Monday 14th April 2014
Time: Not sure - 5 - 6.30am/7am
Where: In bed
Weather: Clear
Techniques used: Moving energy up and down the body. "Now I am out of body" affirmation from Adventures Beyond the Body by William Buhlman.
Goal: To see my physical body
I had been reading William Buhlmans book the previous day, and I think it really inspired me so I had did some energy work and affirmations before falling asleep that night. I woke at some point in the early hours of the morning and began repeating "now I am out of body" to myself as I went back to sleep - or perhaps I projected straight away; I'm not sure. I'm a bit confused because I had a lot of vivid dreams that night - I may have been lucid or semi lucid for part of them - I've got a feeling I was. I do remember one part clearly where I saw a bottle of beautiful sparkling liquid which had a label on it that read 'Astral 2' - the name of an MP3 I had downloaded the day before. I think my subconscious was trying to tell me something!
This felt like a very long experience, but I don't know how long it lasted for in waking reality. I felt fairly lucid most of the time - I could think clearly, make decisions and remember things.
I think I drifted off and woke up momentarily - I felt 'different' and sat up and realised that I was sitting up out of my body - I couldn't see anything, but I felt that I had drifted over to more my husbands side of the bed. I tell myself not to be constrained by what I should or shouldn't be able to do and just decided to be off the bed by the door. As I stepped away from the bed my vision came. There was bright sunlight in the room (more than there would have been in waking reality) and everything looked hyper real - if a little out of focus. I was stood in the doorway looking towards the landing and I decided to muster my control and try looking at my physical body (I'd never managed this before). I turned towards the bed and saw a body shaped lump under what looked like a midnight blue throw (my sheets are dark purple) - it became a little clearer and what looked like my head moved about on the pillow, but I seemed to be wearing a black hood (??). I remember seeing a flash of purple - which in hindsight must have been my hair (I'm very attached to my purple streak). I wasn't aware of my husband being in bed next to me - but to be fair I wasn't looking for him - my intention was to see myself. At this point my perspective changed and I felt that I had returned to my body. I woke up and thought my projection had ended but something felt 'off'. The thought popped into my head that it might be a false awakening (where you think you've woken up in 'reality' but you haven't) and tried pinching my nose and breathing through it (a reality test) - I could still breathe through my nose and realised that I was still out of my body.
I was in a bed that wasn't mine in the middle of a big open plan room with wooden floors with old looking wooden tables and items around the room and a doorway off some way to the bottom right of the bed. I got up and walked over to a mezzanine area across the room to the left of the bed. I thought I'd give it a shot so I said "I'm conscious I am dreaming and I want to have an out of body experience" (even though I was scared of the vibrations and losing control that I had experienced before). Light flickered on the walls of the mezzanine like a TV screen or a portal opening. I could see images of Tinkerbell (what the heck??) moving on these patches of light. This didn't seem right to me (unsurprisingly) - maybe I was still scared and stopping myself - maybe Tinkerbell was telling me to stop being a wussy little fairy ;) I moved my focus away from the screens/portals and 'girded my loins'. I said firmly "I am conscious I am dreaming and I want to have an out of body experience". The vibrations started strongly and I started travelling upwards quickly - I started to lose my nerve; I felt so out of control - but I knew I'd never forgive myself if I didn't - so I held on.
After a few seconds (it seemed) it stopped and I came to rest on a big field with a view of rolling hills - it reminded me of the view from my parents house. There was a big glass building - a house - with lots of people inside and outside. Everything already looked very clear, so I don't know why I bothered, but I said "clarity now" to increase my lucidity. I said it again and I noticed a very slight difference in the sharpness of my vision (duh!).
At this point I reflected that my mind felt exactly as it did in waking life (yes, I'm that dumb in waking reality too) - I felt completely clear and able to think. I went into the house (everything gets a bit less lucid here) and there were a group of people around a large table - I think I was telling them what I was doing and why I was there. I was talking to a lady on my right with dark hair in particular and I gave her a large crystal that had ferns inside it (out of a bag that I suddenly seemed to have acquired!). She took it gratefully and seemed amazed and intrigued by it. I had a moment of meanness as it was beautiful (I love crystals) and offered her the choice of another one (idiot! - an obvious loss of lucidity here!). I soon got over it and let it go generously.
I suddenly realised I had been out of my body for a long time (more lucid now) and that there was a good chance I would forget this. I said I had to go and started to think about going back to my body. I had an idea of writing it down on a notepad that was on the table to remind me - but realised that was spectacularly stupid. I started trying to put things away in my bag (loss of lucidity again) and I lost awareness here - I may have returned to my body or it turned into a normal dream. I don't remember waking up until later (about 7am).
