Changes over time

[Tibor]

Greetings astral pulse!

A long time ago I studied astral projection on the now defunct "Astral Forum."  That was 7 years ago and this is my first visit to a new astral community. I want to take better control of my abilities and sensitivities and so am happy to find a forum such as this. 

My question, though, is more of an observation. 

When I first started astral projection my experiences took me to strange places, like temple gardens, red cloud formations, and deserts.   As time went on, I began to have more ascension type projections, where I would be immersed into a sphere of energy and fire, but once through the "sphere" I would gently awaken. 

Now, however, I frequently have OBE from the vibrational state, but they are very mild in nature, and most turn into a regular dream if I stay too long and lose focus.  For example, I will roll out of bed (roll out method) and find myself in my room.  I hear my family talking (but they are not actually, I have confirmed this) and I usually try to make it to a window.  Rarely anything exotic. 

So my question is, do you notice your meditations influencing the flavor of the OBE?  My meditations these days have been purely mindful, whereas before I did sufi love meditations. I do not encounter negative entities as much these days either.  Really, it feels almost a consistent neutral experience. 

The only distinction between a lucid dream and OBE is lack of control.  In an OBE my ability to influence my environment is drastically reduced, and sometimes I am forced to crawl or walk drunkenly to my goal, whereas in a lucid dream I am able to use will power to do a myriad of things. 

Maybe the neutral OBEs reflect my lack of goals.  I truly have no conscious thing to discover or accomplish at this time. 

Anyway, hello astral pulse and thanks for reading!

-tibor

[Psan]

Hi and welcome

This forum is about 10 years old and was founded by Robert Bruce.

I guess you are stagnating because of reduced 'energy'. OBEs consume a sort of energy that needs to be replenished. It accumulates on this own but if you wish to have frequent and vivid OBEs then you should try to gain some of it by using energy techniques. NEW, Pranayama and chakra activations are good techs.

The first OBEs are mostly energetic because of the high amount of energy accumulated till that age. (If you had a healthy and emotionally fulfilling life till that time). After a few experiences the stored energy is depleted. It also decreases with age after increasing for about 30-40 from birth.

It should not be confused with the physical energy we get from metabolism. Some people are especially gifted, they never seem to run out of it. Rest of us must do the hard work.

[donzieja]

Red clouds? I just recently had a lucid dream (or was it?) involving red clouds... Interesting.

[Astral316]

Hey there and welcome... I must change my meditation technique 30 times in one sitting so I can't comment on how one effects my OBE experiences. However I am in a similar rut of getting those "run of the mill" etheric experiences. They're fun but at this point I'd like more of the emotional-based experiences myself.

[Lightning]

Welcome, Tibor 

Great post. I'm also investigating the effect meditation has on OBEs. When I get valuable information I'll share it with the forum.

[Under_the_Midnight_Sun]

Strange, I've had a few experiences where the clouds were red too.
Maybe your difference between LD and OBE is dimensional frequency? On higher planes (OBE) it tends to be easier to manifest.

In my opinion OBEs don't consume energy that needs to be replenished (as Psan said), but are a never ending cycle. The changing factor is age. With a higher age comes more responsibility. More responsibility=more stress=less time focused on achieving OBE state.

The more thought put into astral projection=the more time your subconscious will be thinking about it. We truly create our realities (especially in the astral). Regularly doing reality checks throughout the day will help too. Before bed focus on what you wish to learn and experience.

[Tibor]

Thank you for the kind welcome and comments. 

I feel intuitively that I am indeed stagnated.  I have been doing a lot of growth in the physical (new family life, overcoming difficulty), and so maybe have not been looking inwardly enough.  Pushing forward is its own strength, but it can become a habit to look away from one's self after the storm has passed. 

I'll meditate on this.  The fact that I am afraid to face what's inside probably means I have been disconnected for longer than I meant to be. 

[Xanth]

Greetings Tibor, welcome to the Astral Pulse. 

Greetings astral pulse!

A long time ago I studied astral projection on the now defunct "Astral Forum."  That was 7 years ago and this is my first visit to a new astral community. I want to take better control of my abilities and sensitivities and so am happy to find a forum such as this. 

My question, though, is more of an observation. 

When I first started astral projection my experiences took me to strange places, like temple gardens, red cloud formations, and deserts.   As time went on, I began to have more ascension type projections, where I would be immersed into a sphere of energy and fire, but once through the "sphere" I would gently awaken. 

I believe that everything can really be boiled down to TWO types of experiences:

1.  Experiences you have in this physical reality
and
2.  Experiences you have that don't occur in this physical reality (also called the non-physical)

I think it's really just that simple.  People try to further categorize #2, but it usually just adds another layer of confusion.

So my question is, do you notice your meditations influencing the flavor of the OBE?  My meditations these days have been purely mindful, whereas before I did sufi love meditations. I do not encounter negative entities as much these days either.  Really, it feels almost a consistent neutral experience. 

Might I suggest that maybe you don't encounter these negative entities much anymore due to your really good mindset? 
I've *NEVER* encountered anything that I would label directly as a "negative entity", and I attribute it entirely to my positive mindset while projecting (and while physical for that matter).

The only distinction between a lucid dream and OBE is lack of control.  In an OBE my ability to influence my environment is drastically reduced, and sometimes I am forced to crawl or walk drunkenly to my goal, whereas in a lucid dream I am able to use will power to do a myriad of things. 

Maybe the neutral OBEs reflect my lack of goals.  I truly have no conscious thing to discover or accomplish at this time. 

Anyway, hello astral pulse and thanks for reading!

That's quite an astute identification of OBEs vs LDs. 
I prefer to see the distinction being "conscious awareness"... but one could also directly relate that to "control".  Definitely.
It's funny, because for me, my lucid awareness experiences tend to have greater environmental control, whereas my astral awareness experiences are a bit harder and take more concentration to effect changes in my environment and surroundings.  I believe the difference there has to do with how much your subconscious mind is in the forefront.

With a Lucid Awareness Experience, your subconscious mind is still slightly in control and it does most of the "changes" on a whim... whereas with an Astral Awareness Experience, you've pushed your subconscious mind almost completely to the back burner, meaning that YOU have to directly effect the changes yourself.

You sound like you're doing well.   

[Greytraveller]

Greetings Tibor

First off, I was also a member of that old astralforum.com site. Did you go by the same username back then or have you changed  it since??

Regarding the influence meditation has on OBEs. I do not believe that meditation has significantly changed the quality or type of my OBEs. However I think that meditation Has significantly improved my ability to recall OBEs. And has also helped me recognize and discern the difference between a LD and an OBE. Years ago, before regular meditation, I would vaguely recall an experience but be unable to recognize it as an OBE and so put it down to 'only a dream". In the last few years  I have been able to remember experiences as being distinctly out of body, not dreams. So meditation IMO Has helped the OBEs, in that respect at least.

Regards 
Grey

[Lightning]

I've *NEVER* encountered anything that I would label directly as a "negative entity", and I attribute it entirely to my positive mindset while projecting (and while physical for that matter).

Same here. I also believe it's useful to have compassion and be fearless.

[Tibor]

First off, I was also a member of that old astralforum.com site. Did you go by the same username back then or have you changed  it since??

I may have gone by Jahoba, but I can't remember.  I vaguely remember you and Marduk as frequent posters.  I don't think I posted all that much.  Good to see someone from there, though!  It was a helpful place