Lesson 8: Examination of the Monroe Technique of Astral Projection.

Included are Monroe's Suggested exercises for Astral Projection

Before we get too deep into the entire lesson, I want you to read this document, taken from another source who quoted the "lessoning" portion of "Journeys out of the Body" by Douglas Monroe.

The numbers in parentheses refer to my notes at the bottom. These numbers are at the end of the paragraph that it relates to.

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MONROE TECHNIQUES FOR ASTRAL PROJECTION

Note: After having studied many methods of Astral Projection, I have found that this is the easiest to do. Monroe teaches these techniques in a week, but they can be easily done in a day, with proper devotion. I feel that this technique is superior to others because it does not require intense visualization, which many people cannot do. Enjoy!

(Taken from Leaving The Body: A Complete Guide to Astral Projection, D. Scott Rogo, prentice Hall Press)

One of the chief barriers people learning to project face is fear. Many are afraid that they may die, or be harmed in some way as a result of their projection. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Canterbury Institute, renowned for its occult studies, executed an experiment in projection involving over 2,000 people. None of them were hurt in any way by this, and now, three years later, none have complained of any newly arising problems.(1)

Once you are aware that you cannot be harmed by projecting, you should begin Monroe's techniques, step by step.

Step one: Relax the body. According to Monroe, "the ability to relax is the first prerequisite, perhaps even the first step itself" to having an OBE. (out of body experience) This includes both physical and mental relaxation. Monroe does not suggest a method of attaining this relaxation, although Progressive Muscle relaxation, coupled with deep breathing exercises (inhale 1, exhale 2, inhale 3.... until 50 or 100) are known to work well. (2)

Step two: Enter the state bordering sleep. This is known as the hypnagogic state. Once again, Monroe doesn't recommend any method of doing this. One way is to hold your forearm up, while keeping your upper arm on the bed, or ground. As you start to fall asleep, your arm will fall, and you will awaken again. With practice, you can learn to control the Hypnagogic state without using your arm. Another method is to concentrate on an object. When other images start to enter your thoughts, you have entered the Hypnagogic state. Passively watch these images. This will also help you maintain this state of near-sleep. Monroe calls this Condition A. (3)

Step three: Deepen this state. Begin to clear your mind. observe your field of vision through your closed eyes. Do nothing more for a while. Simply look through your closed eyelids at the blackness in front of you. After a while, you may notice light patterns. These are simply neural discharges. They have no specific effect. Ignore them. When they cease, one has entered what Monroe calls Condition B. From here, one must enter an even deeper state of relaxation which Monroe calls Condition C-- a state of such relaxation that you lose all awareness of the body and sensory stimulation. You are almost in a void in which your only source of stimulation will be your own thoughts. (4)

The ideal state for leaving your body is Condition D. This is Condition C when it is voluntarily induced from a rested and refreshed condition and is not the effect of normal fatigue. To achieve Condition D, Monroe suggests that you practice entering it in the morning or after a short nap.

Step Four: Enter a state of Vibration. This is the most important part of the technique, and also the most vague. Many projectors have noted these vibrations at the onset of projection. They can be experienced as a mild tingling, or as is electricity is being shot through the body. Their cause is a mystery. It may actually be the astral body trying to leave the physical one. For entering into the vibrational state, he offers the following directions: (5)

Remove all jewelry or other items that might be touching your skin.
Darken the room so that no light can be seen through your eyelids, but do not shut out all light.
Lie down with your body along a north-south axis, with your head pointed toward magnetic north.
Loosen all clothing, but keep covered so that you are slightly warmer than might normally be comfortable.
Be sure you are in a location where, and at a time when, there will be absolutely no noise to disturb you.
Enter a state of relaxation
Give yourself the mental suggestion that you will remember all that occurs during the upcoming session that will be beneficial to your well-being. Repeat this five times.
Proceed to breath through your helf-open mouth.
As you breath, concentrate on the void in front of you.
Select a point a foot away from your forehead, then change your point of mental reference to six feet.
Turn the point 90 degrees upward by drawing an imaginary line parallel to your body axis up and above your head. Focus there and reach out for the vibrations at that point and bring them back into your body. (6)

Even if you don't know what these vibrations are, you will know when you have achieved contact with them.

