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I have projected so many times, I have lost count, and I have never had that "lost" feeling.  No matter where you are, there is always an exhilirating mixture of curiousity and excitement that accompanies you.

The only time I have ever felt anything other than those two emotions was in the first year or two when projecting, and I would find myself hurtling through blackness at unbelievably fast speeds.  I was scared that I would smack into something really hard and get hurt, but that never happened either!

[Most people don't realise this, but it takes several years of practice (for most people) to enter the astral straight through meditation (sometimes referred to as a "Fully Conscious Projection".)]

Most people don't realise this, but it takes several years of practice (for most people) to enter the astral straight through meditation (sometimes referred to as a "Fully Conscious Projection".)

Why is this?

Because it's pretty damn hard to do!

Yes, it sounds like it's an internal thing with you.....and I don't know why you aren't allowing yourself to open the door.  Perhaps on a subconscious level, part of you is frightened as to "what is outside" the confines of your house.

That would explain why you can explore anywhere else when the projection is spontaneous, because you already find yourself in a foreign place, and therefore you don't have to work through those emotions of leaving your comfort zone (aka Your House).

To me, meditation is about controlling your thoughts.  Not necessarilly blanking your mind, because that is impossible to do, but meditating in order to control your internal dialog and become more familiar with your own inner voice.  Why?  Because the more you become familiar with your own thoughts, the easier it will be to recognize thoughts coming from others, like your guides.

Trance, on the other hand, is bringing yourself into an altered state of consciousness whereby another spirit being can more directly communicate with and through you.  Usually, the medium in a trance will have no memory of what was said because their consciousness is set aside to allow a higher entity to speak through them.

People who meditate, however, do not take a step into the background.  They remember what happened during the meditation (unless of course, they fall asleep!).

What do you mean when you say that you "can't leave" the area?  Are you saying that when you try, you lose control of the experience and end up back in bed?  Or are you blocked as if trying to walk into a solid object?

Most of the limitations that you experience when out of body are due to subsconscious blockages on our own part, whether they be from fear or lack of control.

For the longest time, I couldn't "see" when I was out.   Everything was black, and I was limited to crawling around my house like a blind baby.  I can't tell you how many of those experiences I had to have before I was able to transform my mind and make internal adjustments (trial and error) in order to get some astral eyesight!

I have never really experienced not being able to leave my house though.  I'm sure you may get some people who say, "Well, if you can't leave, then a higher power must be wanting you to stay indoors for now."  Personally, I think that's a load of crap.  It sounds to me like you may unconsciously be holding yourself back because you THINK that you cannot leave the area if the OBE is induced.

So I am just starting to study the tarot, and one of the important things that is stressed is how to work your question correctly.

Before I begin to do a practice reading on myself, I thought I would pose a question relating to my job.  Could any of you with experience tell me if this question is properly formed for a tarot card reading:

"Can you give me insight into my future working at Company A, and when I should leave to work full  time for Company B?"

Would you say that this form of question is open ended enough to merit a good reading?  I am trying to follow some simple question guidelines like:

* Not expecting the cards to make a decision for me
* Not asking Yes or No questions
* Not to ask vague questions but be specific
* Not to focus on someone else but focus on your own personal situation
* Staying Positive

What do you guys think?

You weren't Captain Ahab in a past life, where you?  LOL

I would think that you are definitely doing the same things that I would be doing.  That is, meditating on it, developing a relationship with your guides who may possibly shed some light on the situation, etc.

Hi Kate,

Long time no talk!  I started to post briefly over at that other UK website a few months ago, but I'm not sure if you remember.  :-/

It's good to see that you have your own board too.  I just checked it out, and will register when I have time.

Nice to see you back Jeff  

Thanks Tom....I am doing my best to make time to come here and start posting again.  Probably not as much as I was when I was a moderator here, but enough to contribute on a daily basis.  

That is the problem with drugs usage and projecting....you end up creating more questions than answers because you never know if the effects are naturally induced or whether they are effects of the drug in your system.

It's like saying, "Was I close to projecting?  I drank a lot of tequila and the room started to spin.  I could have sworn that I was about to twist out of my body."

I usually blow my experiences when under similiar circumstances, because the kiss turns into more than a kiss, if you know what I mean!  For some reason, getting too intimate with people in that realm gets me real excited and I immedietely shift back to the physical realm of consciousness, kicking myself for blowing the experience.

Jason,

Sounds as if to me you became acclimated to the the process and now things are becoming more natural for you.

Think of it in terms of a person flying on the airplane.  A first time flyer may be scared out of his GOURD when they hit some turbulence (like I am!), and begin to think the plane is crashing.

Contrast that to a frequent flyer business man, who could probably remain fast asleep even if the plane dropped 10,000 feet in an air pocket!

Things are more subtle for you now probably due to your adjustment to the symptoms.

You are definitely on the right track, Jub.  In many cases, having a successful projection is all about setting up the right conditions, and then doing nothing else.  

Think of it like lining up a bunch of dominos in a row.  That is the preparation to project.  Then, once the domino on the end begins to tip, the rest happens naturally.

