Questions about AP

[Amadeus82]

i have a bit of experience of AP, LD, and OOBE but they all are so similar how do you really tell the difference? and i have mostly experienced these things spontaneously.
when i try to project consciously, i can shift my consciousness outside of my body and in a deeply relaxed state. also have very little physical feeling.  but can't get that little further to project fully.

would love some help..any suggestions???

[Jeff_Mash]

Well, I may not be "up to date" on the correct terminology concerning these things.  Nor do I have psychology degrees or other paranormal badges of honor.  However, I will tell you how *I* personally see the differences....at least, it's how I see them at this stage of my journey.

The first thing you need to understand is that all three (OBE, AP, and LD) are related.  The main difference separating them is the level of conscious awareness that you have at the time of the experience.  It's sort of like driving a car versus being a passenger.  Both are "car experiences" but they are experienced in different ways.

Now for me, I automatically separate LD's from AP's and OBE's.  AP's and OBE's are in their own category.  

So what is the difference between these two categories?

To me, LD's are dreams, and therefore, most of your experience has you in an autopilot mode.  You may be aware of what's going on....you may be able to change things about the experience to some degree, but deep down, you know this is just a "dream."  There is this sense that the experience 'is not real' but you go with it anyway.

This differs in contract to OBE's and AP's, where you KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is real.  You know that what you're experiencing is you yourself in these real environments.  Most of the time, you're so mentally aware during these experiences that you may be tricked to think that you're still in your physical body.  90% of my experiences in this category have me needing to thrust my had or finger through a wall, just to fully ocnvince myself that I am projecting and not just awake in my house.

Ok, so what is the difference between Astral Projecting and an OBE?  Different people have different theories.  Again, I will tell you how I see things.

With an OBE, I find many common characteristics.  First, I always start the projection from within my physical body.  That is, I feel a physical separation, usually where I roll out and flop to the floor next to the bed.

I also usually always find myself in the RTZ, or in the black void.

There is also a bunch of common sensations that accompany an OBE, like a heaviness, a pulling sensation, or a difficulty in getting away from the physical body.

Contract this with an Astral Projection.  With an AP, sometimes I just phase into a scene.  I bypass all the physical separation hurdles, and just lock & phase into a scene that I see in my field of vision.

Also, with AP, I never seem to project directly into my bedroom.  I always automatically end up in some strange place, or a place far away from my physical body.

I also interact with more entities there, who seem to be aware and cognizant of both myself and their environment.

Again, these are all MY interpretations of the differences between LD's, AP's, and OBE's.  As any experienced projector may tell you, you never feel like you have all the answers, and the way you see things is subject to change all the time as you have more and more experiences.  I try not to get caught up in what 'other' people say is truth, but instead, follow what I feel is the truth at the time, based on my personal experiences and observations.  

I hope that this post helped you in some way.

[Amadeus82]

i had an experience this afternoon.  didn't know if it was LD or AP.  but that doesn't worry me.  
i felt me leaving my body.  but when i was out everything still had a physical diamension and i couldn't see, everything was black so i had to feel myself way around.  i was still in my room and going walking around my house.  
kept getting zapped back into my body and my eyes were already open but couldn't move or i think my physical eyes were open.
so i projected again this time everything i saw was blurry as.  then zapped back into my body. it seems to happen about ever 15 to 20 minutes.  but after that i changed the scenery and everything became clear but still had physical diamension,  felt a little slow and sluggish.

anything i can do to prevent being zapped back into my body??
to make my vision more clear?
and to release the mentallity of the physical diamension to everything??

[Dreamer]

Can I ask why you'd want to go OBE when AP sounds just as effective for getting where you want to go without all the...er...troubles?

From the sounds of it I AP a lot, but don't OBE.

[Amadeus82]

because of all the techniques of AP led me to OOBE.  and i have found that when i OOBE and if i can get away i can either go into LD or AP but not the other way around.  this is just a personal opinion. and have never experience of going from ld or ap into oobe

[Dreamer]

Er, I'm still not up on all the terminology, have been just winging it--self learning as it were. What's LD? Lucid dreaming? Oh right. Checking out the earlier posts.

Hmm.

You can lucid dream and astral project once in OBE but not other way around...

What do I do...? Let's see I've OBE once or twice, and was always just so freaked out by the experience that I'd slam back into my body. Ouch!  So don't know that I'd be able to AP or lucid dream like that out of OBE. I'm intrigued. How *do* you?

I don't go ouch when APing, so I travel that way almost exclusively. And I seem to be able to be lucid during sleep whenever I want to. However that came from very intense effort over a lot of time.  Now I don't like to muck about in my dreams, just enjoy them.

Guess I avoid OBE cause it hurts more. And is really freaky. I, mean, you are *there,*  man! All I tend to do on an OBE is stand and sniff the air and look at the dirt in the cracks and feel the breeze, you know.

What I do know about doing a successful OBE is you really have to focus on where you want to go. The more focus and desire you have, the more irresistable the draw becomes to the place. And whap you are there. I've found with AP I don't need to drum up the same intense focus.

[mysticmetalgoddess]

I have been doing AP for years. I didn't know what it was.
I can only descibe it as sinking into myself or catching up with myself. When I do this I sometimes can see trails if I move too fast. Only if I wave my own hand in front of my face...
It's weird.
I have had cat scans (they were normal)and I'm not on any weird drugs.

I recently told my mom about them and she said she left her body once and it scare the hell out of her. It also left her feeling weak.
I don't feel weak after it happens I usually feel refreshed.

My older brother said he's had it happen to him too.

Is this what AP's are like???

[Dreamer]

For me, don't know if I'm using the same terms as everyone else, astral projection (AP) is heading out and about without any great distress or separation from the body.

Now out of body (OBE) is an actual feeling of separation, so you feel like two entities. It can be quite frightening and can be painful if you slam back into your body, as I did.

Now I don't really know if I learned to control the fear, or the descent, but I do experience varying degrees of travel, some more OBE than AP but without the freaking out and pain anymore.

I do like AP better for a number of reasons. It's just easier.  If you have OBE'd as it seems you did, you can AP no problem. Stilling the mind is important. As is feeling you are protected.  

Often people stop doing what can become quite natural, travelling, because of the abruptness of the first incident. Keep at it. Study all you can. Learning some type of meditation, yoga, tai chi, or other energetic practice is very helpful for becoming able to travel with ease.