How I stayed out longer (from 15 seconds to 5 mins)

[Steel Hawk]

I've been projecting now for god-knows-how-long and I've just realized how natural it's starting to become to exit. Anyway, normally my OBEs to the RTZ last for maybe 15 seconds. I've had so many OBEs, but they were all short, intense, and all too real -- but always short.

In the past day I've been able to go from 15 seconds to being out 5 minutes.

Typical Experience:
While pre-exit symptoms use to last a few minutes, now it lasts only a few seconds, I find myself out of my body. I scream "EYES EYES EYES EYES! I WANT TO SEE NOW!" and I can see perfectly. I'm not sure if I'm projecting or if I'm really sitting up out of my bed. I look around my room, it's dark, but everything's there. I turn around to look at my body when suddenly blackness over takes me and I snap back, projection over. I open my eyes, turn on the light -- I can't believe I was really out! -- even though it lasted only a few seconds it was too real.

Last Night's Experience:
I was spending the night at my parents house and wanted to try something new. I had read on the forums yesterday various ways people had found to make the experience last and wanted to give it a try. So I decided to project tonight (it's nice to be able to control it ).

I popped out. At first I tried to do what Monroe did at one point and said "I will go where ever my entire true self wishes to go". But then realized the projection wasn't powerful enough to go anywhere but the RTZ.

I was blind in the astral, total darkness around me. But it didn't matter, not counting recently, I've been sleeping in this same house, in the same room for over 14 years -- so I think I sort of know my way around even without eyes. I was in the basement, and there's a supporting pole across the room that leads up to the stairs -- I remember it was fun to swing on as a kid.

I quickly stood up and *sprinted* for the pole, I caught it with my hands -- I could feel the cold metallic texture and roundness of the pole. I grabbed onto it and swung myself in the direction of the stairs. It worked, I felt the stairs wooden hand rails and ran as fast as I could upstairs (still blind).

By the time I made it to the top of the stairs my blindness had faded away and my vision came back naturally. There's a door to the upstairs in front of me. I grabbed the door handle, and while pretending that I could open it went through the door. It worked. I was in the kitchen now, still in a hurry, I went to the back patio glass door and dove through it to the outside.

It was the back of my house, the yard, the houses next to it, the grass, everything looked just as normal as it does in "real life". I looked up to see the stars and clouds, everything was the same.....

How disappointing.

I was hoping a little more Hollywood like effects, maybe some sparkling energy or something. But noooooooooooooo, it's exactly the freaken same.

At that moment I felt like I was suffocating, or running out of energy. I looked down and saw the famous silver cord (looked more white/transparent to me, but whatever). I then took a deep breath and everything was better.

I thought about trying to fly, I jumped up a few times, but then decided I might be trying to do too much in one night.

I went back inside through the glass patio door (hey these glass doors are neat, I need more of them). And headed for the bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, above the sink there is a very, very, very large mirror that takes up the entire wall above the sink all the way to the bathtub. There I was! I looked in the mirror and saw myself. My hair was even messed up (from being in bed??). Too weird. Also, the bathroom had some type of weird blue light coming from the wall, I didn't know what it was. (later I found out my parents have a night light in there)

I was feeling out of breath again and decided to go to my parents room next to the bathroom. I saw my dad sleeping, mouth open, snoring. I thought about trying to say something to them, but thought that might wake them up. My dad was in REM, it looked like he was about to wakeup too. I thought I was disturbing him, so I left the room.

Now I was satisfied, but felt somewhat bad for disturbing him and decided to feel for my body and pop back in.

Back in the body, I looked over at the clock, 20 minutes had passed but it only felt like 5 minutes. Hrm.

The End:
Now that you've read the story, I'll tell you the reason. I've read this before here and in books, but forgot about it until yesterday. I got away from my body, far away, and I was quick about it too.

From my many, many, many, short lived projections they've always been near my body -- I suppose I was too much of a pansy to go any further, and now I've FINALLY worked up the nerve to just stop worrying and actually do it.

The other reason is before I set out to project I had ALREADY decided that I would be running up the stairs to the kitchen anyway I could.

I also breathed via Mr. Silver Cord, but I'm not sure if that helped or not -- I think I did, but I wasn't even thinking about it until I became out of breath / energy.

However, before I projected the only thing I was focused on was getting away from my body to a pre-set location. I'm not sure why it took me so long to finally use this (moving away) as I knew about it a few years ago, I guess I'm just a slow learner.

Anyway, thank you for listening and I hope this helps someone.

[Steel Hawk]

Oh and for some reason I think it's important to note that I did not look back at my body. As soon as I was out is was a blind dash (literally) to get away.

[x DoNuT x]

wow that sounds like a great experience.  ive never fully projected(only got vibrations twice in one night) but im working on it.  are most of your projections in the RTZ or do you have alot of astral ones as well? im definitely gonna take your advice and sprint from my body if i get out.  sounds like an awesome experience, congrats.

[Steel Hawk]

wow that sounds like a great experience.  ive never fully projected(only got vibrations twice in one night) but im working on it.  are most of your projections in the RTZ or do you have alot of astral ones as well? im definitely gonna take your advice and sprint from my body if i get out.  sounds like an awesome experience, congrats.

Vibrations are more than most people will ever experience, and it means with dedication you'll be there.

I've only done the RTZ... I think I'll stick to the RTZ for a bit longer, I'm just starting to get the hang of it.

(Remember this, if you ever do try to go past the RTZ)
The greatest projector (in my opinion) Robert Monroe said this about it:

I detached from the physical and floated free. I said in my conscious mind that the decision to do is to be made by my entire self. After waiting for what seemed only a few seconds, there was a tremendous surge, a movement, an energy in that familiar spatial blackness, and there began for me an entire new era in my out-of-body activities. Since that night, my nonphysical experiences have been almost totally due to this procedure.

He basically did the RTZ but eventually got bored (even said: I found it ridiculously easy to "unhook" and flow freely out of the body. This, of course, posed the question of what to do.) I'm going to try to follow in the same footprints, do the RTZ until it's boring. I ramble too much, but thank you for your kind words.

[jub jub]

Congrats on being able to stay out so long. What are you doing for energy work if anything?

I'm having trouble as of late to project at all so I was just curious.

[Greytraveller]

Boredom may be as big an obstacle to overcome as the fear factor.
It is strange how many people express a deep desire to go out of body yet when they do have an OBE they do little more than float or walk around their house/apartment.

I know that boredom is an obstacle that one has to deal with.
Once the OBEs start to become boring then it is time to broaden expectations and attempt to do something out of body that is really 'off the wall'.
btw for at least a year now I have had problems with going outside and do any meaningful activity while out of body. So it must be time to take a quantum leap forward and attempt something unusual during the next OBE.

Grey

[Steel Hawk]

Congrats on being able to stay out so long. What are you doing for energy work if anything?

I'm having trouble as of late to project at all so I was just curious.

Lot's of martial arts. Kung Fu in particular (some forms are simliar to tai chi and qi gong). Secret breathing exercises on occasion. 

btw for at least a year now I have had problems with going outside and do any meaningful activity while out of body. So it must be time to take a quantum leap forward and attempt something unusual during the next OBE.

Grey

I think the next step from the RTZ is astral space, the book "Modern Magick" has some good ideas on what to do (near the end of the book). It's mainly a ceremonial magic book though.