Projection Questions

[travilanche]

Hey guys, I'm new and I have a question that pertains to this very thing.  I have been trying to phase off and on for a couple of weeks now, and I have read this same guide by Raduga and have a question about the indirect techniques.  I have acid reflux and waking up almost always means an hour of nausea, which does not seem like an ideal physical state to be able to do this.  Even if I am not nauseous I always have to get up to go to the bathroom without exception.  This always wakes me up enough to make my mind race when I go to lay back down and try to phase.  I am afraid that if indirect techniques are my only option that it might not ever work.  But at the same time this guys guide says that trying direct techniques first can lead to serious road blocks.  What should I do.

Also is it really ill advised to try more than one attempt per 24 hour period?  Is it not ok to try a direct technique before bed, and then an indirect one when I wake up? 

When I am laying in bed trying the direct technique (which for me is the noticing) I never have any trouble finding shapes behind my eyelids.  They show up immediately.  And during several attempts I have gotten swirling light that actually made me feel like I was physically swirling with it a bit.  Very odd sensation.  Could this be an indication of impending success?  It's also very VERY hard not to notice when my body starts to feel heavier, and gets very tingly.  (like my energy body.....I tried Robert Bruce's book for awhile but this seems far more fruitful and makes more sense to me.)    Also is it ok to play instrumental music in your head to keep the dialogue away?  That stuff is pretty hard to combat, especially when you are drowsy. 

Any advice on what I should do?

[Lionheart]

 Direct/Indirect I don't think it makes a difference. You are try to get to the same place, I personally use the direct method. I just finished a very powerful phase session, tonight it took me about 10 mins to be there. The key to all of this is getting inside of yourself and just letting go. I don't think in the early stages anyone should be too concerned with all of the signs here. The answer is you have to just let go, no conditions, no expectations, no pressure. Just close your eyes and notice, ignore all the sensations, the lights, just let everything happen like you are watching a movie. I narrate all the way there and it doesn't impede my progress at all. But what I narrate is what I wish to occur during the session. Tonight I used 3 different beautiful brainwave songs by Paul Collier in succession. By the time the first was done (each is approx 10 mins long) I was already enjoying beautiful visions. The only thing I see stopping you right now is getting stuck on all your various signposts. Just know that you will see light swirls, get vibrations, feel light/heavy etc. and move on to the good stuff! 

[Xanth]

I split this out so as not to interfere with the other thread. 

In any case, you sound like you have some physical impairments that might impede your "after waking up" projection attempts.  Sometimes things like this can't be helped and if you can't focus enough after waking up due to problems such as you have, then you might have to change strategies.

His "direct" techniques only lead to frustration because there are certain "foundations" you need to build within yourself first to be successful at doing them.  One of them is learning how to focus your mind and hold that focus for extended periods of time.  Another is being able to relax your body and mind fully.

Attempting to project more than once a day is perfectly fine.  There's no limitation here except the one you place upon yourself.

And yes, what you're experiencing is a very good indication of impending success!  Do keep up what you're doing, cause you're doing it right. 
The "body heaviness" you feel is simply your physical body fully relaxing.  It's something that happens to you each night you fall asleep, but now you're becoming consciously aware of it.  It's a really neat feeling. 

As for playing music in your head.  Sure!  What you're effectively doing is meditating.  There are hundreds of ways to meditate... and that's one of them. 

[blis]

Personally, and this just goes for me, I cant get anywhere near the right state to project while playing music in my head. It's like my brainwaves are wrong or something.

I'm a musician, and if I spend too much time writing music in the evening then I have non-stop music playing in my head all by itself and I struggle to sleep, project, meditate or anything.

[travilanche]

I'm a musician as well.  I play guitar in a cover band and am used to standing up and playing for hours on end, so holding concentration for extended periods of time isn't really that difficult for me, if what I am concentrating is interesting.  This is also why I have trouble keeping music from playing in my head all the time.  It's pretty constant.  Over the last couple of days I have gotten better at keeping my mind empty for longer.  But I can still only do it for about 10-20 seconds at a time it seems before I find myself talking about something to myself, or running some tune over in my head.  But I'm not sure that the music is impeding my progress because like I said, I can usually see many shapes and movements behind my eyes, and even feel like I'm physically moving along with them after awhile.  But then as soon as this starts to happen it is very hard not to get excited and start concentrating on the body again. 

[MikeMk]

I think you should just follow the instructions as properly as possible

[bluremi]

You should post your questions on the obe4u message boards instead of here. Michael can answer your question personally.

[Rudolph]

Any advice on what I should do?

As bluremi suggested, why don't you post your question on the OBE4U.com forum?

?

Michael is active there and is pretty darn good about answering questions from newbies.

Heartburn is one thing but nausea is an actual pre-OBE warning signal for many APers.

Multiple awakenings throughout the night can be a good thing for those trying to get their first phase. You may be looking a gift horse in the mouth.