What position do you phase in?

[Kree]

I think most people lie on their back or sit reclined but I have a problem with this, on the back, if I completely relax my tongue i experience discomfort as the airway becomes obstructed. Reclined, letting my head fall forward eventually hurts me neck and causes my teeth to touch which is distracting. Letting my head fall back while seated is also problematic as when I eventually need to swallow saliva I will have to tilt my head forward a bit. Yet this is how everyone seems to do it. The only position I can sleep in is on the front, but for some reason this I never get very far in this position nor do I hear of others' success in it.

[Lumaza]

 You could Phase standing on your head if you wanted to!  

I had the same problems you had and probably even more. At first it was the "saliva" problem, while sitting up. Then came the problem of my eyes feeling like they were opening just as the exit/shift was about to occur. That was followed by bouts of hyperventilation when trying to take back control of my breathing. I had to confront them, handle them, then move on to the next hurdle, lol. Most of all that was due to fear. Even though I wanted to have a conscious exit/Phase into a new realm, I wasn't mentally prepared to at that stage.

The problems I found was I was still too "physically focused". Once I learned to relax, release and let go, I never had to deal with those issues again.

Nowadays, I do my Phase sessions in the bathtub. I find the water to be very relaxing and it helps me completely lose my physical focus. Try practicing "disorientation" from the physical body exercises such as the Phantom wiggle or etheric energy body work. It will consume your focus enough for you to forget your physical body period.
Any of these techniques will work to help you overcome your problems right now. Basically any of the techniques found here on the Astral Pulse Forum will help. Check out the "Stickies" found in this section of the Forum. http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_consciousness-b30.0/
 http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_to_astral_consciousness/how_exactly_do_you_perform_the_phantom_wiggle_method-t44583.0.html

[Nameless]

You can phase in any position even while standing doing menial tasks. As a matter of fact doing a repetitive task that does not need your brain engaged is an excellent way to focus. I can do it while washing a boat load of dishes.

[Kree]

You can phase in any position even while standing doing menial tasks. As a matter of fact doing a repetitive task that does not need your brain engaged is an excellent way to focus. I can do it while washing a boat load of dishes.

It's possible if you're already good at focusing, but is it not easier to phase (especially for beginners) by relaxing everything there is to relax first? Or does relaxing not matter because that's not something you think about?

[Nameless]

Actually you are un-focusing. Have you ever been doing something so boring you don't need to think about it? After a while you start day-dreaming and usually you aren't aware you were day-dreaming till you snap out of it.

If you have then that was phasing. So if you have done that then you can consciously phase. What you need to do now is learn to maintain your awareness while in that state. If you have not ever done this then go set a really boring yet simple task for yourself.

[Xanth]

Actually you are un-focusing. Have you ever been doing something so boring you don't need to think about it? After a while you start day-dreaming and usually you aren't aware you were day-dreaming till you snap out of it.

If you have then that was phasing. So if you have done that then you can consciously phase. What you need to do now is learn to maintain your awareness while in that state. If you have not ever done this then go set a really boring yet simple task for yourself.

Maybe we can turn this into an official projection method! 

[Kree]

Actually you are un-focusing. Have you ever been doing something so boring you don't need to think about it? After a while you start day-dreaming and usually you aren't aware you were day-dreaming till you snap out of it.

If you have then that was phasing. So if you have done that then you can consciously phase. What you need to do now is learn to maintain your awareness while in that state. If you have not ever done this then go set a really boring yet simple task for yourself.

That sounds like a really good idea but whenever I'm daydreaming, I'm not really seeing anything, I'm mostly just zoned out or lost in my thoughts. Maybe It's it's because visualizing takes too much effort or it's some kind of a mechanism I have so I don't stop seeing what's in front of me as that could cause problems, but I only see things if I'm actively visualizing something or am very tired, maybe tiredness lowers my guard and allows me to let go of this. Also, maybe seeing isn't mandatory, if I could somehow become engaged in my thoughts or music.

[astralm]

That sounds like a really good idea but whenever I'm daydreaming, I'm not really seeing anything, I'm mostly just zoned out or lost in my thoughts. Maybe It's it's because visualizing takes too much effort or it's some kind of a mechanism I have so I don't stop seeing what's in front of me as that could cause problems, but I only see things if I'm actively visualizing something or am very tired, maybe tiredness lowers my guard and allows me to let go of this. Also, maybe seeing isn't mandatory, if I could somehow become engaged in my thoughts or music.

