[ChyFDjfed]

This is an interesting discussion. I think any form of creative
ability (not just visual) can help, especially if you use what
you are good at in ways that can help. In terms of visual
imagination, I am a complete cripple. I can't draw my way
out of a paper bag. Remembering things by what they look
like is next to impossible for me. I have been able to make
this work when the OBE exit symptoms first appear; I'll
give an example of this in a moment.

Like some others who've replied to this topic, I am a musician.
My favorite hobby is composing classical music, and I can
hear things in my mind with extreme clarity. I've been able to
use this to help with the OBE at times.

Regarding hypnosis, it comes to me easily, and I need no
help from a hypnotist. I have a fairly severe case of OCD,
and I refuse to take any medication for it. If I allow it to, it
will keep me awake all night, so my way of dealing with it
has always been to use self hypnosis to put myself to
sleep. This works realy well for me, and that skill I think has
helped with my learning to induce OBEs. Only recently have
I begun to explore this, but all my life I've had spontaneous
OBEs, which until recently I thought were only dreams. Perhaps
the natural creativity that draws me to music composition is
a part of that.

Engergy work has been a habit for me ever since a few years
ago when I trained Taijiquan for a year. I think the spontaneous
OBEs came much more often after I had been doing this
for a while.

My visualization example: I normally can't visualize things
well at all - as I said, I have almost no ability to recall what
an image looks like. But yesterday, I did an OBE practice
session and ended up using visualization to make the
actual exit, and was amazed at how well it worked. I started
with a fairly long session of energy work, the small circulation
I was taught in Taijiquan. This is basically just a circulation
back and forth from the lower tan tien (sub-navel center) and
the upper tan tien (brow center). After this, I went to bed and
put myself into a deep hypnosis. When I was sure I was in the
low alpha state, just above the point where the hypnogogic
imagery starts, I used post-hypnotic suggestion to "remind"
myself that an OBE is so easy that the next time I go into the
hypnogogic state, I will just project automatically. After repeating
the suggestion for several minutes, the monotony of the
repeated suggestion began to put me to sleep, and as soon
as I entered the hypnogogic state, the sleep paralysis and
vibrations came on very strongly. Then I tried a few exit
techniques, and none of them seemed to work for me. So as
a last ditch effort, before the vibrations began to fade, I tried
imagining what my bedroom door (across the room) looked
like and found that I was able to see it clearly. So I imagined
seeing my right hand reaching to open it. Suddenly I was there!
I was amazed at how well this worked for me. I went through
the door and started going down the hall when, of all things,
the phone rang and pulled me out of it! There's always something
to get in the way!

On the whole, I have had more success imagining the
sounds that come with the vibrations, and I usually use
this approach. So for those of us who are musically
inclined, this might be the best way to go. Another thing
I've had some success with, after getting near the
hypnogogic state, is to imagine what it feels like to be
walking, running, of doing some of the Taiji movements.
Perhaps people who are more kinesthetically inclined
would have more luck with this approach.

Sorry about being so long winded with this - I'll blame that
on the OCD as well!