Practicing a long time but not there yet.....

[threemoons]

I've been attempting to astral project for almost 3 years now, practising almost every night and thinking about it constantly. I'm finally reading Monroe's Journeys Out of the Body and am finding myself enthralled by what he describes. I haven't managed an OBE yet but am hoping it's just a matter of time. Last night I thought I experienced the beginnings of one, I felt as if something was tugging gently at my hands and feet and at one stage felt a distinct pressure at the front of my head, as if part of me was trying to get out. I kept at it but after a couple of hours knew it wasn't going to happen and gave up.

Another thing I always experience is a kind of throbbing sensation in my hands and feet which I never have when I'm fully conscious. Are these vibrations? Am I headed in the right direction? And how long should I be practising for each time I make an attempt - if it's going to happen wouldn't it do so within say an hour of starting? I'm not in any way desperate about being able to project, just hopeful and excited.

[Astralsuzy]

Do you meditate?  I find meditating can help a lot.  If your mind is not relaxed I would advise you to listen to binaural beats.  I listen to the sounds of the ocean, wind and thunder as that helps me.  Just relax and let it happen.  Whatever happens happens.  When you are feeling relaxed you can do an ap technique.  If it does not work, go back to breathing, then try the ap technique again.  I cannot say for certain that the throbbing you get is a sensation.  It could be a sensation.  If it goes on for a long time I do not think it is an ap sensation.  When I get sensations it is very quick.  I would forget about the time as that can cause you tension.  If you had enough then go to sleep.  Ap can happen in minutes, 30 minutes, an hour or more.  It can be any amount of time.  Keep telling yourself that you can ap even if you do not.  If you think you cannot ap, ap becomes a lot harder.  On this forum a lot of people phase.  I do not phase as I have my way of doing it. 

[threemoons]

Thanks for your post Suzy. Yes I do try to meditate but have trouble clearing my mind a lot of the time so will try and focus on that - perhaps I'm just trying to hard and need to relax. As you say, if it happens it happens but I do believe it's achievable. Phasing sounds rather complicated and I haven't really looked into it. Do you think I should?

[Astralsuzy]

If you think it sounds complicated then I would give this ago first.  If you try to do too much it can start to get confusing.  Then you may not know what to do.  There are a lot of people who do what I do and they ap.  What has helped me enormously is I do not try to ap in bed.  I have ap in bed but it is not very often.  When I am in bed I just mostly want to sleep or I am not that serious about wanting to ap.  I feel a lot different when I am away from my bed.  I feel more determined to succeed.  I did not like getting away from my bed but I am used to it now. 
You say you have trouble clearing your mind, that is not a problem.  Do not worry about it.  Just keep going back to it.  I have meditated and I thought I cannot stand listening to this music anymore.  I did not realise but I spiritually got up and I was trying to turn the music off.  That was a long time ago.  I was listening to awful music to keep me awake.  I have come a long way since then.  I do not do that anymore.  My point is you can still ap even when your mind is not quiet, so do not worry about it.

[Lionheart]

Phasing sounds rather complicated and I haven't really looked into it. Do you think I should?

Phasing is the act of turning your focus from the Physical Reality to the Non Physical Reality. How you do it is up to you. There are many methods and techniques to be found here. This is an excellent post from a man named Frank Kepple on the subject of Phasing. Phasing.http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_the_astral_faq/what_is_phasing_and_how_can_i_do_it-t17413.0.html
FYI for future reference, this post was found by using the search engine in the top right hand corner of the page, using the search Title "What is Phasing".

[threemoons]

Thanks Lionheart, I've printed this off and will have a good read later. It's interesting that Monroe
changed his model so much from the early stages when he wrote Journeys Out of the Body and that the "separating" from the physical body was replaced by a belief that it was about the relationship between the physical and non-physical. I think this makes more sense to me, I find it nigh on impossible to imagine that somehow my mind will completely separate from my physical body and I think this is why I'm not achieving AP.

What really interests me is how AP practitioners employ so many methods and that they all seem to work.
Has anyone ever researched the various methods and concluded that some are more effective than others? No doubt I'll find something on this site....

[AteBits]

What other things have you experienced, if any? I mean things like vibrations, seeing through your eyelids etc. Some experiences may suggest your heading the right way. Im like you btw. I have been practicing for 2,5 years and haven't learned consciously induced OBE's but I have experienced awesome stuff though, since beginning with MAP by Robert Bruce 2,5 years ago. I think that if you have practiced AP for 3 years on a daily basis you should have experienced some "odd" things letting you knwo your developing spiritually so to speak.

What really interests me is how AP practitioners employ so many methods and that they all seem to work.

