How to keep the mind awake

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todd421757

This morning I was trying to practice for an OBE. I just kept falling asleep no matter what (like usual). Then I tried something different. I listened to myself breathing. I didn't try to control my breathing. I just listened to it very passively. After a little while, I heard myself occasionally gasping during breathing. And finally I heard myself gently snoring. My mind was awake the entire time with full consciousness. It was so easy to induce sleep paralysis this way. I am going to try again tomorrow morning. It took little to no effort at all.

Then after I heard myself snoring, I switched to practicing an OBE technique. After a couple of minutes I was successful.

If anyone has ever tried doing this, please let me know. I may have stumbled upon something great.

Note:
While you are laying on your back, touch your thumb and first finger together at the pads and have both hands resting by your sides. Do this with both hands while you are laying on your back. When sleep paralysis is first coming on you will not feel your fingers touching anymore. They actually are still touching, but you will not feel it. This is the very beginning of sleep paralysis.

NoY


ArmyOfOne1911

Congrats! I am going to give this a shot right now I will let you know what happens.  :-)

embrace

This is interesting, I will certainly try!

Mr.PumperNickle

I'll try this technique today and see how it goes.
So close but so far to projecting. It'll come one day, i'll just have to wait.

todd421757

I've tried this method a total of 4 times now. I've had two OBE's, one trance but no OBE, and one failure.

I've noticed that it is tricky to listen to the breathing without trying to control it. DON'T try to control your breathing. Also I have noticed if I don't hear myself breathing anymore, it means my mind is falling asleep. This is when I trigger my mind to wake up and focus on the sound of the breathing again.

Also, the gasping I mentioned earlier actually sounds like me occasionally taking a deep breath or a sigh. If you don't snore, you will need to find another pattern in your breathing that signals you're asleep.

And finally I found that it is easier to pick the sleeping position that allows me to hear my breathing the loudest. 2 of the 4 times, my breathing was the loudest in the side sleeping position. The other 2 times it was the loudest on my back. It may vary from person to person. It helps me if I willfully increase the sound of my breathing for the first few minutes just to start the pattern. Then I let my body naturally take over the breathing from there.

Feel free to send me a personal message if you have any questions. I would like to get some people together to fine tune this to make it more effective.

It is a good idea not to think of any other thoughts while performing this technique. A chattering mind is counterproductive in OBE's.

Jdeadevil

What do you mean when you say "Passively", as in, passively listening to yourself breathing?

todd421757

Jdeadevil,

The goal is to play no active part in the controlling of your body's breathing process. You are only listening to your body breathing and convincing yourself that the body is not part of your mind or soul. Your mind is independent from the body. You are a passive listener to an outside source (the physical body). This creates a mind that is independent from the body which creates sleep paralysis (mind awake, body asleep). Now when you practice your own particular OBE technique, it will be easier to separate.

SirMike

How do you listen to your breath, but not control it?

That confuses me  :?

Xanth

Quote from: SirMike on June 26, 2012, 20:24:38
How do you listen to your breath, but not control it?

That confuses me  :?
Be passive.  :)

todd421757

Quote from: SirMike on June 26, 2012, 20:24:38
How do you listen to your breath, but not control it?

That confuses me  :?

It would be similar to when you have someone laying next to you and they are asleep. You can hear their breathing pattern, but you are not controlling their breathing. You are only passively listening to them breathing.

This is how you would do it for yourself. You listen to yourself breathe while trying not to change its rhythm. This will cause your mind to be awake while your body falls asleep.

If you mistakenly try to control and change your breathing pattern, you are forcing your body to remain awake.

The quicker your body falls asleep, the quicker you can have an out of body experience. Try not to control your breathing. Simply, listen to yourself breathe while your body quickly falls asleep. Then when you feel a tingle or heaviness, then it is time to start your out of body technique.

VampLena

This is very interesting, if I might ask when your body hits sleep paralysis, what do you do to induce your OBE?


justin35ll

Awesome if it works for you, i might try it, but I feel like it might keep my mind too locked in the physical and prevent me from falling back asleep. Like sometimes when I wake up in the morning and I immediately start thinking about something i'm doing that day it will be hard to fall back asleep. I just feel like this would have the same effect FOR ME at least

8bit

I think i will try that as well.

bluremi

I have done this myself. My problem is that when I start snoring (it was quite a crushing realization to find out that I am one of those people who snore!) it wakes me up because it feels like I am suffocating.

Logically I understand that I need to become comfortable with the sensation of snoring, it is just difficult.

Todd, did you have this problem? What does snoring feel like for you?




For people wondering how to be passive, it is actually a tricky endeavor. This is something meditators who focus on their breath eventually learn to do, how to pay attention to your breath without influencing it in any way. It is a tricky balance, but once you strike upon the right mindset you can use it for any part of your body. When I need to relax tension in any part of my body (especially my eyes) I can passively focus on the sensation of tension without trying to get rid of it. The mental state is comparable to "curiosity," where you are idly feeling like "I wonder what will happen next" second by second. By focusing on it passively the tension eventually dissolves on its own.

todd421757

#16
Quote from: bluremi on June 27, 2012, 12:51:29
I have done this myself. My problem is that when I start snoring (it was quite a crushing realization to find out that I am one of those people who snore!) it wakes me up because it feels like I am suffocating.

Logically I understand that I need to become comfortable with the sensation of snoring, it is just difficult.

Todd, did you have this problem? What does snoring feel like for you?

I have heard my breathing stop many times while listening to myself snore. Like you mentioned, you may just need to become used to the sensation of hearing you snore. Keep practicing this technique until you become comfortable.

The technique gets easier over time. For example, yesterday I reached sleep paralysis in 1 minute. This is my personal best.

My snoring is gentle and very rhythmical with some occasional pauses. Almost like a slow deep relaxed breathing. The gasping (sudden deep inhale breath) I get before I start to snore startles me the most. But, I have learned to remain passive during this.