is it in the CD that's supposedly so conducive for getting to focus 10? Is it the binaural beats in the background (I seem to recall Frank not really placing so much importance to that)? Is it simply the progressive relaxation, and if so, could one just as well do a standard progressive relaxation as taught in hypnosis?
4. Any other recommendations regarding this particular training?

Thanks!

@lumaza - thanks for the welcome! I'll make sure to delve into the section you recommended.

Just joined this community, and I have to admit I got a really good impression of this forum. Seems to be full of thinking and positive (two qualities that don't always appear in tandem) people, as some very knowledgeable indeed.
I'm in my early 40s and had my first OBE last October using the wake-back-to-bed method. Since then, I've had another 3 such experiences. I'm looking to develop and explore this, and of course I hope to get to the point where I can just project at will. Lately, I ran into this forum and the writing of Frank Kepple, and this is something I'd really like to explore.