Help me understand childhood sleep problem...

[thehunter09]

Hello everyone, I'm new here and new to the whole concept of astral travel as well. I knew about OOB experiences but always figured they had a near-death situation precede it, or was a myth thought up by ancient buddhist monks or something. It wasn't til I was snooping around a UFO/mental phenomena forum that I came across the term astral travel and read about the feelings one recieves when entering this experience.

It reminded me of a phase in my life when I was a kid, around the age of ten. I'd have these problems sleeping at night. I'd wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes from a vague dream, and I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Everytime I'd try I'd get these strange sensations... sinking or floating in front of this hazy "void." It would almost be like I was watching a movie (screen encompassing my entire vission) with full awareness. I'd somehow wake myself everytime from the confusion/fright. I'd get frusterated often because all I wanted to do is maintain an uneventful night's sleep but I couldn't get passed this "barrier" so to speak... when I was awake during these nights, I could "feel" a difference in myself. Most noticeably I felt like there was an active "energy" in my brain, almost like the feeling one gets from caffeine... as if my mind was buzzing. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and know right away if I'd be fighting this problem or not.

Many nights I spent awake, making uneasy peace with the fact that I couldn't get back to sleep if I tried. Another part of me was fearful that if I didn't pull myself awake in time, I'd experience things that would frighten the daylights out of me... keeping in mind I've had many vivid nightmares as a child that scared me straight. Sometimes frusteration would give way to fear and I'd fight to get back to sleep, but to no avail... once I must of tried to fall asleep and subsequently "pulled myself out" of this consious/visual state a dozen times in a row in steady succession as if it became a natural reflex.

This was a pretty scary, and common problem in my life as a child, and I could never make sense of it... concluding that it was some kind of invasive, highly self-aware dream. Like I said I would "know" when I'd be facing this problem with precision, and did what I could to avoid sleep after feeling it. Could this have been my brain trying to astral project without me knowing it? I don't think you can just knowingly fall straight into a dream after every attempt made to fall asleep... I remember as a kid attempting to sleep, being afraid to stare at one spot of darkness while having my eyes closed for fear of those sensations/visuals initiating. I'd often flutter my eyes around in my eyelids until I passed out.

A few other questions/points of interest...

I've been a heavy user of marijuana for a few years and can't remember the last time I had one of these sleepless nights... that has been a blessing, though now I'm quite interested to face that experience again and see what is "on the other side" now that I've read many of your experiences. Can you be a regular marijuana user and project? What if you're sober before an attempt? Any answers to these questions are greatly appreciated.

I do get sleep paralysis quite often. I'm usually "blind" during it, sometimes aware of the paralysis and able to let my mind wander, other times I feel like I've been rendered neurologically paralyzed and panic... or worse, a suffocating feeling like my face is in my pillow and I'm struggling to lift my head. I even came to terms with death on one of these episodes not too long ago... guess you can say it was a trade off to those invasive childhood "episodes."

Also I've had a few very vidid experiences of floating around as a child, most notably behind my house, my bedroom, and over the tub in my bathroom during sleep. I remember the bedroom episode and tub episode as having a very consious, very "real" feeling to it... but then I questioned myself with how I could've gotten to the bathroom without remembering what preceded. Eerie thing I just realized before typing this post, is that the bathroom, mainly the tub is directly below my bedroom on the first level. Can you sink through floors in your OOB's? I'm not saying these couldn't have been lucid dreams, but it makes sense.

Thanks again if you can answer my questions, comment on, or relate to anything I mentioned.

[David Warner]

Hello thehunter09.

Welcome to AP!

Here are a few FAQs to your questions taken from my FAQs (InvisibleLight)

Drugs:
Any kind of chemical that one consumes to alter their consciousness can produce a OBE. It takes great amount of energy to control, focus, and sustain the level of awareness when exiting the body and exploring the astral worlds. Drugs will just slow your reaction time, cloud your memory, and present inaccurate visions. Not also to mention that it affects your physical body which is not good for intake.

Breathing During the OBE
Sleep paralysis is the gateway to projecting. I know its difficult and scarry at times when you enter this state, but as you do this more, relax, and feel the energy/vibrations blow through it - deffinitely gets better over time.

As for the suffication I would get with the doctor and explain what is going on. I am not one to give medical advise but it could be sleep apena. I know that weight contributes to this as a factor among other things too.

For the blindness, when your in that state, feel, imagine yourself rolling around in circles spinning at high speeds. When your ready to launch, make that exit out of the body by just dropping to the floor or spinning out and away from the body. Your vision will transistion and adjust after a few seconds.

All of this seems like minutes but in actuality it is seconds. I have proven this by recording myself video, audio during many successful OBEs.

For more information, visit my web site: www.invisiblelight.us

Good Luck!

Tvos

[thehunter09]

Hi, tvos. So would I be able to go into one of these "states" just being sober, or would I have to go a long period without the plant before I begin to project (again)?