This is interesting. Each and every one of us is unique and thus one thing does not work for everyone. I think every technique boils down to something similar though. What that is I dont know because I'm by far no expert. A simple guess is that it boils down to some state of midn that we need to achieve to get out of body.
Sometimes though, as many say (even Frank Keppler in his phasing article if I'm not misstaken), we employ to many technoques and so we have all to many things in our head at the same time and we try and get them all right in the right sequence etc. Thats why I think phasing would be worth trying as another side of the coin. "All" it takes is analyzing.

Some things worth mentioning is that void meditation is pretty helpfull silencing your mind. What I do when I do it is to concentrate on my breathing for about 5 mins, and after that I split my attention between my breathing and my earhiss. This helps my mind concentrate as there are more than 1 thing to focus at. I can switch between these two if I want to offcource.

As for phasing, I'v recently begun to take that seriously. Its feels great, and the first time I tried it I slipped down into a light trance and saw the initial stages of blobs of color on the back of my eyelids. I think its powerfull combined with meditation as it lets you concentrate better and to analyze without judging/thinking to much.

Bottom line for me is (or what Im aiming at is) that if I can silence my mind in a good way and keep it silenced I will be very close to  consciously AP.

[threemoons]

Atebits, thanks for your post, most interesting and encouraging. I have indeed experienced some "odd" things that seem to be letting me know that I'm developing spiritually. I do meditate and can fall into a pretty deep trance relatively easily and I see plenty of amazing imagery (a favourite of mine is a kind of swirling vortex that appears after a while and which seems to be sucking me inwards), as well as fleeting images of people and places. I become unaware of my physical body and get right into my head - it's as if I'm dreaming but still awake (I suppose that's mind awake, body asleep). You talk about being able to see through closed eyelids - can you expand on that? I certainly see things but they seem to be behind my eyelids rather than in front. As for vibrations I'm not sure; I get a very intense tingling sensation in my extremities when I start to go into trance but don't really hear anything (I use headphones which would obscure other sounds anyway).

My belief that I'm not APing yet is largely based on the fact that I haven't experienced the sensation of separating from my physical body - an example would be what is described by so many as the archetypal AP experience and being able to fly around the room and observe one's physical body or being able to visit places at will. I must say I don't have an awful lot of interest in doing that anyway as it seems rather limited and I'm more interested in experiencing altered states of consciousness and being open to whatever comes my way. Sounds like you're really progressing and finding this a most fulfilling experience and I can very much relate.

[AteBits]

Well to expand on the eyelid thing: To see through closed eyelids is a phenomenon often accuring as a "side effect" when your on your way out of body. Im not saying everyone gets it, but its common. I think its called astral vision or etheric vision, im not sure actually. Forgot about the name. it is your astral body comming online ans seeing through your closed eyelids. It have only happened to me when waking up early mornings in the vibrational state. The first time I saw my astral arms and the room, the second time only the room. Its like a grey fog clearing from your vision (for me at least) letting you see.

If you are seeing imagery then you are in the hypnagogic state and when you are there you should follow Frank Kepplers instructions here on this site. He writes about what to do when you see those images. Id suggest what he suggests, to just quietly analyze the images that untill one picture becomes stable or untill you are in teh environment itself. You shouldnt give them much thought, but rather just watch them, analyze without much thought so to speak. When you only se one environment that stays, try will yourself to be there. Thats what Iäm trying anyway, and thats what Frank suggests. I think that will work sooner or later.

My belief that I'm not APing yet is largely based on the fact that I haven't experienced the sensation of separating from my physical body

Your belief here couldb in the way of letting you AP. Since your belief is negative it may hinder you. instead, know that you already project naturally every night and logically you should be able to do so conscioussly. Perhaps that will do something for you.

Also affirmations si highly recommended. They alone speeded up my dream memory recall really fast. Try to affirm, perhaps every time before you try to AP, at least 20 times something like "I am out of body" or "I am successfull in leaving my body" or "In my next practice session, I'm leaving my physical body". If you do this then that can affect you positively.

The last advice I can give is to heighten dream memory recall. Its good for you in allw ays regarding OBE's. It lets you remember much more of your nightly adventures, dreams and other adventures in consciousness. To do this, if you dont know it already, try to affirm every night before you go to sleep that you will remember your dreams more effectively. Also keep a dream journal beside you next to the bed to write down anything you can remember from your dreams every time you wake up. Read in your dream journal and try to recall the dreams. Analyze them in any way you want.
All this will help you rememebr much more of the stuff you experience when out of body.

And thank you for the kidn last words Im enjoying thsi alot. But I feel that I have somuch knowledge taht i want to try out if I just could get out of body conscioussly. I cant wait, really, for the day when I learn that.

