Am I too anxious to astral project?

[eggshell]

Hi everyone,

I've lurked here for a while but finally decided to start posting as I am just kind of stuck with this astral projection thing.

To give you an idea, I've been trying to project for around 7 months now, for about an hour each day. I gave up for a week in frustration, but then couldn't resist and started trying again.

Throughout this time I've been getting mainly vibrations or internal tingling/buzzing and feelings of floating, sinking, or spinning. Other times I feel extreme pressure in my head and sometimes see lights to various degrees. I rarely hear noises but I listen to binaural beats/isochronic tones the whole time (I have chronic tinnitus in my ear and it seem to distract me without some auditory aid).

No matter what I do, I can't seem to astral project at all. I just can't separate, I never have. I have also tried lucid dreaming, but after about 6 months of hitting brick walls with that, I gave up.

I have thought about some problems I'm encountering. The biggest problem I think I have is anxiety, though sometimes it's excitement. I am already an anxious person (I have tried pretty much every type of help for this and meditation has probably helped the most) But I thought I might look into other herbal anxiety remedies, cutting out sugar and most caffeine out of my diet, and eating as healthy as possible. (I already exercise and don't drink)

I've never tried affirmations but I wonder if that would help with the anxiety, although I have no clue what affirmations to use. Anyone ever tried that and did it help with your projection? I also am trying to step up my concentration meditation to help detach from anxiety. For the last month I've been doing this before projection attempts (which I've started trying the phasing method to do), but it hasn't really helped the anxiety I get when I get the "exit symptoms." When I start getting really extreme vibrations or see lights I just start sort of hyperventilating from fear and sometimes my heart feels like it's going to explode it beats so fast. How can I not focus on this strange experience?

I think I also have a fear of ghosts. When I was a teenager my stepdad was into the occult and he did lots of spell work. I developed a really strong fear of ghosts around that time. Later on, I became an atheist and my fear of this kind of thing vanished. Then I decided I was an agnostic, I just didn't know what did or didn't exist (I try to be open minded). Now, with this mindset, ghosts may or may not exist. I wonder if the old fears of the paranormal are returning to my mind when I attempt projection now. Sigh.

For this, I thought maybe I should also try affirmations ("ghosts can't hurt me" kind of thing) or even self-hypnosis. I read something where Robert Bruce said that if you can no longer project due to a scary experience, self-hypnosis could make it possible again. Anyone ever tried this?

My other main problem I think is insomnia. If I try to project right before sleep, I completely wake up and sometimes am awake all night. If I try the "wake back to bed" method, I just wake up and can't go back to sleep. I find that despite my insomnia, when I finally do sleep, I'm like a corpse in the morning, where I can't mentally wake up or concentrate at all. So far, my projection attempts upon waking from a full night's sleep result in being totally scatterbrained and I can't focus much at all. I thought maybe my addiction to coffee is partly to blame for this. Should I stop drinking coffee? (I only have 2 cups in the morning) I kind of feel like my brain doesn't start working until I have that first cup of coffee.

I can't for the life of me take naps. I just lie in bed awake. I believe my insomnia has sabotaged my lucid dreaming attempts. But I got hope when I read that you can astral project from wakefulness. Is this true? Is that 180 degree switch in phasing really a state of wakefulness? If so, maybe there's hope for me.

The solutions I can think of for insomnia are really identical to that of anxiety, it's like the two go hand in hand. Anyone here suffer from insomnia and have you found anything helpful for it?

Anyway, I pretty much just attempt projection in the evening, several hours before bed, from a state of wakefulness. That seems to prevent insomnia. But I can't help but wonder how much this method is hurting my chance of projecting. It seems like most methods I read tie projecting in with sleep somehow.

The other problems I seem to have is that I don't know when to actively attempt "separation." I have read that when you get vibrations that's your cue to start flying up or climbing a rope or rolling over etc. But sometimes I have prolonged vibrations. I even get them a few minutes into my attempt, though they vary in degree and are sometimes more an internal buzzing. I just don't when to try, I don't have an instinct that says "do it now" I don't know. If I wait and try to separate later I just refocus on my body. If I try to separate quickly the same thing seems to happen.

Also, how does one separate? I mean, I've read about phasing where you concentrate on the blackness in front of you, and then you focus on shapes that appear in the blackness. But how do you then
a. know suddenly when to separate, especially if you're trying not to focus on the symptoms
b. know when to switch your concentration to your separation method in order to separate. For instance, to mentally detach from my body I can try to focus on a shape completely, but then if I try the climbing a rope method, doesn't my attempt to separate break my focus and thus my detachment from my body?

Sheesh, sorry this is so long. Don't worry if this is too long to reply to lol. Perhaps I should start keeping a journal.

