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Over the last few years I have been experimenting with various techniques known as out-of-body (OOBE), Astral Projection and Lucid Dreaming. I have had relative success in applying textbook techniques and being able to experience each known state.
In my earlier experiments I would apply out-of-body methods to roll myself out of my body whilst in an in-between waking and sleeping state, I would use an intention to wake up whilst in this state known as the phase, then roll out.
I would either roll out into a carbon copy of my bedroom, albeit with very slight 0.1% differences where I could explore a copy of my house or roll into a completely different reality. I had full conscious awareness and interacted with intelligent complex people going about their astral or lucid dreaming business.
My later attempts seemed to avoid rolling out into my current reality and would skip straight into weird and wonderful astral experiences, exploring realties much like Earth or very close to appearing like it.
Because I initially came into these experiences from an Astral Projection view I would always treat the characters I met as unique beings in their own right and strike up a conversation asking if they were dead or if they knew they were dead, I always got the same look of complete disdain as if I was crazy. I would announce, “I was from Earth”, and then ask, “Where are you from?” Again they would look at me with the same look. I did have one experience, which I have written about previously of an Italian astral town I visited. The beings there fully comprehended they were dead and had once lived on Earth in the physical.
After three years of experiencing these from an Astral Projection angle, I then came across a book by Robert Waggoner called ‘Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self’. I was amazed after finishing his book how similar his experiences was to mine. The only difference was, he was coming from a Lucid Dreaming angle. I purposely steered away from Lucid Dreaming as I saw it as a label to normalize the inner Astral experiences in a more accepted way; most people are much more comfortable accepting these amazing fully conscious experiences if they believe it’s just another aspect of dreaming and apart of their own mind.
The further I read into Robert’s book I also realized he struggled with the limitations of just accepting it as a dream and went onto experience profound experiences way beyond the conscious mind, talking to a much greater awareness for answers and eventually moving beyond dualism and experiencing pure oneness, beyond all illusion and ego. Fully transformative spiritual experiences normally reserved for the adept Buddhist monks.
In Robert’s book he encourages people to engage with the greater awareness behind the dream, this is something you can try when fully conscious within a lucid dream or as I had being doing and is very similar, travelling astrally, out-of-body ( They’re so similar, why not treat them the same). By asking the greater awareness behind the dream you go beyond the theatre of the dream and are able to gain answers to it’s higher meaning. He also recommends engaging with dream figures and asking a simple question to each of them, such as “What do you represent?” The surprising result is most of them will be an aspect of your inner psychology and will respond telling you exactly which part of you they represent. You’re visually interacting directly with your hidden aspects. These can be real deep parts of yourself or trivial things that have gone on in your day.
I had been using my own intention-based techniques to become fully conscious, however, Robert mentions a very simple one. Just before you’re going to sleep keep repeating this intention over and over as you full asleep. “Tonight, I will see my hands in my dream and realize I’m dreaming.” Be patient with this as it took two nights of attempts before it worked for me.
I was in a normal dream where I was walking along, I wasn’t fully conscious and just being swept along as part of the dream play. Then suddenly my two dream hands sprung up straight in front of my face. As soon as I saw them I instantly realized I was dreaming. The dreamscape then faded into blackness. I then asked the greater awareness to show me something important. Instantly I started moving at great speed through the void, it was almost black. A scene then appeared. I was now standing in a very long empty street with a row of strange looking two level buildings on all sides. There was no way out apart from walking to the end and seeing what was there. As I got there a man suddenly appeared out of one of the doors and shot me. I felt the bullet hit me and I woke up. I was confused, what was that all about. I was annoyed with myself that I didn’t get a chance to ask the character what he represented. Was the scene showing me I sometimes shoot myself, maybe I’m too hard on myself, which I often am.
With that experience in mind I waited for the next lucid experience to occur about a week later. In this dream I was about to jump off a low ledge when I suddenly realized I was dreaming. Exactly the same thing happened, the dream collapsed as I become fully conscious. I was now spinning and moving at great speed through a dark void. I could feel a pull on my central solar plexus as I was spinning. After a while a scene opened in front of me and I was located in a large open plan shop type space. Then different dream figures appeared.
I approached a man and asked, “What do you represent?” he replied straight back and said, “I’m starving.” I confirmed by saying “Am I hungry then?” and he said, “Yes!” I then realized I could feel slight hunger pangs from my stomach. I mused how amazing such a trivial thing as slight hunger renders a dream characters into a scene and how ignorant we are of all the dream aspects when not fully conscious, or perhaps it represents my hunger for answers and meaning.
I then saw another young lady sitting down, she was hunched over with her head in her hands. She looked very sad. I asked her what she represented but another lady came over and indicated that she couldn’t speak. I decided to reach down and give her a hug instead.
Then I noticed another man who was very unkempt and neglected. I had the impression straight away he was most likely a hidden neglected part of myself. When I asked what he represented, the lady next to me just said, “He will being going to sleep tomorrow, but don’t worry I will teach you how to wake him up again?” Then the dream collapsed and I woke up.
I was very confused by the answer from the man, is a hidden neglected part of myself going to sleep? And I will need to be shown how to wake that aspect up again? Perhaps I will find out on forthcoming journeys in the unconscious, I look forward to delving further and gaining more insight into my own psychology and the greater awareness.
If you have had any experiences or have any questions feel free to
join my group and post a comment or your topic.
Best wishes
Ian
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