So this is just my opinion which probably differs from many others here but I'm not on board with the if you close your eyes and imagine something you are projecting band wagon.  Day-dreaming the way most people day dream (the way you described above) is not phasing or projecting, in my view you are still in this reality frame (not phased) and simply thinking about somewhere else.  You can use that to phase, but it itself is not phasing, I don't think telling beginners if they close their eyes and imagine the room they are in they just successfully projected to the RTZ is helpful in anyway.

As for relaxing and position this is something I feel is unique to you and will probably be something that changes over time.  People tend to get confused with comfortable and relaxed.  They are related but not the same thing.  You want to be comfortable enough to be able to relax but not in a position if you fall asleep you will stay asleep for several hours.  You want a zone you can fall asleep in, but you will sleep lightly and naturally quickly wake up, this is a great zone for getting to know altered states and practicing in.  For some people this could be a recliner, for others a recliner might be too comfy and they can easily fall asleep for several hours.  Also you don't have to have head support, something like a meditation position (if you are able to relax enough in this position) or upright in a recliner might be good.  On your back on the ground in "corpse pose" for yoga, which is on your back with your hands at your sides and feet slightly spread apart might be a good option.  Again what position gives you this golden zone is likely to change over time, you might need to find ways to make it just a little more comfortable or have just a little more discomfort.

As for swallowing I have no idea when this became such a big thing, for the first 10 years I was into this I never heard or read anything about you needing to stop yourself from swallowing or it even being an issue.  Swallowing isn't the issue, you swallow thousands of time each day notice a fraction if any of them.  Putting attention on swallowing is the issue.  Just let yourself swallow naturally and don't think about it and it will have zero effect on your practice.  At some point this myth came about that "mind awake, body asleep" meant you had to not move a muscle by sheer force of will until you entered sleep paralysis.  Total bull, your heart is still going to beat, your digestive system is still going to do it's thing, everything that goes about it's business automatically throughout the day is still going to be active.  Your job is simply to just let it do it's thing and not put any attention on it.

[Nameless]

Maybe we can turn this into an official projection method! 

Sure why not? lol

Kree, you don't always see (with your eyes).
Yes, get lost in your thoughts. If you are like most people once you snap out of it or back to reality you immediately forget where your thoughts were. But it's only another step to practice and learn to maintain your focus. It is possible to have split awareness so seeing what you are doing physically while also seeing (or not) where you phase to is quite possible.

astralm - you are correct that phasing is not just using your imagination. But your imagination can get you there.

What I am trying to do here is point out how much easier this all is naturally when you don't stress over every little thing. Like you said above, you don't consciously think about swallowing anyway so why would you put so much importance on that when you are trying to relax. I was kind of floored too when I saw so much emphasis being put on things like swallowing and scratching an itch or yawning. That's just the body doing what it is supposed to do.

[Kree]

Thanks for the replies guys, I just tried daydreaming and visualizing whatever came to mind while seated without doing any relaxation, about 10 minutes in I felt like I'm suddenly going into unconsciousness and snapped back and started breathing heavier, I'm wondering if this was just me starting to sleep or if this is what phasing feels like assuming you manage to keep the focus on the NP. Also, even though I felt like a had a good focus on the NP I was still having thoughts about random things not related to my visualization which feels like it's taking away focus from the goal, is it okay to be aware of the physical and be thinking about it while daydreaming and it's just a matter of time until you phase or is it necessary to have 100% of the focus in the NP?

[Nameless]

I don't think there is anything such as 100% focus. Our minds just don't work that way. But the mind is totally capable of compartmentalizing so you 'think' you have lost focus.

You may have begun to phase or you may have actually been falling asleep. Only you know but the two can feel very much alike.

[T.L.]

I think most people lie on their back or sit reclined but I have a problem with this, on the back, if I completely relax my tongue i experience discomfort as the airway becomes obstructed. Reclined, letting my head fall forward eventually hurts me neck and causes my teeth to touch which is distracting. Letting my head fall back while seated is also problematic as when I eventually need to swallow saliva I will have to tilt my head forward a bit. Yet this is how everyone seems to do it. The only position I can sleep in is on the front, but for some reason this I never get very far in this position nor do I hear of others' success in it.

When I started I laid on my back during my attempts. The reason why was because I wanted to use a position I wasn't accustomed to falling asleep in. If I tried to use a position I normally slept in (which is on my stomach) I would fall asleep much too quickly. These days it doesn't matter much, any position seems to work just fine. The more you practice and the more control you have of the relaxation the less the position will matter honestly. Most of my recent ones were done while laying on my side.