anxiety attack when trying to have OBE

[loveregardless]

I have been practicing and studying all kinds of different OBE and meditation techniques for about the last year, to no great success worth mentioning. One problem that I continuously encounter (other than that "stuck" problem in the dreams forum, which BTW, I still need help w/please!) is that I begin to have anxiety attacks when I get really "close".
I assume I'm close anyway, I go through breathing exercises, go through the energizing of my chakras, count backwards, count forwards, imagine being surrounded by white light, all kinds of things. I have a very active and unconcentrated mind so I have to do several combined techniques to keep from just thinking away into the chaotic madness of my mind, but I am good enough that I can put my entire body to "sleep", completely numb and weightless feeling, with a loud intense humming and vibrating feeling in my head and ears, tingling in certain areas at certain times or when i have certain thoughts...and then I start getting anxious. I try to use every exit technique I can think of, and none ever work! I feel like I'm going to combust or explode or freak out or suffocate or something...and I start having an attack, which of course, leads to my breaking concentration and moving, and I then I lay on my side and proceed to fall asleep immediately.
I know that forcing the experience to happen only causes more problems...but what from reading this can you tell me. Am I doing something obvious wrong? Have I missed something in my reading? When I first came upon the astral information some 13 months ago and began to try to have an OBE, I actually got closer than I ever do now a few times. At one point I even felt the intense whole body vibrating and yet another time I heard a loud pop and "saw" myself in a stairwell, began to float off the ground, and awoke out of excitement. Since then...nothing! Again, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Jeff_Mash]

Hey there.....

I'll just give you some quick feedback on your post.  

First of all, about your panic attacks, I don't have them personally, so I can't relate.  I CAN, however, see how people may be prone to them.  After all, when you read some people's accounts of their OBE experiences, they describe it as if they are literally pushing through the walls of hell in order to project.  Some describe horrible screaming, excutiating vibrations, etc.

I just don't want you (and others like you) to become fearful of something that doesn't have to be scary.  That's right, it doesn't have to be scary!

In fact, out of hundreds of OBE's that I've had, I can probably say that only a couple scared me when it was over.  And what did I do afterwards?  I asked myself, "What about that expereince frightened me, and how can I get over it?"

As an example, some of the scariest moments have been the very realistic feeling of flying at light speed, in the pitch black darkness, going in a downward direction.  It feels EXACTLY like you've just jumped off a 200 story building, and you're about to smack into the ground at any moment.

I have had a few of those moments, and it always scares me back to my physical body.  But then I tell myself, "The NEXT time this happens, I'm just going to GO WITH IT.  I will not let this scare me, because I know nothing can hurt me."

Sure enough, the next time it happened, I felt that fear and panic swell up within me, but I told myself to relax.  I faced that fear, and you know what?  Everything was OK!  I didn't slam into the floor like I feared.  I started to slow down, and eventually, I was gently placed on the ground where the blackness faded away, and I was able to walk around and explore a new environment!

So the only way to really get through this tough time is to TRUST YOURSELF and face these fears.  Nothing will happen to you.  

As a final thought, I will give you some advice which I have learned through personal experience, and it's helped me greatly.  

While reading your post, I notice you (like many others) spend a TON of time concentrating on the body: relaxing it, numbing it to the outside world, breathing exercises, etc.

I am not saying this is bad, but what I am saying is that too many people are spending a lot of time on preparing their physical bodies for a projection (which never has one), and meanwhile overlook the preparation of their MIND (which does have the experience).

You can read more about this point in detail at this post of mine over a year ago: http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9955

Hope that helps!

[loveregardless]

While reading your post, I notice you (like many others) spend a TON of time concentrating on the body: relaxing it, numbing it to the outside world, breathing exercises, etc.

This is very true. I'll check that link...I never really thought about it like that before. Thanks Jeff! Although I still don't know why I have them in the first place. I'm not afraid of anything happening to me, I'm really not, I just freak out like I have to out of my body NOW or I'll just...I dunno...combust or claw my eyes out or something. It's very strange and very hard to try to ignore and change your train of thought once it creeps in...I have to go to sleep after that or else I will wind up having a full blown attack. I should add I am rather prone to them, and anxiety in general even in my waking hours...sometimes when I lay in my bed trying to go to sleep at night I start to have one if say, my nose is stuffy or I feel like I'm going to just die in THIS body. So strange, I know.