Anyway, this is a really interesting discussion board. Glad I found it.

Take care everyone.

[ThaomasOfGrey]

We are in the same boat, eggshell. I think conscious projection is a difficult thing for most people but it is especially difficult for those who struggle to quiet their minds.

I have done a bit of study into insomnia and learned that the predominant factor in ability to fall asleep is to stop conscious thoughts for a while. The more you think about the issue and the more frustrating it becomes the less likely you are to succeed.

Fortunately sleep really has nothing to do with astral projection; the phrase mind awake - body asleep is misleading. I don't know that there is such a thing as body asleep, what it really means is mind awake - mind completely unaware that there is a body.

The phase shift during full wakefulness that you describe is stated to be possible by Tom Campbell, though, I have never seen anecdotal evidence of someone actually achieving this level. I believe it requires the ability to completely immerse yourself in your own imagination without turning back.

You might need to drop a lot of the structure of this process from your mind because it is a trigger for self analysis and conscious thought.

I don't know for sure if this science is real, but the principle seems to work in reality - you need to change the area that blood is flowing in your brain away from the section that is responsible for conscious thought towards the unconscious areas that govern extra sensory perception. You could imagine that the brain operates on demand so if you are using the thinking part you have taken blood away from the glands that make things happen.

Aim to stop your thoughts for as long as you can and see what happens. I find that eventually I will lose track of time and forget what is going on, you will first become aware that this has happened after the fact. Usually a mini dream will start to materialize and this will trigger your mind. To make it all the way through you have to stay in that unaware mind set - I can't do it yet. The mini dream you experience will be somewhere on a scale from almost nothing to almost anything depending on where you catch yourself. Sometimes you might see something you didn't intend, you might pick up an unusual physical sensation or it might just be a particularly strong train of thought that almost has it's gravity.

Instant phasing is definitely something I am interested in pursuing.

[Szaxx]

If you try to do things that may be the problem. You relax and allow it to occur. Basically keeping your mind aware of the you within and no thoughts of the body. Be passive and not analyse any of what you percieve. It's noticing only, no interaction.
Projecting can't be forced too.
The zombie mode in the morning is most likely the best time to gain success. In this mindset you're less analytical and that's an advantage.
No fears are also a must have. Forget the demon stories, most of these are indoctrinations and as thoughts manifest you may percieve  them through expectations. You're basically only going to scare yourself.
So go on with your variuos attempts knowing it'll be peaceful. You will be alone, if you feel a presence its your sleeping body. This has worried many people through the ages and that's where most of the fears originated from.
Relax and try in the zombie mode in the mornings.

[EscapeVelocity]

Probably for the majority of us, it is very difficult to quiet the mind to the point where we are relaxed enough, yet still properly-focused in order to AP or Phase. We need to experiment with different methods until we stumble into the proper mental state a few times to learn what mental state we are searching for. For me, the WBTB methods and early morning attempts were my key to unlocking the experience.

I would suggest you continue with the meditation to develop the calm, still mind that is so necessary for having the proper mindset when you get into the Non-Physical Realms.

You also need to dump the demon/ghost/unknowns fears. You don't just do that with a single conscious thought; you need to de-program your subconscious and re-program with some more positive thinking, and that will take some time.

This is where affirmations can be very subtly effective if you develop the discipline to apply them. Affirmations should be short, simple, positively-worded, present-tense statements.

So, you don't say "I am not afraid of ghosts, they can't hurt me." Too many negatives...won't, don't, can't, not...
Instead say something like, "In the Non-Physical, I am completely safe and protected." Feel it, believe it....if you want to throw in the power and protection of Christ, God, Source, my Guides, my Guardian Angels...fine, throw it in...just don't get too complex or over-wordy. This is a form of communication with your subconscious and it appreciates very simple commands, like your dog...it's kind of pointless to lecture your dog...

You are looking to over-write some old code in your subconscious; it's been there for years.

You are also likely opening a new line of communication with your Higher Self, your Spiritual Self. Affirmations will work well here as well. Personally, I think that for most beginners, a certain internal discussion needs to take place between your conscious Self and your Higher Self, asking for permission to open up this new type of spiritual experience and waiting for an expression that indicates the Higher Self is granting its permission to move forward. And this may require some amount of time to occur, so you have to be patient and allow this internal discussion to take place.

So, a suggested affirmation that communicates with both the Higher Self and the subconscious might be:

"I ask permission of my Higher Self to have and to explore the out of body experience. I am ready and wish to do this. In the Non-Physical, I know that I am safe and protected by my Higher Self."

