Hello and welcome to the BBS.
There are a number of members who I am sure will be eager to point you in the right direction, including myself. As for me, in my time-zone it's getting fairly late so I'll post in the morning.
Yours,
Frank
Lucid dreams and astral projection are related. I think there was a post on if they are aspects of the same thing. Learning one will often lead to developing the other spontaneously. Robert Bruce suggests trying to have lucid dreams while cultivating astral projection because it is better to have lucid dreams while you are waiting than to have nothing.
You can use the fan or the covers or both. They will only be as distracting as you let them be. There are exercises you can do to improve your concentration. My favorite is to draw a horizontal line next to a vertical line and cross the eyes so that three images are there, the original two lines and a plus sign in the middle. All three images should be equally strong with practice and so should both parts of the resulting plus sign.
Have you tried astral projection methods while sitting up to reduce drowsiness? I can still fall asleep sitting up, but it helps some people.
As to how it feels, I have had lucid dreams also but only a couple of spontanteous OBEs which were long enough ago to no longer be vivid. My loss. I want to say you will know it when you get there, but I have had a couple of experiences which weren't clear to me.
Robert Bruce's book "Astral Dynamics" is very good. William Buhlman's "Adventures Beyond the Body" is good. There is a book by D. Scott Rogo whose title I've forgotten, and it is good because it has several methods.
If you haven't tried Robert Bruce's method NEW and you have time while doing the 8 week course, you should start. It is a very good method for raising energy and you are going to need a lot of it.
Posted by Tom:
My favorite is to draw a horizontal line next to a vertical line and cross the eyes so that three images are there, the original two lines and a plus sign in the middle. All three images should be equally strong with practice and so should both parts of the resulting plus sign.
Do you mean like make a poster in my room and look at it with my eyes open or do this method in my head? I was assuming that you meant to make a poster but that goes against what I've heard about going into a trance. So if this is an exercise with my eyes open does it mean that I can get into a trance with my eyes open? Thanks for those titles I will try to get a hold of a copy of each :-)
And I will be looking forward to your post tommorow Frank.
P.S. Is it easier to have dreams when I am very tired or should I get to bed early like around 9 or 10 P.M?
A 3x5 card is big enough. It is not a trance exercise, but a concentration exercise. It will help you to clear away thoughts so that your trance technique or projection technique or meditation technique will work better. Five minutes per day is enough, but it is good to work up to that rather than trying it all at once. I've heard of going as high as 45 minutes.
Yoga suggests getting to bed before midnight. Earlier does seem to be better than later, but it can be challenging to get to sleep early with a busy schedule.
I think that the number of 90 minute cycles per week is a better indication of it you are getting enough sleep than hours per night. You will have to see what works for you in terms of quality and quantity. The number of sleep cycles you need per week is likely to change over time.
Mysticweb has another 8 week course beginning in October. I am going to try it.
hi unclesam..
ive got all that 8 week online course and it wasnt to helpful to me for a starters it doesnt mention NEW and i think even if your not interested in OBE NEW is still worth learning.
imo that course isnt to in depth but its still worth reading nonetheless.
of all the literature ive read on the subject the treatise on AP on this site is by far the best, its what made me decide to really give AP a serious go....... that was 4 months ago.. but i havent got astral dynamics yet.
goto the "free online OBE book" topic in this section of the forum and give that a read.
Thanks guys, I will try that exercise tonight if I can find a card to do it with :-).
Also, with the 90 day online course what are some of those checklist items referring to? I know that I need to have a another book that explains all the exercises that it says to do but I don't know what book that is. Thanks for the help
=nick=
The book that goes with it is "Astral Dynamics" by Robert Bruce. Signed copies are available at the main web site, http://www.astralpulse.com/
I'm waiting to get a signed copy of "Practical Psychic Self Defense".
quote:
Originally posted by UncleSam:
Should I attempt a Lucid Dream before Astral Projection?
I don't know. I have always just strived for astral projection, but I am content with whatever happens.
quote:
How will I know it when I am in the process of leaving my body?
Well for me, I just KNOW. I feel myself peeling out of my skin like a banana. You may not see anything right away, so don't think that you have to see something in order to have an OBE. One of my biggest frustrations for my first 10 or so OBE's was that I wasn't able to see. I had to feel around in order to judge where I was going. It wasn't until I quit trying to do it myself and let my sight come to me naturally that I started to see clearly.