You are "setting up the dominos" by relaxing your mind, meditating, setting your intent to project, etc.  The trick is to set things up so that first domino starts to fall, and then not get too excited (or too sleepy) to blow the experience!

Keep at it though, you are on the right track.

I have heard these noises a couple of times when trying to project and they can be really frightening.  The hard part is trying to remain passive when you feel like you have an hurricane inside youre head.

Yes, that is the key.  However, once you have 10, 20, 30+ hurricanes that have gone off in your head over a period of time, you learn to recognize these symptoms and becoming passive during them is easier than you ever thought it could be.

As with all things metaphysical, the first few times it happens, you're like, "WTF?!?!"  But afterwards, they are welcomed milestones that we all cross.

You know, aside from being a very spiritual person and actively developing my own psychic skills, I am also very keen to imposters.

I am not saying that this is an imposter....but one of my day jobs is running my own retail Magic Shop (think Copperfield, Blaine, Derren Brown, etc).  For example, read the effect of this trick and tell me if it sounds familiar:

http://www.mjmmagic.com/pages-productinfo/product-1891/special-order-paranormal-by-ted-lesley.html

Just something to think about.

That is why in this field of metaphysics, the best proof of something being "real" is the knowledge you gain from personal experience.  If you see someone doing some feat of psychic ability, it's good to have that motivation drive you forward to grow and accomplish even greater things.  It would be an entirely different thing to out anyone like that on a pedestal though, especially if the method is reproducable by a simple magic trick.

Just my two cents.

Thanks for sharing that experience.  When things start to fade, you may want to try to stare or physically hold onto something in the astral.  Usually this helps to bring my focus back to the scene at hand, and prolong the experience.

I don't have any real questions for you at the moment, except perhaps, "What part of the USA are you in?"

Anyway, welcome to the forums!

Sleep deprivation could definitely have played a role in your projection, Esoterocus.   So much so that many OBE authors have suggested sleep deprivation as one of the techniques that you can try in order to project.

This is usually because, in sleep deprivation, the body is overly exhausted but the mental mind gets to a point where it can transition to a pre-OBE state very quickly.  With the right amount of intent, this can easily be transmitted into a full blown OBE, because the dropoff into unconsciousness happens so quick.

I don't really suggest this approach though, since getting the proper amount of sleep is very important to the spiritual health of most people.   As for me, most of my OBE's happen after I've had a nice, full night of restful sleep, and the projections happen in the early hours of the morning.

Congrats on your OBE!  Like you, my first conscious OBE happened with my sitting up halfway out of my body.  Quite a vivid and unforgettable experience!

As far as it being worth controlling, I think that depends on the individual.  For me, there was no question about it.  I HAD to control these.  The experience was too amazing for me to just shrug off.  After all, if things were this mind blowing with just sitting halfway out of my body, what on earth would it feel like if I was free from the confines of the physical and fully immersed in the nonphysical realms?

If you ever catch yourself in these pre-OBE states (falling sensation, vibrations, etc), as hard as it may be, mentally tell yourself to relax and try not to let your heart pound too much!  The more you trust the experience and settle within it, the easier it is to phase or project into the astral realms.

Hope that helps.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom.  I am sending healing and comforting thoughts in her direction.

Hey Bad Cookie......welcome to the forum.  I look forward to hearing more about you.

As you approach the border between the physical and nonphysical, you will start to sense/hear/feel/see things with your nonphysical senses.  

In this case, you were hearing a voice calling your name, which is not uncommon so don't be alarmed.  I don't want to speculate as to who was calling out your name, as it could be any number of things (a guide, a spirit being, your higher self, etc).  Just "go with it" and try not to be alarmed.

It's absolutely possible, much in the same way you can phase into a different location by focusing on a mental image in your mind's eye.

I have never actually stared at a picture and travelled into it, but having spent a lot of time in the nonphysical realm before, I know that this is something you could do (and I've read others who have done the same thing).

That feeling is your third eye chakra activating.  These sensations can be varied.  I will almost always feel a tingling sensation when I focus there.

As you concentrate more on it opening, you may feel stronger sensations.  For example, I will feel a spinning sensation, and a strong pressure up there, as if someone is trying to poke a finger through my forehead!

Great post.  Ahhhhh!  Whenever I read experiences like that, it stirs something within me that has also experienced that hundreds of times.  =)

You said a key thing that most people don't realize.  You said, "Anyway, although many people have described rather frighetening shaking and loud noises, my experience was quite calm and peaceful. I could definitely feel strong energy, but it was more like waves than vibrations."

You see, most people THINK that an experience they may have read about from a so-called expert is what is ALWAYS supposed to happen to them, and that's just not true.

I would say in 90% of the books out there related to OBE's, they usually preface an OBE by saying that they'll be accompanied by strong, often violent vibrations.  This just isn't true.

Yes, depending on your focus, your relaxation, and your beliefs, you may feel something similiar to these violent shaking episodes.  But if you have the right frame of mind and focus, you can phase or project into the nonphysical realm without any sort of unpleasantness.  In fact, as you saw, it can be effortless and quite comforting.

There is nothing more exhilirating that the feeling of being in your spirit body and walking around, with the full knowledge of what you're doing, and knowing that you've succeeded in projecting.