No success in 6 years

[Favola]

It is so absolutely frustrating to have no single successful obe since I tried it the first time six years ago. I read different books, tried different techniques and it only was easy to have lucid dreams. But no obe. I experienced the beginning, the sounds and feelings, but nothing further. Ofcouse there where some breaks, when I did not use any technique, but whenever I felt motivated and ready again, my motivation was gone after few weeks and months of nothing... Maybe I am not made for it... I wanted to paint and write my experiences, but I have to exept that situation. And maybe I am not alone with that bad luck... Just wanted to write down my frustration...

[Volgerle]

.... it only was easy to have lucid dreams. But no obe....

That's the problem. Maybe you had an "OBE" but did not recognise it? We had lots of discussions here about people's tendency towards over-labelling, over-categorisation. With LD you were 'lucid' (=conscious) in the non-physical ("astral", and no, it's not "in your brain") and in the end it would not matter how you got "there", but still it matters to so many people who are attached to the old paradigm. So they are troubled if they do not have a 'classical' exit out of bed with seeing them lying down there. Many would even be happy to reach and maintain lucidity at all. So I'd say you are not one of the worst off after all. Why not try to get some validity out of your lucid (dream) experiences and go from there instead of fretting about the fact that you do not see your bedroom when you get lucid?

[Favola]

Thank you for your answer... I tried few times to reach an obe from a lucid dream, but I was always waking up in my bed. I had few strange dreams walking in my flat (when I was still living with my mother) and then I thought it could have been an obe. But the flat looked always different from reality and I mostly talked to my mother in that dreams when she was actually sleeping at the same time. I never had the feeling of being in another reality.

[Blazewind]

Hi

I wanted to reply too, because I have a couple things to say about this as well.  I've also been interested and practicing for a long time without fully succeeding.  There are a few of us here who it seems have not caught on as quickly as most.  Six years is a long time I suppose, but not unheard of.  I fully believe that when we say we have been waiting a long time for a real success, what we mean technically is that we are still waiting and trying for a success from a state that we can remember as unmistakable.  We certainly can't discount those fuzzy experiences out of dream-states where we don't wake up enough to take control, and the possibility that there may well have been experiences in which we simply never took enough consciousness with us to actually remember much by morning.

It does seem though for so many people, myself very much included, that the objective is to find something as close to personal proof as we can.  I want to be able to interact with the real-time zone.  Try to turn on lights, (I've so often heard that this is next to impossible to do - the lights will either not not turn on or turn off,) try to walk through the wall, ect.  Still thouhg I've learned over the years to never discount other experiences as just as real, if less concrete and beleivable.    

I've also started to really improve my lucid dreaming skills, as a result of OBE practice.  Personally I think lucid reaming is amazing and a great accomplishment in itself.   Why not work with that for a while?  Set a couple of lucid dream goals.  When you meet those move on to new ones.  My current dream-state goal is to defy gravity, but there are many possibilities.             

[Stookie_]

It is so absolutely frustrating to have no single successful obe since I tried it the first time six years ago. I read different books, tried different techniques and it only was easy to have lucid dreams. But no obe. I experienced the beginning, the sounds and feelings, but nothing further. Ofcouse there where some breaks, when I did not use any technique, but whenever I felt motivated and ready again, my motivation was gone after few weeks and months of nothing... Maybe I am not made for it... I wanted to paint and write my experiences, but I have to exept that situation. And maybe I am not alone with that bad luck... Just wanted to write down my frustration...

Have you tried simple meditation? I mean sitting, not lying down, silencing your thoughts, and quietly observe without expectations? Do it without any intention of astral projection, just do it for the sake of doing it. With practice, it will become a beautiful, calm, rejuvenating state that's a source of energy and positivity, and will grow into new things from there - maybe AP/OBE. The non-physical doesn't have to resemble an OBE, there are many ways of experiencing it. Drop your expectations.

[Szaxx]

Hi,
Favola, your last sentence says it all. You cannot tell the difference at times. Typically on waking, getting out of bed and doing the basic routine it may take a few seconds before you realise something isn't quite right. The lights not working or the tap fails to turn...
Next thing you know youre back in bed waking again for the second time.
Does this sound familiar?

