The Astral Pulse

First off, I gratefully welcome and appreciate anyone who takes the time to give me advice on technique, especially those who back up their advice with sources, descriptions of the extent of their personal experience, or other convincing reasons for why I should follow it. Thank you. :-)

Introduction
Hi all,

I discovered this site about a year ago and have been trying to have OBE's on a once- or twice-weekly basis for about 7 months. I can't recall when I first heard of the phenomenon, but I know that for at least a few years it was lingering in the back of my head as something interesting that I must learn more about. I took the plunge into this subject a year ago at about the time my meditation practice started becoming less interesting. I would have done so earlier, but for the past 5 years I've been seriously practicing Buddhist meditation and saw that as a better use of my time.

Practice so far
I've been trying to have OBE's since I read The Phase a little over 12 months ago. At first I used Michael Raduga's recommended method of catching yourself waking up in the morning and cycling through several techniques for a few seconds each. I gave this a few tries, but I don't think I ever got the method right and IIRC tended to find that I was too uncomfortable in my waking position in bed (though now I might have persevered for longer knowing that a little discomfort isn't a problem). I then spent about 2-3 few nights using an online program from a now-shutdown forum which woke you up with a voice telling you to remain still and gave you directions. I also tried projecting before going to sleep at night and actually did about as well as I've ever done, though I didn't stick with this due to the time investment involved and from reading that it was one of the less-successful methods for beginners.

Eventually I read Luis Minero's book and got a huge motivation boost from it. I set myself the task of making at least one attempt per week from around last March. The basic technique of waking up at night after about 2.5-3 hours, remaining as relaxed and as still as possible, allowing the vibrations to come on, then applying a projection technique hasn't changed in the subsequent months. Initially I applied the rope technique, then tried sitting up, turning to my side, willing myself to float up, and sinking through the bed. Oh yes, and for a few nights, visualizing a room far from my bedroom in my house as vividly and with as many senses as possible.

I've also been repeating an affirmation to myself a few times before I go to sleep: something like "I will successfully have an OBE tonight and fully recollect it".

I've tried projecting while meditating in my usual half-lotus position, but didn't get anywhere close due to the slight instability and muscle tensions that probably come with the nature of the posture. Training to achieve the full-lotus sounds a little excessive to me, though something I do want to get around to eventually.

Results so far
The furthest I can get is where the vibrations are strong (at least as strong as I've ever felt them during meditation; they've never been terribly intense for me though), I'm hearing weird metallic noises, and I'm beginning to feel my astral body disconnect at the hands, legs and head. I've never been able to separate more than a few inches, or even less, from my physical body, and never in the torso area.

One of the big hindrances for me is that more often than not I won't feel vibrations or have any other early projection signs after waking up (I set a small, portable alarm on my bedside locker), despite relaxing as best I can (I'm pretty confident I don't have any major unconscious tensions in my body that I'm overlooking), keeping my facial muscles relaxed by lying with my head at about a 100 degree angle from my body, remaining still without trying too hard to remain still, and letting things happen with jumping straight into a technique. Often I just don't seem to be tired enough after waking up to fall into the crucial "Mind=Awake Body=Asleep" state, so then I lie like this for another 5 minutes or less, only to eventually give up as nothing ever does seem to happen if it doesn't start happening more or less straight away.

I've tried waking up after longer or shorter sleep periods without any noticeable improvements.

Direction for future attempts
My impression is that the "waking up after two sleep cycles" method is the most effective. It's also easier than spending 30 minutes every night trying to hone your perception and more easily perceive vibrations, then going for a "straight from waking" projection, as Luis Minero recommends. I don't think I can muster that level of commitment. So I'll stick with my current method and experiment with various tweaks to it while gaining experience with the vibrational state, as I may be coming up against a subtle fear-block or agitation-block.

Motivation for trying to have OBE's
In descending order of importance:

• I want to broaden my horizons for the benefits this will have on my mental wellbeing: you won't be as bothered by your day-to-day vicissitudes if you can see them more clearly in their rightful place as something very trivial and not the whole of what your life is about.
  
• I hope to grow as a person (e.g. Robert Monroe facing challenges and overcoming his unconscious fears) and learn more about myself (e.g. through receiving wisdom from my "Higher Self" or spiritual guide).
  
• I'd like to use it as a safe, non-addictive form of recreation.
  
• I'd like to test my Buddhist outlook on the cosmos, and probably have it seriously challenged, if the accounts of many authors are to be believed.
  
• I want to help chart these realms and contribute what I can to greater public awareness and interest in this phenomenon, perhaps even eventually contribute something to the field of conscientology that Luis Minero talks about (this more scientific approach sounds like a great development).
  
• I want to at least attempt to cure my (mild) tinnitus through Michael Raduga's proposed method of taking the necessary drugs in the "real-time zone".
  

Book's read
Completely:
Demystifying the OBE - Luis Minero
Astral Dynamics - Robert Bruce
Multidimensional Man - Jurgen Ziewe
Adventures Beyond the Body - William Buhlman
The Astral Plane: Its Scenery, Habitants & Phenomena - CW Leadbeater
The Astral Codex - Belsebuub

Mostly:
Far Journeys - Robert Monroe
The Phase - Michael Raduga
The Secret of the Soul - William Buhlman
Gazing into the Eternal - Belsebuub

I've also read a lot of the posts on Kurt Leland's site, and if anyone could source me a cheap copy of his Otherwhere book I'd be very grateful.

Purpose of this thread
Just to clarify the title, I intend to post in here about all attempts I make, even the half-hearted ones, in the hopes that this motivates me, through a sort of peer pressure, to try harder, as at the moment I'm pretty low on motivation and confidence, yet still high on long-term determination to keep plugging away at it until I eventually manage to do it (this attitude has served me very well in the past in my meditation practice). If I find this thread is only serving to distract or agitate me during my attempts, then I will most likely delete it.

If you see me slacking off, please, do take me to task on it!

Welcome! Looks like you are off to a great start. The only thing I really have to comment on is this.
"Often I just don't seem to be tired enough after waking up to fall into the crucial "Mind=Awake Body=Asleep" state, so then I lie like this for another 5 minutes or less, only to eventually give up as nothing ever does seem to happen if it doesn't start happening more or less straight away."

I can relate to this because often when I wake up I feel as though I'm not tired enough either, and the more I think about it, the more aware I become of the physical world. I've found that for me, it can vary greatly. Sometimes I can wake up, empty my bladder, get back in bed and lay still, and still be able to relax into sleep paralysis (SP) within 20 minutes. Other times I wake up and it can take less than a minute, or it won't happen at all.

Usually when I wake up I roll onto my back, which for me, means obe. I never sleep on my back and I've found FOR ME that rolling onto my back helps induce SP easily. I'm not saying this will work for you, but that's what works for me. And once I roll onto my back I try to rerun through my dreams. That way I'm keeping my mind busy, but not thinking about waking reality which helps me focus my awareness to the non physical. If it works, I'll feel the shift of my body entering SP (usually accompanied with vibrations or random noises) and usually enter a black void, from there I either roll out, or imagine myself in the living room until the scenery fully comes to view.

I am in no way an expert, but that's what has worked for me. And it's usually not consistent. My success seems to come and go

I got possibly the furthest I've ever been on my first attempt of the week 2 nights ago. Unfortunately I was unable to write about it yesterday so my memory may be a little foggy by now.

An account as best I can recall
I awoke after a little over 2 sleep cycles. As usual I lay face up, as Robert Bruce recommends, and tried to relax as much as possible. Vibrations and a background din came on straight away. Within no more than 2 minutes I seemed to lose awareness of my body and there was a feeling of moving through a tunnel, which I've never had so strongly before. Once I came out, IIRC, my body felt different (perhaps now it was my energy body I was feeling) and I noticed I could separate from the physical more easily. I then tried to do so using the rope technique, but never got out.

Tweaks made to the method I use

• Following justin35ll's excellent advice, I tried to avoid becoming aware of my surroundings upon waking up.
• I kept my handheld alarm in bed with me just within reach so I wouldn't have to reach into the drawer of my bedside locker for it when it goes off (I find the ticking a little irritating).

I'll make another attempt this week with these tweaks and try to jot down my memories of it ASAP. Then I'll review both attempts and see if I can improve my general approach/method or if it's simply a matter of gaining more experience.

Thank you justin35ll!

I found most projection techniques focus on the head region which for me leads to a lucid dream or mind chatter. I then switched to focusing on my feet during the projection attempt. All of a sudden, my success has increased with no more lucid dreams and I am having out of body experiences, but I am projected only a very short distance from the body. But, that is good enough for me. Now every time I try to talk while out of body, my bed mate can hear distorted sounds or heavy breathing, so I know I am in the real time zone and my physical body is reacting.

Maybe each of us has a different exit point to leave our physical body. Some might exit through the feet, some use the head region, for example.

I will throw in a few more ideas to consider-

1 -I like the Wake, Back To Bed technique that you have described, but I prefer to get up and perform some minor activity for 20 to 40 minutes before returning to bed and going into Trance. This way, I'm mentally awake but my body is still tired enough to slip back into sleep without dragging my awareness along with it.

2 -Also, besides the rope tech, you might try something called a Rundown. This is a visualization that involves any kind of rhythmic movement like skating, skiing, snowboarding, surfing, trampoline, etc...you get the idea. At some point in the visualization, the action takes over by itself and you find yourself transitioning into a different environment.

3 -don't get frustrated with yourself, you are doing all the right things to set the conditions for success. I am also a fan of Affirmations, so make use of them and keep them positive. Understand that the decision to AP is not just a simple 'I think I'll AP today' kind of decision. There is probably an inner discussion taking place within you between you, your inner self and your higher self. You are seeking permission within. This may take awhile so direct some affirmations towards that goal as well.

