OBEs usually triggered by nightmares

[Faceless]

Well you should probably stop relying on your nightmares to project. Your dream mind will still be active and those nightmares will stay with you even when out of body.

[Meg]

A-ha, Faceless- therein lies the challenge! How can you not rely (to some extent) on the thing that made you discover projecting?

As I said, I have had a fair bit of success in the past, but ultimately it keeps coming back to the old issues. I have tried lots of things, with varying degrees of success: projecting from other (unscary) recurring dreams; the finger technique, traditional OBE (a pipe-dream at this stage!) and I do wake up in the vibrational state sans nightmare from time to time as well as waking up already in the astral.

I'm looking for ideas as to HOW I could bring about some more substantial changes. It just really seems like an odd way for a person to have started projecting...

Meg x

[Faceless]

Well lets see.. umm well I read a good book once, ahhh whats it called again..... oh yes thats it! Astral Dynamics Theres a load of excellent things in there you could try.

P.S. Sorry if that sounded sarcastic ^_^

[Ash]

Hi Meg,

this is interesting because I first learned to lucid dream because I had chronic nightmares as a child. One time I was telling my mom about my nightmares and she said "you know they're you're dreams, and you can change them if you want to." That's all it took. I think you are absolutely right about the reason for it. Nightmares arouse powerful emotions (obviously) and that helps stimulate awareness. Also, nightmares tend to be rather bizarre, so they arouse the critical judgement part of your brain. ("OK I'm being chased by a giant slug-beast. Is there some chance I might actually be dreaming?")

It seems to me that you've gotten to this point. There are two options for the next step. One is to take control of the dream, and change whatever is frightening you. All I can say about this is that it is an act of will. Hold on to the fact that you are dreaming this, creating it. And then choose to change it. With practice you will get it.
The second option is to find out why you are having these nightmares. If they are recurring, and you mentioned that they are theme-based, then they are probably a message from your subconscious. If you are just trying to use your awareness to astral project, and ignoring the message, the subconscious will just yell louder (ie. generate more and more fear) because it wants you to listen to its message. So next time you have a nightmare, stop, become aware, and listen to your dream. You can turn to a character in your dream and say "What's going on here? What are you trying to tell me?" or something like that. Or else you can think about it symbolically afterwards. I imagine there are also lots of people on this board who can help you interpret it. Once you have accepted and really heard the message from your subconscious, the nightmares will disappear. Then you are free to continue using your dreams as astral launchpads.

Another method (this has worked for me) is to have a little conversation with your subconscious before you go to sleep. Say something like "Ok, I know you're trying to tell me something in these dreams, but I'm not getting the message. I don't understand what you're saying and frankly you're scaring the crap out of me. Could you tone it down a little bit and try a different way of sending the message? I promise I'll do my best to listen"

good luck, and let us know how it goes.

ash

[Meg]

Thanks for your feedback, Ash. Productive input always appreciated.

[goingslow]

Nightmares were the first thing which made me discover lucid dreams too.  Well i thought they were lucid dreams not sure now.  Often times it would be sleep paralysis or just a real nightmare where i'd realize Im dreaming.  One thing that always helped for me was the belief if i get outside my house I'll be okay.  The environment will change and somehow it always did.  I always walked through my wall and flew up into the air and suddenly i wasn't scared anymore.

I would also probably walk through a window, or a mirror because from what I heard that will take you to the astral.  For me the nightmares only occured in the real time zone meaning in the room im sleeping in or the house im in.  But normally if i could just get outside it would be fine.  

Its very hard to get rid of fear by just thinking "this isn't real" or any other method, but a psychic i went to once told me to try a mantra.  Something like "i have fear and i chose to let go of it" said over and over helps me get rid of a lot of my fear.   Another thing that has helped me is the couple of times i projected i did it early morning..and for some reason nothing scary happens at that time.
I'd try consciously projecting during the day if possible just in case you project in the middle of the night you'll know for sure there's nothing to be afraid of since you'll have your daytime projection as a frame of reference.

[Meg]

Hi folks,

A strange problem: My OBEs are usually triggered by nightmares. It's always been this way. In fact, it took years for me to realize that my post-nightmare paralysis was actually the vibrational state, and I could leave my body instead of just panicking my way into waking up. My theory is that the fear from the nightmare wakes my consciousness, while my body is still asleep.

This causes a lot of problems. Firstly, I am usually so shaken up that my astral journeys are disjointed and confusing. Secondly, I have a tendency, as a result of my state of mind, to be drawn to places and entities that continue to frighten me in one way or another. There's some pretty unsavoury stuff out there!

Sometimes I am able to break through the fear barrier. Last night I was able to put it aside for long enough to go and visit my beautiful step-daughter, who lives on the other side of the country. I have also made contact with two of my guides in the past, though they are reluctant to "carry" me through my astral troubles.

The trouble is, fear is such a primal emotion, and a difficult habit to break. I find it comes in waves. I go through phases where I am super-conscious of breaking through it and becoming emotionally neutral so I can successfully project. But then after couple of months I am gripped by some new terror (they seem to  be thematic!) and my primal reaction kicks back in on the spot. I either panic and find myself paralysed until I manage a moan and my husband wakes me up, or I project, only to find myself pursued by some horrible entity in some horrible place.

I know in my head that there is nothing to be afraid of and that my fear itself is what is generating some of the more frightening projections, but the emotion grips me at such a deep level that it becomes very difficult to respond level-headedly.

I am interested in several things from you guys. What are your ideas on my theory of the nightmare/projection link? Why do you think I have stumbled onto OBE in this way? Has anyone else had a similar experience, and how did you break the cycle? Any ideas on how I might start evolving my experiences into something more positive?

Thanks for the input.  Its nice to be online again and checking out everyone's ideas!

Meg x