I agree. Being happy makes OBE (and telekinesis and telepathy) much easier.
Kiauma,
I also agree, and here is why. You kind of touched on it already, but a happy person is one who is content. One who is not worried, one who is not thinking erratically, and generally one who has peace of mind.
All of these things make relaxation and introspection much easier.
Think about it. Who has the easier time relaxing: the person who has a big job interview tomorrow, or the person who already has the job?
So I believe happiness is the key in so much as happiness brings a lot of the positive characteristics and outlook that is needed to be successful in conscious OBE exploration.
I would argue that those of us who've had OBE's while NOT being happy (aka Content, satisfied) merely did so because our restlessness and mental turmoil kept our thoughts moving erratically in our minds, like a needle moving back and forth on a record...and by chance, we happened to get into that pre-OBE state of mind where we were able to project.
quote:
I would argue that those of us who've had OBE's while NOT being happy (aka Content, satisfied) merely did so because our restlessness and mental turmoil kept our thoughts moving erratically in our minds, like a needle moving back and forth on a record...and by chance, we happened to get into that pre-OBE state of mind where we were able to project.
This is one of the key questions I was hoping to explore.
I think we agree that a happy person finds it much easier to AP and exhibit other psychic ability.
The question then becomes, so why can we do that when we are not happy?
I think maybe we are looking here for something deeper than happiness, something that happiness is conducive to, but not necessary to, something in line with the intent to AP.
Restlessness and mental turmoil may work for you Jeff, but it is hard for me to think of myself entering trance with that kind of distraction.
Instead, I am thinking of something that is unitive rather than separating. I am thinking it is something akin to surrender.
I have seen several posts on the destructiveness of attachment here at AstralPulse, and what is AP but dissolving the attachment, temporarily at least, of consciousness' attachment to the body?
When we are happy we are more confident and more likely to be giving than if we are not, but these are still seperate things from happiness or sadness. What if the real key was in surrendering our attachment to our bodies? In other words, what if the real key to AP was simply in letting ourselves, and all the techniques and all the practice only facilitated this 'letting go'?
I don't know, but I've been thinking about it a lot.
quote:
Originally posted by kiauma
Restlessness and mental turmoil may work for you Jeff, but it is hard for me to think of myself entering trance with that kind of distraction.
Perhaps I could have rephrased my explanation better. I don't want to give the impression that restlessness and mental turmoil "work for me." [:)]
As an example, I (along with many others) have found projection somewhat easier when we were SICK. Now, I can only speak for myself here, but I am certainly not happy when I'm sick. So how could I have OBE's during that time?
I believe that when we are sick (or to keep it in context, when we are unhappy), we are more restless. We don't have such a deep sleep. Instead of sleeping all through the night, we may toss and turn. We may get up frequently. All of these interuptions can sometimes work to our advantage by keeping us near that fine line between wakefullness and asleep....and therein lies one of the keys to having an OBE.
That is what I was trying to say. However, I agree with you that surrendering yourself is a better approach to projecting. Not just a total surrender to the process, but also trusting that everything is going to be alright.
quote:
Originally posted by beavis
I agree. Being happy makes OBE (and telekinesis and telepathy) much easier.
Yes, and a positive outlook.
quote:
I believe that when we are sick (or to keep it in context, when we are unhappy), we are more restless. We don't have such a deep sleep. Instead of sleeping all through the night, we may toss and turn. We may get up frequently. All of these interuptions can sometimes work to our advantage by keeping us near that fine line between wakefullness and asleep....and therein lies one of the keys to having an OBE.
Hmm... You may have a point there. Somehow, under certain conditions, our hold (is there a better word?) on our bodies is loosened, not so tight, so that AP is easier. Is that what you mean? I hadn't thought of it that way, but it makes sense.
Jeff, does your OBE journal have a category to track 'Outlook' or 'Health'?
quote:
Originally posted by kiauma
Jeff, does your OBE journal have a category to track 'Outlook' or 'Health'?
