im on the brink of projectiong.....

[Patty]

I think it's neat that you are so open to sharing and questioning. I love your inquisitiveness.

Well, I can't help much, I don't think. but for what it's worth -

My most recent advance (two nights ago and last night) was recognising a 'switch' in my head. As I am laying and trying for trance, I can relax in one of two ways - one way is a relaxation that leads to sleep (even if my mind is alert) and the other is a relaxation that has more 'humming' involved. This is really hard to articulate. It is a distinct type of relaxation. I found I could flip the switch mentally back and forth with surprising results (gonna sleep, no - gonna trance, no - gonna sleep, etc).  Maybe this is similar to your two types of consciousness/relaxation?  I think that for me it is the result of months and years of practice, getting the wiring to learn that trance is separate from sleep-type relaxation. (It might also be a result of better flow of energy to the head area, which I was working on a couple weeks back.) I possibly projected after falling asleep two nights ago - even validated it - but any advice I share is purely from a beginning learner take-it-for-what-it's-worth perspective. I think this switch is a useful tool, although it's early to say,  and see if you can find one too?

Time seems to be a factor in learning. We all benefit from patience!

My other bit of advice  - You seem to want to know how to get from A to B in  a direct line.  It is possible that meandering about, instead, (that is, try different things that occur to you to try - little variations and so on, instead of your pre-set formula) might lead to a breakthrough for you.  Also, consider asking non-physically for advice, listen to your intuition.



Patty

[rodentmouse]

thanks patty, i think you pretty much hit the nail on the head with what i was trying to say about what state of mind to be in, when i think about it, it IS kinda like sleep/trance relaxation.....but which one leeds to OBE?

how do you get around the buzzing in your head though,  should i just naturally learn to ignore it the more i practise?  This goes for the vibrations too everytime ive got them i think "yes its happening im gonna AP"  trying to ignore this is trying to supress all my expectations and excitement for the first time i actually project.  

Im also having trouble locating my spleen chakra, and i have been searching for it with my awareness hands. How deep is it into your body?

and is it necessary to activate the chakras and raise energy everytime you attempt obe?

[ralphm]

about the pain- if i feel pain it is usually from something out of whack on the physical and i just move energy through it and it usually clears up.
chakras- did you see frank's post elsewhere? best i have heard on the issue. playing with energy and chakras are helpful to detune your concious monkey mind and get into trance- seems like some people can do it without much preperation.

[Patty]

Hi,

You asked how to get around the buzzing.  My instincts tell me to enjoy them. So, I might feel this strange feeling like electric current, and be startled by it ---- and distracted by it ----- and question what to do. I find for myself that by enjoying the sensation and mentally affirming it as a 'good' state that I want and enjoy, that it starts to feel quite natural. When it feels natural, it is no longer distracting. But holding the awareness of the desirability and enjoyment of the state still requires some effort for me. So my advice is to affirm and enjoy the state.

Keep in mind that I do not have conscious - exit projections as I understand that they are supposed to work.  I have a variety of experiences that I believe are OBE - but I do not have conscious exit from trance (not yet, anyway).

So when you ask whether it is necessary to raise energy/activate chakras every time you OBE,  I can only answer from my limited but varied experience. In my experience, it is not necessary.  However, in my experience, the periods of time that I am engaging in raising energy through the chakra system correlates pretty well with the times that I find myself having little travels.

(For what it is worth, here is a sampling of my experiences - some of my experiences are becoming lucid in a dream and having that convert to an apparent OBE without any dream elements at all; some are falling asleep after energy 'work' and rousing to partial consciousness in bed, finding myself able to get up and walk away from my body - quite a sticky experience; some are lucid dreams that maintain dream elements but also begin to incorporate OBE elements like flying, returning to my body, whatever; some feel primarily in-body as I am arousing in the morning and I am able to see that my etheric body is displaced from my physical body, some involve dual awareness, some involve no sense of an etheric/astral body but rather is pure consciousness flitting instantaneously to another location.......  I try to verify the experiences as I am able and the large-but-not-absolute degree to which things are verified validates my thinking that my consciousness is travelling separate from my body.)


For what it is worth - the latest travel, two nights ago after 'discovering' this switch, I tried to identify the playing card that I am currently placing, out of sight, as a means of verification. Since my experiences tend to be less than 100% conscious and often contain dream elements, I only kept aces and face cards in the deck, with the intention of simply identifying face card vs. ace. Well, I got the card right! The odds were not as large as if I had chosen a card randomly from the whole deck, but that doesn't change the fact  - I got the card right.

Anyway, try to enjoy the state and don't be afraid to experiment. That's what I think. But if you are concerned that you might not make as rapid 'progress' if you get sidetracked, then just put my advice to the side.

