Is my goddess valid?

[DASH Project]

Her name's Valanbé, is what I call her, and she's been with me since 2007, actually my best friend thought of her, though she's only been my goddess since early 2010. She takes the form of a young woman with gold hair and lavender eyes, with six white wings like a seraph, and is actually based upon existing goddesses in real life - most notably Athena, Aphrodite and Freyja - as well as being based partially on the Virgin Mary. I have this deep feeling that she is not just a figment of my imagination, as I have prayed to her on several occasions and had my prayers answered by her.

I had a dream the other night where I was lying in a large bed, surrounded by white light, and this beautiful young woman in a black dress was lying next to me, singing a lullaby. It was an amazing dream, as I specifically remember in the dream, the woman was Valanbé, though she did not have her wings out. It felt just so validating to have her in a dream. Which brings me to another dilemma...she is very dear to me, and when I go to bed I imagine myself being held by her, and holding her as well (I use a pillow as a surrogate, because in my half-awake fantasy she is actually Valanbé.) This embrace is deeply comforting, as she is sort of a divine mother figure to me, but I'm wondering if it's better to worship/revere her from a distance, like most deities. However, I've kind of accepted that she's more of a "hands-on" goddess, and is open to cuddling up with her followers!

You can see a picture I drew of Valanbé here (external link to my deviantART page) - http://great-5.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d38fq5p
And a woodcarving I did of her over last Summer (with a huge amount of facts about her...read it if you like, I had a great time writing it!)- http://great-5.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d33m5ie

And please go easy on the criticisms, as Valanbé is one of the few things which gives me faith and hope in my otherwise dark and scary life.

[Pauli2]

Yes, she is a valid goddess.

Now you have to figure out what's your interaction is going to be. Do you have any questions that only can be answered by someone in the astral? Do you want to develop in any way? Get healed or improved? Get personal growth, information or lectures? Get to help other humans, animals and intelligences?

[Summerlander]

is actually based upon existing goddesses in real life - most notably Athena, Aphrodite and Freyja - as well as being based partially on the Virgin Mary. I have this deep feeling that she is not just a figment of my imagination, as I have prayed to her on several occasions and had my prayers answered by her.

"Existing goddesses in real life"? Are you sure?

[Killa Rican]

Despite My Lack of belief in Gods/Goddessess(As the traditional definition defines it) I see them more as God-like entitys. Most of these entitys have something in common with each other.  I've found it way more beneficial to have direct contact with these entitys and form an intimiate bond, rather then worshipping them from a 'distance' like most religions do.

So I see her as pretty valid, but give her a load of respect as well. There easily tempred and get upset when you brush them off as 'imagination' or have second thoughts about there existence. rofl.

That's a nice pic!

[DASH Project]

Yes, she is a valid goddess.

Now you have to figure out what's your interaction is going to be. Do you have any questions that only can be answered by someone in the astral? Do you want to develop in any way? Get healed or improved? Get personal growth, information or lectures? Get to help other humans, animals and intelligences?

I do indeed want to improve myself spiritually. I've projected only a handful of times successfully, and need to get better. I will say one time I used Valanbe to help someone else in need - a good friend of mine happens to be suicidal, or was for awhile, and I prayed to Valanbe that She prevent him from taking his own life. He seems to be doing somewhat better now, though he's still depressed in life.

It felt affirming to me in my dream I had about her that she was real, because I've had other existence-affirming dreams before (like where I met up with my late father and stepmother, my interactions with them feeling super-real...proving to me their spirits are alive and well.)

"Existing goddesses in real life"? Are you sure?

Lol redundancy.

So I see her as pretty valid, but give her a load of respect as well. There easily tempred and get upset when you brush them off as 'imagination' or have second thoughts about there existence. rofl.

That's a nice pic!

I must work on believing in her some more then, but I also have other gods and goddesses I worship, just she's the main one. And thanks for the compliment on my drawings! I shall in tern compliment your user avatar, which appears to be a DBZ character. I love DBZ!