Not yet. Is 'outlook' and 'health' synonomous in the context above? I can always add that as a future feature to the program. Here are some other things I will also be adding in the future:
1) A password protected authentication box, which will require all who open the program to enter a password before viewing anything. This will protect nosey spouses from reading what we type!
2) Encrypted journal files. Right now, all the journal entries are saved in a plain text format. That means that it's possible to navigate to their directory and read the journal entries from there. I will end up encrypting these, so that the only way to view them will be through the journal (which will be password protected).
3) Another user requested that in addition to the "OBE Journal" and "Dream Journal" options, that I simply add another "Generic Journal" option, for those of you who just want to log some other metaphysical related entries into the program without the need to analyse them.
CONTROLL, uninvited AP is nothing but a glitch
The way I see it.
Years of practice and experience with AP can change you mentally by(altering your brain waves by changing your brain usage , and giving you controll of your emotions(to be calm,aware,and focused at the worst of situations), when it all adds up, you have something to work with(controll) when trying to achieve an OBE.
You need to be fully in contoll of yourself>mentally, otherwise you might only experience unexpected OBE.
Wow! Sounds like you are really packing the features into your journal. I'd better get mine before the price goes up. ;)
I have some other journal software which I have used, and it had one annoying thing that I really did not like, and that was that I was unable to transport the journal. It was completely integral to the program. I could make back-ups of the entire folder, but I could not transport it to another computer and use it with another installation of the same software. In other words, my journal was bound to die with the computer. Is it a possibility to have the data stored in a database folder for use with any installation of the journal?
quote:
Is 'outlook' and 'health' synonomous in the context above?
No. By 'Outlook' I mean mental outlook, positive, negative, neutral, or some such. By 'Health' I mean physical health, whether sick or well, energetic or tired, something like that.
quote:
Originally posted by kiauma
Is it a possibility to have the data stored in a database folder for use with any installation of the journal?
Yes, that is a good suggestion that I can work on adding in the future as well.
quote:
No. By 'Outlook' I mean mental outlook, positive, negative, neutral, or some such. By 'Health' I mean physical health, whether sick or well, energetic or tired, something like that.
Those can be added as well.
Cool! :)
I tried this, wasn't too bad, but i didn't project. I must have been way too tired last night cuz when i was trying to not focus on my thoughts I kept losing focus on being awake and almost fell asleep many many times.
It seemed that the more tired i got, the harder it was to push these images away. The harder and harder it got to push the images away, the more i tired, until finally it was impossible to not focus on the images and i slept.
Maybe you can't OBE when you are too tired?
~ivan
Jeff, in a post above you said;
quote:
...surrendering yourself is a better approach to projecting. Not just a total surrender to the process, but also trusting that everything is going to be alright.
I'm probably gonna get in trouble for saying this, but I think 'total' surrender to the
process is exactly what you need to do.
This requires faith that everything is going to be alright, for sure, but I see that as also going hand-in-hand with a successful OBE, 'successful' being an OBE of a quality up to your expectation.
Now, I'm not saying that you simply leave yourself open to any force or end that might come your way - I'm not saying it has to be that extreme.
What I am saying is actually a matter of commitment. For many of these people who have been attempting to OBE and are very close but never able, I think they have to recognize a commitment to follow their intent to AP, no matter where it leads. They have to surrender to that journey, sacrificing their comfortable and mundane existance to the disorientation, the discomfort, the distractions, and take it all in stride as part of their chosen path.
I see many naive ideas about what it can give you and what it is about on this board by those who have yet to AP. I think that is fine, every turn of the path leads you to your destination, but I am pointing out the general shallowness of the commitment that is usually necessary.
For those who spontaneously AP, it is my belief that it is the work of higher spirits, for some higher purpose, and so is a different case.
For any person with an intent, mundane or spiritual, their is a cost to accomplishing that intent. That is OK, I see it as magic - you 'do something' and you 'get something' - a sort of mundane manifestation.
So yes, once you see the way to AP, you do have to surrender to the process - totally. As RB said, your intent acts as a sort of auto-pilot. If you have your intent clearly in mind, then surrendering should send you speeding on your way.
