[Machater]

Hi,
Been practicing trance and NEW for 3 months and am having a hard time entering trance. I seem to get to a certain spot and either fall asleep or it feels as if I can't go any deeper and my mind is stuck TOO awake... yet my body feels very sleepy. I understand I'm just tired if i'm falling asleep, but any help on why my mind is TOO awake or seems to be would be appreciated. I feel like maybe I'm trying too hard and thinking so much while I'm practicing that my mind gets stuck in that awake state. Any help or tips welcome. I'm using all of Robert's falling techniques.

[cemDrymnVem]

Robert Bruce breaks down the requirements for entering a trance into three things:

1. Physical Relaxation
2. Clear surface mind
3. Mental technique (e.g. the falling technique)

#3 can speed up the process a bit, but isn't essential like the first two. If you aren't fully relaxed or your mind is too active, no amount of falling technique is going to get you into a trance.

Try spending more time on the progressive relaxation (repeating the tensing and relaxing sequence several times if needed) and keep working on keeping your mind clear. You might want to devote as much as 20-30 minutes on that before going to the falling technique, but with practice you'll require less and less time. When you do start the falling technique, make a point of keeping your mind clear of other thoughts while doing it.

You said it feels like you're "trying too hard". You should be focused, but it should be a calm, gentle, meditatively peaceful focus; not a "trying to do something as hard as you can" kind of focus.

If falling asleep persists to be a problem, and if you've been practicing while lying down, you could try practicing while sitting in a chair instead.

[Aozozbag]

You said it feels like you're "trying too hard". You should be focused, but it should be a calm, gentle, meditatively peaceful focus; not a "trying to do something as hard as you can" kind of focus. Question about that...When is it okay for your mind to be completely active again? Do you have to separate first?

[nizcreare]

There are tools that you can use to go into the process more easily. Binaurals created by the program BW Gen are suggested in the MAP sections of the forums. William Buhlman suggests using self-hypnosis and there are many products on the market which can guide you into a trance state. The main thing to keep in mind, though, is that when you are going into a trance state it is very difficult to know how deeply you are going into it. It could be a good sign to have all sorts of thoughts running through your mind because it can mean that you have gotten deeper than before and now something is being released. You might find that suddenly your mind is completely out of control, but rather than doubting yourself just watch and wait for the pressure to drop off and then you can continue to go deeper. If you resist it at times like that you will just bury it again and it will surface some other time.

[Misiotoagodia]

one way i always find great at quitening the internal chatter is when a thought arises, see it as a bubble and immediately pop the bubble before the thought delivers itself. You can get it to a point where you can feel a thought spawning as it were. Those little neurons will start firing and you'll feel yourself being attracted to a certain topic or subject - sometime sparked by a memory or a visual. keep a close eye on that area where it's so easy to tip over into a thought pool. Before you know it you'll be splashin around in the mental waters of ideas and thoughts. Better to pop that bubble straight off and settle back down. Just think - "Bubble comin'" aaaannd POP!

[cemDrymnVem]

Question about that...When is it okay for your mind to be completely active again? Do you have to separate first?

Yes, I would suggest keeping your mind quiet and clear of anything aside from your trance/exit technique until you've separated. Even after you've achieved a projection, too much mental activity can cause you to snap back into your body and lose the trance state.

From my (admittedly limited) experience, it seems like verbal thoughts in particular make it hard to stay out of body (or in the trance state)... it helps to try to think wordlessly.

[FilmCriticAwezume]

Originally Posted by Daniel Question about that...When is it okay for your mind to be completely active again? Do you have to separate first?

Yes, I would suggest keeping your mind quiet and clear of anything aside from your trance/exit technique until you've separated. Even after you've achieved a projection, too much mental activity can cause you to snap back into your body and lose the trance state.

From my (admittedly limited) experience, it seems like verbal thoughts in particular make it hard to stay out of body (or in the trance state)... it helps to try to think wordlessly. I feel that thinking about the physical body is a surefire way to get you back in it. Personally, when I'm out of body my verbal thinking shuts off and I act purely on instinct.