4 -The sensations you are getting: tunnels, energy body movement, detachment feelings....these are all good and normal signs that you are getting closer.

Rinse, wash, repeat... :-D

Sometimes we must let go in order to truly find what we really need, meaning that we shouldn't obsess over a goal or give power to our expectations. But instead we should find every single moment as exciting as the next, even if that moment is mediating or relaxing for hours without actually obtaining a OBE. Appreciate the practice as much as you would appreciate the OBE, this in return will heighten your vibration to allow a deeper focus into your excitement. 

Hello Rainbow Light.  Responding to your first post and your book list (most of which I have also read).  I too have read Leland's website, and 3 of his books.  I would highly recommend the one that IS still in print, The Multidimensional Human.  His 1st book (which I also would like to find) was primarily about his own beginnings and involved his early astral experiences initiated from the dream state.  His method primarily starts from dream lucidity - which he has mastered as you would know from reading the logs on his site. He has moved beyond the astral now to journeys within the higher planes.  He doesn't really teach any methods or techniques.  You will get an appreciation of this from 'The Multidimensional Human' book, and that his focus is to help his readers understand the various planes and how to develop the sensing tools needed to perceive and interact there. Of all the OBE books I've read his was my favourite.  I also really like his 'crash course on dream analysis' which is on his site. kurtleland.com  I think he is writing a new book, so it would be good to have read TMH first.

I relate to the difficulties you are having as I find myself in a long dry spell right now.  I know I have to be tired enough to get into the theta state, and if I can't then I may as well give up because my mind simply stays too active to allow the release.  I've been working with the phasing technique lately, but for a while I was having good luck with waking up at 4 am or so and doing the (Peterson?) technique of lying perfectly still (sometimes for 2 hours) until the body thinks you are asleep.  (Mind awake, body asleep does result from this). At that point I would experience an exit from my feet and a rapid movement through a type of wind tunnel headed I would think to 'dream zone' but consciously so.  Excitement always nixed the process, so I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to repeat the success lately in order to practice.  I NEVER get a vibrational state, or true sleep paralysis, although I used to get SP when I was much younger.  I have often gotten out (briefly) to the RTZ but have not been focused enough and simply flit about here and there.  Again... I want more successes so I can practice controlling my emotion and thoughts while out.  I can however get to the 'body asleep/mind awake' very easily just by lying still, but I am not exiting from this state right now.  It's frustrating to say the least.

Keep up the log.  You will find that so many of us relate to all the various stages you are experimenting with.

Have you read 'Frank's Post' which Xanth compiled and which is available from his website? I find this good reading before sleep as it keeps me motivated.  His posts, like yours, are a log of his experimentations and discoveries and they are loaded with nuggets of insight.

Thanks so much for the advice, guys. I'm thrilled to be receiving so many useful points and perspectives. I know already it's invigorated my endeavors towards an OBE.

Last night I made my second proper attempt of the week after two attempts that were abandoned due to over-tiredness. I tried drawing this one out to see what would happen.

Account
Woke up after about 2 sleep cycles (180 minutes). Switched off my alarm and tried unsatisfactorily to keep awareness away from my body and surroundings. Relaxed as much as possible while facing up. Bodily vibrations arose, but at no point were there any aural signs of projection (I don't think my initial state upon waking was as conducive to projection as the last attempt I wrote about.) I tried several techniques: rolling backwards feet-first (inspired by Projector4life's post), floating up, and using the rope technique to come out head-first. At one point I found my physical eyes had opened, causing enough discomfort that I felt I had to bring awareness back to the body and re-focus on relaxation. There was little in the way of sensations of separation, but it was encouraging at least to find I could sustain the vibrational state pretty easily.

Also, I should mention I've been achieving what seems to be a light SP - that seems to come hand-in-hand with the vibrations, once a certain threshold of relaxation and stillness is reached. There's a definite second or two between the intention to break out of it and the actual movement.

Review
These OBE attempts have really been hitting home the mind-body connection that also becomes apparent during meditation: in order to keep the body relaxed you learn to focus on the mind, and on making sure it's as close to a blank slate as possible, because once the mind starts straining to achieve something, tensions are sure to arise in the body. What's interesting is that I read in The Phase that you should strongly desire to leave the body during the projection process. E.g. one of the Four Principles of Success in that book is "be aggressive":

QuotePut all of your enthusiasm and desire into the techniques. The desire to get the techniques to work should be coupled with full aggression in achieving that result.

I can't see how that could work without corresponding tensions arising in the body.

I read somewhere (I think it was in a William Buhlman book) that keeping the focal point of awareness away from the body is crucial, and I feel I really need to start prioritizing that. Too often I've concentrated on a projection technique just for a few seconds, then decided it wasn't working (possibly by bringing awareness back to the body to check) before my awareness had really stabilized outside of the body. And with many of the techniques I'm using, it feels like my body is still nearby or partly in awareness.

Tweaks to experiment with

• Prioritize ignoring vibrations and other signs of projection
• Focus on keeping awareness well away from the body as much as possible
• Try to evoke a sense of being pulled out of the body rather than being the one doing the pulling or other actions, and keep the mind free of strong desire/strain
• As per EscapeVelocity's advice, give yourself permission to have an OBE, as well as repeating affirmations.

@FireFly9

QuoteHave you read 'Frank's Post' which Xanth compiled and which is available from his website?

No, but I now have that link bookmarked, along with the 'Frank Kepple Resource', and will give it a look. I might get Multidimensional Human too. Cheers!

Made another attempt last night.

Account
Once I turned off the alarm I focused on keeping my locus of awareness held away from the body and bodily sensations, mainly at the opposite corner of the room. I spent only a second or two relaxing the body before this (and getting into my usual position laying on my back with arms and legs spread out a little). There were no real signs of projection, except, IIRC, a brief tunnel-type experience at one point. But the impression I came away with was that nothing much seemed to be happening. I did notice some SP at least.

Eventually, I turned over to my side to go back to sleep, and within no more than a minute, SP had set in strongly. I then experienced a sudden jerk onto my stomach, completely involuntary, and much stronger than any other such phenomena that I've had before. For one thing, this was a whole-body twist, whereas before I've had no more than small muscle twitches. I presume this was due to some sort of energy build up caused by the paralysis. I'm not going to read too much into it anyway.

Also, before going to sleep I tried projecting and actually started experiencing signs of projection straight away. I didn't persist though due to not having spent any time on relaxing the body fully, so I assumed that was preventing separation.

Review
Perhaps I should have spent more time ensuring the body was as relaxed as possible, but then that would seem to necessitate a greater level of awareness/awakeness, and one of my main obstacles seems to be difficulty with falling back into the "mind=awake, body=asleep" state. Another balancing act! I will try to try again this week before deciding on any tweaks to make.

I made a very promising attempt last night that played out very similarly to the attempt described in my October 23rd post (with vibrations, noises, a tunnel effect, etc.), except I possibly got a little farther. The method was also similar in that I loosened up about holding awareness away from the body and spent a few seconds making sure I was fully relaxed before trying to project. It felt very encouraging because I noticed myself becoming more at ease with the phenomena due to familiarity. What stopped me in my tracks was my eyes opening slightly as my energy body started separating from the head, which again I felt the need to address.

Review
I realized that I'm in need of finding something to take as the object of awareness while I hold it outside of the body, because at the moment I'm struggling to place it anywhere, and so I usually end up just visualizing something briefly and having the locus of awareness snap back to the body.

Tweaks to experiment with

• Focusing more on feeling the locus of awareness outside of the body as vividly as possible, yet keeping this in relation to the body/mind currently lying in bed and not allowing it to just become a separate exercise (I suspect this was what was holding me back when I tried this before). Also, making sure to stay equanimous and avoid creating mental strain that could result in physical tension while doing this.
• One thing I've just noticed is that I've been setting my alarm to wake me up after 120 minutes, not 180 minutes! Maybe I've been shooting myself in the foot, maybe it's made very little difference. I will make sure to try 180 minutes next week anyway.

Quote from: rainbow_light on November 02, 2014, 09:33:15

I realized that I'm in need of finding something to take as the object of awareness while I hold it outside of the body, because at the moment I'm struggling to place it anywhere, and so I usually end up just visualizing something briefly and having the locus of awareness snap back to the body.

You can focus on a fan sound in your room.

At the point of hearing metallic noises your thoughts, if phasing, would be totally disconnected from the body. If you can obtain this depth easily, perhaps a different method may be utilised.
You'll ideally require ease with creating visualisations.
From the metallic noises comes a rushing sound and within a few seconds you could be in an alternate reality based upon the created visualisation.
You are so close to a concious exit.


For further reading look at 'The Astral Blueprint' to start.
That's assuming you wish to take this route at present.

Alright, made another attempt last night.

Account
Awoke after about 160 minutes. Spent a few seconds relaxing the body. Within another few seconds I could tell that my state was less conducive to projection than the previous attempt, due to the delay in entering SP and in experiencing other signs of projection. As per Szaxx's suggestion, I began visualizing an imaginary idyll (as might be used for stress relief). I tried to incorporate as many senses as possible without much success. Within about a minute, I began to slowly drift back to sleep (and/or perhaps just 'lose myself' to the process, which is also a big help in meditation). Mild projection signs arose, including a far-off whooshing-type noise. Nothing terribly promising though. There were no feelings of separation either. I also lost what signs I did notice soon after they began, then continued visualizing, along with brief attempts at other projection techniques such as the rope technique. IIRC, there were another 2 build-ups to a projection before I gave up. I got no further than the first with either of them.

I also spent longer than usual repeating an affirmation before going to sleep - I repeated it about a dozen times, including out loud.

Review
I'll try again with visualizing somewhere appealing, as I'd say I should have enough ability to make it work - at least I've always had an artistic ability, a visual way of thinking, fairly vivid dreams, etc. I really can't say much about the effectiveness of any technique, especially after one of these attempts where right from the start it seemed un-promising/unlikely that I would get out (not that I was writing it off when it had barely begun; I think I am giving each attempt my best shot).

