Wave 1 Progress

[TheJza]

I was wondering how the people are coming along that are listening to Wave 1 of the Gateway Experience. I have gotten pretty frustrated recently, because it seems that I am either too tired or too keyed up when I listen to it. I either fall asleep while counting up to Focus 10, or I am too awake and am not able to settle myself enough to listen to the CD. Has anyone else experienced this?
A few times I have had good experiences with it. Once, the objects that I was imagining came into view and I was able to actually "see" them, but then I started thinking too much and I snapped back to C-1. When I was able to get settled in again and I fell asleep and woke up to RAM saying "One..."

[MisterJingo]

I've fallen asleep many times during wave 1, or perhaps a better term would be that I've 'zoned out.' Sort of losing awareness and gaining it back with a jolt a set period along the exercise.
I'd personal say don't expect anything amazing to happen with the wave 1 series, as always your mileage may vary, but it seems to be an introduction to certain tools like ECB and REBAL.
I've been using wave 1 for around 4 years now, and so focus 10 is easily achievable. My reasoning for not pushing ahead with the series was that I wanted to lay a solid foundation.
I have used F10 triggers during OBE practice to great effect.
Regarding consciousness, my state of awareness in F10 feels just like C1 awareness, but my body is diminished/removed/distorted etc. And I usually see a lot of light when I pop my REBAL. I've progressed on to F12 and have had fantastic results with this expanded state.

To get back to the point Try not to use the CDs when really tired, and with repeated experience feeling wired will not effect depth of experience. I'm not sure if it's in the book which comes with wave 1 but Monroe says falling asleep is not really detrimental to the process. Your subconscious will still be taking the CD onboard. I also try to leave an hour or so after drinking tea/coffee before using the CDs, reducing the caffine in my system which might be detrimental to relaxation.

[Selski]

I started to have more success when realizing the difference between being relaxed and telling myself to relax. Things flow a lot better from that point on.

I know exactly what you mean Major Tom.

I'm having a mixed bag of sessions.  One day everything seems to come together and (for instance) I'll find myself slowly moving underneath a huge planet.  

Then the next day I'll put something in my box, only to find it won't stay there!

I have found that the person who leads me to F3 is taking on more of her own personality/character, which I don't think is my own doing.  

I also find that listening to the CD in the morning after a shower is  preferable (and after breakfast to stop the tummy rumbles).  

Sarah

[TheJza]

Thanks for the replies...
One thing I touched on in another thread but didn't get a satisfactory answer is the whole notion of self-reflection. With one of my more recent Wave 1 listens, I was going through my routine, and I felt a little different and wanted to see if I was dreaming or still awake. I did a semi "reality check" just to make sure that I wasn't off in an unconscious dream, and that snapped me back to C-1. I get the feeling that going to F10 makes you lose a little bit of the self-reflection that you posses in C-1.
I know that Monroe used to say that people are in F10 when they are absorbed in a movie, but when they are absorbed in am movie they are also in a semi-conscious state. In trying to get to F10 am I going to have to give up some of my self-reflection? I would like to think the answer is NO, and that this is just part of getting the knack of it - if it wasn't, then I would almost have lost the point of doing this. In the sense that the "you" in F10 is only a semi-lucid version of the "you" in C1, what would be the point of the exercises?

[Willis]

I feel I can fairly easy reach Focus 10.  Staying consistently in it is sometimes a challenge, but I feel I am fairly consistent with that too.

When you feel you have fully achieved the "focus 10", what is the next mental exercise you apply to go beyond?  Do you continue to attempt to focus on nothing (strictly observe), do you try to create visuals, do you meditate on a thought such as "I will now go out of body"?  Any suggestions?

From the descriptions of Focus 12, I feel I have reached it before, but it is very fleeting.  I am occasionally able to stay here for maybe a second or two, at most 5-10 seconds.  Is there a trick to the mental process you want to work on both at a deep focus 10 or light focus 12?

Thanks!

[Willis]

seems the closer you get to focus 10, the less consious you are, and then when you get there, your very aware and the clearer your mind becomes and the more exposed your thoughts are, making them alot more difficult to not interact with.

the times I've felt like I reach focus 12, theres a sudden openness and clarity that comes on really quick, which jolts my mind out of its relaxation and causes me to evaluate whats going on, and I find it really hard to shake these thoughts.  When I try to shake these thoughts, I end up thinking too much about shaking them!

Thanks for the reply Major!