Step five: Learn to control the vibrational state. Practice controlling them by mentally pushing them into your head, down to your toes, making them surge throughout your entire body, and producing vibrational waves from head to foot. To produce this wave effect, concentrate of the vibrations and mentally push a wave out of your head and guide it down your body. Practice this until you can induce these waves on command. Once you have control of the vibrational state, you are ready to leave the body. (7)

Step six: Begin with a partial separation. The key here is thought control. Keep your mind firmly focused on the idea of leaving the body. Do not let it wander. Stray thought might cause you to lose control of the state.

Now, having entered the vibrational state, begin exploring the OBE by releasing a hand or a foot of the "second body". Monroe suggests that you extend a limb until it comes in contact with a familiar object, such as a wall near your bed. Then push it through the object. Return the limb by placing it back into coincidence with the physical one, decrease the vibrational rate, and then terminate the experiment. Lie quietly until you have fully returned to normal. This exercise will prepare you for full separation. (8)

Step seven: Dissociate yourself from the body. Monroe suggests two methods for this. One method is to lift out of the body. To do this, think about getting lighter and lighter after entering this vibrational state. Think about how nice it would be to float upward. Keep this thought in mind at all costs and let no extraneous thoughts interrupt it. An OBE will occur naturally at this point.

Another method is the "Rotation method" or "roll-out" technique. When you have achieved the vibrational state, try to roll over as if you were turning over in bed. Do not attempt to roll over physically. Try to twist your body from the top and virtually roll over into your second body right out of your physical self. At this point, you will be out of the body but next to it. Think of floating upward, and you should find yourself floating above the body.

Monroe suggests you begin with the lift-out method, but argues that both are equally efficacious. (9)

If, after all this, you still can't project, I recommend purchasing Leaving The Body, by R. Scott Rogo. It only costs $7.95 and contains another eight or so techniques. Not all techniques work for everyone, but chances are you'll find one that works for you in this book.

Good luck! Thich Van.

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Daven's Notes:

(1) This paragraph is true. The single most common problem with Astral Projection is fear. The paragraph does give you some good statistics to alleviate this fear, but what is said does not go far enough.

So, here, I will try my best to disarm the "fear factor".

As stated, noting could be further from the truth. However, knowing this in your head, in the conscious mind, is VERY different from KNOWING that you won't be harmed, as your subconscious thinks. So the first thing you MUST do is to start reprogramming your subconscious to believe that it will not be harmed.

Understand something, this state of Astral Projection is the SAME STATE that you are in before you are born, after you die, and every night as you dream. It is a state where the body becomes unimportant, and all that exists is the mind and the subconscious. So, this is the first step.

Believing this and knowing this is the beginning to disarming this fear. You must tell yourself this everyday. You can do this through various means, from a mantra, to writing it down 10 times a day for a month. Eventually this will reprogram your subconscious to know this. This single tool is the most valuable, writing and drawing will tell your subconscious what YOU want it to know.

The second step is to do something like the "Litany against Fear" from Dune. Being a big fan of Herbert, I read this passage and it was as though a lightning bolt went through me. The Litany itself says "I will not fear. Fear is the mindkiller. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass around me and through me. And when Fear is gone, I will turn and look at the path Fear has taken. Only I will remain."

This Litany is repeated every time that someone of the Bene Geserit (a monastatic order of women) in the book "Dune" is scared. They repeat it out loud, and it makes their head cease to fear. Granted, it is temporary, but once that kind of fear is faced down, there is an epiphany that results from it.

I was able to face down my terror of bees this way. The litany I repeated whenever a bee came around me, allowed me to stand fast in the face of having bees land on me. Once they left, it felt as though I had been reborn.

So, facing this fear is the second part. Is there a third part? Kind of. The last part of overcoming this fear of something happening is to actually do it. Just like I did, once it is completed, your fear successfully faced, you will feel as though you are in a new life. Once you have identified why you are scared of AP, started reprogramming your subconscious to do it and not to fear, this last step will make all those changes take effect. Until that part happens, everything was theoretical. This moves it into the realm of the practical. After that, it's all a matter of becoming comfortable with AP. back

(2) Use the meditational method that you are comfortable with. Counting backwards is good, so is any of the meditations that I gave you in earlier lessons. The only one that may not be appropriate is the meditation while exercising or doing something active. The means you use are completely up to your discretion. So long as it will get you into a deep meditational state. back