[Summerlander]

It felt affirming to me in my dream I had about her that she was real, because I've had other existence-affirming dreams before (like where I met up with my late father and stepmother, my interactions with them feeling super-real...proving to me their spirits are alive and well.)

Now this is very valid to me. Of course they are alive and well. Consciousness doesn't just disappear. I know exactly what you are talking about there and the actual bond you share with them only facilitates the visits/contact. It becomes even more interesting when you obtain info from the deceased in the metaphysical realm which actually checks out in waking life. Fascinating...

[DASH Project]

Now this is very valid to me. Of course they are alive and well. Consciousness doesn't just disappear. I know exactly what you are talking about there and the actual bond you share with them only facilitates the visits/contact. It becomes even more interesting when you obtain info from the deceased in the metaphysical realm which actually checks out in waking life. Fascinating...

Yes it is quite fascinating. I had a dream about my dad a few days after he died in early 2009...I was in a car with him, and we were driving through the coast of northern California (I live in northern California,) spending some last father-son time together, when at the end he told me he needed to say goodbye, and leave this world. I shook hands with him before he left and he kind of disappeared. It wasn't a sad dream, it felt very real and like my Dad would always be there. I've had a couple dreams since then where he was back, and we were doing stuff together again, and it all felt so real, like it was in real life and not just the dream world. I see that as proof of people having souls that live on.

I hope to have more dreams with Valanbe in them, as well as more dreams with my dad and my stepmom in them. I may even get back into astral projection...last time I projected was December 2010, a couple months ago, and it was shaky at best. I remember projecting earlier that summer and going on many adventures. Actually those projection sessions were where I first encountered Valanbe, or at least where she first appeared to me.

[Summerlander]

That's nice. I strongly suspect that the metaphysical realm (where thoughts, dreams, astral projection, hallucinations and imagination take place) has a reality of its own. Real but in a different way to the physical. Surreal may be the appropriate word here and just because something is surreal in nature, it doesn't meant that it doesn't exist.

I posit that the meta-reality lies beyond the ultrasonic frequency and remains currently undetected by science. I also think it is where your individual consciousness goes when you die. You father resides there now...

[DASH Project]

That's nice. I strongly suspect that the metaphysical realm (where thoughts, dreams, astral projection, hallucinations and imagination take place) has a reality of its own. Real but in a different way to the physical. Surreal may be the appropriate word here and just because something is surreal in nature, it doesn't meant that it doesn't exist.

I posit that the meta-reality lies beyond the ultrasonic frequency and remains currently undetected by science. I also think it is where your individual consciousness goes when you die. You father resides there now...

I agree and I'm sorry I made it sound like that world wasn't real. I know it's real, it just came out wrong :sweatdrop:

I really gotta astral project more...I don't do it that often because I have autism with ADHD-like effect so it's hard to sit still and focus, since thoughts race through my mind when I try to do so. But if I really wanna meet up with Valanbe I gotta project more. I remember in early Summer 2010 I was going on all sorts of adventures with her.

[Lexy]

this sounds like the Wicca religion, you can worship whatever you want, so yes it's valid.

[Summerlander]

I agree and I'm sorry I made it sound like that world wasn't real. I know it's real, it just came out wrong :sweatdrop:

I really gotta astral project more...I don't do it that often because I have autism with ADHD-like effect so it's hard to sit still and focus, since thoughts race through my mind when I try to do so. But if I really wanna meet up with Valanbe I gotta project more. I remember in early Summer 2010 I was going on all sorts of adventures with her.

No need to be sorry, buddy. Physical reality is not what it seems anyway, or at least in the way that most people think of it. By the way, to help you project effectively, have you tried the pre-nap method or the wake-back-to-bed technique? It will help you to relax and your brain will be hungry for REM. If you are well primed, you can achieve an OOBE in less than 10 minutes (my quickest was less than two minutes once from the time that I went down to separation). Have a look at this (this is what I do/use as a template - in fact it is simpler than what it seems):

http://astralviewers.com/summerlander-journal/how-i-induce-oobesap/

[DASH Project]

this sounds like the Wicca religion, you can worship whatever you want, so yes it's valid.