I will continue to repeat the affirmation 10 times or more in future, as I think this really helped it sink in.

I think the less physical activity-based projection techniques are more suitable for me as I have little to no trouble with over-exerting myself during them and creating bodily tensions - though this may be just increased experience showing.

@Projector4life
Hahaha, more like the creaking of an old radiator! It's woolly jumpers and scarves weather here in Ireland.

It appears you are doing too many things at once and expecting results. The bodily sensation exits are different to the phasing exits.
It appears you may be better trying the phasing technique, your distant rushing sound is one of the last signposts you meet.
In this technique you don't have a body to concentrate upon, you take your concious awareness away from it completely.
This allows disconnection and if you remain concious the visualisation envelops you and your out into an alternate reality.
I'll supply the link to a topic mentioned earlier.
It's worth a few nights experimentation.

Take your time to allow things to proceed, the art can't be forced that easily.

http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_consciousness/the_astral_blueprint-t38729.0.html

OK, just read The Astral Blueprint and Frank Kepple's explanation (http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_the_astral_faq/what_is_phasing_and_how_can_i_do_it-t17413.0.html) of phasing in the FAQ, and now I'm thinking I might just ditch the visualizing and make the passive looking-into the blackness in front of the eyes my primary technique for at least a few weeks. The reasons for this being: (1) I already have experience with a kind of tuning of my mind/phasing from my meditation practice; (2) passive techniques seem to be more appropriate for me; (3) over the years I've noticed faint images arising out of the TV static-like blackness behind my eyes on the rare occasions when I've paid attention to it, so I know I can reach that point easily; (4) I've already tried visualizing in various ways a number of times, but to no avail; (5) and it allows me to focus on maintaining just a thread of awareness, as I've actually been having trouble with not being able to fall back asleep easily, and I suspect I'm being held back by over-awakeness.

Thanks Szaxx!

Here are a couple articles from my own personal website which might be of help to you then:

http://unlimitedboundaries.ca/2010/09/06/what-is-phasing-and-noticing/
http://unlimitedboundaries.ca/2011/02/01/phasing-with-noticing-a-more-detailed-explanation/
http://unlimitedboundaries.ca/2011/05/18/a-twist-on-the-noticing-exercise/

Enjoy.  :)

Quote from: rainbow_light on November 06, 2014, 10:07:07
OK, just read The Astral Blueprint and Frank Kepple's explanation (http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_the_astral_faq/what_is_phasing_and_how_can_i_do_it-t17413.0.html) of phasing in the FAQ, and now I'm thinking I might just ditch the visualizing and make the passive looking-into the blackness in front of the eyes my primary technique for at least a few weeks. The reasons for this being: (1) I already have experience with a kind of tuning of my mind/phasing from my meditation practice; (2) passive techniques seem to be more appropriate for me; (3) over the years I've noticed faint images arising out of the TV static-like blackness behind my eyes on the rare occasions when I've paid attention to it, so I know I can reach that point easily; (4) I've already tried visualizing in various ways a number of times, but to no avail; (5) and it allows me to focus on maintaining just a thread of awareness, as I've actually been having trouble with not being able to fall back asleep easily, and I suspect I'm being held back by over-awakeness.

Rainbow_Light.  I share all of these points in common with you in one way or another except in #1 as I don't meditate much, and in #3 rather than faint images...over the years I've experienced some awesome and crystal clear images come spontaneously out of the darkness, but mostly they appear less so and are more or less a vague scenic visualizations which, on a good day, take on a short-lived life of their own.

'Passive experience' feels like a perfect way to describe what I am doing right now.  (See FireFly's Log).  One thing I have done in the early stages is NOT try to ignore the body...at least for the 1st part of the AP exercise.  Because I can now easily get to the body-numb state, I often just feel how numb I am.  I feel it as one unit of numbness... sometimes a body part feels larger, but mostly I just have no feeling below the neck and I go with it.  From there I can start to feel a rising of a limb or slight inner movement. By this time I'm getting more alpha and primed so I then move to the phasing exercise as it becomes easier the more alpha/theta you become.

However, I don't try any longer to get out to RTZ but instead focus on moving in consciousness to the astral proper, so getting out has changed.  Now it just passively allow myself to move out which I have described in my log.  That takes my getting in the way of things out of the equation... especially while I'm learning, and since when I have gotten out in the RTZ I just flit about and can't seem to take it to the next level (not yet anyway).  Lately the floating out happens on it's own once I get to the proper state of body asleep, mind awake.... which for me does take something like 2 hours.  BUT I'm finding it's getting easier.  

I really think you should read 'Frank's posts'.  You will get so much insight from it, and because it will take you a LONG time to read, it will be something to keep you on course and thinking correctly at every stage.  There's nothing that Frank doesn't cover.  I'm a little more than half way through and it keeps getting better.

You certainly are committed (me too! :)  and you are doing really well.  Seems we have to cover a lot of trial and error to come to the understanding of, or get a fix on, our OWN process which is highly unique.  

Thanks for the link to Frank's explanation of phasing.  I've read lots of this in his 'posts' but this link is a nice condensed version of it all.

I suppose I had better report my latest attempt.

Account
This was my first attempt at phasing. I awoke after ~180 minutes. After relaxing laying on my back as usual, I began passively focusing on the back of my eyelids. SP and vibrations arose quickly enough that I knew the conditions were good, as opposed to that other kind of attempt where nothing much happens. Eventually, I began to drift back to sleep after 5-10 minutes of varying levels of success with ignoring the images arising. SP increased, more minutes passed. To be honest, I have no recollection of how vivid the imagery was, or how regularly it arose. At some point there seemed to be a shift in consciousness and I recall wondering whether this was the theta state FireFly9 wrote about in her log. I have no idea! I'm aware I have much reading to do on that and on the phasing technique in general (thanks Xanth for the links). There was also a good deal of various noises at times, though no loud or long-lasting ones. No voices either.

Review
As alluded to in my introductory post, I don't intend to spend more than 30 minutes on any one attempt, so if phasing is likely to require longer than that for my first success to arise, I may have to reconsider it. Though at this point I have no real understanding of how phasing compares to RTZ projection in terms of the time it generally takes for a beginner to be successful with it - just a suspicion based on FireFly9 describing a 120+ minute attempt. Any opinions on that guys? I fear I would burn out and give up if I was to make too many 30+ minute failed attempts.

@FireFly9
Thank you for taking the time to comment. It's wonderful to have a forum where people can support each other with this.

You will have to get REALLY good at phasing to be able to do it in 30 minutes... me thinks, because 30 minutes might not be enough time to even get to alpha and from my perspective you have to be at least that relaxed.  Even Frank took 2 hours or so at the beginning. However, having said that, I also hope to speed things up for myself and I'm starting to recognize at least when I may as well not even try.  Maybe 30 minutes would be what it would take for me to know that, and it's time well spent for sure since it's good meditation practice. 

One thing I can say is that once in an alpha state bordering on theta you really don't mind the time... which is one clue that it's going well.  If you're laying in bed, say at 3 am anyway, and if you can get to body asleep, mind awake, then you quite honestly are in a state that you don't feel much like moving anyway.  You are really comfortable (on a good day) and your mind is easily distracted from thinking too much so you can more easily focus it.

(Brain waves explained - http://www.transparentcorp.com/products/np/brainwaves.php)

"At some point there seemed to be a shift in consciousness and I recall wondering whether this was the theta state FireFly9 wrote about in her log. I have no idea!"

It really doesn't matter what we call this shift, but it's a very important shift to make.  IMO it's what gets you there. 

Cheers. 

Nice journey, it's seems that you are giving it your all. 30 Minutes is also the time that i usually stop trying. It is not that i watch the clock but it feels as my energy is low at that time.
As you say, hours may cause a burn out. I really want to astral project but i rather not do it hours for every day. May cause a burn out.

I made two attempts this week, and nothing much happened in either of them: no vibrations, SP, or anything except a slight drifting into the "mind=awake body=asleep" state. I used my regular technique of waking up after two sleep cycles, not the phasing technique. I suppose I wasn't feeling as enthusiastic as I didn't bother repeating an affirmation and I noticed a general drop in interest and assurance in my ability to eventually get out. However, I don't believe this attitude change will be long-lived; it's more like just a short breather after the recent weeks of greater effort put into this.

Quote from: rainbow_light on November 15, 2014, 11:57:33
I made two attempts this week, and nothing much happened in either of them: no vibrations, SP, or anything except a slight drifting into the "mind=awake body=asleep" state. I used my regular technique of waking up after two sleep cycles, not the phasing technique. I suppose I wasn't feeling as enthusiastic as I didn't bother repeating an affirmation and I noticed a general drop in interest and assurance in my ability to eventually get out. However, I don't believe this attitude change will be long-lived; it's more like just a short breather after the recent weeks of greater effort put into this.

I'm at a similar stage to yourself and I've enjoyed reading your accounts here.