(3) Dr. DeGarcia mentions this state in his work, which will be covered next lesson. It is characterized by a complete relaxation, a slight "disassociation" with the body (meaning that you cease to feel your body), random neural flashes behind your closed eyelids, possibly with images of either things you did for the majority of the day, or places you have been and so on, and possibly "seeing" through your eyelids into space or other worlds. This is when your "thrid eye" or your "brow chakra" has opened, allowing you to have "spirit sight". back

(4) You will probably be saying "huh" at this point. The states and what happens differ from person to person. Condition A, B and C all occur to me almost at once. I have that "floating" sensation that is spoken of first, then I get into the hypnogogic state, then (usually) I slide into sleep. However, there are a multitude of things that can happen to you, and in many different orders. Once again, it's a matter of whatever works for you. back

(5) I experience these vibrations in different ways, but the most common for me is the sensation that someone is stroking their finger back and forth across my forehead. I have also felt them as though I was spinning like a lathe or flip-flopping front to back, spinning around an axis that went through my hipbones. You can also feel this state when you have a high fever, as sickness tends to break down the bonds the body has on the soul. My daughter suggests that goose bumps contribute to this state, and she should know since she has been projecting since she was born. back

(6) This sounds more complex than it is. A few things I have discovered, however. When I first started practicing AP, I took these "rules" to heart and failed miserably. The statements that you should not have anything constricting you or any jewelry on is there, I have found, to prevent you from becoming distracted in your meditation by the sensations of your body. Even though you are in a meditative state, your body is still aware of the things you feel, and if some of that clothing is constricting or cutting into your flesh, your body will not allow you to fall into a deep enough trance.

The Jewelry prohibition is basically the same thing, but habitually worn jewelry starts absorbing some of your energy, and could be considered part of you. But it could also become a "tether" to keep you in your body. Experiment with this and discover if you are being held by your jewelry or distracted by it, or if it is such a part of you that you don't even notice when it is on.

As for the rest, distractions are fatal to projection. The more you are distracted by the environment and other things, the harder it will be to successfully project. back

(7) If you think of these vibrations as being physical things, and you use a mental "hand" to push them around, you will be doing the correct thing as stated in this text. Also you can will them around by simply wanting them in a different place. back

(8) It has been suggested that this feeling of separation and reintegration feels like you have taken off and put on an opera glove. I tried on some opera gloves just to see what the feeling was like, and it is accurate as far as the description goes. It's more like an incredible sense of freedom, and coming back into your body is like putting on a unitard of spandex. It is an enfolding and a bit like suddenly you are too big for your body. If you have ever had the sensation of being too large for your body, or felt like you were sticking out 1/4 inch everywhere, you know what I am talking about. If you have not felt this, no amount of explanation will get you to understand. back

(9) These two techniques are the most common for leaving your body consciously. There are many times when you spontaneously separate, and none of these techniques are used.

The "Roll out" technique is to feel, with your mind, like you just rolled over in the bed. Don't try to turn your body, and keep in mind that if you move your body, you will NOT get out of your body. You will catapult yourself back into consciousness. However, if you do this correctly, you will find yourself floating on the air, next to your body. You may feel, at this point, like someone is clinging to you, but they are not. It is only whatever part of you is still in your body sending signals out that something has a hold of you. And it does, your body is still clinging to your spirit, trying to prevent you from going farther.

The "lift out" method is simply floating or sinking away from your body. You can float yourself up, parallel to your body, up while turning perpendicular to your body like in some vampire movies, you can float on the horizontal plane so that you are in the same position next to your body, and many other ways.

Please note, that these techniques are only applicable to gaining the Ethereal Plane, or staying here. Going to Might have Beens and Fictions you do not have to do these. However, you can get to those alternate destinations after you have separated from your body. back

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That is all for this lesson. I will leave you with this document, also relating to OOBE from Monroe, but without all the footnotes. Just about everything I could say about this text I have already said above. Just keep these in mind.

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This information is taken directly from the book Journeys Out of the Body by Robert A. Monroe.

Throughout this writing, I have made many references to one evident fact: the only possible way for an individual to appreciate the reality of this Second Body and existence within it is to experience it himself.