You should write this affirmation down on paper one to three times a day and repeat it three times every night as you lay down to sleep. Do this every day for a week or two and I think you will find some changes occurring, especially during your dreams and those early morning zombie modes; like Szaxx said, that's where you need to discipline yourself and use those opportunities to just notice and allow whatever happens...to happen.

And start a dream journal. This is how your subconscious communicates with YOU.

[Bluebird]

Many might not agree with this advice, but have you tried medication for the anxiety? I take Lexapro (escitalopram) and as someone with anxiety, it has helped me immensely.

I too am a beginner with all this and only have had a couple lucid dreams so far, but the medication doesn't seem to have a detrimental effect on dreaming. I have pretty long dreams every night.

Lexapro gives some people more energy but for me it made me feel groggy so I take it before bed. It may or maynot help with your insomnia.
It probably has the least amount of side effects of all the SSRI's.

I'm no doctor and medication like this effects everyone differently. So this is only a suggestion but since it helped me I feel I should at least put it out there.

Keep at it and like EscapeVelocity said, keep a dream journal. It kind of immerses you in the dream world and keeps you thinking about it during the day.

[eggshell]

Thanks for the replies, they're really helpful.

Phasing does sound pretty difficult so hopefully it's kind of a matter of practice makes perfect. And to do it in a detached way where you actively try but don't try and just observe is also tricky, but I'll keep giving it a go. Also it does sound like a wise thing to find different methods in the meantime that are easier. I'll keep looking around.

I might just try to give up all expectations to astral project and pretend I don't care (even though I do!)

So the morning way is the best... I've cut down to 1 cup of coffee per day, which has been painful, lol. I'll try more in the morning and see what happens. I can see how being less analytical that time of day would help, it's just the problems with concentration. My pre-coffee brain is like a jackson pollock painting.

Thanks for the tips on affirmations, escapevelocity, and for the ideas on how and when to do them. That's massively helpful. I tried affirmations for the first time the other day and I almost laughed, I felt so silly saying things like "I am confident and succeed at everything." But if affirmations work, I will give them a try. I really do think my past fear of ghosts has made me extra anxious. That's interesting hearing your take on how affirmations work with the higher self.

Bluebird I also agree with your advice about medication. I think it's a good idea to consider anything that's helpful. I have also taken lexapro and it was the one drug to really help me. I was on it for 2 years. I am living abroad at the moment in a country that unfortunately has both a crippled health care system as well as a cultural bias against long-term meds. After 2 years they just took me off of them unexpectedly, even though they were helping me. I am planning to move back to my home country in about a year or so, and might look into something like lexapro then. That's good to hear lexapro doesn't affect dreams, as I might try lucid dreaming again at some point. (not holding my breath but you never know!)

Anyway, thanks again for the tips guys, I feel inspired again. I must admit yesterday I considered just giving up. I ran across the quote "insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results" and I thought, is this what I'm doing? Trying to AP night after night and yet it's always the same result, basically no result... but I guess the trick is to keep learning about different techniques and trying to improve our methods, until hopefully someday it will work.

[Astralsuzy]

My other main problem I think is insomnia. If I try to project right before sleep, I completely wake up and sometimes am awake all night. If I try the "wake back to bed" method, I just wake up and can't go back to sleep. I find that despite my insomnia,

Not being able to sleep is a big help to ap.   It is best not to be sleepy when we ap and to be awake and alert.
Because you are not able to sleep does not mean you will ap.   You have to work at it.   It is a skill we have to learn.    Practice relaxing yourself and very importantly your mind.    Your mind has to be relaxed.   If you are thinking I cannot sleep and I have had enough of this, it is very likely you will not succeed.  Practice meditating.   Any doubts that you will not succeed usually makes ap harder.

[Gruff]

Hi. I'm very much in the same boat as you without the insomnia. For a long long time my goal has been to astral project. Two times now I have done so but they have been accidental I believe through setting intention before sleep and even when I wake in the middle of the night AP is my first thought. In both circumstances fear and anxiety has been why I have come out of those states. I now realise that to maintain ap I need to be able to have greater control over my thoughts and to remain calm. I believe meditation is the key to this. I agree it's hard to put the intention to ap out of your mind. I think at this stage your aim is to face your fears and realise they are just obstacles. So when you feel those tingles and lights behind your eyes relax (try I know it's hard. It's my major hurdle too). Difficult to do so easy to say lol which is why I haven't been able to AP except through accident. I reckon u r not far off though.

[eggshell]

Gruff, sorry to hear you're having trouble with this as well, due to anxiety. Yes, it does seem the more we want it, the higher the expectations become and this in itself can make it harder to achieve.