Sometime I think a small break can allow you to return with renewed vigour - too much effort may hinder. The main thing, I think, is to keep at it in the long run and eventually......it's gonna happen  8-)

Quote from: EpicAstral on November 09, 2014, 14:44:27
Nice journey, it's seems that you are giving it your all. 30 Minutes is also the time that i usually stop trying. It is not that i watch the clock but it feels as my energy is low at that time.
As you say, hours may cause a burn out. I really want to astral project but i rather not do it hours for every day. May cause a burn out.

wow, interesting points :) i will remember that :)

I'll throw in my two cents. I'm new at this too but within the last three months( from start til now) i've had over ten experiences and one shared experience confirmed by a friend at work. I started out meditating, reading books, tons and tons and tons of posts here, youtube yada yada. I was highly analytical of every slight sensation, noise, bump etc in the first few weeks which led to really...not much. Judging by your posts I'd say you are of an analytical nature yourself which is a good thing but I think can also lead to to much of a focus on the physical, even subconciously, you'll be making constant mental rundowns of what you are experiencing and checking them off the list so to speak. What I found for me is completely ignoring the sensations as much as possible until you find one, be it a sound, or vibe, or voice and focus solely on that. The rest that come i just go ehhhh cool and act like I'm just walking past them as if I was strolling down a street with sale items in windows until I find that sensation I just can't ignore and for me it's an internal sound I hear. So I'd say while your experimenting with techniques, try no technique :) just relax and let your mind completely roam free until you get that ONE thing you just have to investigate and you may very well find yourself looking at yourself from across the room :) hope this helps.

Account of last night's attempt
After the usual set-up (woken up by alarm, relaxed the body, etc.), I began drifting out of awakeness. The signs seemed to be good, though my memory is a little foggy (possibly a good sign?). I found myself trying to phase again, even though I hadn't planned on doing so. One thing I remember clearly is a kind of swirling of light for a few seconds on the backs of my eyelids, almost like a video wipe. There were also some other visuals coming up that I was trying to ignore. Like other previous attempts, there were several periods of losing awakeness/getting closer to an OBE.

Review
I could add a judgement here about how successful/promising the overall attempt was, and what I should have done differently, but what I'd really like to do is just maintain as equanimous an attitude as possible towards this and not get caught up in a cycle of: trying hard to have an OBE > failing to get out > feeling disappointed about not getting out > feeling frustrated due to the length of time it's taking me (relative to the estimates made by Michael Raduga for his technique, and, IIRC, Luis Minero) > making unnecessary changes to technique or changing the technique entirely in an attempt to get out sooner > trying even harder during attempts with all sorts of unconscious investments in my ability to do this, only to shoot myself in the foot with over-exertion. As with meditation, there's a sweet spot between over-exertion and resigning yourself to the same old boring sits where nothing happens. Another parallel with meditation actually (concentration meditation, anyway), is that nothing much happens until things start REALLY happening. So I just need to keep plugging away, giving myself permission to fail (preferably without even thinking of it as failure), giving myself permission to bore you all to death with the same posts over and over again, yet retaining the qualities needed for success, and slowly but surely refining my technique.

Sounds like a good plan.  Just like I'm sticking to what I find works best for me and it's not direct phasing at this point.  Each time I get close or get that light buzzing feeling, even if I don't get out, it's practice and helps me recognize the different shifts and body feelings etc.  I believe something within us actually begins to change over time.  Seems you are getting progressively closer and recognized "there were several periods of losing awakeness/getting closer to an OBE."  Awesome!

QuoteAnother parallel with meditation actually (concentration meditation, anyway), is that nothing much happens until things start REALLY happening.

Exactly.... and it will.  You will be amazed.  I always thought of myself as watching (yet again) from the sidelines while only other people had success but I stayed, and remain, absolutely determined and also inspired by all I read.  Then it began.  I did some of Buhlman's techniques at first (which got me a few brief outs to the RTZ), then I read Robertson's ebook which got me moving into the astral zone via the tunnel.   

Made another two attempts on Friday and Saturday night. Friday night's attempt didn't go anywhere as I wasn't tired enough to start falling back to sleep quickly, and last night's attempt was similar, except I did start to feel some vibrations. I did realize though that these kinds of attempts aren't just chance occurrences, but probably have a lot to do with the kind of day I had leading up to them: whether I got a full night's sleep the previous night, whether I did any exercise that day, etc. The problem was I wasn't going to bed feeling particularly tired, and so upon being woken up by my alarm in the middle of the night, I didn't feel the need to go straight back to sleep, which seems to be the kind of situation that works best for me.

Tweaks to technique for future attempts
Only try to have OBE's after busy, tiring days - especially if I've built up a bit of a sleep deficit.

Made another attempt last night that went a little better than the previous two attempts. My memory of it is foggy, but I'm pretty sure there was some SP, vibrations, and loss of awakeness, but no noises or feelings of separation. Also, I was more tired going to sleep than the previous two attempts, but not really exhausted. It'll be interesting to see if my theory (described in my previous post) holds up when I am exhausted, in which case the circumstances should be even more conducive to projection.

any update op?

Quote from: Mr.PumperNickle on November 28, 2014, 01:05:48
any update op?

Hi Mr. PumperNickle,

Yes, I made another attempt last night. I think I got pretty close this time.

Account
There were 3 onsets of stronger signs of projection in total. I went for a passive approach this time, just noticing the vibrations, feelings of separation, etc., and focusing on staying relaxed. The first onset was probably the closest I got (all the signs were there, including tunnel sensations and whirring noises, although the noises weren't prominent or loud), but unfortunately was spoiled by my eyes beginning to open just as I felt like I was transitioning to energy body sight. I had to tilt my head up further after that to let my eyes stay shut by themselves. (As mentioned in my original post, I try to lie with my head at a 100 degree angle from my body. I've experimented with other positions such as those suggested by Robert Bruce, but there's always this issue of not being able to keep my eyes relaxed yet shut at the same time.)

The second onset was almost as successful, but was spoiled by tensions creeping into the muscles in my arms. Even though I was focusing on staying relaxed, there was probably too much anticipation and eagerness to get out. After things seemed to stop progressing I suddenly became aware of all this tension and could just drop it straight away.

I found this quite frustrating, but decided to try projecting again. I can't remember the next onset as clearly, but I think there was more difficulty with bodily tensions, and so I eventually gave up.

Review
Besides the tensions and my eyes opening, I was also for the first time imagining writing this post, describing the sensations, etc., during the attempt, which I realized afterwards is due to a pretty irrational feeling of needing to be accurate in my descriptions. So from now on I'm giving myself permission to be vague and inaccurate, and not try to take note of what's happening during the event.

The other two difficulties though are quite serious as I've encountered them many times before. I guess all I can do as regards the tension is just try to be super-passive and equanimous. I've already quit using the more active techniques due to this, so all that's left to drop is this eagerness and excitement about projecting. I do worry though that just leaving my attention with the body is going to be a hindrance. At least the idea of holding it outside the body to aid projection makes a lot more sense to me.

Edit: Plan for next attempt
Re-reading NewOldSoul's advice, I'm thinking that's exactly the direction I need to be heading in: just ignoring sensations, yet staying relaxed, calm, and equanimous, then allowing myself to flow with the momentum of the projection and finding some sensation to passively take me out of the body.

Made 3 attempts this week. Last night's was the most positive, but I can't remember it well. None were as positive as the one described in my November 28th post. I wasn't tired enough during the other 2 for much to start happening.

Interestingly, I was more tired going to bed last night, which would support my theory. Maybe I should start systematically taking notes of my tiredness levels going to bed along with my success levels during attempts. Has anyone else noticed a correlation there?

There's a strong link with success and sleep.
I've used this in the 80's with great effect. Too little sleep and it's a no-go, too much is the same. The amount of sleep is quite hard to monitor which cqn be reduced greatly with a regime.
As it was found personally, bed at 12:30am up at 07:30 on the dot and I could manage a 45 min outing at lunchtime nearly every day.
To obtain success at night more sleep was required while morning success required less sleep.
This method or control had been used continuously for years with great success.
Illnesses and hard days altered the results both ways.
Way back, durung the small hours or early morning was by far the most successful.
Now, it's a choice of when the best time is and filling that slot.

Perhaps others have seen the correlation too.

Last night's attempt: tried to ignore sensations as planned, just focusing on keeping the mind empty and relaxed. Got to sleep paralysis. Didn't actively try to get out of the body. Didn't notice further signs of projection.

Resolution for next attempt: once in SP, gently start trying to project through focusing on one particular sensation or willing the energy body to separate.

Quote from: rainbow_light on December 07, 2014, 11:18:04
Maybe I should start systematically taking notes of my tiredness levels going to bed along with my success levels during attempts. Has anyone else noticed a correlation there?

Tiredness level has a lot (even mostly) to do with my success at this.  You need to be tired enough that your body is ready for sleep but not so tired that your mind can't stay awake.  For me this means I go to bed at 12 am and project at 6 am.   Or, I get about 6 hrs. sleep at night, then because I was a little short on sleep, I take a 2 hr. nap in the evening -say 8-10 pm.  Then I can project at around 1 am.

One thing that can mess you up (kind of give you a false reading about the whole situation) is eating carbs. and sugar, then feeling tired and thinking that it will be a good time to project because you're tired.  That never works - the effect of the sugar is making you tired and your conscious mind just gets pulled under -impossible to stay awake to project.  At least that's been my experience.  Best to keep you your sugar eating several hrs. away from any projection attempts.

I made about 5 attempts since my last post, all of which were botched because I kept falling back asleep, even after repeating an affirmation and trying to mentally ready myself. This seems to have come completely out of the blue, as I wouldn't say I've been feeling particularly bored with trying to project lately or anything, and before I was having trouble with not being able to get back to sleep.

I might try biting my lip or lightly holding a muscle clenched to keep myself awake next time. Alternatively, I could try getting out of bed and pottering around for a while.

I did come across something fascinating recently that I must share in a book called "Quantum Buddhism: Dancing in Emptiness" by Graham Smetham, which over 650 pages examines the extensive parallels between quantum physics and the teachings of the later schools of Buddhism. What I've been noticing is that the consciousness-centered interpretation of quantum physics he puts forth (and that's advocated by many eminent physicists) is also very much in line with many of the observations of non-physical planes made by OBE writers like Robert Bruce, Luis Minero and Jurgen Ziewe. Basically, he concludes that the universe, including all of its physical laws, was collectively constructed by observer-participant consiousnesses over vast stretches of time, much the same as the non-physical planes are said to be. This was a revelation to me as I had always assumed this plane was the exception to the rule. Apparently, who no-one is observing an object, even one as large as the moon, it will begin to spread out and return to a state of quantum superposition (although for the moon this would take billions of years). It only takes the shape of the moon due to our collective karma and our habitual assenting over billions of years to its appearance and the rules which govern it.

