Some questions from a beginner AP'er

[sargentcrunch]

Hi everybody! I am new to Astral Projection and I have a strong desire to achieve it but I have some questions. I have tried the past two nights in a row before bedtime but only got so far. I used binaural beats the first night and isochronic tones the second night. I lay down and relax with headphones in playing the tones, I try to clear my mind and focus on breathing, the first night I just said my name in my head every time I exhaled (inhale....exhale(Bryan)). The second night I used progressive relaxation (I think thats the name), I basically tensed every muscle in my body starting at my feet and going to my face. Than I did a method I found on the internet called the Girtitak technique. You inhale, than exhale and say Gir than inhale and exhale and say ti, than inhale and exhale and say tak, and just repeat that. Now on both nights I don't necessarily think my body was in sleep paralysis but I never tried to move it. My body was numb though I didn't feel my bed under me and I had a feeling of what I think was vertigo. I felt like I was slowly spinning to the left. The first night nothing happened after that, but on the second night as soon as that happened I accidentally had my ipod in a playlist and it played a loud rock song and broke my concentration, so I tried for the next hour and only barely achieved the vertigo feeling again.

What is this feeling? Is it part of AP'ing?

How can I better relax? What are some techniques?

When do I attempt seperation? And when I do, do I just imagine my self pulling on a rope? Or will I physically feel my astral body climbing out of my body?


Thanks for reading hope to hear from everybody!

[Bordmb]

First, let me welcome you to the pulse.

You know how to go to sleep, right? Lay down, let the thoughts roll by, scratch that annoying itch, and relax. Guess what. Getting to the mind awake/ body asleep stage is as simple as that, with only one minor change; you must keep your mind active. The techniques that you've been using are just a few of the nearly infinite methods people have devised over the years to keep their minds awake.

Personally, I use a run down that engages all of my senses. This way, I can easily mark my progression through the phases and it serves as a familiar jumping off point.

Anyway, as to the spinning, "vertigo" feeling, you probably achieved F10, or the state during which your mind is awake and your body is asleep. This is probably how your mind perceives the lack of outside sensory input; however, it could be that your energy body was moving and you could pick up on it in your altered state. Next time, experiment and try to 'will' it to move in a specific way. When I get this feeling it's usually as if I'm opening and closing over-and-over.

When you finally separate, I would recommend a method that engages all of your senses rather than the rope method. The separation feels differently to different people, but I'm pretty sure you're not going to mistake it.

Remember, you're using 'muscles' that you've never used before and like everything else in life, it's going to take time to notice a difference. Train consistently and don't wear yourself out. Good luck on your travels, mate.

[sargentcrunch]

What type of method would engage all my senses? Also when I am relaxing, does it help to stare into the blackness of my eyelids? Or is it ok to just, let the thoughts roll through like you said? Thanks so much for the warm welcome and the help!

[personalreality]

What is this feeling? Is it part of AP'ing?

Yes and no.  Many people feel a "falling" type sensation that you might refer to as vertigo.  In fact, once you learn how to recreate that feeling through your own mental action, you can use it to achieve deeper levels of trance.  I actually use the falling sensation as my primary means of entering trance.

I say no because it's a signpost.  Signposts are things like vibrations, falling sensations, feelings of energy movement in your body, ringing in your ears, sounds, sights, etc.  Some people experience some of these, some experience all and some experience none of them.  The problem with signposts like these is that you become reliant on them and wind up conditioning yourself to project only when these sensations are present.  So what happens if these sensations suddenly stop for some reason?  You can't project.  So, use them, but don't become too reliant on them.  No one experiences projection in the exact same way, so use what you know about these signposts as a guide, not fact.

How can I better relax? What are some techniques?

Progressive relaxation is the best in my opinion.  You can use binurals to induce a state of trance, but your body may still hold tension.  Practice progressive relaxation without the intention of projection.  Just do it to get to a deep level relaxation then stop.  Do a session, take a number of deep breaths, then do it again.  Keep it up until you almost can't feel your body.

When do I attempt seperation? And when I do, do I just imagine my self pulling on a rope? Or will I physically feel my astral body climbing out of my body?

