OBE fears affecting my health - need help

[Hephaestus]

If I was you i'd forget the fears and astral project, maybe your enegy centres will realign and you'll feel much better. OOBE'ing is a chance to learn things, others dont get the chance to cos they cant even project at all.

[Pearlybear]

The best advice I can give is to just tell yourself repeatedly that you are not afraid.
I think you are right you need to face your fear before you can truly rest.
I wish you only the best{:-)

[Nimzomyth]

Gandalf,

I am sorry to hear about your fear and how it is affecting you.  But, I hope you will eventually realise that you are quite gifted to be able to exit on your first attempt.  For many it is very difficult and takes mind training and energy excercises.  I can relate to you slightly because I had my first concious outer body experience in a drug induced state.  This was extremely intense and freaked me out (and my friends and brothers) for a while.  Nevertheless after thinking about it, I relise now that this was essentially a spiritual and positive experience (Note, I am not condoning the use of drugs to help with OBE.  It is better to do it naturally) it has made me think about life very differently and now I am ready to experiment with OBE more.  Hope you get over the fear.

Best wishes -

Nimzomyth

[jilola]

Sounds like you have to get over a barrier within yourself.
How about devising a ritual to create a safe environment to allow yourself to go through with the OBE? Since OBEs are intrinsically spiritual a good ritual could help you ivercome the apprehension you have.

2cents

jouni

[Bhikku]

Hello Gandalf (love your name!) My first projection attempt that same thing happended to me, but this was a few months ago. I have tried again to do it but I always remember that horrible fear that I felt the first time, and it's like a wall inside me I can't get around, this may be the same type of wall inside you causing you to be exhausted. I think the best idea is to do it again, and go through with it all the way. The only way to beat fear is to face it. Just know that, no matter who scared you get, it will pass, and you will be OK. Make a big sign on your wall if you have to saying "I will be OK no matter what!" Hope that helps.

"The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness does not understand"

[Gandalf]

Thank you everyone for your kind words and advice!
Its just wonderful after all these years of not being able to talk to anyone about this, now I can share this with you all.. what a great medium the internet is!

I have only recently realised that the only true logical way out is to face my fears, I think I have aways known this deep down but have supressed it. I am now coming to accept it. I think however, that being able to share this with other OBEers (albeit more succeseful ones!) has been so great... thank you!
Concerning your comments about being able to obe on a first attempt.. You say that I am actually lucky in this respect. You know, I never thought of it like that before.... I've always (due to the fear aspect of course) taken this as a negative factor, but you've helped me see it from another point of view, in that its actually a good thing!

I WILL do this!

Thanks everyone!

Regards,
Douglas

[jilola]

It's good that we've been of help.
Let us know how it goes, ok?

jouni

[Gandalf]

>It's good that we've been of help.
>Let us know how it goes, ok?
>jouni

Will do!

It will be a real task this though, I believe it will be the biggest personal challenge I have ever attempted. I have been thinking though that perhaps this was meant to happen, that one of my tasks in this life was to overcome personal fear, if so then what a way of doing so!

I will have to set aside a day and say to myself 'on this day I WILL go through with it.
I think that a firm resolution to try it on a certain day will be the only way, this is because already I have felt myself trying to worm out of it, I kind of thought after reading the articles on the forum today, 'oh, maybe I should try it tonight... oh no I cant, I'm going out this weekend, but I WILL try it soon' etc etc..
Basically Im looking for excuses to chicken out.  I guess that running away from the fear is easier than facing it, however, I'm getting more and more fatigued as time goes by so I have to resolve to deal with this now.
  Anyway, I must set a day, somthing like a certain day next week whereby I will make sure that I am free on that day and set it aside as 'projection day'!
I read Robert Bruce's advice about projecting in broad daylight as an aid to fear problems, this sounds good to me!

All for now,
Douglas

[Clarine]

  Hi Douglas !

I think that you don't have the obligation to have an OBE as soon as possible if you are not ready to have it !  You are still young, take your time !

Here's my experience :

I had my first OBE symptoms 4 years ago.  But since last summer, I started to read and study a lot this phenomena.  I was not necessarely trying to have an OBE, I was just trying to understand it.  I was afraid very much and I had sleep problems and insomnia for a month !  It was very difficult, and I could'nt talk about it to my relatives, because they don't really believe in that...

By small moves, I started to be quiet about that.  I tried to have something else in my life to "forget" my fears : I played music, I did art crafts, etc.  And I meditated a lot.  My fears diminushed.

