Not Really Getting Anywhere, Help?

[Jared.G]

Hey There,

My name is Jared and I've been trying to Astral Project for quite some time now. I continue to try Astral Projection again and again with not many results,
I can certainly relax myself to the point where I can't feel anything. But other than that I have never experienced vibrations before or anything else that
show signs that I'm anywhere near close to my goal. Because of this I have given up many times with Astral Projection and come back again a few weeks later,
It's become a bit disheartening now so I've decided to make a thread on this forum. It's really nice to read other people's amazing experiences but they're
aren't much use if I'm not able to do it myself. So anyways if I could get some help that would be brilliant, if you need any more details just let me know.

Cheers,
Jared.G

[CFTraveler]

I don't know about brilliant, but maybe I can help.
First of all, I get the idea from your post that you're attempting projection daily. If this is true, stop, and regroup. Daily practice is good, daily attempts are not.
2-Not everyone gets vibrations as an exit sensation, or an exit cue. However, there are other signs you can use to let you know you are ready to try to exit/separate (or whatever you prefer to call it.)
I'd like for you to describe a typical projection routine- with detail.
Including how long from sitting or laying down to the point of trance (what you're calling 'not feeling your body'). Typically.
And lastly, when you do what you do, and it doesn't work, what do you do in the end? Go to sleep and get up?
Thanks.

[Jared.G]

Wow, thank you for the quick reply.
So when you say daily practice is good, but daily attempts are not. Do you mean that I really should only try a few times a week and just do meditation
for all the other times I do not? Also for a routine I usually go to bed around 9:30, get settled and wait until about 10 to try an exercise. Otherwise if it's
a weekend I will try to wake up at around 4am, stay up for 10 minutes and then get straight into it. I have tried doing a technique where you go to bed as
usual and just stay aware but when I'm lying on my side I seem to get too fidgety, so for now I've been lying on my back.

So for about the first 5 minutes or so, it's just me trying to find a good position to do the exercise in, some of the most smallest annoyances make me
fidget a lot. Then for the next 30 minutes I will usually be focusing on my breathing and getting each individual body part to relax. After this amount of time
my breathing is calm and my body feels very numb and light. It takes me quite a lot of time to get to the point where I can't feel my body at all, usually around
another hour. So it's not very often that I get to that stage, I either fall asleep or need to because of school the next morning. On the weekends it's okay but it still
takes a lot of will power to continue going on for that long.

So yeah... That's where I end up. Just not really getting anywhere, I never really get to any vibrations although sometimes I have gotten excited before because
I started tingling a little. But this didn't last long and it was only a mild sensation. So if you have any ideas let me know, I have to be doing something wrong and
I just can't see it.

Cheers.

[CFTraveler]

Wow, thank you for the quick reply. We aim to please. :D


So when you say daily practice is good, but daily attempts are not. Do you mean that I really should only try a few times a week and just do meditation
for all the other times I do not? I would say, do your daily meditation practice, do any energy work or 'loosening' techniques, but don't try any exit methods, just observe and then get up. (Don't go to sleep.)


Also for a routine I usually go to bed around 9:30, get settled and wait until about 10 to try an exercise. Otherwise if it's
a weekend I will try to wake up at around 4am, stay up for 10 minutes and then get straight into it. I have tried doing a technique where you go to bed as
usual and just stay aware but when I'm lying on my side I seem to get too fidgety, so for now I've been lying on my back. If you sleep on your back or your side don't practice in that position. If you don't have a recliner to sit in (or if it's in an inconvenient place in your house) try a different position, like arranging three or four pillows under you to get you a 'reclined' position. This is different enough from sleeping that it becomes it's own 'new habit', but at the same time is (or should be) comfortable enough that you can get deeply tranced in the position and can use it to 'prime' your consciousness for an exit attempt.