Notes: It seems clear that my subconscious had a pretty strong effect on some of the stuff I experienced - Tinkerbell for example. What does the black hood on my head mean?
P.S. I remembered later that I had also asked the group around the table if the building or site had anything to do with the village I live and work in because it felt very familiar to me.
Monday 28 April 2014
Sunday 27 April 2014
How Can We Improve Our Out Of Body Memory And Recall?
Remembering clearly what happened in an out of body experience or lucid dream is something that I've been having issues with - falling asleep instead of immediately noting everything down in my journal probably has a lot to do with this! So; apart from telling myself to 'man up' and write everything down instead of lazily falling asleep- what can I do??
I've been thinking about this a lot, and the more I think about it the more I realise that my memory sucks in waking life too. Perhaps improving our day to day ability to remember things will improve our memory of what we get up to when we're not in our bodies?
So, I've set myself some homework and this what I've come up with:
I'm big on visualizing - so, I'm going to try and remember my shopping list (which I usually forget - go figure!). I'm going to try rehearsing my shopping trip in my imagination (this would work well if you usually go to the same shop and know where everything is). Sit quietly at home before your weekly shop with your list in hand and mentally see yourself walking through the entrance of the store and walking around picking up everything you need and putting it in your basket. It might take a few goes of doing this run through before you feel confidant you can go to the shop and put into practice what you've rehearsed. I'm giving this a go on my next shopping trip; either it'll work and I'll be a memory genius - or the kids will starve. Good luck kids!
In my quest for a better memory I found this great article called "7 tips to improve your memory" and I particularly like #3 which suggests giving greater awareness to your everyday life and weaning yourself off the habit of "continuous partial attention" - you can find the article here: http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20723699,00.html
William Buhlman (in his book Adventures Beyond the Body - it's brilliant I highly recommend it - you can visit his site at http://www.astralinfo.org) suggests that while you're in an out of body experience (or lucid dream) that you should say "I remember all". This feels like it would work to me, as it sends a very powerful message to your subconscious that remembering your experience is important and gives you an anchor with which to focus your mind. I haven't tried this yet - but it's on my 'to do' list! Another idea is to write down an affirmation along the lines of "I remember everything I experience" on a piece of paper and putting it under your pillow. Re-read this every night to remember your dreams or out of body experiences and increase your lucidity.
I've been thinking about this a lot, and the more I think about it the more I realise that my memory sucks in waking life too. Perhaps improving our day to day ability to remember things will improve our memory of what we get up to when we're not in our bodies?
So, I've set myself some homework and this what I've come up with:
I'm big on visualizing - so, I'm going to try and remember my shopping list (which I usually forget - go figure!). I'm going to try rehearsing my shopping trip in my imagination (this would work well if you usually go to the same shop and know where everything is). Sit quietly at home before your weekly shop with your list in hand and mentally see yourself walking through the entrance of the store and walking around picking up everything you need and putting it in your basket. It might take a few goes of doing this run through before you feel confidant you can go to the shop and put into practice what you've rehearsed. I'm giving this a go on my next shopping trip; either it'll work and I'll be a memory genius - or the kids will starve. Good luck kids!
In my quest for a better memory I found this great article called "7 tips to improve your memory" and I particularly like #3 which suggests giving greater awareness to your everyday life and weaning yourself off the habit of "continuous partial attention" - you can find the article here: http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20723699,00.html
William Buhlman (in his book Adventures Beyond the Body - it's brilliant I highly recommend it - you can visit his site at http://www.astralinfo.org) suggests that while you're in an out of body experience (or lucid dream) that you should say "I remember all". This feels like it would work to me, as it sends a very powerful message to your subconscious that remembering your experience is important and gives you an anchor with which to focus your mind. I haven't tried this yet - but it's on my 'to do' list! Another idea is to write down an affirmation along the lines of "I remember everything I experience" on a piece of paper and putting it under your pillow. Re-read this every night to remember your dreams or out of body experiences and increase your lucidity.
Saturday 26 April 2014
Turning a Lucid Dream into an Out of Body Experience?
Wednesday 9th April 2014
Where: In bed
Time: Not sure - early hours of the morning
Weather: Clear night
Techniques used: Mirror technique - looking into a mirror in a different room before bed and asking your subconscious to help you leave your body with awareness during the night and to remember everything. Sphere doorway technique - visualizing a blue sphere in front of you and moving it around your body before bringing it back in front of you and seeing the surface of the sphere becoming a doorway and allowing the energy from it to come through (both techniques are from Navigating the Out of Body Experience by Graham Nicholls - check it out for more info!). Feeling myself floating up and down and side to side. Asking to have an out of body experience after becoming lucid in a dream.