We just have to remember that before knowing this phenomena, we were sleeping all nights and we had OBE without having conscious of that...  Well, where is the problem now ?!

Now, I try to have OBE , I do my experiences by little moves, I really take my time.  If I don't want to think about that, I try to do something different in my life for few days, then all my subconscient "thinks" about something else.  I'm only 24 years old and my device is : " I'll have a long life to experiment ! "

Here's my advice for you : first, try to sleep comfortably, without thinking of OBE, you have to be revigorated and make your "tiredness" gone.  While you are doing that, accept this wonderful gift and be convicted that it's a natural thing.  When your health will be ok, and if your mind want to, you can try to have satisfying OBE.  I think your fears will disappear very fast.

Remember : you're not alone !  You'll survive

Take care,

Clarine xxx

(sorry for my bad english, I usually speak french)[/font=Aria]    

[Gandalf]

Thanks Clarine!

Regards,
Douglas

[Grendel]

I think a lot of what you're experiencing is a natural reaction to your newly expanded view of the world.  For many years, most of us are very content and secure with our view of the world, and how it works.  Then all of the sudden, an OBE shows us that we really have no clue how anything works at all.  (Still waiting for my OBE, but I can imagine the implications)  This new view of the world around you (And IN you), can be a subconscious trauma, something that needs to be dealt with.

If I were you, I'd read Robert Bruce's book (Or if anybody knows of any other good ones).  It did a lot to help me overcome my fears.  It helps to put things in a very rational view, instead of just being a frightening unknown variable, wondering what's waiting for you on the other side, etc.  Good luck, and be sure and let us know what happens!

[Grenade01]

I don't believe your health problems are related to your obe problems..but then who am I?  
I've had a similar problem actually... not exactly the same though... but the first time I had a spontaneous OBE, afterwards I started getting sleep paralysis chronically (most the time with astral sight except I was confined to my body) Sometimes I would wake up 15 to 20 times a night in sleep paralysis (this is in addition to the many times I wake up a night naturally anyway)  its pretty easy to purposely induce sleep paralysis even though its a bit harder for me to induce obe..but I believe my sleep paralysis was caused by that first OBE experience..  Anyway the only real effect it had on me anyway was to deprive me of a little sleep and get my adrenaline going every once in a while =)  As I grow older the symptoms have lessened a lot...and since Ive actually become interested in obe I actually dont mind them...its funny I actually started with being extremely scared of the sleep paralysis ...it would really deathly scare me ...but the all of a sudden one time a couple years ago I had it again and I was like oh wow this is actually pretty pleasant..and now I actually look forward to it... the vibrations are very strong and since I cant feel my body at all its like a weird energy masage or something
anyway now that I wasted your time with an overly long message filled with poor grammer...
good luck..and I hope you find your answers

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[Tisha]

Everyone . . . as many of you know, having exit sensations when you are exhausted basically STINKS.  Sadly, it is often chronic fatigue that will BRING ON these symptoms, because when you aren't sleeping well you are more aware of your consciousness coming-and-going (most people just sleep through it).

Gandalf, go to a doctor and ask for a decent sleep aid (nonaddictive).  GET SOME MUCH NEEDED REST.  Excercise during the day so that you will be tired at night.  Give up caffeine (yeah like, I should talk!).  Design a lifestyle for yourself that is peaceful.

Don't try to OBE until you have done this important work for yourself.  

Remember:  When you are depleted, altered states are distressing and hard to control.   When you are rested and at peace, altered states are truly magical!

Peace and magic to all!
tisha

[Gandalf]

Thanks Trish,
I have an appointment with the doctor for next week so I can get somthing for the sleep deficit, like a 14 year sleep deficit!!!

I remember at one time thinking of going to see a psychiatrist to see if he could help me with my obe 'exit trauma' as RB calls it.
I decided against it however as I can't see your average psychiatrist accepting anything OBE related, he would probably think I was covering up repressed memories of being raped by a horse or somthing

It only twigged recently that in order to deal with obe related problems, I should talk to othr OBE'ers,
I know, Doh!
Still, I got here eventially!

Regards,
Douglas

[PeacefulWarrior]

For what it's worth my friend, you are not alone when it comes to fear of OBE affecting your health adversely.  There are many indivudals, a lot of whom are children and teens, who have experienced OBE and are deathly afraid of it due to misinformation or total ignorance.  There are also many who experienced it totally spontaneously!  I think that would be even more frightening because at least you had some preconceived notion of OBE.

