Problems

[XkeltonX]

Hello again. I have recently been attempting to get my mind away from the physical me. I Can feel my mind separate from my body, but at the same time my body is holding on to my mind with a viciousness. I will be sitting there, or laying there, and my mind body will be completely relaxed and my mind will be doing things of its own, but my body will not be asleep and if it feels like my mind is wandering too far, I am instantly aware of my body again and basically have to start all of the way over, to get back into that relaxed state. Then I get frustrated because, I feel I am not getting the rest I need and then I just roll over and go to sleep. I have never had any OBE, or astral experience while I sleep ( I sleep on my stomach) and rarely do I have any dreams that I can remember. I am getting very frustrated and was wondering if anyone could help point me in the right direction. I think the entire reason I have yet to fully project is my fear of the unknown. It is almost like a phobia and no matter how much I tell myself, 'You are safe and nothing bad will happen." i just seem to doubt myself even more. It's as if my logical self, refuses to surrender control to my subconscious. Again, just looking for advice on how to maybe get to the other side of the fence, so to speak. Thanks.

[Szaxx]

Hi,
Know you are safe.
Stop being afraid of letting go of your physical body. youve been doing it every time you fall asleep since birth.
That said, just relax, it starts this way for all of us. Anxiety is a b1tch isnt it?

[Astral316]

Try meditating at least a half hour every day... if you practice holding your focus it'll eventually become a habit that'll carry over into the non-physical. On nights you want to project, go to bed a little early and try to wake up roughly 75% into your typical night's sleep. Stay up for maybe a half hour and attempt... this is basically your meditation practice with the added goal of projecting. If you get close and fall flat, worse case scenario should be you fall asleep into REM and have a funky dream or two... but if you've been exercising your focus 80% of the time you'll be handed the vibrational state on a platter. That's my routine anyway.

[jkjk8991]

meditating is definitely a good approach for gaining focus, but I feel like fear is holding you back the most. We can rationalize it and everything, but are we convinced, or are we just trying to convince ourselves? Letting the fear go is a huge step, and for most, you can gradually do this by having experiences, the more you wake up fine in your bed, the more you wont be afraid. Just think to yourself about all the good that can come, and if you start letting fear slip into your mind, then stop, let it go, and try again.

Focus can be difficult, but again, the more you practice the better you'll be able to control it. Meditating is another exercise that helps with this, I also find it to be quite relaxing, especially after a long day if you can find 30 minutes here or there. Heck, I even meditate in the hallways of my classroom buildings here at college if i can't make it back to my apartment but find the time between classes. All in all, progress is good, becoming a more conscious being is the real goal i think, but baby steps, its more of a lifestyle than a hobby. Good luck, and keep at it!

[XkeltonX]

Thank you for all of your replies. I started meditating regularly about a month ago. I believe that it has helped me stay calm and focused in my everyday life. I have never thought about holding my focus, although it makes perfect sense. I will definitely try that out, as well as the early bedtime thing, I need to do that anyways, lol. Also, I would like to say that, the closest I have ever come to AP, was about 3 months ago. I was in bed, attempting an AP. I was laying there for about 45 min, and I looked down at my hands(which were physically on my thighs) and I saw them raise up, cup my hands and interlock my fingers, then i instantly woke up back in bed.

    If this happens again, is there anything that I could do to hold on to the, 'body asleep, mind awake' state. I feel that is what had happened.

Again thank you for all of the replies, and I will continue to post my progress.
   _WES