trance and exit questions

[ralphm]

interesting stuff- i bet if you could "slow down " again you could use that as a way to get in trance.
do you get body rushes after quietting the mind? could be the influx of energies similar to what is described in AD with the NEW energy.
i have found the desciption of trance to out of body in AD to be very accurate.
the sensations can be very intense and distracting.
the idea of focus is something i have thought of also, with no answer. i seem to drift off to a dream state before waking/dreaming out of body-if you are too focused it seems to keep you too awake but if you loose it you drift into sleep.

[Ashfo]

Hi justin,

I'm afraid I cant help you with the trance questions, I myself am fairly new to OBE's though I would like to ask you about your phasing/lenation (two words which have been given to what you call "slowing down time").

On an old website I visited I saw posts on such a thing, one by a person who claimed to be able to slow time down enough to see individual frames in a movie. I do believe it is possible, but I myself have found nothing on the subject. What do you feel when you do this? Does any state of awareness bring it on? Any special environmental conditions?

You might also be interested to read the post entitled Lenation only three or four days old on this forum.


- Ashfo

[justinh]

I read those phasing and lenation articles and I don't think it accurately describes what I was experiencing.

It feels like experiencing things from a much more detached frame of mind, with kind of a hazy, yet clear, focus.

I suppose I kind of exaggerated the "slowing down". What I am talking about is much more mild, and is probably just the result of being in a VERY relaxed state while listening to something as crazy and energetic as music... the guitar, vocals, drums, etc all kinda throws the deep relaxation for a loop because of the constant barrage on the senses by a variety of sounds.

I don't really think anything moves any slower, though I am not sure that this could not be accomplished with rigorous practice.

I really enjoyed the phasing article about a boxer having excellent reflexes because of being able to control this ability.  Fascinating, all the same!

[ralphm]

i always thought that chaotic music could could be relaxing if you could use the chaos in it to counteract chaos in the head. when listening to such music have you ever tried to focus on just one repetitive part-for example the cymbals? one time i was listening to such music and followed the cymbals and got into a trance like state.

[Tom]

The thing about visualizing other people's houses sounds like William Buhlman's "target technique" (Adventures Beyond the Body). It involves imagining yourself as being somewhere and interacting with the objects there. As it involves placing your awareness of yourself in a place other than your body rather than just visualizing, it sounds like a variation on the rope technique to me. In an interview with Jeff Rense, William said that most people who use his technique daily can go out of body consciously in 40 to 60 days. I'm thinking about trying it.

[Ryno]

Tom, let us know how you do. I tried the target technique also. I dont believe i carried through with it for 40 days but i felt that it was hard to hold onto the visualization. Maybe if i practiced it for 40 days i would think otherwise huh?

[Tom]

Part of the target technique is in choosing a location. It has to be somewhere comfortable that you are familiar with. William Buhlman suggests walking through the area physically every day for up to about 30 days to help fix it in your imagination. The area I chose is the meditation room on the first floor of the University Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa. Having tried to meditate at home and in several public places, this is where it has always been easiest for me. The place has a good feel to it. Memorizing aspects of the room was not a problem, and starting with only three is enough. The key is not in the details of the place so much as in remembering how it felt to be actually present physically there. Today I think I mostly caught up on my sleep. Tonight I will start counting my 40 to 60 days.

[justinh]

ralphm,

That's exactly what I was thinking.  Typically when listening to music in this state, one particular instrument stands out and it's usually something in the background that I almost never focus on.