Obviously, if this were an easy task, it would now be commonplace. I suspect that only an innate curiosity will enable people to overcome the obstacles in the path of this achievement. Although there are many cases of existence experienced apart from the physical body, they have for the most part - at least in the Western world - been of a spontaneous, one time nature, occurring during moments of stress or physical disability.

We are speaking of something entirely different, which can be objectively investigated. The experimenter will want to proceed in a manner that will produce consistent results, perhaps not every time, but often enough to validate the evidence to his own satisfaction. I believe that anyone can experience existence in a Second Body if the desire is great enough. Whether or not anyone should is beyond the scope of my judgment.

Evidence has led me to believe that most, if not all, human beings leave their physical bodies in varying degrees during sleep. Subsequent reading has proved that this idea is thousands of years old in man's history. If it is a valid premise, then the condition itself is not unnatural. On the other hand, conscious, willful practice of separation from the physical is contrary to the pattern, it would seem, in view of the limited data available.

Harmful physical effects from such activity are undetermined. I have not detected (nor have any physicians) any physiological changes, good or bad, that can be attributed directly to the out-of-the-body experience.

There have been many psychological changes that I recognize, and probably many more that I have not been aware of. However, even my friends in the psychiatric profession have not claimed that these have been detrimental. My gradual revision of basic concepts and believes is apparent in a number of ways throughout this writing. If these psychological and personality changes are truly harmful, there is not much that can be done about it now.

A note of caution is in order here for those who are interested in experimenting, for once opened, the doorway to this experience cannot be closed. More exactly, it is a copy of "you can't live with it and you can't live without it." The activity and resultant awareness are quite incompatible with the science, religion, and mores of the society in which we live. History is strewn with martyrs whose only crime was non-conformity. If your interest and research become commonly known, you run the risk of being labeled a freak, phony, or worse, and of being ostracized. In spite of this, something extremely vital would be missing if you did not continue to explore and investigate. In the unaccountable "low" periods when you cannot produce this activity and resultant awareness are quite incompatible with the science, religion, and mores of the society in which we live. History is strewn with martyrs whose only crime was non-conformity. If your interest and research become commonly known, you run the risk of being labeled a freak, phony, or worse, and of being ostracized. In spite of this, something extremely vital would be missing if you did not continue to explore and investigate. In the unaccountable "low" periods when you cannot produce this activity no matter how carefully you try, you realize this deeply. You have a strong sense of being left out of things, of the shutting out of a source of great meaning to living.

Here, then, is the best written description I can give of the technique of developing the non-physical experience.

THE FEAR BARRIER

There is one great obstacle to the investigation of the Second Body and the environment in which it operates. Perhaps it is the only major barrier. It seems to be present in all people, without exception. It may be hidden by layers of inhibition and conditioning, but when these are stripped away, the obstacle remains. This is the barrier of blind, unreasoning fear. Given only small impetus, it turns to panic, and then to terror. If you consciously pass the fear barrier, you will have passed a milestone in your investigation.

I am reasonably sure that this barrier is passed unconsciously by many of us each night. When that part of us beyond our consciousness takes over, it is not inhibited by fear, although it seems to be influenced by the thought and action of the conscious mind. It seems to be accustomed to operating beyond the fear barrier, and understands better the rules of existence in this other world. When the conscious mind shuts down for the night, this Super Mind (soul?) takes over.

The investigative process relative to the Second Body and its environment appears to be a melding or blending of the conscious with this Super Mind. If this is accomplished, the fear barrier is overcome.

The fear barrier is many-faceted. The most fearless of us think it does not exist, until, much to our own surprise, we encounter it within ourselves. First and foremost, there is the death fear. Because separation from the physical body is much like what is expected at death, early reactions to the experience are automatic. You think, "Get back in the physical, quickly! You are dying! Life is there, in the physical; get back in!"

These reactions appear in spite of any intellectual or emotional training. Only after repeating the process eighteen to twenty times did I finally gather enough courage (and curiosity) to stay out more than a few seconds and observe objectively. The death fear was either sublimated or assuaged by familiarity. Others who have tried the technique have stopped after the first or second experience, unable to suppress this first aspect of the barrier.

The second aspect of the fear barrier is also linked with the death fear: will I be able to return to the physical or to get back "in." With no guidelines or specific instructions, this remained a prime fear of mine for several years, until I found a simple answer that made it work every time. Mine was a matter of rationalization. I had been "out" several hundred times, and the evidence showed that I was able to return safely one way or another. Therefore, the probability was that I would return safely the next time also.