I haven't tried to project in about 6 months... but I still want to. Having just read the OBE VERIFICATIONS page (da-lai.lima-city.de), I'm feeling inspired to try again.

Since my last post, I've used Robert Monroe's 'Hemi-sync: Support for Journey's Out of the Body' a few times, and may give that another few tries.

I also read parts of Frederick Aardema's Explorations in Consciousness. Despite the part where he achieves a statistically significant result in his attempts to verify the OBE as more than a purely imagined experience, I was pretty disheartened to read that he isn't convinced himself that it is. I found myself getting bored reading his book having read so much similar content in the past. Between this and my life getting much busier I fell out of the habit of trying to project.

Anyway, I now have a schedule that can allow for the odd night of interrupted sleep. I will try to keep plugging away with the OBE attempts.

In hindsight, this log has probably been of more good to me than not, and so I'll try to record my attempts again.

I appreciate the many comments that I've received in this thread. I probably fear at the back of my mind that I'll just be discouraging people and wasting their time with pages and pages of failed attempts. I've never felt like a natural at the OBE like I sometimes do with meditation. In fact I can't rule out the possibility that I have below average potential in this regard. I may have blocked energy channels that are causing my energy body to get caught on its way out.

I've always liked the aphorism credited to Woody Allen that "80% of success is showing up". I'm going to try to keep doing that and hope for the best.

Quote from: rainbow_light on September 17, 2015, 16:22:05
I haven't tried to project in about 6 months... but I still want to. Having just read the OBE VERIFICATIONS page (da-lai.lima-city.de), I'm feeling inspired to try again.

Since my last post, I've used Robert Monroe's 'Hemi-sync: Support for Journey's Out of the Body' a few times, and may give that another few tries.

I also read parts of Frederick Aardema's Explorations in Consciousness. Despite the part where he achieves a statistically significant result in his attempts to verify the OBE as more than a purely imagined experience, I was pretty disheartened to read that he isn't convinced himself that it is. I found myself getting bored reading his book having read so much similar content in the past. Between this and my life getting much busier I fell out of the habit of trying to project.

Anyway, I now have a schedule that can allow for the odd night of interrupted sleep. I will try to keep plugging away with the OBE attempts.

In hindsight, this log has probably been of more good to me than not, and so I'll try to record my attempts again.

I appreciate the many comments that I've received in this thread. I probably fear at the back of my mind that I'll just be discouraging people and wasting their time with pages and pages of failed attempts. I've never felt like a natural at the OBE like I sometimes do with meditation. In fact I can't rule out the possibility that I have below average potential in this regard. I may have blocked energy channels that are causing my energy body to get caught on its way out.

I've always liked the aphorism credited to Woody Allen that "80% of success is showing up". I'm going to try to keep doing that and hope for the best.

Your words above show that you are already disheartened and are setting yourself up for failure. It's good to read books and Forums on Astral Projection. But just remember the info is being found from the Author's own perspective of what's occurring.

I came out of reading Fred's book with the exact opposite viewpoint of yours. I thought it was an excellent book. Fred was and still is looking at this from a completely scientific point of view, which is good. His verification analysis shows this to be true. But once again he sees it through his eyes. Books are a great way to educate yourself on the topic. They are a great blueprint, but in the end it's only your perception that counts to you.

My view is if a person is really serious and I mean they have their heart and soul in this this, that they will find the time to practice often. They won't succumb to failure. They will find success, just like they find success in other aspects of their lives. This isn't just something you try to see what happens. AP leads to a complete change in your mindset. So, the question you should be asking yourself is "are you ready for this change?" Many people aren't at this point in their lives.

Quote from: Lumaza on September 17, 2015, 18:22:23
Your words above show that you are already disheartened and are setting yourself up for failure. It's good to read books and Forums on Astral Projection. But just remember the info is being found from the Author's own perspective of what's occurring.

I came out of reading Fred's book with the exact opposite viewpoint of yours. I thought it was an excellent book. Fred was and still is looking at this from a completely scientific point of view, which is good. His verification analysis shows this to be true. But once again he sees it through his eyes. Books are a great way to educate yourself on the topic. They are a great blueprint, but in the end it's only your perception that counts to you.

My view is if a person is really serious and I mean they have their heart and soul in this this, that they will find the time to practice often. They won't succumb to failure. They will find success, just like they find success in other aspects of their lives. This isn't just something you try to see what happens. AP leads to a complete change in your mindset. So, the question you should be asking yourself is "are you ready for this change?" Many people aren't at this point in their lives.

I agree that it probably helps to believe strongly in one's capacity to have an OBE, and also to repeat affirmations that the next attempt will be successful. I will try to be positive about my prospects.

In fact, I also thought his book was excellent. I had just tired of reading such kinds of books. I highly recommend it. In particular, he mentions some exit techniques which interested me that I've yet to properly try out. I'm hoping to put them to use and describe how I get on in this thread.

Remaining open to the experience of projection itself is a challenge for me. I haven't given much thought to how I might be changed by a successful projection or series of them. I don't think I've got much apprehension around that. If anything, I feel I would welcome the discovery that there is life before and after death. I do try to practise being open and welcoming to every experience, as per Chogyam Trungpa's advise to "always turn towards, never turn away". I have sometimes felt a little anxious when the signs of projection start to ramp up. I want to be able to lose myself in the projection experience, rather than turning away from it on some level out of anxiety.

Last night's attempt
This attempt I have to put down as just me getting back into the swing of projecting. I didn't try to apply any technique, which I should have done. I will try again soon hopefully with a better plan in mind.

Hi rainbow,
I have something for you to try out if it resonates with you.
http://www.unlimitedboundaries.ca/forums/how-to-phase-lesson-t754.html
It's part of Destiny's Plan and the info there may also help you.

Quote from: rainbow_light on September 18, 2015, 10:29:45
I agree that it probably helps to believe strongly in one's capacity to have an OBE, and also to repeat affirmations that the next attempt will be successful. I will try to be positive about my prospects.

In fact, I also thought his book was excellent. I had just tired of reading such kinds of books. I highly recommend it. In particular, he mentions some exit techniques which interested me that I've yet to properly try out. I'm hoping to put them to use and describe how I get on in this thread.

Remaining open to the experience of projection itself is a challenge for me. I haven't given much thought to how I might be changed by a successful projection or series of them. I don't think I've got much apprehension around that. If anything, I feel I would welcome the discovery that there is life before and after death. I do try to practise being open and welcoming to every experience, as per Chogyam Trungpa's advise to "always turn towards, never turn away". I have sometimes felt a little anxious when the signs of projection start to ramp up. I want to be able to lose myself in the projection experience, rather than turning away from it on some level out of anxiety.

Last night's attempt
This attempt I have to put down as just me getting back into the swing of projecting. I didn't try to apply any technique, which I should have done. I will try again soon hopefully with a better plan in mind.

I apologize for the "touch love" in my post above. Sometimes that's what people need to get that inner motivation again. I am kind of a Channel of sorts, this has become stronger from my open awareness I have found in this practice for the last 4 years here. So, I "feel/sense" what I should say before I begin to type a response to people here.

If you listen to other people you will see how becoming aware or "enlightened" as they put it has changed their lives. Some were successful 6 figure business people. After they had their experience they quit their old occupation to begin in a new one. Many took a huge pay decrease, but that what happens when you choose to help Humanity, instead of taking advantage of it.

Not only is the first successful outing a major shock to your system. But it's the things you will learn there that will change your outlook on this physical reality in general and let me tell you there are some fascination and also some shocking revelations to be found. In general it changes you "mindset" on life and reality as a whole.

Lastly the only thing you have to do is to get out of the way of the shift. This is done by shifting your "entire" focus from here to there. Many people like to take a "sneak peek" back at what is happening with their physical body. This is extremely counterproductive. You need to learn to trust what you are doing and go "all in". Half way doesn't work here.

But I can see by the fact that there was still a "last night's attempt", that you are staying the course. If you have any questions, just ask. We are all here to share and learn together.

rainbow_light, I started off quite gun-ho like yourself and was disappointed to find that controlled sessions can be both quite time consuming and prone to failure. I have had more success after taking a back seat to the process. I find dream based projection to be a really good approach since it costs you nearly nothing time wise. The only chore is keeping a dream log; I have found this is mandatory right now after failing to remember many dreams without it.

Your other option is to try hypnosis based techniques. You can find 30 second procedures that will kick start your meditation straight to vivid pattern and colors. Some people have success with the 30 minute guided hypnosis for projection videos on YouTube.

Hello fellow travellers, hello rainbow,

Let me starrt off by saying thank you very much for all your efforts. I'm like many of you readers trying to project and looking for support. The information provided here are obviously very useful but let me draw your attention towards something perhaps even more important: COMMUNITY. Some of you may take it for granted but the sense of belonging you create in this forum is as important as a successful OBE. Personally, it feels much easier to carry on knowing that guys like rainbow are going through the same struggle. Sure we get tired sometime, sure we give up. What let us pick up where we left of is the sense of community of people sharing the same important mission: elevating consciousness. And let me tell you, there's no better way to evolve than share your experience with a fellow human being (let alone higher beings on the astral planes:)

From now on I will try to share my own struggle and give full support to those who need it.

Happy projecting!

Welcome to the community Tomek.
Your post is presented in a manner that promotes what we are conveying.
I'll look forward to more.
Glad your aboard.