[Xanth]

It is so absolutely frustrating to have no single successful obe since I tried it the first time six years ago. I read different books, tried different techniques and it only was easy to have lucid dreams. But no obe. I experienced the beginning, the sounds and feelings, but nothing further. Ofcouse there where some breaks, when I did not use any technique, but whenever I felt motivated and ready again, my motivation was gone after few weeks and months of nothing... Maybe I am not made for it... I wanted to paint and write my experiences, but I have to exept that situation. And maybe I am not alone with that bad luck... Just wanted to write down my frustration...

You definitely have had more success than you believe you have.
Stop limiting your idea of what an 'obe' is and you'll find you've had lots of experiences.

[Volgerle]

But the flat looked always different from reality and I mostly talked to my mother in that dreams when she was actually sleeping at the same time

The first is called reality fluctuations. We have talked about this here. Pay attention please also to the links given to Robert Bruce's book and Juergen Ziewe's interesting website:
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_out_of_body_experiences/how_do_you_know_if_obes_are_not_just_lucid_dreams-t38038.0.html;msg312585#msg312585

The second is just telepathic communication in the astral. This is possible with any person in the RTZ regardless as to if he/she is awake or even sleeping. Robert Monroe wrote a lot about this communication between projectors and people in the RTZ in his book. Maybe try little to opne up your restricted concepts. There is no such thing as to expect that the workings within NPMR are the same as within PMR. So the good news is: You had your OBEs. 

If you want to experience the RTZ try etheric projections, they are also good for validations. Todd has a lot to say about this as he is an expert in this. Here is a discussion we had along the lines of an experience of mine:
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_out_of_body_experiences/etheric_projection_and_kundalini_symptoms-t37565.0.html;msg308121#msg308121

I never had the feeling of being in another reality.

Again: How can you be sure that you are NOT already in another reality? Just make the leap ahead: Everything is real(ity). When you are dreaming (lucid or not) you ARE (experiencing) in another reality. Dreaming is your subconscious or Higher Self at the steering wheel. Lucid Dreaming is yourSELF (ego, incarnated person) at the steering wheel. And there is no strict dividing line of lucidity. It is a continuum, so you can have partial lucidity , too. I have this quite often when dreaming.

[Kirkland]

Favola you like many others just want results which is the main downfall if you are just seeking to get an 'obe' you are not gonna get far. I haven't had an obe yet (been trying for 4 years) but I have probably got closer than you. Not having an OBE yet does not bother me I know if I keep working on it I will eventually have one Monroe had his first OBE in his 40's!

Instead I am grateful for what my effort has achieved in that I am less anxious (suffer from general anxiety, social anxiety and depression), I eat a healthy diet and I exercise more. All this is due to me wanting an obe therefore trying to get in a good mental and physical state to have one. Therefore trying to have an OBE has been the best decision of my life it doesn't matter that I haven't had one yet.

Most people who complain most likely lie in bed at night trying different techniques each night and giving up 20 minutes into it.

[Favola]

Oh, wow... Thank you all very much for your answers. I really appreciate.

Blazewind, you are right, I was looking for the same proof and the same feeling like others described after having obes. The feeling of no doubt. As I wrote before, lucid dreaming was never a problem for me. I always do, what I feel to as soon as I am conscious, and mostly it is flying around or enjoying whatever my subconscious brings up. And don't get me wrong. I really love it, because it was the only thing I could experience far from a normal dream.

Stookie, I tried meditation. With and without expectations. With music and sounds, and without. While sitting it felt always uncomfortable... And when I found a position to feel comfortable, I was falling asleep and felt tired after waking up. I did not like it... Its difficult for me to let go all kind of thoughts in my head.

Szaxx, it is kind of familiar, but whenever something was strange, I did not recognised it. Everything was normal for me, only afterwards I saw the differences, like in dreams when all the strange things become so normal.

Xanth, thank you for your words. I was open for every kind of experience and I was happy for everything, I just missed the last step of what everyone else was talking about.

