Ground Zero - starting over -

[SJones]

I would love to hear your relaxation technique.


Sandra

[ady]

Well, nice experience

I learned to relax using a relaxation audio-cassette. After a while you get used to it and can relax without by yourself good luck

[Draege]

I have experienced all of the *EXACT* things you have since I've started. Hopefully I can explain what I believe them all to be..

1. While my dreams haven't gotten any weirder, the amount of lucid dreams I've been having has gone up. I am more aware of my dreaming in general, its like an overall growth in conciousness since I started.

2. Personally for me this hasn't been a problem at all. I have a specific sleep position (on my side) and my OBE attempts and meditation I always lie on my back. For me lying on my back its simply impossible to fall asleep. I still 'slip' while I'm trying to OBE and my thoughts start drifting but because of my position I never fall asleep. Maybe if you can find a good position like maybe sitting in a chair or lying on the floor could work for you? Can't think of what else to recommend here.

3. The cold is caused by your muscles relaxing when you lay down. Your muscles are what give off your body heat so when they relax and go into sleep mode they aren't burning energy and giving off heat, so your body drops in temperature.

4. Practice with this stuff has likewise greatly helped to focus my mind. For me its helped me to control my state of mind, whether multitasking or calming your thoughts which was impossible for me before it seemed.

5. Pretty much the same as #4.

6. Greater calmness of your mind, increased focus, expanded conciousness, all of which are things I've also gained doing this. I think all of these are factors. You're simply more aware, more intune with yourself and your mind.

7. The truth is this noise is always there, always. You tend not to hear it unless things are extremely quiet or you're mentally focused like before you go to sleep or whatever. Its never really bothered me, if it does I say just do your best to not listen to it. Focus on the dream imagery in your head rather than the noise and it will fade out.

8. I've experienced this a whole lot, its definately something like a dream barrier. Right at the edge of being awake and slipping into a dream there's a click. Its very interesting is really all I can say about it =p. Usually it seems the click comes when you've bareeeely slipped passed the dream barrier and then you get the click when you snap back.

9. I suppose those are exit vibrations but I really can't say. I've experienced all kinds of very odd feelings and sensations when trying to OBE.. spinning, floating, expanding, nothingness, etc. Unfortunately I haven't had an OBE yet but I have yet to try it with interrupted sleep or anything like that. I always try in the middle of the day when I'm wide awake and that doesn't seem to be working.

For me the relaxing started off impossible, got a little eaiser.. Then I had a few odd specific problems like my breathing awareness, or muscle jumps, etc.. but somehow it just gets better as you practice and now I can lie down and be in paralysis in a few minutes without even having to think or try to relax. I sit in a movie theatre and enter paralysis just sitting. Its crazy =)

Anyway, best of luck!

[Tayesin]

Hi,
Having more dreams, weird or not is pretty normal I would think.  It may have something to do with inner issues being worked through because you are raising your vibrations etc.

Getting cold is usually a sign to me that 'other' entitites are around, especially if it starts at the toes and goes up your legs.  Usually when I project/journey, I am warm.  The others are attracted by your energy build-up.

A lot of people think we need to quiet the mind before we can do anything about our spiritual growth...this is incorrect.  We only need to focus our attention.  Which you are doing well.

6, Indicates that you are open and ready.  Hence why you are seeing these things.  I used to get a hundreds of faces coming to me at first, some I knew and most I didn't.  It may indicate the depth of support you have for your experiments and/or that others are approaching you for help ?

8, is the sound of transitioning into the astral awareness.  Not everyoone gets it though.  I used to have a very loud pop or crack sound in the first year of practicing.

9, may be because your awareness has shifted.  I found myself in the Void during my first few attempts...it is very quiet there, at least until you begin to investigate it when many things get attracted to your light.

Anyway, it seems like you are doing very well Cairnsb.

Love Always. []

[cairnsb]

Thanks for the feedback - I am just gald to know that others experiance these same things.

Someone wanted to know my "method" - really did not want to post it as I did not want this thread to become "the best method" thread.

But here goes.

* Bear in mind I use this to Fall Asleep - I always curl up in bed in the fetal postion - for OOBEs I will do as the previous poster said - lay on my back - when testing this method I tried it on my back once and found I 100% could not fall alseep - for some reason I am a "side sleeper".

Before I get in bed, I strech - you know the full body exagerated kind of strech you see in movies when people wake up - being sure to tense (briefly) every muscle.

Then I lay down and cover myself up in bed and get comfortable.

This is when the hypnotic (spelling) images and the buzzing sound starts..

I start focusing on my feet and focus on each part of my body - and say to myself "Relax" this part of my body spending about two to three breaths on each body part until I feel it relax,  - like this:

Feet - focus on relaxing them and say to self "relax"
Lower Legs - focus on relaxing them and say to self "relax"
Upper Legs - focus on relaxing them and say to self "relax"
Pelvis  - focus on relaxing it and say to self "relax"
Abdomin -  - focus on relaxing it and say to self "relax"
Mid Section -  - focus on relaxing it and say to self "relax"
Hands - focus on relaxing them and say to self "relax"
Fore Arms  - focus on relaxing them and say to self "relax"
Upper Arms - focus on relaxing them and say to self "relax"
Sholders - focus on relaxing them and say to self "relax"
Neck - focus on relaxing it and say to self "relax"
Head - focus on relaxing it and say to self "relax"
Face - focus on relaxing it and say to self "relax"
Jaw - focus on relaxing it and say to self "relax"
Eyes - focus on relaxing them and say to self "relax"

* Notice I specificaly focus on the face, jaw, and eyes - I tend to find that even if I am "relaxed" these areas tend to retain a cetain amount of stress.

