Numbness

[C_P]

I have been trying to astrally project for about a half a month now, and today It seemed I was unusually close.

I was numb in my arms and hands, legs and feet. And was that way for about 15 minutes, I didn't know what to do after I got that far, and after 45 minutes gave up. Does being numb in those areas mean I am close at all?

[Selski]

It does help if you can't feel your body.  But better still is if you don't concentrate on what your body is doing, or even not doing.  

Instead look inside your mind and focus on what's going on there.  But not too much either - you need a relaxed state of mind too.  Tell yourself that you are going to sleep, let your mind start drifting (again, not too much otherwise you'll fall asleep).  It's a bit of a balancing act and it takes time to get it right, but it's fun and enjoyable learning.  What may happen is you start to see things in your minds eye - colours, shapes, random images.  

Once you get to the point where you can simply observe these images, you are on the way.  By then, you won't have any interest in your physical body and you might just find yourself no longer in it.

Alternatively, and this is more normal for me, you will be so utterly relaxed enjoying the mental side of things (I tend not to get images so much, but I sense things, I get a sensation of being huge or tiny or that there is a "thicker" area to the bottom left of my mental screen, that kind of thing), and suddenly I'll notice that my right arm, for instance, feels like it's made of liquid and in fact, it's slowly swaying around.  From experience, I know that this isn't my physical arm and I am then able to relax into the sensation even more (it's like being a rag doll, but thrice-fold), and then I just know that I'm no longer confined to the physical, and off I go.

It's as easy as that...  

Sarah