Also could you confirm that my childhood experiences were the result of my brain initiating astral travel without any of my knowledge on the subject? It would explain a lot... I mean I didn't think dreams could be that vivid, predictable, and unwaivering but that is how I explained and moved passed it.

Something that struck a chord with me reading posts on here... somebody mentioned they'd "wake" in this state where they "knew" a dream/nightmare was coming... that was always the feeling I'd get. I compare it to a dark movie theatre and the pre-movie credits are playing before it slips into act one... accept I was deathly afraid of act one, do to the sinister, ominous feeling I felt during the "credits." Funny thing is I remember making it passed the "credits" before and having very life-like, vivid experiences but I can only recall the feeling itself and a couple stray images... (one of a desert, another of a native american.) I would've described the transfer of "credits" to "act one" as rising up a high slope on a roller coaster... anticipation is building, though there is a black veil in front of you preventing from seeing how high up you are or any spatial information... as soon as the veil lifts, you shoot down the slope instantly with a rush of visuals and sensations.

I know I'm sorta rambling but whatever I've said in no way has been conjured up to make anyone think a certain way either... I'm not here to impress, but to find truth.

If what I desrcibe was astral travel, would I naturally be more inclined to slip back into the old habit? I mean I've avoided sleeping on my back for years, without any education on the subject, for that very reason.

About the sleep apnea thing... I doubt that's what it is. I'm in great physical shape, and I can feel myself trying to breath normally... nothing internally prohibits me from doing so. Put your head face down in your pillow and try to breathe without moving an inch... that is what it feels like... it never usually lasts long but I'd file it under sleep paralysis... not sure if I imagine the suffocation part or not though because evidently I wake up every time, but in the moment I truly believe like I'm going to die. Other times I can obtain "relief" quite easily and either wake up or slip back into unconsiousness. Sorta reminds me of one time when I (felt like I) was on my back, blind, and under sleep paralysis... I could actually feel myself squirming to get off my bed and even felt myself fall off and onto the ground, this ended the paralysis abruptly.

Great advice regarding my sleep paralysis though, I must try it next time... though it is usually hit or miss if I can "recognize" the paralysis. Thanks, man.

[iNNERvOYAGER]

A note about breathing and keeping the airways open.

Sitting in a recliner, or flat on the back gives me the best results, but I've noticed that the more relaxed I am, the more my jaw goes slack, the mouth opens, and then causes snoring and blocks the airway.

To work around this, I put a cushion under my neck to support the chin. Helps to keep the mouth shut,  prevents drying out, and keeps the airway open and stops snoring.

Of course, you have to have a clear sinus to do this. Some side effects of smoking could cause excess mucous and plug up the nose, so you don't want to keep the mouth shut in that case naturally. Also, after you quit smoking, you'll remember more dreams, and have better recall of your projections.

Great to have a natural ability and bias towards projecting. Hope you have some great experiences.

[thehunter09]

A note about breathing and keeping the airways open.

Sitting in a recliner, or flat on the back gives me the best results, but I've noticed that the more relaxed I am, the more my jaw goes slack, the mouth opens, and then causes snoring and blocks the airway.

To work around this, I put a cushion under my neck to support the chin. Helps to keep the mouth shut,  prevents drying out, and keeps the airway open and stops snoring.

Of course, you have to have a clear sinus to do this. Some side effects of smoking could cause excess mucous and plug up the nose, so you don't want to keep the mouth shut in that case naturally. Also, after you quit smoking, you'll remember more dreams, and have better recall of your projections.

Great to have a natural ability and bias towards projecting. Hope you have some great experiences.

Thank you for the very accurate advice... this morning I woke around 7 am and tried to meditate but had to keep clearing my throat of mucus and the feeling of saliva "seeping" down my throat... between that and my stuffy nose from a recent cold I couldn't possibly hold meditation. Maybe I should wait for said cold to pass...

[David Warner]

Hi, tvos. So would I be able to go into one of these "states" just being sober, or would I have to go a long period without the plant before I begin to project (again)?

Also could you confirm that my childhood experiences were the result of my brain initiating astral travel without any of my knowledge on the subject? It would explain a lot... I mean I didn't think dreams could be that vivid, predictable, and unwaivering but that is how I explained and moved passed it.

anytime when you mix drugs with projecting you won't have the full effect. it takes a lot of concentration, energy, and awareness to sustain the experience. to really get a grasp and hold
of the experience. by doing drugs, it just acts as a smoke screen that handicapes. the last year I drank a little more than I normally do but i still projected but not up to par... you can go into the states being drunk, high but its not advised because you are missing out on the big picture..

when i was young and before I knew anything about projections, I had OBE experiences, not a lot but enough to dismiss as a dream... once i became aware of OBEs I realized and it made sense that those dreams were actually OBEs or False awakenings, so I wouldn't be surprized your experiences when you were younger are true.

tvos