I know if I were in your shoes it would help to know that I am not alone.

fides quaerens intellectum

[Grenade01]

Hahaha raped by a horse.

Yeah I imagine plenty of people have trouble when they don't understand whats going on.... Like I did as well..but once you understand it and actually try to take control and what not... You kind of loose the fear..

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[Gandalf]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum. I recently searched the net for info on astral projection, in truth though, I should have done this a long time ago as I need some help and advice. Here's the problem:

I first became interested in the concept of AP when I was very young, about 11 or 12 in fact. (Im now 27)  I was lucky in the fact that my parents was always open minded about the supernatural and this probably rubbed off on me. Being inquisitive anyway,  I read quite a lot on paranormal topics.  I remember even then though, I was quite sceptical about a lot of it. But the concept of AP was a common one and I became very interested in this idea. Anyway, when I was around 13, I picked up a manual on AP as I was keen to try this out for myself.
Here is where it all went wrong though. I went to bed on the chosen night that i had set aside for the projection. I went through the carefully planned series of relaxation methods and mental exercises to induce projection. (I was lying on the bed facing upwards.
The last exersise involved imagining yourself rolling round and round in your body, then will yourself to rise...
I did this, and to my amazement I felt myself do so... I felt a tingling rushing sensation from the 4 corners of my body surging up, through my chest towards my head.. my heart felt like it was going to explode... i later read that this was in fact my heart chakra speeding up. Basically, I could feel myself rushing out of my body, absolutely no doubt about it. Remember, this is at the FIRST ATTEMPT!!!
It was then that I coped out sat bolt upright in pure FEAR! I remember saying aloud, 'oh my god, it DOES work!'
I dont know what i was expecting. I thought i would be quite prepared for it. I remember being excited the previous day at anticipation oft trying this out. Somehow though, when I actually succeeded and it suddenly became REAL I freaked... TOTALLY!.
After calming down for an hour or so I decided to just go back to sleep. However, within a few moments i felt the exit sensation again and I bolted out of bed, petrified. Ever since then I have always been worried of these sensations occuring again, which they did. it was if my astral self had been permanatly 'loosened' somehow. Often I could only go to bed when I am REALLY tired because the exit sensations do not seem to occur then.
Over time (years) I got the sensations less and less but there was a price for this. Over the past 10 years or so, I have become steadily more and more phisically and mentally tired. So much so now that it is sometimes difficult to think straight. basically a kind of chronic fatigue syndrome. however I believe this is directly related to my experience when I was 13. Due to the fact that I am tired all the time (even although I have lots of sleep nowadays) I rarely get any AP symtoms.
I wonder, is this tirdeness induced by my subconcious as a way of avoiding the AP feelings? a way of avoiding my fear? If Im tired I dont get the AP symtoms.
Or as I suspect, I believe my energy centres are blocked due to my fear, I think subconciously, I am trying to supress AP so much that it is interfering with my sleep patterns. I know that everyone projects to a certain extent during sleep.

Whats made it all worse is that I felt and still feel totally alone- how could I tell anyone about this? they would think I was nuts!
Imagine faced with the unknown like this and absolutly petrified and not being able to tell anyone, not your parents, friends or anyone in authority.
I was too young, 13 years old! If I was trying it now for the first time im sure it would have been easier, I guess I was not ready then. Of course the upside if you want to look at it like that, is that  learning to AP as a child is much easier. remember, I WOULD HAVE succeeded on my first attempt if I had followed through with the exit, I have no doubt of that.
I think that the end result of this is that my astral body is permanatly 'loosened'  within me or it is easier to generate as a result, but my fear is suppresing it and has done so for the past 14 years.
However the phisical fatigue that i am experiencing is only getting worse and i have to face up to this as quickly as possibly, thats why I'm here.
This is the FIRST TIME i've sought any help but i really need it now.
I already know what I have to do really. The fear has eaten me up inside and i will have to face it. I will have to go back and attempt a full projection. I feel that if I did that then this malaise that has plagued me all these years would evaporate with my fear.
To all you experienced APers out there this may all seem ridiculous but hopefully you can understand the effect that fear can generate especially if it is allowed to perpetuate over years into something insurmountable.

Any help/advice greatly appreciated.
I need to face my fear.

Regards,
Douglas