[new-nickname-zanovo]

OK, here’s my story. I hope that anyone who takes the time to read this may come away with at least a little valuable insight.

About 16 years ago, I was going to college at and living alone in Berkeley, CA. Now there are plenty of things to do in such a vibrant town, but my favorite pass time became frequenting the many bookstores that may be found throughout the area. I already had developed a personal interest in “fringe” topics such as UFOs, Yoga, etc. In Berkeley bookstores, one may find an abundance of literature on these topics. It is called the “New Age” section of bookstores, and has, over the past 16 years, expanded virtually geometrically, as I’m sure many of you are aware – especially those of you who live in cities with vast bookstore resources. Anyway, my interests gradually narrowed to the topic of Out-of-body experiences. The first book I read on the subject was Robert Monroe’s Journeys Out of the Body. The idea that one’s consciousness could be confirmed to exist outside the physical body was truly amazing. The ramifications were indeed profound (life after death, etc.). Furthermore, the freedom and ability to fly, pass through objects, and explore strange realms of the universe was an attractive notion, to say the least.

Over the next several years I read a multitude of books on the subject of Out-of-body experiences, and I practiced the many methods that were said to induce the elusive state. I practiced meditation, listened to the Monroe Institute’s Gateway tapes (hemisync), and tried and tried and tried. The tapes did propagate some strange occurrences, like when I thought my body levitated above my bed and then fell back down, making my bedsprings cry out in astonishment. But overall, my successes were few and far between, with only one or two involuntary short trips out of the body that seemed more like lucid dreams anyway. So, after awhile, I essentially threw in the towel, thinking that my time could be better spent doing other things besides laying there on my bed trying to induce a conscious projection.

Then, over the next few years, I began to wake up in the middle of the night (not very frequently) in the full blown vibrational state. Sometimes I would hear a distinct, clearly audible buzzing sound down near my navel. Other times I would hear a high pitched whistling sound in my head. But the vibrations were real, by any standard of measurement. Over time, the vibrations evolved into a full body “electrical current” for lack of a better description, which I could modulate at will. That is, I would wake up with the vibrations, and could manage the intensity as if they were controllable through a knob on a stereo system. And if I let it happen, the vibrations would become so intense that I knew the very next step would be popping out of my body. I had read enough to know what was going on. This went on for years. But two things always held me back from allowing the final step, and I’m sure that some of you will know what I’m talking about. When the vibrations would reach their most intense state, I would simultaneously feel extreme excitement (I would finally have attained my years-long ambition) as well as extreme fear of the unknown (the conscious out-of-body process may be likened to the process of dying, after all). Thus, my heartbeat and respiration would increase because of excitement and then I would hold back at the last possible second due to unconscious fear. I knew, in theory, that it would be a natural and harmless event, but I just couldn’t consciously overcome the fear. I got so mad at myself.

Time marched on. Time and time again, this would happen until I felt that I would never be able to overcome this last hurdle, at least in this lifetime. My attitude became (silently talking to myself) “Oh, here are the vibrations again, yea, whatever… who cares, just let me go back to sleep.”

Then, on February 1, 2006, I finally did it. I guess psychologically speaking, my subconscious or unconscious mind, or whatever, finally let it happen. The vibrations increased and I just told myself to go for it. If I died, then I died (I didn’t end up dying after all ). I had been so close all of those years. This time, I let the vibes increase until I heard a “click.” I floated up out of my body and then floated around the house. I went out through a window onto the patio and then, being the humble person that I am, decided to go back to my body, having been content with a very nice first full blown experience. Since then I have had a total of 6 conscious projections in the “near Earth” realm.

Now for my advice. Don't live to project. In my opinion, we're on this planet to learn and evolve spiritually through experience. Walk in the Light. Don't be tempted by the Dark Side. Avoid drug addiction. Practice good deeds and good thoughts. Try your best to treat others with love and respect. Put yourself in someone else's shoes before you judge them. Surround yourself with Light and Love, and Peace be with you.

- Spiritlodge.

[Gadarett]

I would agree that trying to escape or deny your existence here is a not a good idea (and does not work very well anyway). However, remember that you are a spiritual being and not limited to a single experience. It is entirely possible to exist simultaneously in multiple ways (across dimensions, incarnations, whatever...). Again I reiterate that wherever you find yourself, live there. Using Earth as a hiding place from your nature is also a denial of who you are.

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

Inspiring post Spiritlodge. Oh, and cool name and avatar too.

[Ikrleprl]

Now for my advice. Don't live to project. In my opinion, we're on this planet to learn and evolve spiritually through experience. Walk in the Light. Don't be tempted by the Dark Side. Avoid drug addiction. Practice good deeds and good thoughts. Try your best to treat others with love and respect. Put yourself in someone else's shoes before you judge them. Surround yourself with Light and Love, and Peace be with you.

This tends to be across the lines of what I believe. Though there is something to be said for training and practicing a subject til mastery, I don't think that it is the primary goal of life, if there even is a primary goal. You should not stress it unless you feel it right to do so. When I first started, I was so obsessed with projecting, I just could not do anything else. After being upset over myself being so slow, I tried meditating. This yielded results and made me realize that pushing it isn't going to help. After that I eased up some, and focused on the thing I felt an attraction to at that time, meditation. It kept yielding me results, and quite honestly, has not stopped yet. So to this day, I am still excited about conscious projection, (as I have experience them on 'accident') but my main focus is still meditation. I know one day I will feel a need, a want, to project. But I haven't felt the need to do so yet, and I'm trying not to force it upon myself when I know it isn't the right time.

Kevin