This is tricky.  it's different for everyone.  There is a tiny moment when you are balancing between the waking world and the sleeping world and that is your window.  It takes time to cultivate enough focus to be aware of that moment without either losing it and falling asleep or thinking about it too much and waking up.  The rope method is a good method, but it's what they call a "direct method".  See the difference between projection and most meditation practices is that projection has you focus outward, while meditation has you focus inward.  The rope method is one that has you focusing your mind outside of your body.  The idea is to disassociate from awareness of your body.  Focusing outside of your body will help you do that.  In this instance, at a certain point, you will pull yourself up out of your body.

Some other methods will have you reach a deep state of trance where you don't feel you body and then you would roll out of your body.  That's usually what I do.

[sargentcrunch]

Thanks so much for the answers! So if I don't experience the vibrations or the sounds and things at all, will I just 'know' when to attempt seperation? And I try to relax a lot, last night for about an hour and a half actually haha, I understand AP takes dedication and willingness to do it, and believe me I really want to do this! Thanks again!

[NoY]

Welcome to the Pulse 


:NoY:

[Lionheart]

 Hello and Welcome to the Astral Pulse!  
It looks like Personalreality has all ready done a great job answering your initial questions here. You will find the search engine in top right hand corner can be your friend! 

[personalreality]

So if I don't experience the vibrations or the sounds and things at all, will I just 'know' when to attempt seperation?

Like I said, it's tricky.  I really only know when I "know".  I have become accustomed to the feeling right before I separate.  My advice is to just keep going and find your own "moment".  But I'll warn you, I practiced off and on for about 2 years before I had my first successful projection.  So it might take a little longer than you planned.  But if you keep doing it, you'll get there.  I also highly recommend investigating other means of projection, projection that goes by different names.

Personally, Pathworking helped me the most.  I might check out a couple books if I were you.

Walkers Between the Worlds by Caitlin & John Matthews
Soul Flight by Donald Tyson
Trance-portation by Diana Paxson

These three books are related to projection in a different way.  They are related to the "inner world" of projection.  For me, conquering that inner world, made it much easier to go to the outer realms.  And these practices only require imagination, not some deep trance and separation and blah blah.  They also give you a good idea of the true history of projection.  It's an age old skill practiced since humans have been humans.  I think it's good to really understand the subject you're tackling.

[sargentcrunch]

One more question I have that I can't seem to find the answer too, I have a 30 minute isochronic tone (dj vishnus astral vibrations) should I loop it? Or let it play for the 30 minutes and than just do the rest on my own? My main concern is, maybe looping will be a step back, and make me lose progress on achieving the theta waves.

Thanks!

[Lionheart]

 I use DJ Vishnu's Isochronic Tones too. I usually play Astral Vibrations and Eternal Ohm in the same session. That gives me a 1 hour session. You can see what is easier for yourself. Sometimes I turn the MP3 off after the first song, then Phase. I find the first 15 minutes of the song is time to do your relaxation, energy work or breathing exercises. Then the last 15 minutes is for actually Phasing. That one song Shamanic Trance has brought some pretty unique quests as well.
Good Luck and Safe Travels! 

[sargentcrunch]

Ok thanks! Also, isn't the Eternal Ohm for delta waves? I thought you had be in theta to phase? I am most likely wrong because you definitely seem very knowledgeable on this subject.

[Xanth]

Ok thanks! Also, isn't the Eternal Ohm for delta waves? I thought you had be in theta to phase? I am most likely wrong because you definitely seem very knowledgeable on this subject.

You can project from any state of mind,  assuming you can disassociate yourself enough from the physical.   

[sargentcrunch]

Oh, alright, I learn something new everyday haha. Last night I think I got even further, after laying still in the 'floating' feeling I described, I just said "girtitak" in my head over and over and I started to hear noises, I think I got a little bit farther than usual! At first my air conditioner clicked on but my ears had a whooshing feeling, it wasn't overly annoying it was kind of cool actually. It felt like a lot of pressure going in my ears but it was painless. Than a second noise came and went, it was like a ringing noise, but again it wasn't annoying. Imagine a high pitched ringing with some 'bass' to it. Its hard to describe but I know its not a noise my house was making, because it came and went for different periods of time, and when I stopped trying to project last night and just went to sleep I didn't hear it anymore, so I know it was from me relaxing! But this ringing was only in my left ear, and it came and went sometimes it stayed longer than others.