[threemoons]

Hi again AB and thanks for taking the time to discuss this further. This forum is such a great tool for those of us who are interested in this amazing pursuit and can talk with like-minded souls Interesting what you say about dreams - I have good dream recall and find them fascinating. Have also had lucid dreams a few times - have you? Anyway, sounds like you're well and truly on the right track and hope I'm following not far behind....

[Lionheart]

My belief that I'm not APing yet is largely based on the fact that I haven't experienced the sensation of separating from my physical body - an example would be what is described by so many as the archetypal AP experience and being able to fly around the room and observe one's physical body or being able to visit places at will. I must say I don't have an awful lot of interest in doing that anyway as it seems rather limited and I'm more interested in experiencing altered states of consciousness and being open to whatever comes my way. Sounds like you're really progressing and finding this a most fulfilling experience and I can very much relate.

Hello, I just wanted to intervene here for a minute. Most people that Phase don't experience a "out of body" separation. We are getting deeper into a Non Physical Consciousness instead of trying to separate from the body. First you start noticing, then you get the Hypnagogic Imagery, then you make your intent to join the scene manifesting before your eyes. You are not trying to systematically separate. Very rarely will it lead to a RTZ experience. I have had RTZ scenarios doing this, but many more experiences that led to a quest in a far away area, usually interdimensional.
You seem to be mixing the two. It can be done, but is very difficult to do for your first successful AP. Sometimes when we try to many things, we confuse the process itself. All techniques lead to your goal though, which is to reach a Non Physical awareness.

[AteBits]

Totally relate to whatLionheart writes here. My head usually get wrapped up in some energy work technique and after a moment I realize that I should be focusing on noticing instead. Its hard to stay focused but with practice it gets easier. Yesterday when trying tp phase again I sank into a really deep trance just by noticing and relaxing, never got to the hypnagogic state and ended up with tensing my hands and legs to much. But its a step forwards though.

[threemoons]

Lionheart, thanks for clarifying. I think this is what I was getting at, that phasing is actually a more useful approach for me and to stop telling myself that I need to separate. I don't know if I've ever got as far as moving from a hypnagogic image into something more tangible (for want of a better word) but I think it's doable. Can someone also tell me what's meant by blackness or 3D blackness? I never see pure blackness, there are always spots or areas of something else and it's always moving. Do I need to get to this "blackness" stage before I can go further?

I'd also like to mention an experience that I had several times as a child. I'd be lying in bed at night (after having previously been asleep and then woken up). I knew I was awake because I could hear the sounds my parents were making downstairs. Then the walls of my bedroom would start to oscillate and I could definitely see them moving. It was very subtle at first but I knew that they'd start moving in on me and I'd say to myself "here we go again" and I knew I had to escape before it got worse. I'd lie there for maybe 10 or 15 minutes until I had the courage to move and escape from my bedroom and go and find my mother downstairs. I know this wasn't a dream but maybe it was some sort of hallucination?

[Lionheart]

Can someone also tell me what's meant by blackness or 3D blackness? I never see pure blackness, there are always spots or areas of something else and it's always moving. Do I need to get to this "blackness" stage before I can go further?

Walk into a dark room and close your eyes. Now you should see total darkness behind your eyelids. After awhile you will start to notice that the Darkness takes on a feeling of depth or the darkness may shift to a white or grey mist/cloud. This happens when you are entering into deeper Focus level. If you don't see darkness, just focus on what you are presently seeing. Sometimes when I close my eyes I see a pulsating vortex of color right away or other times it may take mere seconds to start seeing actual images . There are also a number of Phase sessions I have done where I just stayed in the Darkness the entire time and allowed it to consume me. I found through keeping my journals that it all has to do with my mood, energy level and how relaxed overall I am at the time.

Edit: Here is a great post from January 29th 2003 I found by a member named Ginny concerning your question.
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_consciousness/3dblackness_questions-t3272.0.html

[bproulx12]

Hello, I just wanted to intervene here for a minute. Most people that Phase don't experience a "out of body" separation. We are getting deeper into a Non Physical Consciousness instead of trying to separate from the body. First you start noticing, then you get the Hypnagogic Imagery, then you make your intent to join the scene manifesting before your eyes. You are not trying to systematically separate. Very rarely will it lead to a RTZ experience. I have had RTZ scenarios doing this, but many more experiences that led to a quest in a far away area, usually interdimensional.
You seem to be mixing the two. It can be done, but is very difficult to do for your first successful AP. Sometimes when we try to many things, we confuse the process itself. All techniques lead to your goal though, which is to reach a Non Physical awareness.

threemoons, I wish you the best of luck, It has been 3 months for me.

So if I wanted to go visit my parents (They live in California) The Phasing method would not get me there? I was comming to the understanding that Phasing, AP, OBE where all the same.