I realised I was dreaming - I'm not sure exactly when, but I think it was a little time before I really remember what happened (how can we improve our memory of out of body experiences??). My lucidity fluctuated during this experience. I was walking around a big building - like a college (a common theme in my dreams), I think that before I became fully lucid I was naked (eeek!) apart from a oversized shirt tied around my waist. I felt self conscious (unsurprisingly) until my awareness increased and I realised I didn't have to walk around like that - I could change things - so, I untied the shirt and put it on. There were quite a few other people walking around; it was quite busy - no wonder I felt self conscious :)
Then I remember being with someone - a man - but I don't know who it was. I became more lucid and aware as we walked into a cafeteria - there were only pizzas and baguettes available and I was worried about my low carb and dairy free diet (darn it - even in a dream!). I became more fully lucid and remembered that there had been someone out along the corridor in a vestibule type area that I had wanted to talk to, but I can't remember who. I asked the person I was with to excuse me for a minute and walked out of the cafe down the corridor to the vestibule. But, I couldn't see the person that I had wanted to talk to and walked back towards the cafeteria. While I was walking back to the cafe I felt myself drifting in terms of awareness - much as I would in waking life - and I managed to bring my attention back to where I was and what I was doing. I got back to the cafe and the other person I had been with had gone - although I looked for him.
I left the cafe and began walking down a stairwell and I remembered that if I found myself lucid in a dream that I should say "I am conscious I am dreaming and I wish to have an out of body experience" (also from Navigating the Out of Body Experience). I did and suddenly the dream dissolved around me. I started vibrating intensely; there was a loud buzzing sound and I started being drawn upwards at what felt like great speed. I started to panic and fight against it - and at that point I woke up.
I thought about writing it all down straightaway but fell asleep too quickly which means I may have forgotten some of the details (I'm not very disciplined am I!?).
Notes: When I wrote this down in my journal I put - "N.B Don't panic next time!" at the end :) What I think happened here is that the vibrations meant I was moving from a dream reality to a plane further away from the physical - if that makes sense? Whatever it was I was pretty cross with myself for a couple of days - I really wanted to see what would have happened next!
Where: In bed
Time: Not sure - early hours of the morning
Weather: Clear night
Techniques used: Mirror technique - looking into a mirror in a different room before bed and asking your subconscious to help you leave your body with awareness during the night and to remember everything. Sphere doorway technique - visualizing a blue sphere in front of you and moving it around your body before bringing it back in front of you and seeing the surface of the sphere becoming a doorway and allowing the energy from it to come through (both techniques are from Navigating the Out of Body Experience by Graham Nicholls - check it out for more info!). Feeling myself floating up and down and side to side. Asking to have an out of body experience after becoming lucid in a dream.
I realised I was dreaming - I'm not sure exactly when, but I think it was a little time before I really remember what happened (how can we improve our memory of out of body experiences??). My lucidity fluctuated during this experience. I was walking around a big building - like a college (a common theme in my dreams), I think that before I became fully lucid I was naked (eeek!) apart from a oversized shirt tied around my waist. I felt self conscious (unsurprisingly) until my awareness increased and I realised I didn't have to walk around like that - I could change things - so, I untied the shirt and put it on. There were quite a few other people walking around; it was quite busy - no wonder I felt self conscious :)
Then I remember being with someone - a man - but I don't know who it was. I became more lucid and aware as we walked into a cafeteria - there were only pizzas and baguettes available and I was worried about my low carb and dairy free diet (darn it - even in a dream!). I became more fully lucid and remembered that there had been someone out along the corridor in a vestibule type area that I had wanted to talk to, but I can't remember who. I asked the person I was with to excuse me for a minute and walked out of the cafe down the corridor to the vestibule. But, I couldn't see the person that I had wanted to talk to and walked back towards the cafeteria. While I was walking back to the cafe I felt myself drifting in terms of awareness - much as I would in waking life - and I managed to bring my attention back to where I was and what I was doing. I got back to the cafe and the other person I had been with had gone - although I looked for him.
I left the cafe and began walking down a stairwell and I remembered that if I found myself lucid in a dream that I should say "I am conscious I am dreaming and I wish to have an out of body experience" (also from Navigating the Out of Body Experience). I did and suddenly the dream dissolved around me. I started vibrating intensely; there was a loud buzzing sound and I started being drawn upwards at what felt like great speed. I started to panic and fight against it - and at that point I woke up.