The third basic fear was fear of the unknown. The rules and dangers of our physical environment can be determined to a reasonable degree. We have spent our lifetime building up reflexes to cope with them. Now, suddenly, here is another, completely different set of rules, another world of entirely different possibilities, populated by beings who seem to know all of them. You have no rule book, no road map, no book of etiquette, no applicable courses in physics and chemistry, no incontrovertible authority you can turn to for advice and answers. Many a missionary has been killed in a remote land under just such conditions!

I must confess that this third fear still crops up, and with justification. The unknown is still to a great degree unknown. Such penetration as I have made has brought forth pitifully few unalterable and consistent rules. I can say only that, to date, I have survived these expeditions. There is so much that I do not comprehend or understand, and more that is beyond my ability to do so.

Another fear is the consequent effects on the physical body as well as on the conscious mind of participation and experimentation in this form of activity. This too is very real, as our history, at least to my knowledge, does not seem to contain accurate reporting of this area. We have studies on paranoia, schizophrenia, phobias, epilepsy, alcoholism, sleeping sickness, acne, virus diseases, etc., but no assembled body of objective data on the pathology of the Second Body.

I do not know how to circumvent the fear barrier, except by cautious initial steps that create familiarity bit by bit as you proceed. I hope this writing in its entirety will provide the psychological "step" over the barrier. It may help to recognize conditions and patterns that are familiar in that at least one person has had similar experiences and survived. The following are the necessary procedural developments.

1. RELAXATION

The ability to relax is the first prerequisite, perhaps even the first step itself. It is deliberately generated, and is both physical and metal. Included with the condition of relaxation must be the relief from any sense of time urgency. You cannot be in a hurry. No pending appointments or anticipated calls for your services or attention must clutter up your thoughts. Impatience of any sort can effectively stifle your prospects for success.

There are many techniques available for obtaining this kind of relaxation, and a number of good books cover the subject. Simply select the method that works best for you. There are three general methods that seem to work, two of which are applicable in these exercises.

Auto- or self-hypnosis. Most self-study books offer this method in different versions. Again, it is a matter of which is most effective for you individually. The most efficient and speediest way is to learn self-hypnosis through the training of an experienced hypnotist. He can set up posthypnotic suggestion that will bring immediate results. However, select a tutor with care. Responsible practitioners are rare, and neophytes numerous. Forms of meditation can be converted to effective relaxation.

Borderland sleep state. This is perhaps the easiest and most natural method and usually ensures relaxation of both body and mind simultaneously. The difficulty here lies in the maintenance of that delicate "edge" between sleep and complete wakefulness. All too often, you simply fall asleep and that ends the experiment for the moment.

By practice, conscious awareness can be taken up to this borderland state, into it, and through it, to your destination. There is no way to achieve it that I know of that than practice. The technique is as follows: lie down, preferably when you are tired and sleepy. As you become relaxed and start to drift off to sleep, hold your mental attention on something, anything, with your eyes closed. Once you can hold the borderland state indefinitely without falling asleep, you have passed the first stage. It is, however, a normal pattern to fall asleep many times in the process of this consciousness deepening. You will not be able to help yourself, but do not let this discourage you. It is not an overnight process. You will know you are successful when you become bored and expect something more to happen!

If attempts to remain at the borderland state make you nervous, this too is a normal reaction. The conscious mind seems to resent sharing the authority it has during wakefulness. If this occurs, break the relaxation, get up and walk around, exercise, and lie down again. If this does not relieve the nervousness, go to sleep and try another time. You are just not in the mood. When your "fixative," the picture thought you have been holding, slips away and you find yourself thinking of something else, you are close to completion of condition A.

When your "fixative," the picture thought you have been holding, slips away and you find yourself thinking of something else, you are close to completion of condition A.

Once you have achieved Condition A - the ability to hold calmly in the borderland state indefinitely with your mind on an exclusive thought - you are ready for the next step. Condition B is similar, but with the concentration eliminated. Do not think of anything, but remain poised between wakefulness and sleep. Simply look through your closed eyes at the blackness ahead of you. Do nothing more. After a number of these exercises, you may hallucinate "mind pictures," or light patterns. These seem to have no great significance, and may merely be forms of neural discharge. I can remember, for example, attempting to achieve this state after watching a football game on TV for several hours. All I saw were mind pictures of football players tackling, running, passing, etc. It took at least a half hour for the pattern to fade away. These mind pictures are apparently related to your visual concentration in the preceding eight or ten hours. The more intense the concentration, the longer it seems to take to eliminate the impressions.

