Questions

[BenShadow]

Hello,

I'm currently at the end of week three of the program.
One thing that's been happening now for about a week and a half now is that occasionally I get mild to strong sensations in the area of my right cheekbone.
It's like this tingling sensation. Almost every night when I go to bed it'll start, and when I start focusing on it it'll get quite strong and sometimes move around or spread on my face.
Another thing I wanted to ask about:
About a week ago I went to sleep and after my whole body became paralyzed I had a strong falling sensation followed by intense energy surges throughout my body accompanied by a very strong static noise. I then felt as if my consciousness is floating upwards even though I couldn't see anything. It was definitely an altered state of consciousness but very much unlike a dream, as it was in some ways more realistic than 'waking life'. I became quite scared and I opened my eyes and felt that my heart was throbbing madly. Did I project? Otherwise what was that? It was so intense I couldn't go back to bed the whole night.

Thank you Kindly,

Ben.

[CFTraveler]

Hello,

I'm currently at the end of week three of the program.
One thing that's been happening now for about a week and a half now is that occasionally I get mild to strong sensations in the area of my right cheekbone.
It's like this tingling sensation. Almost every night when I go to bed it'll start, and when I start focusing on it it'll get quite strong and sometimes move around or spread on my face. This is perfectly normal, especially if you're using the BWGen that came with the program (or if you're using the CD set). Continue on with your energy work and the feelings will even and smooth out. Some places are more sensitive than others, and stuff just comes up. I get this ocassionally on the left side of my left thigh, and I have found that it is 'sensitive' to other things, so it may be related.


Another thing I wanted to ask about:
About a week ago I went to sleep and after my whole body became paralyzed I had a strong falling sensation followed by intense energy surges throughout my body accompanied by a very strong static noise. I then felt as if my consciousness is floating upwards even though I couldn't see anything. It was definitely an altered state of consciousness but very much unlike a dream, as it was in some ways more realistic than 'waking life'. I became quite scared and I opened my eyes and felt that my heart was throbbing madly. Did I project? Otherwise what was that? It was so intense I couldn't go back to bed the whole night.

Thank you Kindly,

Ben.
Yes, you had a short separation. If you read the topic "My First Conscious Projection" in the OBE Research and Discussion topic you will recognize some of the symtoms you are having, and see some you are not. I recommend reading it so you're not surprised the next time this happens.
Two weeks and having separation symptoms. Not bad at all.

[BenShadow]

Wow, kudos for the swift reply!
Per your recommendation I read "My First Conscious Projection" - quite useful indeed.
I've had the paralysis and the energy surge symptoms a few times every year since I remember myself. I would get tremendously scared and try to move my body forcefully until I succeeded. Anybody I would talk to about it would just stare at me, smile, and shrug. So all I had to do was to learn that it's O.K. and to let it happen. In that respect I don't feel like I've made great progress (yet). It's amazing what social conditioning does to a person. It's all a matter of reprogramming/deprogramming yourself.
Aside from that, I have 'The Gateway Experience' from the Monroe Institute, and here's my question:
Would it be conducive to my endeavors for me to do that simultaneously? Or should I finish MAP first and then go for that?

[CFTraveler]

Since 'Gateway' is not specifically for projecting, I don't see why not. It's really designed to take you to a specific focus of consciousness to where you can 'take off' on your specific purpose, but I'd advise on avoiding overdosing on binaural beats. If you're doing MAP from the book, then I'd use Gateway as the relaxation and take it all the way to e-body loosening, but if you're using the MAP companion CD set (which is all binaural beats) then I wouldn't combine them.

[BenShadow]

I haven't been using the binaural beats program that comes with MAP, nor have I used any binaural beats since starting the program (I haven't touched the CDs).
So I understand that in that case it would be congruous or at least innocuous to start 'The Gateway Experience' as well... ?
There's one other issue I wanted to put forth as long as I have your kind attention.
I've noticed that there have been quite significant fluctuations in my dream recall ability.
About ten days after starting the program I was in the 'Golden Age' of my memory recall, easily remembering up to three dreams every morning in a vivid manner.
Now my dream memory has weakened considerably and sometimes I don't even remember a single dream, perhaps only garbled fragments.
Is this natural? Are there any exercises I could do to reinforce that?
Thank you kindly for your fine assistance.