Once you get your astral site, you may not always be able to see a lot of differences, especially if its dark or if you're in the real time zone. I know with me, I usually have to thrust my arm through a wall or something in order to fully convince myself that I am out of body.
quote:
What does the astral world "feel" like?
I mostly travel in the real time zone, and it feels a lot like this one. Except the air is fresher! It also feels funny when I try to walk...almost like my feet are asleep and I am walking on stumps.
quote:
Will I know I am in the astral world just because I can fly or will I know because of how real it is on top of how I can fly? By real I mean taste, smell, hearing... all of the senses.
Both. Things may seem different, but you will also know if you fly or pass through otherwise solid objects.
quote:
Covers or no covers?
When I am in a trance state does it matter if I have the bed covers over me? Should I be laying down? Sitting up?
I usually have some sort of cover on me. If it's too hot, then maybe a sheet. You don't want anything too heavy or restrictive.
quote:
Fan in the room?
Will it matter if I have a fan in the room that puts air on my physical body? It is kind of a distraction but my room does tend to get VERY hott at night. But I can deal without it if I have to.
I always have a fan in my room. The key is that you don't want to be too distracted with anything. Distractions can take away from your focus and lose your OBE experience. If you feel like a fan is hindering you, I would stop using one.
Keep smiling,
Jeff Mash, Founder and Editor
MyJokeMail.com - Jokes and Humor
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quote:
Originally posted by UncleSam:
Hey my name is Nick and I am 15 years old. Right now I am taking an 8 week online course on Astral Projection at mysticweb.org but the community there takes forever to respond to online posts.... Here is what I need answered about Astral Projection/Lucid dreams.
Should I attempt a Lucid Dream before Astral Projection?
A lucid dream *is* a kind of astral projection with only a very limited sense of awareness and control. What happens is your sense of conscious awareness "comes awake" just enough for you to perceive your surroundings. What you typically see and/or experience, however, is the product of whatever emotional mix it is you are releasing.
In time, what you can learn to do is steadily come awake more and more until you get to the stage where you can close off the release of emotion. Then you get to view the Astral proper.
quote:
I figured I should dabble with lucid dreams before I actually try to get out of my body and go into the astral world. But so far I am having a hard time producing a lucid dream (I used to have them all the time). Are there any techniques for having a lucid dream that I can practice during the day? And also should I try lucid dreaming before I try to AP?
As I say, when lucid dreaming you are in the astral world, as you call it. But only with a very limited degree of conscious awareness. One good way to become more aware while you are dreaming, is to think about Astral Projection more during the day.
My first Astral Projection came about through a lucid dream. What I would do is, every 15 minutes or so during the day, I'd mentally confirm that I was in the Physical and touch something solid. This went on for about 2 or 3 weeks then, one night, it came into a lucid dream I was having.
My sense of conscious awareness got confused because something wasn't quite right. This stimulated my sense of curiosity to the extent that I became aware enough to realise (just for a moment or two) that I was not in the Physical. This realisation zapped me awake with a jolt and I sat up in bed for about an hour afterwards too excited to sleep.
quote:
How will I know it when I am in the process of leaving my body?
Because you will feel yourself doing so. When the transfer of consciousness from Physical to Astral occurs with a full sense of awareness, understand that it is not some subtle event that is difficult to detect. Nope, it is a very obvious, full on, right in your face, kind of experience.
quote:
When I start to AP will I know that I am doing it? I have read a guide on how to do it... but when I try, I just open my eyes and I am in my bed in the dark room looking around.... Will I actually start to see what my astral body should see? And by that, I mean even with my eyes closed, will I start to move up out of my body and see my astral ligiments? Can I look down at my physical body and see myself laying there in a kind of "trance" like state?
As I say, it will hit you like a brick.
quote:
What does the astral world "feel" like?
The lower realms of the Astral world look much like the Physical world in many ways. Sometimes I have to Astrally pinch myself just to make sure I am, in fact, within the Astral and not the Physical. :)
Problem is, there are *so* many different regions and all with *so* many different characteristics it is hard to know where to even begin to start explaining what it is like.
quote:
Will I know I am in the astral world just because I can fly or will I know because of how real it is on top of how I can fly? By real I mean taste, smell, hearing... all of the senses.