I thought about writing it all down straightaway but fell asleep too quickly which means I may have forgotten some of the details (I'm not very disciplined am I!?).
Notes: When I wrote this down in my journal I put - "N.B Don't panic next time!" at the end :) What I think happened here is that the vibrations meant I was moving from a dream reality to a plane further away from the physical - if that makes sense? Whatever it was I was pretty cross with myself for a couple of days - I really wanted to see what would have happened next!
Thursday 24 April 2014
Close To Physical Reality With Some Bi Location Thrown In
Tuesday 8th April 2014
Where: In bed
Time: 5.30am
Weather: Some sun and cloud
Techniques used: Moving energy up and down the body, feeling myself floating up and down and side to side. Visualization.
Goal: To see my physical body/verification
My husband had gotten up early (he can't move without waking me up), so I decided to do some energy work and try and project. Feeling myself floating up and down and side to side seemed to be the most effective. It felt as though my energy body had separated slightly - I felt light and heavy at the same time and could barely feel my physical body. I stayed this way for perhaps a 1/2 hour or more. Towards the end of this time I could feel energy pulsing, or flowing and my hands and feet twitched (energy body or physical? Not sure). My head also moved quickly to the side and back again - it felt as though it was my 'astral' head; I didn't feel any muscles moving or working. Every time the energy sensations got stronger I could feel myself getting excited and too focused - although I tried not to (you've got to be able to let go to project). My intention was to try to phase to the doorway where I could look at my body and then go downstairs to the kitchen and be nosy (its where my husband would have been).
As time went on I could feel myself getting frustrated (also a buzz kill to projection) - I tried to just let go and let it happen. In the end I decided to give up and I moved onto my side to go to sleep. I'm not sure if it was immediate but I became conscious in the square of the village where I live and work. It was exactly as it is in waking reality. I could see perfectly, although it was a bit dark (it probably would've been lighter physically) - everything was very crisp and 'real'; not at all dream like. No one else was there. I stood outside one of the houses there, looked around and started to walk a little way. I remembered that my goal had been to get some verification of my experience (which was completely stupid really - I was in a perfect situation, totally lucid and aware, seemingly unencumbered by my subconscious - and dammit I threw it all away!). I decided to try and think myself to the kitchen at home. As soon as I thought of home I simultaneously became aware of my body lying on its front in bed (I'm not sure when I/it moved!) as soon as I decided to try and phase I woke up back in my body.
Notes: Although a short experience it really stood out for me - there was a real difference in 'feel' between this experience and the one before - http://obewanderingsinwiltshire.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/a-little-help-from-my-friends.html
The other experience felt much more dream like and 'mutable' whereas (apart from the very strange sensation of being literally in two places at once at the end) this felt very similar to waking reality.
Where: In bed
Time: 5.30am
Weather: Some sun and cloud
Techniques used: Moving energy up and down the body, feeling myself floating up and down and side to side. Visualization.
Goal: To see my physical body/verification
My husband had gotten up early (he can't move without waking me up), so I decided to do some energy work and try and project. Feeling myself floating up and down and side to side seemed to be the most effective. It felt as though my energy body had separated slightly - I felt light and heavy at the same time and could barely feel my physical body. I stayed this way for perhaps a 1/2 hour or more. Towards the end of this time I could feel energy pulsing, or flowing and my hands and feet twitched (energy body or physical? Not sure). My head also moved quickly to the side and back again - it felt as though it was my 'astral' head; I didn't feel any muscles moving or working. Every time the energy sensations got stronger I could feel myself getting excited and too focused - although I tried not to (you've got to be able to let go to project). My intention was to try to phase to the doorway where I could look at my body and then go downstairs to the kitchen and be nosy (its where my husband would have been).
As time went on I could feel myself getting frustrated (also a buzz kill to projection) - I tried to just let go and let it happen. In the end I decided to give up and I moved onto my side to go to sleep. I'm not sure if it was immediate but I became conscious in the square of the village where I live and work. It was exactly as it is in waking reality. I could see perfectly, although it was a bit dark (it probably would've been lighter physically) - everything was very crisp and 'real'; not at all dream like. No one else was there. I stood outside one of the houses there, looked around and started to walk a little way. I remembered that my goal had been to get some verification of my experience (which was completely stupid really - I was in a perfect situation, totally lucid and aware, seemingly unencumbered by my subconscious - and dammit I threw it all away!). I decided to try and think myself to the kitchen at home. As soon as I thought of home I simultaneously became aware of my body lying on its front in bed (I'm not sure when I/it moved!) as soon as I decided to try and phase I woke up back in my body.