Volgere, I remember what Robert Monroe and also Buhlman described, thats why I first thought I was successful, but there was one difference in what I experienced... I was not conscious about what happened. All the strange things were normal. I had no memorie of trying an obe before. I did not act like being conscious. After waking up there was no difference to a normal dream. That made me sad.
With other realities I meant being finally "outside" and not only "inside" like in a lucid dream. It just felt like this. Ofcouse I accept it as my inner universe.

If you mean the most famous technique with "etheric protection", for me it never worked. I did not even get close with it. Just falling asleep or feeling bored after one hour.

Kirkland, I do appreciate what I experienced before, especially my lucid dreams. But it was not my goal... It always felt like a wall just infront of something... And I am not able or allowed to see what is behind...

But I will do my best now to accept it.
You all showed me, I might have too much or wrong expectations of what an obe could be. I just wished to experience the same colourful adventures like some lucky others do. So I should care more of what I already reached and let things be, what they are. I won't force it anymore again and let the books closed.

Thank you all again for reading and understanding!

[Szaxx]

Hi,
Your last comment again (exclude the thanks) speaks volumes. AP cannot be forced. Trying this at best gives way to lucid dreams. Its q good thing as it shows your commitment. Intend on going somewhere close to home, a safe place and relax with this thought. Expect nothing, just think to yourself, it would be nice.
You never know how successful this will be. Given time though, it usually is.
Be passive. You'll get the return.

[Volgerle]

Volgere, I remember what Robert Monroe and also Buhlman described, thats why I first thought I was successful, but there was one difference in what I experienced... I was not conscious about what happened. All the strange things were normal. I had no memorie of trying an obe before. I did not act like being conscious. After waking up there was no difference to a normal dream. That made me sad.

With "not act like being conscious" you mean were not lucid? This is called a false awakening when you think you are awake in your room but you are not. It's an OBE, too. Check this link to a thread on this, and pay attention to especially the last post by CFTraveler:
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_out_of_body_experiences/false_awakenings_and_obes-t30918.0.html

A false awakening can be an OBE that is usually short.  I used to get them when I had a 'real' job, I just got used to getting up at a certain time, and had my routine down pat (and thus did things automatically in the morning) I found myself trying to grab the bread and finding my hand went through the bag, which made me realize I was not really 'up', at least not my body.
Which brings me to this: I don't think a false awakening is necessarily the same as a lucid dream, because I have had many in which I wasn't lucid.  In fact, the realization that I wasn't really 'up' is what woke me up.

With other realities I meant being finally "outside" and not only "inside" like in a lucid dream. It just felt like this. Ofcouse I accept it as my inner universe.

It seems you still don't get it. Strictly speaking from a more universal and elevated view of reality: There is no "inside" or "outside" actually. In projections as well as in dreams (which are projections, too, only unconscious) we transcend time and SPACE. Hence if there is no SPACE, thus there is no being "out" or "in". Of course, in a certain way, it is all "in" your mind as you EXPERIENCE everything, including THIS physical (RTZ) reality which is also "in" your mind, understand? Try not to put too much weight on this differentiation between any "inner" or "outer" world, it will lead to nowhere except frustration.  

If you mean the most famous technique with "etheric protection", for me it never worked. I did not even get close with it. Just falling asleep or feeling bored after one hour.

Did you read the links given? Sorry, I do not know what you mean by 'most famous technique'. The etheric projection is a projection of the Etheric Body (instead of the lighter Astral Body) into the RTZ, it is indeed 'different', as it is far more connected to the physical dimension. The etheric body can only go a few metres from the physical body since it is deeply enmeshed with it. You can e.g. produce raps or do telekinetic effects (throw over things, etc.) with it. So this is also when you can get validations.

[nickspry]

OBE, lucid dreams, astral projection. The only differences are contextual in my opinion.  Rather than striving for what you perceive to be an OBE, why not just work on increasing the clarity and duration of your lucid dreams?

[Lionheart]

OBE, lucid dreams, astral projection. The only differences are contextual in my opinion.  Rather than striving for what you perceive to be an OBE, why not just work on increasing the clarity and duration of your lucid dreams?

Excellent advice Nick. I believe the exact same way as you. These are all NPR events, we need to just work on increasing the clarity and keeping notes. Time will tell you what is really happening here!