EDIT: I also felt my body increase in temperature some. And a weird thing was, I don't know if I was seeing things in my eyelids or not, but while staring into my eyelids everytime a random shape would come up my mind would try to make an image out of it. I hope that makes sense, for example I saw some bright lines moving across and my mind made it out to be scales on a dragon or something. It was things like this, I am not sure if that was part of the experience or not. Another thing was I felt short of breath and my heart rate jumped.

[Lionheart]

 The visuals you had of shapes and Dragon scales is known as "Hypnogogic" Imagery and is perfectly normal. You are getting close, just stay the course. You might want to start a little imagery of your own at this point. Do you enjoy sports at all or have a certain action based hobby? I don't really care for basketball, but find that shooting hoops in the darkness before my eyes a great way to jumpstart a vivid scenario. I have made posts here where I have also visualized myself playing "hacky-sac" and then after about 10 minutes of this I kicked it high and to my surprise another person kicked it back to me. This immediately ended that session, lol, due to my shock. But when I went back to doing it in other sessions I was more prepared for what might happen, so the next time someone kicked it back I was OK. These session ended up with me in a circle of new "friends" playing hacky-sac together. Experiment with things, play around with visuals, this is what Astral Travel is all about. Half the fun is just getting there! 
Good Luck and Safe Travels! 

[sargentcrunch]

oh wow, I can't believe that I am getting close, believe me I plan on doing this as long as it takes, and keep on doing it after I experience it! I don't really enjoy sports, the only real hobby I have is playing guitar. Do you think if I imagine myself playing in a band with some people and wait until I hear their instruments? Or is there another bit of imagery I should try? I am open to anything of course. I don't know if this is the correct stage for this, but I read that you can imagine yourself somewhere familiar (your kitchen, or your yard, etc, etc) and when you leave your physical body you are sent there. Would this apply to this? I am asking because you said that you played hacky-sac because you visualized hacky-sac.

Thanks again Lionheart, you're a huge help!

EDIT: Before I saw the dragon scales and things I also saw some of this in a way
http://planetoddity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/crater-lake-1.jpg
I guess its just because I love that picture and its in my memory? But I saw that way before I even saw the dragon scales and other things.
Also, should I focus on the noises? I have seen people on the internet saying that you should focus on it, and some saying to just let it pass. Is it different for everyone? The majority I have seen says to just acknowledge that its happening but don't focus on it.

[Lionheart]

EDIT: Before I saw the dragon scales and things I also saw some of this in a way
http://planetoddity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/crater-lake-1.jpg
I guess its just because I love that picture and its in my memory? But I saw that way before I even saw the dragon scales and other things.
Also, should I focus on the noises? I have seen people on the internet saying that you should focus on it, and some saying to just let it pass. Is it different for everyone? The majority I have seen says to just acknowledge that its happening but don't focus on it.

Wow, what a beautiful scene. You could make this your 'safe zone" in the Astral. I think your guitar playing would be a great way to shift your focus, just start playing in the 3D darkness and see what happens. Like I said, experiment, it never hurts and that's the way you find your personal technique for success. At first just focus on the visual, as you get better you will start to see other sites and hear other sounds. It's all a natural progression.

[sargentcrunch]

Okay thanks! Something weird happened last night during my attempt. I think I was seeing through my eyelids, I wasn't sure if my eyes were 'accidentally' opening or not, but I started to see my room. Any way I can test to see if my eyes did accidentally open or if I was seeing through them? It happened a few times and I could close it out and go back to the blackness but then I let it happen and it felt like an overlay between the blackness in my eyes and my room. I think I saw somewhere that wearing a blindfold is a good test, but wouldn't you just see black anyway? Since your eyes are covered? This was really interesting to me, and I just want someway to test it, to see if I really am seeing through them.

Thanks!

[Greytraveller]

Welcome sargentcrunch
Perhaps the greatest asset when attempting to get out of body is Patience. Try not to get frustrated, keep at it and hopefully the first OBE Will happen.

Good Luck 
Grey