Notes: Although a short experience it really stood out for me - there was a real difference in 'feel' between this experience and the one before - http://obewanderingsinwiltshire.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/a-little-help-from-my-friends.html
The other experience felt much more dream like and 'mutable' whereas (apart from the very strange sensation of being literally in two places at once at the end) this felt very similar to waking reality.
A Little Help From My Friends
Saturday 5th April 2014
Where: In bed
Time: 5am
Weather: Cloudy
Techniques used: VELO to reach the vibrational state (see blog post http://obewanderingsinwiltshire.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/vibrational-state-technique-and.html for more info), loosening the energy body by feeling myself moving up and down and side to side. May have used the rope climbing technique as well.
Goal: To meet helpers/guides
I woke up, went to the bathroom and went back to bed. I started doing some techniques - I felt quite excited about trying to have an out of body experience. It didn't work (at least, not yet) and I fell asleep and starting dreaming - normal, non lucid dream, but quite vivid. I was walking past a complex with part of it like a walled garden with shops, pubs and cafes attached. I was walking over the grass around the outside wall when I realised I was dreaming. I thought to myself that I was projected outside my body and remembered that my goal was to see my helper or guide (whether this was a lucid dream or projection is debatable - in retrospect it was a probably lucid dream - I have to be honest though, I'm not completely clear on the difference, or even if its all that clear cut). I was aware enough to know I wasn't in the physical world and to remember my goal and use my decision making processes, but slowly and with some confusion (not unlike waking reality then!). I spoke out loud and said I wanted to meet my helper and wondered if it made the mouth on my physical body move (aargh! Why do I keep doing that?). Two women approached me (I only asked for one!) walking over paths crossing the grass. At first one of them seemed to be pushing a buggy, but then it wasn't there anymore. They arrived; one was bigger (taller?) and blonde and the petite with alternating dark and blonde hair.They confirmed they were my helpers - or at least I think they did - my memory is fuzzy although I do remember at the time thinking how high my lucidity (awareness) was and how stable everything seemed. The one with alternating hair colour would not give me her name, but the blonde one did. She may have said Charlotte, but again I'm having a bit of a memory block.
We walked off together, or I followed them - in hindsight I wasn't getting that good a feeling from them, although they said they'd help me with my projections.
We walked through lots of people in the pub/shopping area ; it was very busy. I think I lost them briefly and then found them again in a small, old fashioned alley way - we seemed to be stood in the doorway of a smoking/tobacco shop. I caught sight of myself in a mirrored wall and studied my reflection. At first I looked beautiful (yay!), but parts of my face started to change and devolve and look less attractive (?). I started to lose my awareness here and it became more dream like - everyone by the shop door started smoking a small cigar, and then everyone started panicking. All of a sudden I could hear a loud noise like the sound the alien space ships make in the PC game Spore (my kids play it all the time). My 'helpers' deserted me and I tried to hide - someone warned me that it wouldn't work. I got scared and was about to panic when I remembered that I could just go back to my body. I relaxed and thought about my body and had a sensation of flying backwards and 'coming to land' in my body - at that point I woke up and said to myself I must write that all down before I fall asleep - at which point I promptly fell asleep.
Notes: The question of 'out of body projection or lucid dream' is raised nicely here and its a tricky one. I'm really not sure of the answer. I had variable lucidity and some aspects were very dream like (the girls hair changing colour, the alien space ship sound), but the sensation of returning to my body implies that I wasn't in it. At the moment my theory is that when you are having a lucid dream you are very close to your body - perhaps floating just above it and its largely an hallucination. Maybe. Perhaps those women were aspects of my subconscious rather than actual real life helpers? Or perhaps they were extraphysical beings (people currently without a body) no more evolved that you or I who were having some fun? Perhaps the difference is lucid dream perception and out of body is how much your subconscious effects the plane you're in and its vibrational 'density'? Its something I really would like to work out!
Where: In bed
Time: 5am
Weather: Cloudy
Techniques used: VELO to reach the vibrational state (see blog post http://obewanderingsinwiltshire.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/vibrational-state-technique-and.html for more info), loosening the energy body by feeling myself moving up and down and side to side. May have used the rope climbing technique as well.