Quote from: tomek on September 21, 2015, 12:30:18
Hello fellow travellers, hello rainbow,

Let me starrt off by saying thank you very much for all your efforts. I'm like many of you readers trying to project and looking for support. The information provided here are obviously very useful but let me draw your attention towards something perhaps even more important: COMMUNITY. Some of you may take it for granted but the sense of belonging you create in this forum is as important as a successful OBE. Personally, it feels much easier to carry on knowing that guys like rainbow are going through the same struggle. Sure we get tired sometime, sure we give up. What let us pick up where we left of is the sense of community of people sharing the same important mission: elevating consciousness. And let me tell you, there's no better way to evolve than share your experience with a fellow human being (let alone higher beings on the astral planes:)

From now on I will try to share my own struggle and give full support to those who need it.

Happy projecting!

Welcome Tomek. For your first post here you certainly hit a "home run" Definitely worthy of *****.!  :-)

If you need any help here, just ask. Like you said "We are a community that grows/evolves together". My goal here has always been to help others experience the wonder and awe of the Astral. That's my purpose here. Like Szaxx and many others here, I have no problem shifting my focus now. But, it wasn't always that way and this Forum is the reason why I found success. Experienced people here show the "how-to", but the others need to apply the technique themselves.

I know the struggles, so do the other experienced people here. We were once new at it as well. I try to use "empathy" when I post to people here. I feel for them. But, I also know that this can be achieved by everyone, once they "allow" it into their reality. To really be able to allow it you need to link your conscious with your subconscious mind. In other words both conscious and subconscious have to be on the same page. This comes from inner dialect.

Thank you guys for warm welcome. I resonate strongly with all you have said. Often one needs support, sometimes encouragement, sometime, like myself, a sense of community present and mindful. Let me jump right into it and share my story.

I started around a year ago reading Rob Monroes Classic. As s spiritual person I didn't need much convincing, I only was amazed by the reality that was presented to me; a reality I was not aware of. A search on YouTube lead me to a video with binaural beats and "easy" astral projection. I tryed it, I experience SP and freaked out big time. It stopped me for a while. Fear is a strong anti-motivator. I went back, this time easy. Started reading and exploring different possibilities. I don't have to tell you how fainting were the stories from "the other side". I had a childish, in a good way, desire of exploring those planes, experience it myself. I went to India, spend 2 months in Dharamsala, where I had plenty of time to practice. I also had peace and quiet, which is contrary to what I've got here, even during the night. I've written tons of affirmations and it seems to take me to the right place. By the right place I mean strong vibrations and signs of disconnecting from phisical body. I was never so excited about the perspective of projecting. I believe a strong motivation is very important, at least at the beginning.

Now I'm back home and trying again. Every night 3 am, that's my time. I tried binaural beats, Gateway Experience, listening to people on YouTube (my latest favorite is Tom Cambell). The furthest I've gotten is strong vibrations. I have a feeling that fear plays a big role here. I don't really know how to deal with it except for keep trying.

Just a couple of weeks ago I went to a Lucid Dreaming Meetup Group. Great people, great conversation. One of the guys was interviewed by the organizer and mentioned this forum. I was looking for forums like that before but for some reason never found it. Perhaps I didn't need it then. I clearly need it now! I read through the posts and find inspiration to carry on. I haven't consciously projected yet but experience a couple of times SP, which may indicate that the memory of projection was not downloaded to my physical. I don't know, just speculating. Also another thought crossed my mind. Perhaps it's not the time for me to project as there are so many things to learn here, in the earth system. What do you think guys? I say that because som times I have a desire to escape from the misery of everyday life and how disconnecte people are. I understand that motivation or intention is everything, and escape is not a good one.

I'm looking forward to hearing your input.

Welcome Tomek,

It can take some time for the fear issue to dissipate, the affirmations definitely help here. Also, it can help to add some affirmations asking permission of your higher self to experience an OBE, as well as an affirmation granting permission for yourself to do this. On a very deep level this communication may need to take place; at least for me, recognizing the need for this and helping it along with some affirmations seemed to help. Stay patient.

Quote from: tomek on September 22, 2015, 01:37:57
I have a feeling that fear plays a big role here. I don't really know how to deal with it except for keep trying.

The only way to beat fear is to prove it to yourself that there is nothing to fear. But as I say, you have to prove that to yourself. Reading posts here and listening to AP videos helps to understand it. But in the end, it is you that must overcome it. Like EscapeVelcocity said here, affirmations help to grant you "permission". 

QuoteAlso another thought crossed my mind. Perhaps it's not the time for me to project as there are so many things to learn here, in the earth system. What do you think guys? I say that because som times I have a desire to escape from the misery of everyday life and how disconnecte people are. I understand that motivation or intention is everything, and escape is not a good one.

Ask yourself why it's important to you to do this. Then listen for and to your answer!  :wink:

Quote from: tomek on September 22, 2015, 01:37:57
The furthest I've gotten is strong vibrations. I have a feeling that fear plays a big role here. I don't really know how to deal with it except for keep trying.

I think most people experience this fear. It peaks near the moment of mental transition and it gives the impression of teetering on a cliff. To go down leads to the unknown, abyss and possibly with no return. That is how it feels anyway. I always had the option to abort at such a point and it is almost a kneejerk reaction to do so at first.

These fears about my first experience were unnecessary: I maintained a normal cognitive thought process throughout the experience, including the transition; I suppose I was afraid of entering into an alien mentality. The transition was calm and peaceful. The reality I ended up in was not unfamiliar at all. It felt identical to lucid dream experiences.

I had no fear or discomfort throughout the process; I was extremely calm. This was the first time I had really been able to maintain that state and I would have to say it is key to successfully transitioning.

Quote
What do you think guys? I say that because som times I have a desire to escape from the misery of everyday life and how disconnecte people are. I understand that motivation or intention is everything, and escape is not a good one.

I think most people yearn to be free from some kind of restriction. One of the reasons I astral project is that I wish to fully harness my creations of my mind. Maybe part of this is because I develop video games; I am frustrated by the limitations of this reality in the sense that it takes years of work to achieve a poor imitation of the imagination.

I also often found myself feeling burned out or frustrated and hoping "tonight would be the night" that I would escape into another reality. Follow what ignites passion in you. If the thought of astral projection is it then embrace it and don't feel guilty about it. Experiences in other realities also make me more positive and excited about being in this one.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts. I particularly like how calm you express yourself regarding AP and all the process including fear. It gives me confidence to carry on. In one of the other posts I found a comment about focus. Apparently focus is essential to break the barrier. Focus is something that I've struggling a lot lately. In spite of a couple of years if meditation I still find myself awfully distracted during the period my practice. I try not to judge it and just return to the breath or whatever I'm returning to, as I always thought of meditation as a practice of 1000 returns. In case of AP focus seems to be crucial. I'd appreciate if you could share how you are attaining focus in your projections?

Tonight is another chance for me to practice. Thank you again for the word of advice. Thank you for your help. I keep you all posted.

Quote from: tomek on September 22, 2015, 07:52:55
I'd appreciate if you could share how you are attaining focus in your projections?

Focus is paramount to success in AP. You don't have to shut out monkey mind though. Just keep it busy with something else.
Check out this thread here and you will see what I mean.
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_consciousness/the_doorway-t46013.0.html

You'll find info here too on where you should focus.

http://www.unlimitedboundaries.ca/forums/how-to-phase-lesson-t754.html

Today I had a realisation. Astral projection is nothing else but switching between one data stream and another. Our consciousness does that all the time: looking at the sky (one data stream), listening to the music (another data stream), watching a movie (another). You've got the idea. For most of the time however we are listening to the Monkey Mind Life Stream, right? We are driving on auto-pilot and monkey mind is our duffle channel or data stream. Since for most of us, focus is a very poorly trained ability (speaking form experience), the choice which stream to choose is made for us. We can direct our awareness wherever we want. The problems is, if we don't choose, if we don't do it consciously, then we receive whatever comes first. Based on this, I believe astral projecting may be as simple as a decision to watch the discovery channel or news. However we are handling our focus so badly that astral projection can be achieved only under special circumstances (i.e. when we are falling asleep and the switching of astral channels occurs whether we want to or not). I remember Tom Campbell saying during one of his lectures. You don't need to experience SP, you don't need to feel vibrations, you just switch your attention from one state to another. Since. I'm clearly not Tom Campbell, I'll keep trying my own way. Nevertheless, the realisation of what I just described may provide a breakthrough I needed.

I'm not even sure if I make sense here but wanted to share this very personal revelation with you guys and ask for your comments. Moving from Believing to Knowing is a big step for me.

Good post Tomek. That's all I do, switch off the physical and focus on the NP effects when that noisy wind sound appears.
It takes less than a minuit most times and no vibes or SP have been a bother for decades.
Choose to phase and crash out keeping just aware enough to wait for the images and noises to synchronize.

I can finally report some progress in this thread. Hooray! I vaguely felt like I was floating fully out of my body last night. There was the beginning of some visual sense as well.

Just to recap on the technique I used:
1. I set a hand-held alarm to go off after ~3 hours of sleep. I kept it in bed just out of reach so that I could turn it off without having to wake up too much.
2. I lied in bed on my back with my head tilted slightly back (which is supposed to allow me to relax my eyes while keeping them closed).
3. I lightly bit my tongue to maintain a very slight awakeness. This was crucial as on many occasions I was just falling back asleep without doing this.
4. I just kept my mind clear and didn't try to do any projection technique, which also made a big difference for me, as it seems use of any technique just causes me to become too awake.
5. I tried to remain open and relax into the onset of the projection. This could be improved as there were still some moments of tightening or pulling back in my chest out of anxiety.

The most promising thing about last night's attempt was that it felt like my energy body fully separated from the physical, which, if true, is the first time that has happened. It seemed like all that remained was for my consciousness to fully transfer over to the energy body, if Robert Bruce's theory is right.