I have actually given up trying at this point. I realized that 7 hours a week of concentrated effort on something I continuously failed at was not just frustrating but also a waste of time. I thought, what else could I spend 7 hours a week on? There are so many things. My failed attempts at AP started to feel like I was trying to learn to play a musical instrument by just reading a book every day for an hour. Yet I could never play the instrument. I could memorize all the theory, all the notation, whole songs by spending hours studying it on paper, but without picking up and playing the instrument, there was no mastery and true understanding of the instrument.

Or another analogy I thought of was trying to learn to rock climb by just reading books about it. But I could never climb a rock in reality. (because of my anxiety, I believe) Maybe my anxiety is a mental equivalent to some kind of physical disability that would prevent me from climbing the rock. So I could spend endless hours memorizing rock climbing techniques, but without being able to actually climb and experience it, it doesn't really mean much.

It's frustrating, because it felt like I had developed a new hobby (due to the time I spent hopelessly attempting it/reading about it) but it was a hobby I couldn't practice. I'd rather, at this point, do something with my time that works, like actually learn an instrument, actually learn to rock climb in real life, etc.

I agree that meditation can be the key out of the anxiety and mental blocks to astral projection. For me, personally, I'm just going to continue with my meditation practice, because that is what truly helps my life, it's something I can actually do/achieve, and it helps my anxiety (as opposed to my attempts to AP that just made my anxiety worse). If I ever spontaneously AP during a meditation, then great, but in the meantime, I've given up all expectations and plans to do it.

[fowlskins]

i would say if you think your anxiety is stopping you why not just concentrate on honing your lucid dreaming skills its something you can do that will not give you the same fear factor but will be fine tuning alot of skills you need to do it and if you still have a little intent you might find yourself having an unplanned spontaneous projection 

[Lumaza]

Gruff, sorry to hear you're having trouble with this as well, due to anxiety. Yes, it does seem the more we want it, the higher the expectations become and this in itself can make it harder to achieve.

You can't "force" this. You have to learn how to "allow" it. What does that mean. It means you have to set the stage and now sit back and be a spectator. You will be challenged by your fears. That's a given. Whether your fear is suffocating, ghosts, boogeyman, whatever. You will have to confront it. Your anxiety will work against you. You need to learn complete "self control".

I have actually given up trying at this point. I realized that 7 hours a week of concentrated effort on something I continuously failed at was not just frustrating but also a waste of time. I thought, what else could I spend 7 hours a week on? There are so many things. My failed attempts at AP started to feel like I was trying to learn to play a musical instrument by just reading a book every day for an hour. Yet I could never play the instrument. I could memorize all the theory, all the notation, whole songs by spending hours studying it on paper, but without picking up and playing the instrument, there was no mastery and true understanding of the instrument.

Sometimes a break is a good thing. Your comparison to learning a Musical Instrument is what I use often when I attempt to explain to a new member the "commitment" that is needed  here. But not only the commitment, but the practice, patience and perseverance that is needed in the learning stages of any form of Art in general. How good is a Musician after only 7 months of playing? I think you are too hard on yourself.
Some people state that it took them 10 years to earn AP. One of them is the Administrator on this very Forum, Xanth. Ask yourself, how much determination does it take to put 10 years into something and never give up. I applaud that kind of perseverance!

It's frustrating, because it felt like I had developed a new hobby (due to the time I spent hopelessly attempting it/reading about it) but it was a hobby I couldn't practice. I'd rather, at this point, do something with my time that works, like actually learn an instrument, actually learn to rock climb in real life, etc.

I agree that meditation can be the key out of the anxiety and mental blocks to astral projection. For me, personally, I'm just going to continue with my meditation practice, because that is what truly helps my life, it's something I can actually do/achieve, and it helps my anxiety (as opposed to my attempts to AP that just made my anxiety worse). If I ever spontaneously AP during a meditation, then great, but in the meantime, I've given up all expectations and plans to do it.

It is like a new hobby. You mean to say that you had absolutely no progress at all? No signposts, no visions, no 3d darkness, nothing?

Meditation leads to AP. Pure and simple. What do you expect from Astral Projection? What are your goals? Why are you doing it? You don't have to answer those questions here. But you do need to answer them to yourself. Take some time and converse with your "higher self". Ask why you are being "blocked" and listen to what is being said.

I have created a number of daily exercises that are easy to do and only take a few moments of your day, but they get you used to being "non physical" and many times they lead to a shift, unbeknownst to you. Here is a link to get you started. There are other helpful links that will help you further on down the thread. You get from this practice/Art what you put into it. If you think it's a waste of time, then your time shall be wasted!
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_consciousness/the_doorway-t46013.0.html
 







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[Xanth]

When you go to bed tonight... try this exercise...

TRY YOUR HARDEST TO FALL ASLEEP TONIGHT.