Goal: To meet helpers/guides
I woke up, went to the bathroom and went back to bed. I started doing some techniques - I felt quite excited about trying to have an out of body experience. It didn't work (at least, not yet) and I fell asleep and starting dreaming - normal, non lucid dream, but quite vivid. I was walking past a complex with part of it like a walled garden with shops, pubs and cafes attached. I was walking over the grass around the outside wall when I realised I was dreaming. I thought to myself that I was projected outside my body and remembered that my goal was to see my helper or guide (whether this was a lucid dream or projection is debatable - in retrospect it was a probably lucid dream - I have to be honest though, I'm not completely clear on the difference, or even if its all that clear cut). I was aware enough to know I wasn't in the physical world and to remember my goal and use my decision making processes, but slowly and with some confusion (not unlike waking reality then!). I spoke out loud and said I wanted to meet my helper and wondered if it made the mouth on my physical body move (aargh! Why do I keep doing that?). Two women approached me (I only asked for one!) walking over paths crossing the grass. At first one of them seemed to be pushing a buggy, but then it wasn't there anymore. They arrived; one was bigger (taller?) and blonde and the petite with alternating dark and blonde hair.They confirmed they were my helpers - or at least I think they did - my memory is fuzzy although I do remember at the time thinking how high my lucidity (awareness) was and how stable everything seemed. The one with alternating hair colour would not give me her name, but the blonde one did. She may have said Charlotte, but again I'm having a bit of a memory block.
We walked off together, or I followed them - in hindsight I wasn't getting that good a feeling from them, although they said they'd help me with my projections.
We walked through lots of people in the pub/shopping area ; it was very busy. I think I lost them briefly and then found them again in a small, old fashioned alley way - we seemed to be stood in the doorway of a smoking/tobacco shop. I caught sight of myself in a mirrored wall and studied my reflection. At first I looked beautiful (yay!), but parts of my face started to change and devolve and look less attractive (?). I started to lose my awareness here and it became more dream like - everyone by the shop door started smoking a small cigar, and then everyone started panicking. All of a sudden I could hear a loud noise like the sound the alien space ships make in the PC game Spore (my kids play it all the time). My 'helpers' deserted me and I tried to hide - someone warned me that it wouldn't work. I got scared and was about to panic when I remembered that I could just go back to my body. I relaxed and thought about my body and had a sensation of flying backwards and 'coming to land' in my body - at that point I woke up and said to myself I must write that all down before I fall asleep - at which point I promptly fell asleep.
Notes: The question of 'out of body projection or lucid dream' is raised nicely here and its a tricky one. I'm really not sure of the answer. I had variable lucidity and some aspects were very dream like (the girls hair changing colour, the alien space ship sound), but the sensation of returning to my body implies that I wasn't in it. At the moment my theory is that when you are having a lucid dream you are very close to your body - perhaps floating just above it and its largely an hallucination. Maybe. Perhaps those women were aspects of my subconscious rather than actual real life helpers? Or perhaps they were extraphysical beings (people currently without a body) no more evolved that you or I who were having some fun? Perhaps the difference is lucid dream perception and out of body is how much your subconscious effects the plane you're in and its vibrational 'density'? Its something I really would like to work out!
Vibrational State Technique and Lucidity Scale
Ugh. Found a grey hair this morning (I'm only 31 dammit!), so I thought I'd cheer myself up by writing another blog post :)
At the time of my next experience I was reading Luis Minero's book 'Demystifying the Out of Body Experience: A Practical Manuel for Exploration and Personal Evolution'. I really recommend this book (I love books - my Kindle rarely leaves my side), it uses new terminology which can be a bit confusing, but the whole idea behind it is to bring a more scientific less dogmatic to OBE's. Either way, it was a book that resonated with me.
It outlined a technique to induce the (famous) vibrational state which I've been using a lot since. This technique is given the pretty nifty acronym of VELO (Voluntary Energetic Longitudinal Oscillation - see what I mean about the terminology?!), but its a lot simpler than it sounds. Basically, it involves concentrating a sense of your energy in your head and then slowly moving this energy through your body down to your feet; making a point of 'feeling' this energy moving rather than visualizing it and then moving the energy back up to your head. Repeat and slowly speed up until you feel that the vibrational state in your energosoma (or energy body for those not versed in metaphysical geek speak). The vibrational state mentioned by a lot of out of body aficionados (though, not all) is what happens when it feels like every cell in your body is vibrating, sometimes buzzing or other noises are heard; sometimes not. The key thing here is that it's not your physical body vibrating or hearing things, its the effect of your energy body phasing out of sync with the physical. Sometimes this vibrating effect can be very intense, sometimes subtle - as with pretty much anything to do with astral travel this idea isn't to get emotional about what you're experiencing (fear, joy, excitement), but to observe the sensations and 'go with it'.
The book also outlines a useful scale of lucidity, or awareness in order to better track and analyse your experiences (Minero advocates noting down everything to do with your experience so you can see trends - a part of the more 'scientific' approach that I really liked....). Here it is:
0% Lucidity: Unconsciousness
20% Lucidity: Semi consciousness (Lucid dream - I took this to mean a vague awareness that you are dreaming)
40% Lucidity: Doubt (Are you dreaming or have you projected from your body?)
