[uchetrip]

Every time you fall asleep, you pass through that exact gate you need to pass through when you want to have an OBE. The problem is, when you do, you are usually not conscious. So in order to have the OBE, you need to not only become conscious in the sleep state, you need to be fairly comfortable with this.

Trying to do the rope or other visualizations right away is not really going to get you anywhere unless you already have a certain amount of control over your consciousness when all senses are disabled.

The single most important exercise is what Robert Peterson refers to as Hypnogogic play, Robert Monroe's arm technique, Edison's "rock drop."

Using any method that you like, try to walk the fine line between awake and asleep until you are able to hold onto it and stay there. The one way to do this is to fall asleep and wake up many times in quick succession, try 10 or 20 times a night for 2 weeks.

There's a variety of ways you can do this... Keep your forearm up as you fall asleep, when you doze off, it'll fall, calling you back into alertness. Listen to a tape that alternates between talking and small (20 second) periods of silence, making sure the talking parts are loud enough to wake you up. Set alarms that'll prevent you from sleeping for more than a few minutes at a time.

It'll tire you out, and that's not always compatible with a modern lifestyle, but you won't ever get anything more systematic... Your dreams will be more vivid, you'll have visions, lucid dreams, and spontaneous OBEs out the wazoo... You've got the intention and the dedication... I'm sure you can do it in less than a week. I give you 3 days. Good luck.