Yep I basically consider myself neopagan, though I have my own name for my specialized, one-man religion which is the "Kyrdan Order." I draw on a lot of influence from pagan as well as Christian and Buddhist/Hindu traditions. I may write more about the Order later on.

No need to be sorry, buddy. Physical reality is not what it seems anyway, or at least in the way that most people think of it. By the way, to help you project effectively, have you tried the pre-nap method or the wake-back-to-bed technique? It will help you to relax and your brain will be hungry for REM. If you are well primed, you can achieve an OOBE in less than 10 minutes (my quickest was less than two minutes once from the time that I went down to separation). Have a look at this (this is what I do/use as a template - in fact it is simpler than what it seems):

http://astralviewers.com/summerlander-journal/how-i-induce-oobesap/

Your tutorial looks amazing! It's a shame I get so discouraged when things don't go as ideal as I'd want them too, and I'm a bit daunted by some of your techniques you mention, worried I'm not sure I'd have the patience and skill to be able to do them. I'm also worried I'll just fall asleep if I try projecting before a nap or just after waking up. Any advice? Now I really wanna try using your techniques, it looks like the real deal.

Who's that alien guy on your avatar btw? He looks cool.

[Summerlander]

LOL! I drew the avatar. It isn't an alien but I did have the Mars attacks alien in mind! .

It is supposed to be my representation of the trickster archetype in dreams. I deliberately made him look like the Joker played by Jack Nicholson and gave him a brain like the Martian. He also has a massive pine cone protruding from his cerebrum which is supposed to be his unnatural and oversized pineal gland. He also has a third eye...



By the way, there is not much to the method, it is basically an improved version of the Monroe technique which places emphasis on a pre-nap or some sort of sleep in order to prime you physiologically for an OOBE.

Here's what you can do. Wake up earlier than usual one day. Keep active all day. Towards the evening, and only when you are tired, have a two hour nap (no more than three hours). This is to ensure that you have a deep delta sleep which will be dreamless. When you wake up, you will feel like crap because you have interrupted a sleep cycle and upset your brain by depriving it of the REM stage. You will feel cold because during your slow wave sleep your temperature naturally decreased.

Stay awake and up for more than an hour, but no more than three. An hour and a half is ideal. This is to ensure that when you go down to induce, you won't be so tired that you'll just fall asleep, but the sleep inertia symptoms will still be there and you'll be in a state where you will be able to relax fairly quickly when you go down.

Once you lie down to induce the OOBE and start by relaxing, the brain will see this as an opportunity to pick up on the REM that it missed out on. The brain is so hungry for this REM that it will try to achieve it in ten minutes like a narcoleptic instead of the usual ninety minutes into the sleep cycle. therefore as you relax, the body starts to work quickly towards the sleep paralysis state. This is good because your body is not waiting around for you to fall asleep. Mind awake body asleep is the idea here.

The cells at the pons send inhibitory signals to motor neurons in the spinal cord which will cause muscle atonia. When this happens you will experience a distinct feeling of feeling paralysed. On some occasions your heart may beat faster and you may sweat because adrenaline may be released - when this happens just remain calm. If you are well-primed, you can reach SP in two minutes and this is a major step towards the OOBE.

If no vibrations are experienced, you will eventually experience a falling or slipping sensation. Go with this and you will separate. If you experience vibrations (these can be mild or violent and usually characterised by auditory phenomena) you will know an OOBE is around the corner. Relax and let these vibes peak and as they die down...SEPARATE.

I find that the most effective way to separate is to roll over and out. Start from the head in a subtle movement and you will find that the rest of the body will follow. Do it as though you are moving physically. Don't imagine it. Actually do it! You will see that you will have moved incorporeally because your physical body is atonic in your bed. Btw, this movement can emulate physical movement really well and it may make you think that you have failed. You haven't! Carry on moving out and look around. You will soon realise you are having an OOBE (1st or 2nd phase).

It really isn't as hard as people make it out to be. I think people complicate it by thinking that whatever they do they must've somehow ruined it. This method brings me a lot of success. This made me realise that a lot of people out there, the so-called "astral gurus" are deliberately concocting techniques that make it harder for people to OOBE ir order to make money from their books and tutorials. The method I have linked you to is, as far as I know, the most effective method.