[Grenade01]

I think you should know if you've had an OBE
not neccisarily while your having it, but afterwards.
I mean sometimes its just like confused what the  hell is going on..then you snap back and your like oh damn i just missed a great opportunity

I do that all to often =(

usually (not always) you will feel the intense vibrations which come to some kind of weird peak.. (if you do it consciously) or you may feel the vibrations and then you will pass out for a second and wake up OBE.  Many people dont get the vibes at all, and they are definately not neccisary...but it just seems to happen most of the time.  if you dont know the vibrations yet, you will.. =)  LOL even if you give up on obe, if you try at least a little longer you will experience the vibes

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/You must try some of my purple berries.
I've been eating them for 6 or 7 weeks now, haven't got sick once.
Prolly keep us both alive.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

[justinh]

Hi all,

I am new to this, having purchased AD about two weeks ago.  Since then I have read quite a bit of it, and have been practicing regular meditation.  At first I was a bit skeptical, since I don't believe in very many supernatural things, but I DO strongly believe in the powers of the human mind.

The past few nights, I have been able to reach a fairly deep level of trance with increasing ease.  I feel very heavy and sharp noises in the house tend to cause a bit of jarring pain in the stomach.  Since I read that these are trance symptoms, I feel that I am on the right track.  Also, it tends to feel to me like, in trance, my center of consciousness kinda sinks into my chest, like my whole body was a flat plane.  It feels like my head is level with my feet... anyone else have this feeling?  Is this a symptom of lighter or heavier trance, do you think?

By the way, my general meditation position is sitting on two pillows, back to the wall against another pillow, with a fourth pillow under the outstretched legs and feet.

Anyway, to my original questions...  As I said, I am getting closer and closer.  I perform the rope trick and can feel the vertigo and tightness in the chest.  Last night I must have tried alternations between the rope trick and a general "steam" effect for about an hour with no luck.  My problem with the rope trick is that I begin to count, and I am not sure that is good for my concentration/relaxation, so I try the steam trick.  I can feel myself rising, the tightness increasing, and then...nothing.  I settle down, build back up hoping for another...nothing.

At first I thought it was problems with eye-twitching and jaw tightening as I try to focus, but I have since been able to control those things and be in a more relaxed state, I still have had no luck.  As far as the eyes go, should they be totally shut tight, or should you focus and appear to be looking through your eyelids???  Personally, I find it hard to visualize the rope if my eyes are too relaxed.  What do you think?

What should be happening?  I keep looking for some kind of event to let me know that I am projecting, but nothing so far has come.  Will my eyes suddenly "pop open" astrally and I will start seeing as if my physical eyes were really open?  Will I feel myself lift out?  What will be my first clue that I have projected?  Where, bodily, will this clue come from?

Also, two more general questions:
1)
I seem to have the ability to kind of quickly "channel energy" through my body.  It feels like a rush into my chest and lasts for about a second or two.  I can do this repeatedly, but NOT as a sustained surge.  If I try again too soon, I can't seem to "draw" any more energy, which tells me that my body does get tired, and I have to wait a minute or two before I can try again...

When meditating, I can feel slight wavelike vibrations, particularly in my feet, after I perform this.  They die out after a minute or so.

Can anyone else perform this, and what use might it be?

My assumption is that martial artists use a similar technique, like focusing chi, but I am not sure if this is the same thing.

2)
When I was little, I seemed, on occasion, to feel time kinda "slow down" I guess would be the word.  I could feel as if I was on a different consciousness level.  Focus was more easily obtained and things, particularly music, just seemed to sound SLOWER than they usually did.  Also, some of the instruments and beats would become more distinct than they usually were.  The only reason this bugs me is that this happened to me recently when I was in front of the computer with WinAmp.  It hasn't happened to me in years and I have no idea how to trigger this deliberately.  Has anyone else experienced this phenomena?

Any input is appreciated...

Thanks!
Justin

UPDATE:
Something else I forgot to add...  To reach a level of full trance, once technique I have come up with is to picture the rooms of peoples' houses.  This seems to work rather well because it keeps my mind active without thinking too hard.  I just recall a snapshot, and move from room to room, and then house to house, doing this until I feel deeply relaxed.  It serves to calm me down, clear my mind of any "internal dialogue", and yet gives me sufficient things to focus on until I get truly relaxed.  It may or may not work for you, but it helps me quite a bit.