Happy travels -




Patty

[Tia]

Rodentmouse,

I am having the same problems as you, I am so glad you posted about the pain thing.  I must have missed the other posts on this, and it certainly blew my last attempt at OBE.  I was meditating and got to the stage where something was happening, I felt energy tingles go through my limbs, but then I felt as though I had this ice chip in my shoulder, it was so cold it was burning me.  I tried sending energy through the area without any result, I tried to ignore it and carry on but the pain got more intense, I just gave up.  Ralphm might be right when he says "if i feel pain it is usually from something out of whack on the physical".  I had been doing some strenous physical activity earlier in the day and my muscles were a bit stiff, although I couldn't feel any actual soreness or pain in my shoulder?

I dont hear the wooshing or humming sound, what I get is a feeling, a sudden alertness, like all systems are 'go'.  And it is hard to control the excitement, but for me I think it's a question of the control.  I want to be in total control over what is happening (deep down I might be thinking I will die if I leave my body?).  I suspect that the day I let go of that need to 'control' the situation, and trust that I will be ok, I will have my first conscious OBE.  

It can get very boring climbing that rope after a while.  Try variations of moving your awareness outside the body, see what feels more real to you.  I do a pendulum action.  I imagine I'm in a hamock and swing out to the left, then back through the body to the right.  When I get bored with that I start swinging in the opposite direction, up through the head and up the wall, down through the body and up the opposite wall upside down.  I hurl myself into the corner of the room and dash back again, imagine myself walking around the room touching the walls and looking at the light bulb right up close.  And although I get some pretty good sensations, I still haven't had an OBE yet, this is just a suggestion to get around the monotony of the exercise.

[Tom]

There is a web site about the vibrations and variations on the idea. It sounds like you are definitely accomplishing the vibratory state.

http://www.mach1audio.com/out-of-body/techniques/vibestate.htm

William Buhlman said that the best response to the vibrations is to surrender to the experience, and that the vibrations can't be increased or improved directly. Something to try is to focus your attention on a specific thing or place away from your body when this occurs.

Does the pain precede the vibrations, occur at the same time, or follow after a time?

[rodentmouse]

thanks for the advice people,much appreciated

i think Tia and Patty make a point about intuitivness, i  should focus more on what feels right to me instead of revising every method,sensation,tips etc and hoping it all comes together.  

Tom, i cant quiet remember  the order of my sensations, but im pretty sure the pain (in my case my inner arm joints)  doesnt occure during vibrations,  what i do know is that the pain usually results in me giving up and getting up and walking around,  which is usually about an hour to an hour 1/2  into NEW/obe practise.

Tia, I do try to simply let the vibrations happen and as far as i can tell i think i am,  but they soon die down,  are they more intense if your energy body is fully active?  
and  what you said about concentrating on another place during vibrations Tom, i thought the mind had to be dormant for the sensations to intensify, it seems like thinking about another place occupies the mind.....


Also,  how long after charging  your energy body does it remain active?? because ive been thinking about opening my chakras and raising energy prior to the actual OBE attemp as the energy raising  exercise is quite time consuming (for me it takes about 25 minuites)  

[Tom]

Raising energy can result in activities several minutes to a matter of hours after you stop. Robert Bruce has written that it can help to have projection attempts by themselves and not right after raising energy. This way your focus can be stronger on your attempt rather than risking getting tired by raising energy. I think he meant while establishing the ability to project.

Rope is about holding your awareness at a point outside of your body. Its variations are, too. It isn't thinking about a location away from your body. It involves creating the sensation of actually being somewhere else. The more specific and focussed the sensation, the better.

[Patty]

Robert has said to shut down chakras after raising energy. I don't do that. When I raise energy before bed, I often wake through the night with some residual flow; I encourage it through the night and have vivid dreams and whatnot through the night.

So my guess is that effects of raising energy last for several hours, particularly if you give the system a boost when you wake up. If you close the chakras purposefully, then I presume the effects do not last as long.  I think Robert was concerned about negative experiences. I haven't had those as a result of energy work. Maybe they (the bad guys) just haven't noticed me (but I think they don't exist.)

Patty

[rodentmouse]

hello to all people
i think i always get to the point where im about to project, but i have some problems....

1) when i hear the wooshing our humming sound it always  brings me back to my body HOW can i get around this, ive tried ignoring it and letting it be but it just doesnt happen.

2)  i also feel pain in my arms, i think that someone said this is the kundalini energy and is nothing to worry about,  but again, HOW can one just ignore pain?

im pretty sure projection is down to the state of mind,  its hard to describe but i can either be in 2 states of mind....
either force myself to be 100% consiouss, (which usually doesnt bring about any OBE sensations like noises etc)
or i can allow my mind to  drift into sleep, but with an intention to A.P.  but usually when i do this i become alert after about 10 minuites and  remeber that i WAS just going to sleep and not OBE-ing.....
this situation has boggled me, i dont know  what to do next?

it seems all my attemps involve....
breath awareness
energy raising and chakra stimulation
getting into a trance state.............then im comfused as to what i do next, the rope  tecnique doesnt seem vivid enough for it to work at this moment.