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Hello,
I've done the three courses and lately been reading the OBE and AP forums to get good tips to help with my efforts and it's inspiring
me to not give up.
I don't try to AP every night but when I do I often experience the falling sensation. It feels like I'm falling back through my head in the
same kind of motion as if someone pulled a rug from under my feet. I always try the AP lying on my back:
1) Sometimes it's subtle - once while lying on my side, it felt like I stepped out then took a step back again.
2) Other times more strongly - feels like I am accidently dropped and it wakes me with a start.
3) Another time as I fell, I got a mental image of having stepped on a banana skin.
When I was 14 I had a spontaneous OBE but not knowing what the hell was happening to me I arched my back and resisted it during the
experience. I remember worrying that I may not be able to come back. I wish I'd known about AP then.
Earlier this year, I experienced the two bodies detaching. My astral body was in a different position to my physical body. Because it felt so
physical I was taken completely by surprise and I froze and did nothing with it. I really expected it to feel more fuzzy and dream-like.
For many months after that I was dealing with fear as an obstacle because of how real it had felt.
In the middle of the year there was one day in the evening when my body felt unusually without any tension and when I lay on my back that
night I felt the overlay of my astral over my physical body. I realised this was an excellent opportunity but my little daughter decided to have
a bad dream so I went to comfort her. I then let the irritation of being interrupted like this get the better of me and squandered the chance by
not persisting with it when I went back to bed.
Recently, I had a dream that I AP'd successfully by floating to the ceiling, doing a somersault, then swooping back down into my body when
my husband came into the room and started talking to my sleeping body. In the same dream I had tried the finger pull test and my finger
stretched. This has encouraged me not to give up.
If anyone has some advice, would really appreciate it.
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Join Date: 2003-08-28
Forum Posts: 216
That's a very thorough explanation of your efforts. :-)
First things first, let's tackle that falling sensation. In such situations, what happens is that you've already astral projected, your body is already asleep, but you are not aware of it. Then you wake up and your astral body slams back into the physical, and you feel just like you're falling. As you've said, it can be very sudden and unpleasant, but it is quite natural. You could even take is as an incentive to work harder, because I've found these sensations occur when I'm already well in the sleep process, and it can be very inspiring to realise that we don't have to fall asleep as soon as we hit the pillow.
What you say about astral projection in childhood is very interesting, I had a similar experience. However, it's never too late and we can always improve on our current ability to astral project, and on any other spiritual ability we want to look into.
Now, for the first experience you describe, fear is a common obstacle, and I think many people face it, in one form or the other. This is often the fear of the unknown, and it fades away as you gain more experience in astral projection. Once that happens, the process of projection becomes something very interesting and inspiring to experience. However, it can be somewhat unpleasant in the beginning, particulary if the sensations are intense, but, as I've said, this natural psychological barrier will fade away as you get used to the practice.
The second experience is also an interesting example of another obstacle. As we try to astral project, we need sleep, and this is often a luxury, particulary if your neighbours are noisy or the traffic is particulary intense (just some examples of my own). This, however, is no reason for stopping the effort you're making. It is important to understand that the main factor in astral projection is proper concentration, so you can be interrupted a hundred times and still concentrate and succeed. This is often difficult, however, it is important to keep trying in the given circumstances.
The third experience is again very encouraging, perhaps it is another example of a conscious astral experience, or it is very close to that.
The main advice I can give you is that you keep practising, remembering the role of concentration. It seems that you can identify the obstacles you're facing: this is very important, because we have to see where are we going wrong to do something about it. So, the main thing is to keep working with concentration as hard and in many situations in life as possible, and also do everything you can to secure a little time to do a proper practice. There will always be disturbances, but remember that practice makes everything perfect, so don't give up.
Join Date: 2007-08-27
Forum Posts: 9
Hi Matija,
Thanks for that encouraging advice. I will persist. I noticed a few people on the forum have said that if you have expectations you don't succeed as often and many get to AP when they least expect it. I will try to think as little about it as I can and just do it!
BTW, I really enjoyed your essay you wrote a few years ago called "Leaden Theory Golden Experience" - it's very sincere and inspiring.
Mat :o)
Join Date: 2003-08-28
Forum Posts: 216
Yes, it's important to give it your very best shot, and it seems that any expectation can lead us astray. I often found myself (and still do) trying to fulfill an idea I have about the practice or my goal. As a result, it becomes all too easy to loose the important thing, the focus on the process, which is really what brings about appropriate results. It's like climbing a dangerous path and looking towards the sky, instead of paying careful attention to the road ahead.
It seems that spiritual practices are particulary fertile for such distractions - they can be so grandiose that the hard work needed to succeed seemingly looses its importance. Ultimately though, that's the only thing that can get us through.
All the strength,
Matija