You have accomplished Condition B when you are able to lie indefinitely after the impressions have faded away, with no nervousness, and seeing nothing but blackness.

Condition C is a systematic deepening of consciousness while in the B state. This is approached by carefully letting go of your ridged hold on the borderland sleep edge and drifting deeper little by little during each exercise. You will learn to establish degrees of this deepening of consciousness by "going down" to a given level and returning at will. You will recognize these degrees by the shutting down of various sensory mechanism inputs. the sense of touch apparently goes first. You seem to have no feeling in any part of your body. Smell and taste soon follow. The auditory signals are next, and the last to fade out is vision. (sometimes the last two are reversed; I suspect that the reason for vision being last is that the exercise calls for the use of the visual network, even in blackness.)

Condition D is the achievement of C when one is fully rested and refreshed, rather than tired and sleepy, at the beginning of this exercise. This is quite important, and not nearly as easy to achieve as it is to write about. To enter the relaxation state full of energy and wakefulness is great insurance for maintaining conscious control. The best approach to take in the early attempts at the condition D exercise is to start it immediately after you wake up from a nap or a night's sleep. Start the exercise before you move around in the bed physically, while your body is still relaxed from sleep and your mind is fully alert. Don't take too many liquids before sleeping, and you won't have the immediate need to empty your bladder upon awakening.

Induction by drugs. None of the relaxation-producing drugs that are readily available seem to help. Barbiturates force a loss of conscious control and only bring a confused state in deeper consciousness. The same is true, to a lesser degree, of tranquilizers. Relaxation is obtained, but at the cost of perception. Alcohol in any form brings similar effects. More exotic compounds such as the alkaloids and hallucinogens may be more productive. I have not had enough experience or contact with these to offer an opinion or even an educated guess. It would seem that far-reaching research is indicated for these.

I have utilized all three methods, and rejected drug relaxation quite early as it resulted in both too much loss of conscious control and distorted perception. In the first technique, hypnotic induction tapes were specially prepared for the experiments. They were quite useful and effective. The borderland sleep state techniques have been employed most often. In spite of the complicated-sounding procedure, it is the most natural method for me.

2. The State of Vibration

The generation of this effect is the most critical of all. The subjective sensory impression it creates is described elsewhere. Once it is achieved, you will certainly not have to be told you've been successful, and you will have passed another major hurdle.

All that can be given are clues. At the present level of knowledge, it is not known why these things work. It is much like turning a switch to obtain light without having any idea of what the switch does, where the electricity comes from, or why and how it acts upon a bulb enclosing tungsten filaments.

At the least, all of the material contained herein has been established as empirically as possible. Aside from the principal human laboratory - this writer - several other individuals have tried the pattern. Suffice it to say that they have obtained positive results.

Aids to the vibrational state. Lie down, in whatever position is most conductive to your state of relaxation, but with your body along a north-south axis, with your head to magnetic north. Loosen any clothes you may be wearing. Keep covered so that you feel just slightly warmer than is generally comfortable for you. Remove any jewelry or metal objects close to or touching your skin. Be sure that your arms, legs and neck will relax in a position that will not impede circulation. Darken the room enough to ensure that no light can be seen through your eyelids. Do not use a completely blacked-out room, as you will then have no visual point of reference.

Absolute requisites. Ensure without question that you will not be disturbed in any way, either by direct physical intervention, a phone ringing, or other interrupting noises. Do not set a time limit or a deadline. The time you spend in the experiment is not more valuably spent elsewhere and you should have nothing impending that might cut short this activity.

