How extensive should the vibrations be?

[fredhedd]

hey john.  i don't know if i can say for sure whether or not your head has to vibrate too.   it definetly has to be relaxed though.  most people usually have their center of awareness right between their eyes, and around their face.  i guess it's because this is where most of your sense are.  the more awareness you have in a certain area, the less likely it will be relaxed.

it seems you are making some really good progress.  keep at it. as an excersize, try and make the vibrations move yourself instead of waiting for them to spread.  you may be able to spread them to any part you want.  if your head is actually tensed up a bit, you may be able to kind of force the relaxation by moving the vibrations.  i always thought it was hard to not be relaxed when i started to feel them.

are you using the rope?  it's a very good way to kind of bull your way  right through everything.  if you create a strong sensation w/ it you should be able to pull your whole body right into some heavy vibrations.  

[JohnCurtis]

I haven't been able to cause the vibrations to move to parts of my body which aren't vibrating.  But I will try again.  It may be easier now -- knowing that some of you have been able to pull the vibrations into non-vibrating areas -- if those areas are relaxed enough, I presume.

Yes, I have tried climbing the rope many times.  But I'm not sure what it is I'm supposed to feel -- besides the rope in my hands -- and the action of reaching up, grabbing the rope and pulling my arms down to my chest as I imagine myself climbing up.  Should I feel myself rising?  If so, should I feel myself rising head first -- or chest first?  And should I feel myself passing through the ceiling, the attic, the roof & up into the air?  Or should I try to focus on the isolated act of climbing -- without actually climbing TO anywhere?

[jason]

The very first time you access the vibrations,believe me,you will know it![:O]

I don't know if it's like this for everyone,but the fist time I got them,whoa...they were violent.Don't be scared of the experience because of that though.it's really cool![8D]

I've never stuck my hand in a light socket,or grabbed a live telephone pole wire,but I think I know what it feels like! for me,they were all over my body,and I couldn't move.I guess it sounds scarey,and I guess it is,but you get over it.eventually you just think-"oh,here come the vibrations again[|)]"

they also raise in frequency over time.they don't just stay violent...

[jason]

another thing  -the key is to move your awareness to a point outside the body.try to completely forget you even have a physical body, and practice creating an extreme focus of awarenessthis is the basis of robert monroe's technique in "journeys out of the body".If you haven't read it,do it.it's an excellent book.
 it is a classic in the field of astral projection, and it worked for me after only 2 weeks.that was 12 years ago though! I can't do it anymore, but I have started practicing again.astral dynamics is also an excellent book, but both authors have very different styles.

if you like the rope technique, practice climbing w/out having a destination.it is the act and feel of climbing you are going for.don't focus on a certain part of the body,as that only keeps you physically "glued".just find your purest awareness.is it part of the body at all? is it under layers upon layers of sensory (touch,sound,etc) input? ignore all sensory,bodily input, and just try to find your awareness, and climb the rope w/it.robert bruce reccomends not focusing on any visuals,just the feel.

[Terry B]

JohnCurtis,

I can't really help you with rope as I don't really use it but for me, the vibration isn't really necessary to project. Sometime I feel it, most of the time I don't. Maybe I just don't notice it. For me, the vibrations are full body, constant and very gentle (yours might differ). Usually, i just bath in it, enjoying the sensation, then I float out effortlessly.

My suggestion is that when the vibe come, you just stop any technique that you are using such as rope and just bath in it for a while, then if you haven't float automatically, just will yourself to float or roll over to the side. IMHo, the rope is the mean to kickstart the process and when you're vibrating etc. the process is already started and doing other thing will disrupt it.

Another thing that people have mentioned is that if your vibration is of uneven kind, you might try to smooth it out. I actually don't know how to do this but other people might know how.

Also don't be afraid to experiment and try your own way as what work to some, might not work for other.  

[jason]

for me, the vibrations started out at a very rough frequency.over a period of 2-5 years they gradually sped up and smmothed out on their own.I don't even get vibrations when I succeed in projection.I just feel a pleasant warmth.I'll take that over the rough kind anyday[].

and, as terry b. said-whatever works for you,works.just practice a  variety of techniques until you find one you like.after you do it once,you probably won't even need the technique anymore.