I was a little surprised, in hindsight, to find that I was getting some sort of vague visual input from the energy body. My impression was that one's visual sense works in a more-or-less binary fashion when out-of-body: it seems as if, for most people, their vision only kicks in once they're well out of their physical bodies, and generally goes from nothing to 100%.

There were a bunch of previous attempts since my last post as well. I'm trying to project twice weekly, unless I just fall straight back to sleep, in which case I try again the next night.

I've no ideas on how to improve my technique from here, but I might be doing enough as it is.

There have been a lot of interesting posts in this thread since my last one. Thanks to all. Tomek, you're right, there's a fantastic sense of community on these forums. I truly appreciate it.  :-)

Hey Rainbow, thanks for the post. I'll try your technique tonight. My problem is, I overanalyse everything. I try to project pretty much every night with less and less result. Apparently trying too hard is as bad as trying too little. I usually give myself 3-4h sleep as well. My alarm is just a very soft music played from iPad when the time comes.

From your description, it seems you are doing pretty well. Keep up and I'll try do the same.

Don't analyse anything, you need only to be aware of yourself and just notice what is occurring. That's about it. Anything more will keep you too close to the physical. It feels like you just let go of the body and only exist as a personality in the blackness of your mind. It's not totally black, you can get shapes etc appearing, just ignore them all, they are an indication of your progress to be noticed only.
The tactile sensations (movement) can be used as above. These are near the door out.

Usually I don't use icons but what the heck  :-D  :-D :-D :- :-D

I had my first OBE last night; a couple of hours ago in fact. Since this suppose to be a log, let me start from the beginning.

Before I went to bed I sat down to write some affirmations. Normally I just write something like "I now have an out-of-body experience". This time I started with allowing myself for the experience as advised by one of you guys. I had a feeling that something, a fear is holding me back from having the experience. I did a couple of those and a regular "I feel safe, secure and protected". I also said it out loud to involve not only vision but hearing as well. I thought the more channels of communication you involve the stronger the message.

I set up alarm for 2 am, which meant around 3h of sleep. Falling asleep I repeated some affirmations. I woke up as planed, feeling very sleepy. Went to the bathroom to empty my bladder. Came back and made a strong commitment to don't use any method inspired by the previous post by Rainbow. My mind wondered many times but I kept going. I realized that my mind becomes more and more awake whilst not paying any attention to my body. There were of course ups and downs but I kept going. After some time (not sure how long but it seemed like anything between 30 min and an hour), I decided to call the night. I turned from my back to the side (my usual sleeping position) and try to fall asleep. I maintained some level of lucidity but eventually fell asleep. I had a dream in which I'm running on the beach, having a race of some sort. I realized that it's a dream and I can run as fast as I want and easy outrun anyone next to me. So I did. The sense of freedom plus the control felt great. Soon after I felt overwhelming vibrations and I thought this is it. The vibrations were strong but warm and soft at the same time. Then I just got up and found myself above my bed floating. It felt as if I'm suspended in sirup, slow but light and free. There was no fear but great comfort. I tryed to shout but no voice came out. Surprisingly it didn't matter. It didn't startled me, I felt calm and confident. I looked at my bed trying to find myself there. I only saw a silver lining around my bed but no signs of my phisical body. My vision wasn't very clear and it didn't matter at this stage. I did the only reasonable thing I could think of: a big time, cheerful dance to celebrate my success. I didn't care about anything, I experience a great sense of joy and calmness at the same time. Very curious. I felt this was IT, and nothing else mattered at that point. Although my discription indicates that it may have taken me a long time to perform this, it was only 20-30 seconds to this point. The next obvious thing that occur to me was: let's go flying! So I did. I turned around and jumped through the wall, a superman style! I went through the wall no problems and then when I returned to my body. Happy and satisfied with my first experience. Big smile!!! After a couple of minutes I decided to get up and recorded everything in my journal so I don't loose anything by the time I wake up.

This is it! This is my first OBE. thank you all for your support. Thank you Rainbow for the motivation. Thank you for the sense of community.   

Quote from: tomek on October 11, 2015, 23:12:57
Usually I don't use icons but what the heck  :-D  :-D :-D :- :-D

I had my first OBE last night; a couple of hours ago in fact. Since this suppose to be a log, let me start from the beginning.

Before I went to bed I sat down to write some affirmations. Normally I just write something like "I now have an out-of-body experience". This time I started with allowing myself for the experience as advised by one of you guys. I had a feeling that something, a fear is holding me back from having the experience. I did a couple of those and a regular "I feel safe, secure and protected". I also said it out loud to involve not only vision but hearing as well. I thought the more channels of communication you involve the stronger the message.

I set up alarm for 2 am, which meant around 3h of sleep. Falling asleep I repeated some affirmations. I woke up as planed, feeling very sleepy. Went to the bathroom to empty my bladder. Came back and made a strong commitment to don't use any method inspired by the previous post by Rainbow. My mind wondered many times but I kept going. I realized that my mind becomes more and more awake whilst not paying any attention to my body. There were of course ups and downs but I kept going. After some time (not sure how long but it seemed like anything between 30 min and an hour), I decided to call the night. I turned from my back to the side (my usual sleeping position) and try to fall asleep. I maintained some level of lucidity but eventually fell asleep. I had a dream in which I'm running on the beach, having a race of some sort. I realized that it's a dream and I can run as fast as I want and easy outrun anyone next to me. So I did. The sense of freedom plus the control felt great. Soon after I felt overwhelming vibrations and I thought this is it. The vibrations were strong but warm and soft at the same time. Then I just got up and found myself above my bed floating. It felt as if I'm suspended in sirup, slow but light and free. There was no fear but great comfort. I tryed to shout but no voice came out. Surprisingly it didn't matter. It didn't startled me, I felt calm and confident. I looked at my bed trying to find myself there. I only saw a silver lining around my bed but no signs of my phisical body. My vision wasn't very clear and it didn't matter at this stage. I did the only reasonable thing I could think of: a big time, cheerful dance to celebrate my success. I didn't care about anything, I experience a great sense of joy and calmness at the same time. Very curious. I felt this was IT, and nothing else mattered at that point. Although my discription indicates that it may have taken me a long time to perform this, it was only 20-30 seconds to this point. The next obvious thing that occur to me was: let's go flying! So I did. I turned around and jumped through the wall, a superman style! I went through the wall no problems and then when I returned to my body. Happy and satisfied with my first experience. Big smile!!! After a couple of minutes I decided to get up and recorded everything in my journal so I don't loose anything by the time I wake up.

This is it! This is my first OBE. thank you all for your support. Thank you Rainbow for the motivation. Thank you for the sense of community.   

Congratulations Tomek, that is great news! There's nothing like that feeling when all the effort you've been putting in finally pays off.

I never thought of using written affirmations before. Good idea, I'll have to try that.

It's interesting that you didn't see your physical body. If I recall correctly, this accords Frederick Aardema's view in Explorations in Consciousness, and contradicts what other authors like Robert Bruce say you should expect.

Best of luck with your future out-of-body endeavours!

Nice one Tomek, if it works, don't try to fix it lol.
Congratulations.

Quote from: rainbow_light on October 12, 2015, 10:21:15
It's interesting that you didn't see your physical body. If I recall correctly, this accords Frederick Aardema's view in Explorations in Consciousness, and contradicts what other authors like Robert Bruce say you should expect.

Congratulation Tomek

Rainbow_light, expect nothing, observe everything!  :wink:

Thank you Guys for words of encouragement.

A quick question. From your experience, is it advisable to OBE every night i.e. get up at 3 am and practice for an hour or would you rather suggest different regime?

You can overdo it wirh all things in life. If you feel great a continuous effort is OK. If you start to feel drowsy and lethargic outside your norm, give it a rest for a few days. Doing this can give spontaneous projections but you get the rest your body requires.

I am happy you had success. With strong vibrations, you can almost guarantee an obe as long as you time the separation right. I have had obe's for a few years, and all have started from strong vibrations except one.

I made an attempt almost every night since my last post, using the technique I described. I think I must be over-doing it though, as I've been either (1) forgetting to bite my lip to stay awake and falling back asleep soon after turning off my alarm; (2) somehow turning off my alarm and going back to sleep automatically without having any recollection of doing so by the morning; or less often (3) waking up too much and not experiencing any signs of projection. I've sometimes been writing or saying out loud affirmations as well without any noticeable effect.

My alarm is getting turned off on auto-pilot when before it would wake me up just enough to put me in the sweet spot for projection. I'm going to go back to making two attempts a week in the hopes that my brain will un-learn this response.

My motivation is as high as ever since I started reading Jurgen Ziewe's new book, Vistas of Infinity. It's a sequel to Multidimensional Man and is every bit as good, IMO. I will say that the Google .epub version is so badly produced it's unreadable, and the .pdf version has some typos and weird splicing of a random paragraph into an unrelated section at one point.

I may have to switch in future to Jurgen's approach of becoming lucid in a dream, then collapsing the dream narrative to enter a consensus environment. He makes it sound like a viable technique.

Quote from: rainbow_light on November 02, 2015, 10:47:39
I may have to switch in future to Jurgen's approach of becoming lucid in a dream, then collapsing the dream narrative to enter a consensus environment. He makes it sound like a viable technique.

I have been on this task for several months now. Stopping the dream narrative is really challenging. Last night I was being chased by two people with guns when I came across a high fence. I knew it was too high to jump in real life, but that wouldn't be a problem for me because  I was dreaming. I jumped over but I ended up getting caught, I jumped off a building and woke up as I was landing.

At the time even though I knew I was dreaming I was not able to muster the incentive or awareness to leave the scenario. This has been my experience in a good 30 lucid dreams recently. Doing reality checks hasn't helped for me. The only advice I can offer is to get some dream tea. You will have a lot easier time remembering the dreams and will have a much more lucid engagement while in them.