As you can see there is no magick trick behind it - it is actually a combination of several known methods.

I have used this method every night for a few months.
At first I had to repeat the method two sometimes three times.

Now I make it as far as my hands and I am out like a light.

I feel now that I have trained myself how to relax, my next hurdle will be to remain mentally awake through the process.

To accomplish this - these are the things I plan to do.

1. Practice while I am wide awake, or only mildy tired.

2. Eat lightly - make sure I am not hungry or full, just somewhere in between.

3. Make some type of repeating thought pattern or mantra that I can repeat in my head over and over to keep my mind focused and aware - maybe something like "body asleep mind awake".

4. Shut my door - every time I have tried to intentionally project the darn cat jumps on me and about scares me to death.

I am open to your thoughts and comments []

[Rastus]

Dam Depression!!!!  If only I had found this site years ago!!!  But then I wouldn't have contrasting experiences. OH NO!  Hows that for Karma, make a healer sick so he can learn to be a better healer []

More dreams is good!!!!  When I'm centered and meditating well, I dream a LOT, and vividly.   When I was off-center and depressed I barely dreamed.

I'm IT also.  I've always multitasked, but I've seen a lot of other IT types that can't.

When I'm off-center, I can't shut my mind off.  Work problems keep rolling over in my head.  Centered, nothing.

Faces and mist.  Your there.  Try this.  Form the mist into a wall, the look for a specific face.  Use a mental TV-Remote to change the channel to whatever you want.  I have fantastic images at this sage.  Farseeing?

[Tayesin]

Hi,
I always do my journeys while sitting in a comfy lounge chair because I can fall asleep when lying in bed. My Siamese cat also likes that time to jump on my lap.. she is also attracted by the energy as it builds so wants to sit in it.  I also see this when pets are around a healing being conducted.

The focusing of your attention on a mantra etc, is really not necessary..  it may be best to have your Intention as your focus.

This is what I do for myself and use in circles with others.  Take three deep relaxing breaths and with each exhale I blow out my dross, tightness, niggly muscular things etc, and when inhaling I see in my mind's eye clear white light coming in.  This relaxes me quickly, so to insure I stay that way, I immediately bring White Light down over and into me.. then sit in it for a minute, relaxing into the warmth.

This does a few things for me.  The whole process uses focused attention.. so the mind isn't blabbering away in the background, my awareness is already hightened in the Light, if there is a need for a shield then it is done already by using the Light and lastly, it puts me at the door/gate/whatever you want to call it, ready then to journey/project etc.

You will probably find your first awareness is of being in two places at once,  being present in your physical body and aware at some other location.  This is normal.  Being aware of your body will decrease the more you practice, or the deeper/further you go.  

Good Luck.

[cairnsb]

is the split mind effect common for OOBEs?

[cairnsb]

Well after trying a few methods some worked a little and some none at all and still some were amazing, I found a relaxation method that 100% of the time puts me to sleep...so now that I have this method down, I am switching to working on OOBEs...after all the relaxation and Mind Awake / Body sleep is the biggest step right? [|)]

Mind you I am working on a relaxation technique that works for me not so much the Alpha and Omega of OOBE methods.

Any ways I have noticed a few things...things in my life seem to be changing at an incredible rate. I am posting this to see if anyone else has had similar experiances - and asking for advice on where to go from here.

[] 1. More dreams - and more intense / weird - sometimes they are so weird that I wake up saying to myself "WTF was that all about???" Even had a dream where I was talking to my boss and told my boss that "I know this is a dream so I QUIT" - lol.

[^] 2. My body seems to be on auto-pilot, not I hardly get 1/2 way through my technique and I am out cold - and this is comming from a die hard insomniac.

[] 3. I am always cold - it is july here in Michigan (Battle Creek - home of Kelloggs ceral if your interested) - anyways I laydown and am hot...soon I find myself putting more and more covers on the bed as I get cold fast - this never used to happen.

[] 4. Multi-tasking mind...my daytime thoughts seem razor sharp, I am an IT professional and my job demands that my attention is split on multiple projects at once. A few months ago this was a pain - now it seems to come as instinctual as breathing.

[}:)] 5. Mentally  grounded - no more internal chatter - you knw the type - thinking of all the things you have to do, did I turn the stove off, what should I have for dinner...all of that seemed to come to an abrupt stop. I now seem to be focused 90% to 99% on my current thought / task.

[] 6. Hypnotic (spelling) images (faces, places, the "mist") occur about 20 - 50 seconds after I lay down, if I focus on them I can mentaly change them into things that I want (a face of someone I know, geometric shapes, other images)

[!] 7. The "buzzing" noise - this is a constant - I get this noise (sometimes feel like I have bugs or fingers moving all over me) and this usually starts about 15 minutes after laying down and continues until I drop off to sleep...sometimes it is very very very annoying.

[?] 8. A clicking sound - odd...happened a few times this week...at the threshold were I can tell I am close to sleep and I hear this loud "click" sometimes it sounds like someone flipped a light switch and sometimes it sounds like a gun firing (one time it was so loud I sat strait up in bed).

[?][?][?] 9. Nothingness - this one happened twice - images / buzzing noises get more and more intense - then everything stops - and I mean everything.

Not going to post my relaxation method as it is nothing special - no vodoo magick here, you just need to find what works for you.

I have read 1000 times that the hardest thing is learning to relax...I am by no means a master at it, but have definalty crossed some type of personal milestone.

So if anyone has any thoughts or comments - please share.