[JohnCurtis]

Thanks so much for your advice.  I've now done two more OBE practice sessions.  And in addition to getting my limbs to buzz/tingle/vibrate, I've gotten my face to do likewise.  But no vibrations in the torso:  it felt like my torso wasn't even there.  I tried the rope technique, but it didn't pull any more vibrations in.  And the rope makes it hard for me to relax my physical shoulders and upper back too.  So I stopped trying to do anything – and just bathed in what vibrations I could get.  That was very relaxing and soothing.  But the vibrations still didn't spread to my torso.  As an experiment, I next tried raising some energy -- and putting my awareness in one chakra after another.  When I got to the crown chakra, intense pressure developed in the top of my head.  I was concerned because it felt like the pressure was going to break through the top of my skull.  At this point, I tried the rope technique again – trying to climb out of the top of my head -- but I didn't succeed.

[Greytraveller]

Vibrations are helpful both as a sign that an OBE is about to take place and as a general indicator that the human body is 'in tune' with the astral/ethereal body. So most people want vibrations to occur.
Vibrations are not, however, necessary for projection. An ability to relax deeply, stay calm and focus intention during the separation process are what are most important.
This all ties into the fact that the physical body should be as inconspicuous as possible. Separation of astral/etheral body from the physical body is primarily a mental process (focus and intent).
A mental effort (and a desire) to project will go Much farther than the onset of vibrations.

[Mustardseed]

Maybe I am out of line here but does it all have to be the same for everyone? Or is that maybe a preconcieved notion.? I had the Vibrations all my life on and off and had OBEs as a child. I never had a bad experience with it nor was it ever as intense as you all seem to experience them. Maybe it is a bit like having contractions.(not that I tried that ha) Anyway it seems that some women have a very hard time in childbirth with several days in labour and then others pop them out like hot corn, and say "was that all there was to it".  Maybe the latent abilities make some have a easier time than others. Maybe some dont fight it so hard,.... I dont't know. When I have the vibrations it is very very pleasent like a very deep buzzing rumbeling feeling. I sometimes dont want to go further but just lie there enjoying the sensation and laughing my head off. Sometimes I am half out of my body with my feet pointing to the cealing and sometimes I am just observing things through my eyelids, all in all very pleasant and exieting.
Kind regards
Mustardseed

[Ash]

my personal theory (and i'd be interested what you guys think about it) is that the vibrations and their intensity depend on the amount of resistance (emotional, physical, mental, etc) to the obe that's occuring. When you become aware of an obe in progress, it interferes with the projection of the astral body and the vibrations occur because there are two opposing forces: the projection reflex vs. the conscious awareness. even if the conscious awareness is trying to help, it is interfering in the process at first. That's why for many people, the vibrations start out very strong, even violent, and gradually lessen as you become more used to the process, and the resistance is cleared.

so as others have posted in this thread, don't try to pursue the vibrations, they are only a symptom of separation, not the separation itself.

ash

[Frank]

Someone (I think it was Tisha) once described the vibrations as sitting on an unbalanced spin-dryer rotating at top speed. Which is how it can often be, but it does not necessarily have to be so. I'd also go along with those whose opinions suggest the vibrations are more a symptom of projection, rather than projection itself. As such, they do give a good indication some progress is being made but are not something that should necessarily be pursued.

With myself, the heavy exit-vibrations I used to feel have now smoothed out to the extent where they are felt more as a warm tingling-release-buzzing sensation in the background. Many times I project and feel no vibrations at all. When "travelling" between different realms of reality outside of the Astral, I normally get this intense crackling. It feels like a continuous static-electricity type of sensation. This is often accompanied by a wailing sound which continuously varies in pitch and intensity.

Yours,
Frank

[stephen~]

I agree with Ash about vibrational intensity and emotional resistance. Sometimes when I roll out during the vibrations I come up against resistance. Trying to force it just makes the vibrations intensify (increase in frequency) the harder i push it, the more intense they become.

[Ash]

the first several times i felt the vibrations, it felt exactly as if i was inside a jet engine in the process of taking off. They were accompanied by the incredibly loud roaring sound of a jet inside my head, and there was a pressure that felt like it was pulling me out of my body

ash

[JohnCurtis]

I'm a novice, and I am still trying to attain my first OBE using the Astral Dynamics method.  For several weeks now, I've felt a tingling or vibration in my arms and legs when I'm in trance.  Today I got more relaxed than usual -- and the vibrations spread from my limbs into my torso for the first time.  So I was getting the vibrations in my whole body, but I couldn't get them to move into my head.  Does the head have to vibrate too -- before a person can project out of their body?