Being happy makes anything easier. Positive outlooks make you more open to learning and performing to the best of your ability. Negativity leads to self doubt and a closed mind. So yes, happiness is a key to success.
~FT
I never could, WSR. Usually, I went to sleep normally when I went to bed. Then, I would awake early in the morning, like about 3 AM, and then I would be rested and relaxed enought to attempt to AP.
I think we are all in agreement, FT, that happiness makes AP easier. I am exploring how it is that sometimes unhappy people can AP, and how people with harmful intent can AP, which I really do not understand.
I'm not even sure that they actually can. Perhaps they drop into trance and are in more of a LD realm?
I do not know, but I think it is important to understand, to know how to make it easier for the rest of us.
I had my first concrete conscious projection earlier today (read about it here (http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10027)) and I feel the critical component in my success was surrendering totally to the experience. I've almost always been blocked by nervous fear-based internal dialogue or surface thought, but today I wasn't going to let fear stop me. I affirmed, "I surrender myself to the experience," my mind cleared and fear left, and I was out! So in my opinion, it is critical to fully accept the experience and embrace it in order to succeed.
That has also been my experience.
The thing is, when i am fearless it is often because i just have decided not to think about what i am doing and just do it. Maybe it is the act of not thinking that is the catalyst.
quote:
Originally posted by Colin
I had my first concrete conscious projection earlier today (read about it here (http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10027)) and I feel the critical component in my success was surrendering totally to the experience. I've almost always been blocked by nervous fear-based internal dialogue or surface thought, but today I wasn't going to let fear stop me. I affirmed, "I surrender myself to the experience," my mind cleared and fear left, and I was out! So in my opinion, it is critical to fully accept the experience and embrace it in order to succeed.
I really wish that I could surrender to the experience like that.
Just this morning I had literally around 15 separations that came on in a row and I messed up each one because I couldn't let go of myself like usual. I was getting some cool moving scenes behind my eyes but when the vibes hit I could only stay calm for a very brief moment. I had a really nice short AP yesterday which wasn't scary at all but that still didn't help. I haven't been keeping track but so far I'm sure that I have screwed up over 100 separations due to panic.
The panic can be very hard to overcome. I am still working on it myself.
Here is a great thread on the subject;
http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9355&whichpage=2
For those of you who don't already know this about me, some years ago, after quite a long time of mental exercises and OBE practice, I entered a several month long phase of intense OBE activity. Toward the end of that period the experiences had become so overwhelming and spontaneous that I began to fear for my mental health, and I literally had to learn how NOT to have them.
Since then, I have taken my self-imposed mundanity to reflect on what I had been shown, grow into my new knowledge, and otherwise wonder just what the hell that was all about. Without a doubt it was the impetus for a lot of personal growth, putting me on a fantastic and unpredictable path which in it's latest turn has led me here - back to a place where I feel once again confident to take up those nightly journeys.
Also in all that time, I have wondered at length - why then? What was it that after so much failure had suddenly given me so much success - more than in the end I was capable of handling? Also, reading throughout this forum, I see over and over again how people complain that they do the exercises, that they repeatedly get so close, only to have the OBE elude them.
I would like to suggest an answer, and would appreciate discussion on the subject. The forum and books I have read are chocked full of technique and practice exercises, but what I am talking about is something I have yet to see discussed here at AstralPulse, and rarely see mentioned in any book of OBE, however I think it should not be overlooked.
Put simply, I was happy. Ecstatic even. At that time I had just ended a long dark period in my life, and while it was tremendously painful in places, when I came out the other side it seemed I was gonna be all right, which I hadn't really expected. I am not saying it was happiness per se, there are many cases of OBE by people who were not happy, but I do strongly correlate my positive outlook and confidence in life with my ability to relax, to really open myself up to whatever the universe could bring on - THAT is what I think the true final piece of the OBE puzzle was. Even after mastering the discipline and practicing endlessly, it still came down to just plain old confidence.
Comments?