Does all of this really work?

[dquirke]

Hi there,

I am quite new to the Monroe Institue and indeed to the concept of Out of Body Experiences, Life after death and other planes of existence. However, the subject intrigues me and I want to discover more but I have always been a little unsure of it all. Don't get me wrong, I do want what institutes like the Monroe Institute say to be true but I am naturally pre-disposed to be an open minded skeptic. Perhaps, more specifically, I would like to go by the whole "Trust but Verify" ethic. That is why I have such problems with the religion I was born into (Catholicism). I am from Ireland and as far as I am concerned I am Cathlolic by the lottery of where I was born as opposed to any conviction or strong belief. If I was born in India most likely I'd be a Hindu.

In any case, after reading "Suddenly Psychic: A Skeptic's Journey" by Maureen Caudill ( you can probably see why the title captured my attention) which I found fascinating, I decided to buy the Gateway Experience CD's. I have had them for about a month now and have used the Focus 10 CD's a good few times. I think I have got the hang of Focus 10 in that I do enter a state of realatively deep and pleasant relaxation.

Then I decided to move on to Focus 12. The thing is, although I have only used them a few times I see no difference. I read a very good article about what Focus 10 was supposed to feel like (they described a feeling of almost not being able to feel your body anymore and I think I get something like that) but with the Focus 12 CD's I get exactly the same feeling. I do not get the feeling of being able to hear beyond my normal hearing as Maureen described in her book.

Basically, it is definitely a pleasant relaxing sensation but no more than that. Certainly not anything Psychic and most definitely not any communication with other beings, entities or visits to other realms/times that sound so exciting and is what I truly want to achieve. Maybe I'm being impatient. When does it all start to happen or is there something I am doing wrong?

Any help/thoughts would be much appreciated.

All the best

David

[RyanParis]

Yes, astral projection is real, it works. The fact different people have experienced it shows something is going on.

I have seen other realms (literally), but let me tell you: it wasn't on purpose. They came to me like visions.

Perhaps there is lessons you need to learn before you consciously remember any visits or close encounters with the spirit realm.

[CFTraveler]

Then I decided to move on to Focus 12. The thing is, although I have only used them a few times I see no difference. I read a very good article about what Focus 10 was supposed to feel like (they described a feeling of almost not being able to feel your body anymore and I think I get something like that) but with the Focus 12 CD's I get exactly the same feeling. I do not get the feeling of being able to hear beyond my normal hearing as Maureen described in her book.
Dear David: The problem with focus categorization is that it limits your expectations-you read about what can happen at a level and expected it to be just as it was for Maureen.
The human brain has a lot of leeway when it comes to states of consciousness and brainwave frequencies.
For example, the way scientists originally determined that the REM state was when we dream was measuring subjects as they fell asleep, and when they hit REM or delta they woke them and asked them if they were dreaming. They repeated this over and over and determined that REM is when we dream. They also discovered that we dream in other states, but not as much, statistically speaking.
Why am I telling you this? Because every brain doesn't achieve the same state when it reaches a specific brainwave frequency, athough statistically it can be said that it does. So it is possible that you need to go in deeper than theta all the way into delta to achieve this deep trance state which is what you're looking for.
The hemi synch technology you are using achieves two things for you- it synchronizes your hemisphere (which is good in and of itself) and it takes you to a specific frequency. It also gives you cues so you can train yourself to achieve this state on your own, and it shows you how it feels when you're in this state.
So I'd ask you, is it possible that your emotional investment in this process is working to 'not let you' get to this state? In other words, you are engaging expectation and focusing on your awareness state, instead of just 'letting go and going along with whatever happens' which is part of achieving trance, IMO.
So I'd tell you to let go of expectation, relax with the process, and just see what happens. It just may be all you need to do.
However, you may be one of those that has to get in deeper to get the expanded awareness and the other sensations that go with it. The CDs you have will let you do that, as far as I know.
I'll leave you with one more thought, to illustrate what I said before. When I was at TMI I purchased 'super sleep' which is exactly for that- to give you more 'deep sleep' (the freq. that puts you under, not necessarily for dreaming) because my son was having trouble sleeping. He of course refused to use it (being ten and me being his mom)- so I decided to try it on a nap. Guess what? I had the most wonderful trance with visions and even a partial series of mini-OBE's. Only it was the wrong freq.- I should have been out cold!
Goes to show that that day my brain was obviously on a diff. freq.- so I'm just saying- let go of expectations and enjoy the process.
Good luck.

[Korpo]

I remember having a few quiet minutes at the end of last year in my office. I sat there and relaxed, and gave myself the cue to go to Focus 12. Suddenly I felt like floating. I still perceived my body, but my awareness shifted to perceiving myself as floating in the space where my head was. I still got the sounds of the room, but an inner feeling gave me the feeling of "drifting" in space. Dark and light shapes danced in front of my mind's eye. Nothing specific, but I felt good.

The Monroe people call Focus 12 the "state of expanded awareness". This can take on many qualities - giving better access to intuition, shifting awareness out of body, phasing to the RTZ... If you review the Gateway Experience exercises utilizing Focus 12 you will see that with time and familarity it can be utilised for many things.

I still have problems with my non-physical senses ... maybe a belief problem or something similar. But Focus 12 trance has its own feeling. In Focus 10 my body goes warm like pre-sleep. In Focus 12 something shifts into a bigger space. This can take on many forms and varies over time, as I learn to play with it. Be open to many different kinds of experiences, go with the exercises, and find out which work for you. You may be surprised...

Take good care,
Oliver