[CFTraveler]

This is natural, and it's possibly due to fluctuations in how your brain and energy body adapt to your new 'modalities' of consciousness. This will readjust, and IMO the recall will continue to improve provided you don't drop the keyword/journaling and reality checks.

[BenShadow]

This morning I managed again! It took me about an hour or maybe even more but after doing some energy exercises and focusing on my breath I felt the energy surges only this time they were quite mild. I started hearing this sound as if there was some kind of power generator that was oscillating between higher and lower frequencies around me. I felt my consciousness floating upwards and then revolving. I couldn't see anything. I tried asking for clarity but it didn't work. I then gently floated back downwards and opened my eyes. It was very pleasant and I was much more relaxed this time. Also, my heart didn't throb at all. The whole thing probably took only around four seconds.
Why was this experience different? How come I couldn't see anything? How can I start seeing while in this state?
Thank you.

[CFTraveler]

It is common to be blind when you first get out, because your complete perception mechanism hasn't shifted completely. Since you perceive with your energy body, you don't actually 'see'; your energy body interacts with it's surroundings- kind of like radar. When you get away from your body, your point of view (or focus of perception) focuses on your energy body and you begin to get images of your surroundings- so if you are close to your body the focus of awareness is split between the two, and your eyes are closed, so you don't 'see'.
The solution that always works for me is to get away from my body asap - as soon as I go through a wall or portal sight comes back. Many authors recommend 'demanding sight' from your Higher Self, but I don't, for many reasons.
Don't be concerned about 'seeing' when you first get out- you can 'feel' yourself away, and when you do get away, it will come to you.
If this is too disturbing, before you practice, walk around the room you will project in and touch the walls, feel the space around you, become 'tactilely' familiar with your surroundings. This will help feel comfortable when you do get out.
As to why it was different? Every projection has similar aspects, but they're all different, just as you are different every day but still you.

[BenShadow]

Hehe, the title on this one is definitely a misnomer by now.
Anyway, I wanted to share what happened to me this morning and get some feedback on it.
In the last week or so, unfortunately, I've had to neglect my practice for various reasons.
Last night I barely got any sleep. I woke up very early (I wake up very early regardless of how much sleep I get) and decided I'm just gonna go back to sleep. I found myself at a point where I would get the strong energy surges and heat waves throughout my body and then would hear some pretty weird sounds. I drifted in and out of this stage, until a point where I stayed in it for quite a while. There were a few very noticeable differences from the other incidents I've described in this post. Namely, that I didn't feel very much like my consciousness had separated from my body, and that I was still aware of my face, jaws, head, and pulse (in the heart area). Also, this was neither really a WILD (Wake Induced Lucid Dream), nor an OBE. There was some very vivid imagery though. Any thoughts/feedback on this? Can I project from this?

Thanks

[CFTraveler]

Hehe, the title on this one is definitely a misnomer by now. How about now? :)

Anyway, I wanted to share what happened to me this morning and get some feedback on it.
In the last week or so, unfortunately, I've had to neglect my practice for various reasons.
Last night I barely got any sleep. I woke up very early (I wake up very early regardless of how much sleep I get) and decided I'm just gonna go back to sleep. I found myself at a point where I would get the strong energy surges and heat waves throughout my body and then would hear some pretty weird sounds. I drifted in and out of this stage, until a point where I stayed in it for quite a while. There were a few very noticeable differences from the other incidents I've described in this post. Namely, that I didn't feel very much like my consciousness had separated from my body, and that I was still aware of my face, jaws, head, and pulse (in the heart area). Also, this was neither really a WILD (Wake Induced Lucid Dream), nor an OBE. There was some very vivid imagery though. Any thoughts/feedback on this? Can I project from this?

Thanks What you had was the beginning of phasing- you can use this as a platform of another type of projection called phasing. There is a guide (http://forums.astraldynamics.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=11730) on how to go about it in the OBE Research and Discussions forums (It's stickied for easy finding). I call it a vision screen- it is a form of going directly into the astral 'plane' without going into the RTZ or etheric.