Quote from: ThaomasOfGrey on November 02, 2015, 17:45:56
I have been on this task for several months now. Stopping the dream narrative is really challenging.

At the time even though I knew I was dreaming I was not able to muster the incentive or awareness to leave the scenario. This has been my experience in a good 30 lucid dreams recently. Doing reality checks hasn't helped for me.

When I first become aware in a dream and am controlling my actions, I try to find out the "purpose" or lesson of the Dream. I found I had to do that though because if I attempted to change the dream narrative, many times the dream just ended then and there.

Now, I had no problems re-scripting the dreams, but attempting to end it and go somewhere else usually ended the dream itself. Mind you though, I could go back to sleep and have another LD in an entirely different scenario. But for me personally, when I become aware in the dream I know there is a task to be had. Many times that task is a "retrieval" or some kind of "heroic" adventure.

Sometimes the dream will just change itself. Example: I am in a dream with friends just talking around the neighborhood and suddenly I just find myself in a completely different scenario. I then have to get my bearings and search out the reason why this occurred.

When I begin to lose my awareness in any dreams, they tend to just spiral out of control and get really bizarre. I usually awaken shortly after that.

I don't use reality checks anymore. I just "know" I am Dreaming. There are normally enough dream triggers to be had that bring conclusion to bear.

I do use this every night before I go to sleep. It says the affirmations for me. I just repeat what he says in first person tense. I usually will only listen to about 10 minutes of it though before I got to sleep. I find that every bit helps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRyDqwmnLAM

It has been a while since I have even been able to attempt to change my dreams, but every time in the past it would cause the dream to end like you say. It isn't always instant either, on a few occasions I have oscillated between the dream and being awake as I try to change things.

I feel like there should be a way around this - it is possible to change the scenario during a wake induced dream or astral projection, why not the dream induced version?

The just "knowing" I am dreaming part is familiar to me; it is strange because often the realization comes when I am faced with something I cannot deal with in this reality - like a fall from great heights - but I know it is fine.

The trouble is that the consciousness which experiences this stuff isn't really me as I am now. The me as I am, upon learning I am dreaming would stop and try to do astral stuff. The me in these lucid dreams is somehow incapable of even thinking about something else other than the task at hand. It is almost like there is a psychic barrier separating genuine thoughts from instinct.

Quote from: ThaomasOfGrey on November 02, 2015, 21:23:44
The trouble is that the consciousness which experiences this stuff isn't really me as I am now. The me as I am, upon learning I am dreaming would stop and try to do astral stuff. The me in these lucid dreams is somehow incapable of even thinking about something else other than the task at hand. It is almost like there is a psychic barrier separating genuine thoughts from instinct.

I call that my "other personality". It does seems to be quite a bit different from my physical one here. It also seems to get me in some interesting quandaries over in the other realms. Many times I become aware right in the middle of a quandary. I then have to get my bearings and quickly adapt to the scenario at hand.

The problem is it's as "real" as this realm is. So your first instinct is to "go with the flow". Something needs to happen to "jolt" you enough to realize that this is in fact just a dream. That's why it's good to be aware of all DTs (dream triggers). When I log my nightly adventures in my Dream Journal, I also log all the DTs that I experienced. This helps me to be even more aware the next time they surface.

When I become aware I just control my actions in the scenario at hand. But I am doing it from a totally conscious state of mind. Many times I will first view the scene from a 3rd person point of view before I actually enter it as a active participant. This way I can get the basic plot of the scenario and begin to plot my next move in it.

I find that "thinking on your feet" is a very important attribute to have in the other realms. So is "common sense".  :wink:

Just thought I'd record the lucid dream I had last night, the second I've ever had. I read Vistas of Infinity and did about 15 minutes meditation before going to sleep. During the dream I seemed to spontaneously become lucid without anything really provoking me. One of the first things I did was look down at my hands to try and increase clarity. I had difficulty focusing on them and eventually found myself opening my eyes when I was trying to concentrate harder. Fortunately I managed to close them and go back to the dream environment. I focused on my hands again and, if I recall correctly, they were transparent at one point and later one of my fingers seemed much shorter than normal. So I didn't have success with focusing on my hands and lost lucidity soon after. Then the dream actually continued in the same environment for some time.

All in all I'm very encouraged by this, given that I didn't have any strong intention of becoming lucid, hadn't been using any of the techniques in daily life to induce lucid dreams, and that my lucidity didn't seem to be dependent on any particularly striking circumstances in the dream.

It's not the first time that what I've been thinking about just before going to sleep has played a part in my dreams. It seems like whatever stays in your mind then has an especially good chance of coming up.

Whatever has been on ypur ind will be in your subconscious too. This can be used to create an experience rather than a dream.
Experiment with what's on your mind as you try to reach into the NP. Have thoughts based on it with another outcome that suits you more.

Quote from: rainbow_light on November 05, 2015, 13:08:13
All in all I'm very encouraged by this, given that I didn't have any strong intention of becoming lucid, hadn't been using any of the techniques in daily life to induce lucid dreams, and that my lucidity didn't seem to be dependent on any particularly striking circumstances in the dream.

You did on a "subconscious" level though. You picked up Jurgen's new book and read it. Sometimes that's all it takes. Many people report having spontaneous OBEs/LDs after just hearing a interview or talk on AP itself period.

Dr. Albert Taylor talks about this in his interview with Art Bell here from October 2013. I love this man's passion for AP. He makes AP sound fun again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Xl9a7qMAY

I'd like to report some progress in my OBEs. I spent 3 weeks in Malaysia, which i though is going to be a perfect, relax destination for some juicy OBEs. Nothing kills the actual experience more then your expectations:) Nothing happened during that time, mostly because I didn't have much time to try or didn't give myself enough rest before an attempt. Upon my return things has changed and I want to report another OBE/LD or vice versa. My LD was so real! Only walking through walls and doors made me realise it's a dream. The same night I also had an OBE. I felt very strong vibrations and jerked myself out of the body. The projection didn't last long but I was able to see myself sleeping on the bed. I wonder if rapid moving out of body may contribute to low quality of the projection. Next time I promised myslef to be more gentle and check if this method is going to work better. What are your experiences with the moving out-of-body? I understand this is a very personal experience but perhaps I you could share some tips.

At this point i try pretty much every night. Before I go to bed i start with written affirmations. On the night of projections I listened to Condition D from Journeys Out of the Body. I don't want to be dependent on aids with my OBEs, that's why I try not to use Binural Beats. On the other hand I think to myself, once I master the technique with an aid I will drop it and move on without it. Once again, I'd like to hear your opinions if I may.

Happy projecting:)

If you can move 30+ feet away from your sleeping body you'll find the clarity improve greatly.

Using aids is very good if they work well. Its like putting stabiliser wheels on a cycle when you learn to ride. Once proficient at the basics you remove them as you get a feel its time to do so. This applies to projecting too, you'll notice the clarity of your memories and the environment you're in get crystal clear and as said, it becomes almost impossible to distinguish the visited reality from the physical.
You will eventually just find yourself in one and it will have every aspect of the physical biased to the physics of the environment visited. The bonus is the creative power you possess, use this only when needed. When you're ready you'll get the picture.
The fun has begun, be true to yourself and try to blend in. You'll get far deeper into the nicer realities this way. Some you'll experience will make you not want to return.

Tomek, your successes are a nice reminder to anyone reading this thread that it's usually not as difficult as I'm making it seem!

Most recent attempt
I set my alarm to wake me up after about 4 hours sleep. When it went off I seemed to be sleeping quite lightly, and when I turned it off I was able to get into a 'mind awake, body asleep' state easily. I realized a couldn't tilt my head back like I was doing and bite my tongue to stay awake at the same time, so I had to just use intent and carefulness to avoid going back to sleep. I started experiencing vibrations and a fast-oscillating sound. I mostly didn't use any technique in the hope that I would rise out of my body naturally. I did try the rope-pulling technique very briefly but soon noticed this was waking me up too much. I also tried focusing on the vibrations with the aim of losing awareness of the body, and this did result in the first feelings of rising out of the body slightly which I couldn't help but notice.

I also noticed some rising sensations when I tried to just will myself out of the body.

I made a lot of other attempts at attempts, you might say, previous to this one, where I just fell back asleep soon after waking up, or sometimes found that I was too awake to make progress.

I tried Jurgen Ziewe's technique once of doing an hour of meditation early in the morning, then going back to sleep with the strong intention of having a lucid dream. I suspect I'm not spending long enough on the intending part for it to really sink in though. I actually don't feel intention and a sense of doing the way I used to where it seemed to be the result of an Intender or Doer self, and I suspect that may actually be hindering me.

Plan for future attempts

• Set alarm to go off after 4 hours.
• Once the vibrations kick in, focus on them to the exclusion of all else.
• Also, try listening to Hemisync or binaural beats again.

Thank you Rainbow for your message. They say that misery needs company, which in this case means that I'm happy to share with someone my struggle. If I make my attempts sounds easy then I'm not making myself clear. It's a big effort and if there's a way to go around it, I'd love to hear it. For now I'll stick to what works for me and thanks again for the support.

At this stage I try pretty much every night with little effect. That's the way it is, I guess and I accepted it. To response to a couple of your threads Rainbow let me say:

->> Intention is everything to me, to stronger (i.e more focused, more pure) intention the better results. I do written intentions and mental ones.
->> binaural beats work only if I have a strong intention (I used Condition D, Journeys Out of the Body)
->> after reading a response like yours, i feel much more motivated and this gives me the best results. Reading have the same result. It almost feels like, the increased energy level (excitement) translates into vibrations. I want to make one thing clear; this does not mean I stay exited during the process, it only applies to my motivation.

Good luck with further attempts:) Keep me posted and I do the same.

Happy projecting:)