Once I was so primed that I was literally ejected from my body within less than two minutes of going down to induced. I hadn't even wished to separate. I was gobsmacked. My own body kicked me out because it was sick of me!

By the way! Good luck! It will work. This is how we've been helping so many people in Astral Viewers and there has been a lot of success. It is genuine and it is free. You don't need any books to tell you what to do. In fact, the Monroe method which was published in his first book was what got me started. I owe it to Monroe and it is funny because Monroe didn't claim to know anything for sure in his first book. He had his theories but that is it. the poor man thought he had a brain tumour at first. I find this very honest...

[CFTraveler]

No wonder your avatar looked so familiar.  Heere's Johnny!

[DASH Project]

You're a good artist, Summerlander, ya know that? I could never be arsed to draw brains properly.

Anyways so the gist of what I heard is the following steps:

1.) Get up early
2.) Be more active during the day than you normally are
3.) Take a 2-hour nap that evening
4.) Stay up for about an hour and a half
5.) Go back to bed and start projecting
6.) Somehow sleep parylysis will occur
7.) "Roll out" of your body without moving?

[Summerlander]

You're a good artist, Summerlander, ya know that? I could never be arsed to draw brains properly.

Anyways so the gist of what I heard is the following steps:

1.) Get up early
2.) Be more active during the day than you normally are
3.) Take a 2-hour nap that evening
4.) Stay up for about an hour and a half
5.) Go back to bed and start projecting
6.) Somehow sleep parylysis will occur
7.) "Roll out" of your body without moving?

I had trouble drawing the brain!

BTW...just a few alterations...

1.) Get up earlier than usual when you plan to project
2.) Be more active during the day than you normally are
3.) Take a 2-hour nap that evening when you are tired (you may feel tired around 7, 8 or 9pm - depending)
4.) Stay up for about an hour and a half
5.) Go back to bed and start projecting
6.) Relax, don't move and sleep parylysis will occur sooner than usual (see details to help you keep mind focused and awake)
7.) "Roll out" of your body by moving (do not imagine movement) as the vibrational state starts to dwindle

Alternatively:

1.) Go to bed around 11pm or midnight and just sleep
2.) Wake up between 4 and 6am
3.) Stay up for 10 - 20 minutes (you may use the toilet if you wish)
4.) Go down to induce the OOBE

^^^These days I use this one because the wait is shorter prior to induction and it is more convenient because my neighbours tend to be noisy in the late evenings now.

If you sleep all night and wake up late...

1.) If you wake up briefly around 8am recognise that you've woken up but remain still and relaxed (there's no getting up and waiting around here).
2.) You should be able to progress into sleep paralysis from the hypnopompic state fairly quickly.

^^This one is a bit hit and miss because it involves recognising that you are awake and that the time is around that time. It can be quite effective though...

And finally...if you recognise that you are dreaming...

1.) You have a lucid dream (you can do this by being a dream detective and by carrying out reality checks)
2.) Push the dream content away and you may end up regaining physical awareness in deep sleep paralysis
3.) Separate (this can lead to either 1st phase or 2nd phase depending on the degree of SP - the deeper it is the more chances for a 1st phase).

^^^Oh, by 1st phase OOBE I mean the here-now physical realm; by 2nd phase OOBE I mean astral projection (a projection into the metaphysical and non-local to physical reality)...

Out of all of them I usually use the pre-sleep one and wake up around 4am, use the toilet and go down to induce. I've become accustomed to it. Btw, whatever you decide to do, GOOD LUCK!

PS. Here's a tip! If you go for the nap and wake up, you may be able to reduce the wait if you have a cup of coffee as soon as you get up (do not have it just before you go down to induce). Caffeine molecules are similar to adenosine. They bind to the adenosine receptors in the brain and antagonise the action of the real adenosine which is a neurotransmitter believed to play a role in promoting sleep and suppressing arousal, with levels increasing with each hour an organism is awake.

Oh! To keep it to the topic...I like the sound of the goddess!