So for about the first 5 minutes or so, it's just me trying to find a good position to do the exercise in, some of the most smallest annoyances make me
fidget a lot. Then for the next 30 minutes I will usually be focusing on my breathing and getting each individual body part to relax. After this amount of time
my breathing is calm and my body feels very numb and light. It takes me quite a lot of time to get to the point where I can't feel my body at all, usually around
another hour. So it's not very often that I get to that stage, I either fall asleep or need to because of school the next morning. On the weekends it's okay but it still
takes a lot of will power to continue going on for that long. If you do this in the morning, you don't need to do all this relaxation, because your body is still relaxed from sleeping. If you leave your bed prepared (all the pillows next to you to wedge under and fidgeting and such.) you can get into position quicker, so you don't wake up 'too much'. Also, when you plan to make the attempt, do get up before normal wakeup time, so that you are groggy and relax easier. Idk if 4am is too early, if it's in the middle of the night for you I don't recommend it.
Another trick is, when you feel you're nicely relaxed, and have done whatever relaxation routine you're using, stop focusing on your body, (forget about 'feeling' for numbness or anything like it) and refocus your attention in other senses- start observing the nothingness in front of your eyes as if you were watching TV and listen to the earhiss that is there. Focus on the sound, and try to 'separate' the tones in the hiss. Keep your attention on the nuances of the sound, and if possible, when you have isolated the separate tones, focus on the lowest tone- not the highest- and listen for words. What they say is not important- it can be gibberish or conversations. The idea is to direct your focus towards input that is not tactile, because you don't want to focus on your body.
Then, if you get any 'changes' in your perception (like seeing through the eyelids, seeing visions, feeling the stronger vibrations, or hearing loud noises) this is when you want to start doing an exit attempt, and commit to it, do it as long as you possibly can.
And don't roll over and go to sleep. Ever- at the 'end' of an attempt.


Cheers.
CF.

[Jared.G]

Well thank you for the tips CFTraveler, I will definitely be putting them to use tonight.

Also, when you mention about listening to the sound, do you mean that sound when you aren't actually hearing anything? That sort of hiss?
Anyways, I'll look out for that sound and hopefully some visions instead of focusing on my body so much. I'll let you know how it all goes
tonight. By the way, I really like how you've laid out your response with all the quotes and such, very nice.

Cheers again,
Jared.G

[CFTraveler]

Yes, that sound you hear when it's very quiet.

[Jared.G]

Hey matie,

Sorry for the slow response about how it went, the first time I tried the technique our fire alarm went off. I know, haha :p
Anyways, next time I tried it I was able to relax a lot easier than usual, I think when I'm laying down on my back without the
extra pillow there's still some hidden tension. So it works really well, except with separating the tones in the hiss. I'm not really
sure how that's done and I'm not sure if you'll even be able to explain how you exactly do that, so will just have to keep trying.
I'll let you know if any thing happens.

Cheers,
Jared.G

[CFTraveler]

Haha you just lay there and listen. Just listen intently, until you can hear there's more than one tone or note or hiss. Eventually it resolves and you can pick a part of the sound to pay attention to.

[Honeybadger400]

CF,
i tried your "listening to the hiss" technique the other night and felt a lot of tightness in my crown. Pretty impressed at how much impact the tech can have. I didn't OBE that night, but had a flying dream where I flew over the earth and found that Antarctica was green and had hidden roads. When I flew over the oceans I could vividly see every animal in the water under me no matter how deep they were. Before my dream I had a name pop in my head. I looked online and all I could discover was that there is a southern Indian city with that name near Mysore. Wish I wrote it down so I'd remember it!

[CFTraveler]

Sounds like a projection without an exit. Interesting.

[Jared.G]

Hey CFTraveler,

Sorry that it has been such a long time since I last posted. I said I would let you know if anything new happens, not too much has been happening.
I've been quite busy with school and all of the assessment coming up, but over the past couple of weeks I'm trying once again to nail it. I've been
reading a few books into Astral Projection to keep it on my mind and find techniques that might work better for me. The advice you gave me a while ago
has definitely helped with relaxing/meditation. But now I'm just trying to find what's right for me in terms of what technique I need to use. Anyways, I'm just
a bit hung up at the moment of more books to read, I just recently finished a book called "Astral Projection - Amazing Journeys Outside Your Body".
It's got some really good information and I'm kinda disappointed that I have finished it. :-)

So anyways I was just wondering if you had any suggestions of some good books to read, maybe something that helped you personally along the way.

Cheers,
Jared.G

[CFTraveler]

I have a list of AP books that I really enjoy, but they're not 'how to' books, just 'stuff that can happen when I AP' or 'what to do when you AP'. They would be,
Otherwhere and Multidimensional Man, both by Kurt Leland, Explorations in Consciousness by Fred Aardema (he has a new one out but I'm too lazy to look it up) and some others that I can't think of ATM. Anthony Peake has a couple of OBE books (not 'how to', more like 'this is why'.) All good reads.
Oh, I forgot, Jurgen Ziewe has some good books out too, check them out.
That'll keep you busy for a while. ;)

[Jared.G]

Thank you for the book suggestions, will have to look into it and see what I can get. And yes, I'm sure that'll keep me busy for a while :p
Also I think the new book you are talking about by Fred Aardema is "Explorations in Consciousness: A New Approach To Out Of Body Experiences".
Not sure but, I think that's the one.

Anyways, Thanks again,
Jared.G