60% Lucidity: Certainty (Lucid projection)
80% Lucidity: Self consciousness (Equal to waking)
100% Lucidity: Super consciousness (A mental body projection rather than an energy body projection)
I used the VELO technique and analysed my next experience with the lucidity scale - I'll post it in a bit..... It's a long one.............. :)
At the time of my next experience I was reading Luis Minero's book 'Demystifying the Out of Body Experience: A Practical Manuel for Exploration and Personal Evolution'. I really recommend this book (I love books - my Kindle rarely leaves my side), it uses new terminology which can be a bit confusing, but the whole idea behind it is to bring a more scientific less dogmatic to OBE's. Either way, it was a book that resonated with me.
It outlined a technique to induce the (famous) vibrational state which I've been using a lot since. This technique is given the pretty nifty acronym of VELO (Voluntary Energetic Longitudinal Oscillation - see what I mean about the terminology?!), but its a lot simpler than it sounds. Basically, it involves concentrating a sense of your energy in your head and then slowly moving this energy through your body down to your feet; making a point of 'feeling' this energy moving rather than visualizing it and then moving the energy back up to your head. Repeat and slowly speed up until you feel that the vibrational state in your energosoma (or energy body for those not versed in metaphysical geek speak). The vibrational state mentioned by a lot of out of body aficionados (though, not all) is what happens when it feels like every cell in your body is vibrating, sometimes buzzing or other noises are heard; sometimes not. The key thing here is that it's not your physical body vibrating or hearing things, its the effect of your energy body phasing out of sync with the physical. Sometimes this vibrating effect can be very intense, sometimes subtle - as with pretty much anything to do with astral travel this idea isn't to get emotional about what you're experiencing (fear, joy, excitement), but to observe the sensations and 'go with it'.
The book also outlines a useful scale of lucidity, or awareness in order to better track and analyse your experiences (Minero advocates noting down everything to do with your experience so you can see trends - a part of the more 'scientific' approach that I really liked....). Here it is:
0% Lucidity: Unconsciousness
20% Lucidity: Semi consciousness (Lucid dream - I took this to mean a vague awareness that you are dreaming)
40% Lucidity: Doubt (Are you dreaming or have you projected from your body?)
60% Lucidity: Certainty (Lucid projection)
80% Lucidity: Self consciousness (Equal to waking)
100% Lucidity: Super consciousness (A mental body projection rather than an energy body projection)
I used the VELO technique and analysed my next experience with the lucidity scale - I'll post it in a bit..... It's a long one.............. :)
Wednesday 23 April 2014
First Continuous Conscious Projection
Wednesday 2nd April 2014
Where: In bed
Time: 6am
Weather: Cloudy
Techniques used: Loosening the energy body (astral body) by visualizing and 'feeling' myself moving side to side across the bedroom and up and down (ceiling to floor). I also used the rope climbing technique (where you imagine a rope hanging down in reach of your hands and feel yourself pulling yourself up and up). All of these techniques can be found in greater detail in Astral Dynamics by Robert Bruce.
I felt my physical body go numb and had to catch myself mentally as I began to fall asleep - maybe I did for a moment. All of a sudden I sat up in bed and swung my legs down to the floor to get up. As soon as I sat up I knew I was out of my body (whoop whoop! There's a very distinct qualitative difference in the way you feel 'physically' when you're out of your body - more sensation of movement than physical muscles working). I felt as though my eyes were still shut and decided not to open them as I thought it might put me back in my body (I was still really close).
I could see shades of light and dark though and knew I was near my bedroom window, but I felt like I was moving through treacle. As I felt myself getting closer to the window I decided to open my eyes. It took some effort. As soon as I did I experienced a very brief sense of movement and found myself back in my body.
Notes: Although short and sweet this was a pretty cool experience for me. It was my first continuous conscious projection. This means that there wasn't any 'blackout' period between being in my physical body and being aware that I was out of body. The closest that I had gotten before is that one minute I was in my physical body in bed, then next thing I knew I was no longer physical and was standing next to my bed. On both occasions I had a problem with my sight and could only see shades of light and mist - this seems to be a common problem (especially when close to your body?). From what I've read the difficulty of movement could have been a result of being in close proximity to my physical body, or perhaps it just felt that way because I believe it to be true??