If you can learn to achieve a controlled conscious-exit projection then you will have all your "senses" only they will be many times more sensitive. With practice, you can become as awake and alert when projecting within the Astral, as you are on the Physical during the course of a normal day.
Once you have gained all your mental faculties, and you have learnt about the need to remain emotionally closed, you can then project to populated regions of the Astral. Here you can chat to residents (those that are open to you) in *exactly* the same way as you can on the Physical.
On the Astral, however, it is much better fun. This is mainly due to the fact that you can learn about all kinds of exciting things which makes learning on the Physical plane seem rather dull.
quote:
Covers or no covers?
When I am in a trance state does it matter if I have the bed covers over me? Should I be laying down? Sitting up?
Your physical body needs to be in a position where it is comfortable, and will remain so for a while. I've had many a projection spoilt (latest was this morning) by physical-body demands interrupting me. Make sure your head and neck is properly supported and none of your limbs are in a position where the circulation may become restricted.
quote:
Fan in the room?
Will it matter if I have a fan in the room that puts air on my physical body? It is kind of a distraction but my room does tend to get VERY hott at night. But I can deal without it if I have to.
Makes no real difference if you are accustomed to the sound of the fan. I have air-conditioning on at night and the fan cycles on and off. But don't really hear the sound as I am *so* accustomed to it.
quote:
Are there any good books I should read on AP/Meditation/Lucid Dreams? Anything that will help me understand myself and the astral world better and make me be able to "wake up" in the astral world?
As far as good books on basic techniques go, Astral Dynamics is probably the best to date.
HTH
Yours,
Frank
Ok guys, every night I've been sitting down for an hour or so visualizing places/things/coming out of my physical body.... When I finally feel that I am in a trance state, which seems to take me about 30 minutes, I sit there and imagine falling on a lift for about another 20 minutes...
Am I suposed to feel myself falling on the lift? It is a wierd feeling to produce over and over.... Also, I've found it easier to feel myself going UP on the lift, will this work?
After the 20 minutes I feel that I'm ready to project...
I think I can get my astral hands out because it feels like my hands can move around with out actually moving them anywhere, but this may be an affect of the numbness from being completely still for an hour... any opinions on this?
But then I try to get UP out of the chair with my astral body and I TINGLE all over, its a REALLY great feeling... But when I try to fly or pull my finger and see if it stretches it does'nt work... Is this TINGLE feeling from sitting still for an hour or am I actually TRYING to get out of my physical body...
If you guys need more info ill be happy to elaborate....
thanks
=nick=
Hey my name is Nick and I am 15 years old. Right now I am taking an 8 week online course on Astral Projection at mysticweb.org but the community there takes forever to respond to online posts.... Here is what I need answered about Astral Projection/Lucid dreams.
Should I attempt a Lucid Dream before Astral Projection?
I figured I should dabble with lucid dreams before I actually try to get out of my body and go into the astral world. But so far I am having a hard time producing a lucid dream (I used to have them all the time). Are there any techniques for having a lucid dream that I can practice during the day? And also should I try lucid dreaming before I try to AP?
How will I know it when I am in the process of leaving my body?
When I start to AP will I know that I am doing it? I have read a guide on how to do it... but when I try, I just open my eyes and I am in my bed in the dark room looking around.... Will I actually start to see what my astral body should see? And by that, I mean even with my eyes closed, will I start to move up out of my body and see my astral ligiments? Can I look down at my physical body and see myself laying there in a kind of "trance" like state?
What does the astral world "feel" like?
Will I know I am in the astral world just because I can fly or will I know because of how real it is on top of how I can fly? By real I mean taste, smell, hearing... all of the senses.
Covers or no covers?
When I am in a trance state does it matter if I have the bed covers over me? Should I be laying down? Sitting up?
Fan in the room?
Will it matter if I have a fan in the room that puts air on my physical body? It is kind of a distraction but my room does tend to get VERY hott at night. But I can deal without it if I have to.
Anything else?
Are there any good books I should read on AP/Meditation/Lucid Dreams? Anything that will help me understand myself and the astral world better and make me be able to "wake up" in the astral world?
Thanks for all the help :-)
=Nick=