Where: In bed
Time: 6am
Weather: Cloudy
Techniques used: Loosening the energy body (astral body) by visualizing and 'feeling' myself moving side to side across the bedroom and up and down (ceiling to floor). I also used the rope climbing technique (where you imagine a rope hanging down in reach of your hands and feel yourself pulling yourself up and up). All of these techniques can be found in greater detail in Astral Dynamics by Robert Bruce.
I felt my physical body go numb and had to catch myself mentally as I began to fall asleep - maybe I did for a moment. All of a sudden I sat up in bed and swung my legs down to the floor to get up. As soon as I sat up I knew I was out of my body (whoop whoop! There's a very distinct qualitative difference in the way you feel 'physically' when you're out of your body - more sensation of movement than physical muscles working). I felt as though my eyes were still shut and decided not to open them as I thought it might put me back in my body (I was still really close).
I could see shades of light and dark though and knew I was near my bedroom window, but I felt like I was moving through treacle. As I felt myself getting closer to the window I decided to open my eyes. It took some effort. As soon as I did I experienced a very brief sense of movement and found myself back in my body.
Notes: Although short and sweet this was a pretty cool experience for me. It was my first continuous conscious projection. This means that there wasn't any 'blackout' period between being in my physical body and being aware that I was out of body. The closest that I had gotten before is that one minute I was in my physical body in bed, then next thing I knew I was no longer physical and was standing next to my bed. On both occasions I had a problem with my sight and could only see shades of light and mist - this seems to be a common problem (especially when close to your body?). From what I've read the difficulty of movement could have been a result of being in close proximity to my physical body, or perhaps it just felt that way because I believe it to be true??
Introduction
Ok, here goes.....
I've been fascinated with the idea that we can have out of body experiences since I was about 14 years old - never in a million years did I ever really expect to actually have one! I halfheartedly tried as a young teenager (I was doing it all wrong...), but it wasn't until I was 28/29 that I had an experience to call my very own. After a 2 year dry spell and life stuff to deal with I've decided to give it another go...... And this blog will document that.
I'm not an expert; I've had a few experiences and it seems to be getting easier. I'll share my stories, mistakes and successes (with spelling and grammar errors included, no doubt), maybe..... possibly...... they'll help someone else along the way.
Apart from a lifelong interest in 'life, the universe and everything' I'm pretty normal (don't laugh!).... I have two young children, am married to the most interesting man I've ever met and work as an Acupuncturist. Before that I was a jobbing Stage Manager (in that strange parallel reality called 'before children'). I guess my point is that if I can experience this then absolutely anyone with an interest can do so as well.
So I don't twist my brain into a knot I'm including classic out of body experiences and lucid dreaming in this blog - I'm not exactly sure of the difference; from what I understand its something of a grey area. In my opinion (so far) the concepts of astral projection and lucid dreaming describe different vibrational levels or clarity of awareness, but we'll get into that as we go along.
My biggest tip (if anyone's interested) would be to not just believe in anything anyone has written (including me) - experience it for yourself and draw your own conclusions. As Rufus says in the (awesome) movie Dogma "I think its better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier......."
When I was a little girl my Mum always used to say that I'd always been searching for something - I think I may have found it with this.
Laura x
I've been fascinated with the idea that we can have out of body experiences since I was about 14 years old - never in a million years did I ever really expect to actually have one! I halfheartedly tried as a young teenager (I was doing it all wrong...), but it wasn't until I was 28/29 that I had an experience to call my very own. After a 2 year dry spell and life stuff to deal with I've decided to give it another go...... And this blog will document that.
I'm not an expert; I've had a few experiences and it seems to be getting easier. I'll share my stories, mistakes and successes (with spelling and grammar errors included, no doubt), maybe..... possibly...... they'll help someone else along the way.
Apart from a lifelong interest in 'life, the universe and everything' I'm pretty normal (don't laugh!).... I have two young children, am married to the most interesting man I've ever met and work as an Acupuncturist. Before that I was a jobbing Stage Manager (in that strange parallel reality called 'before children'). I guess my point is that if I can experience this then absolutely anyone with an interest can do so as well.
So I don't twist my brain into a knot I'm including classic out of body experiences and lucid dreaming in this blog - I'm not exactly sure of the difference; from what I understand its something of a grey area. In my opinion (so far) the concepts of astral projection and lucid dreaming describe different vibrational levels or clarity of awareness, but we'll get into that as we go along.
My biggest tip (if anyone's interested) would be to not just believe in anything anyone has written (including me) - experience it for yourself and draw your own conclusions. As Rufus says in the (awesome) movie Dogma "I think its better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier......."
When I was a little girl my Mum always used to say that I'd always been searching for something - I think I may have found it with this.
Laura x
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