Achieve the state of relaxation. Do this by whatever method you have found workable in your own individual case. Work to Condition D or its equivalent, and hold at the deepest level of relaxation possible without weakening your consciousness. When you have taken as much time as you need to be sure you have obtained this, mentally repeat, "I will consciously perceive and remember all that I encounter during this relaxation period. I will recall in detail when I am completely awake only those matter that will be beneficial to my physical and metal being." Say this mentally five times. Then begin breathing through your half-opened mouth.

establish the vibration waves. As your continue breathing through your half-opened mouth, concentrate on the blackness in front of your closed eyes. Look first into the blackness at a spot a foot away from your forehead. Now move your point of concentration to three feet away, and then six feet. Hold for a while until the point is firmly established. From there, turn the point 90° upward, on a line parallel to the body axis and reaching out above the head. Reach for the vibrations at that spot. When you find them, mentally pull them back into your head.

This simple description must pose many questions. Reach out with what? Pull what back into your head? Le us try another method of explanation. Begin a mental concentration, as if two lines were extending from the outer sides of your closed eyes. Think of them as converging at a point a foot away from your forehead. Visualize a resistance or pressure when these two lines meet, as if two charged electric wires were joined, or poles of a magnet forced together. Now extend this juncture outward to about three feet, or the length of your arm outstretched. Due to the angular difference, the pressure pattern is altered. A compression of the space (forces?) between the converging lines must result, and the pressure must therefore increase to maintain the convergence. After the three-foot length has been established and held, extend the intersection point out to six feet away from your head, or 30°. (So that you can properly visualize the exact angle that represents 30° it may help to mark off a 30° angle by protractor on paper and memorize how it looks.)

Once you have learned to establish and maintain the 30° angle outward (or roughly six feet away), bend the point of intersection 90° (or in an "L") upward in the direction of your head but parallel to the axis of your body. You "reach" with this point of intersection. Stretch or reach with this point more and more, until you obtain a reaction. Again, you will know when you obtain it. It is as if a surging, hissing, rhythmically pulsating wave of fiery sparks comes roaring into your head. From there it seems to sweep throughout your body, making it rigid and immobile.

Once you have learned the process, or the concept, it will not be necessary to go through the entire routine. You need only to think of the vibrations while in a relaxed state, and they come into being. A conditioned reflex has been established, or a neuron path that can be followed again and again. Again, it is not a technique that can be achieved the first time it is tried. The probability of success increases with each successive effort. The more often you attempt it, the more likely you are to have positive results. However, once you have succeeded, it is not always repeatable at will. There are still many variables that interfere which have yet to be isolated and identified. But it does "work" often enough to be subject to continued study.

3. Control of Vibrations

When you have obtained the vibrational state, there are definite guidelines to follow. The utilization of this condition under conscious control is the goal you are seeking. To accomplish this, there are careful procedures to observe. They should, of course, be followed in sequence, in the order presented.

There is no evidence to indicate that this vibrational state has a deleterious effect on either the mind or the physical body. Here, then, are some procedures that can be applied systematically. They are a distillate of literally hundreds of trial-and-error experiments.

Acclimatization and accommodation. This is a way of saying that you should let yourself get accustomed to the feel of this unusual condition. All fear and panic must be eliminated when you feel waves like an electric shock without pain permeating your body. The best method seems to be to do nothing when they occur. Lie quietly and objectively analyze them until they fade away of their won accord. This usually takes place in about five minutes. After several such experiences, you will realize you are not being electrocuted. Try to avoid panicky struggling to break the paralytic condition. You can break it by sitting up with great force of will, but you will be disappointed with yourself for doing so. After all, this was what you were trying to achieve.

Manipulation and modulation. Once you have eliminated the fear reactions, you are ready for control steps. First, mentally "direct" the vibrations into a ring, or force them all into your head. Then mentally push them down along your body in a wave over your body rhythmically, from head to toes and then back again. After you have given the wave momentum, let it proceed of its own accord until it fades away. It should take about ten seconds - five down, five back - for the wave to make the complete circuit, from head to toes and back. Practice this until the vibration wave begins instantly upon mental command, and moves steadily until fade-out.

By this time, you will have noticed the "roughness" of the vibrations at times, as if your body is being severely shaken right down to the molecular or atomic level. This may be somewhat uncomfortable, and you will feel a desire to "smooth" them out. This is accomplished by "pulsing" them mentally to increase their frequency. Their original vibratory rate seems to be on the order of some twenty-seven cycles per second (this is the rate of the vibration itself, not the head-to-toe frequency). The pattern responds to this pulsing command very subtly and slowly at first. Your first indication of success is when the vibrations no longer seem rough and shaking. You are well on your way to control when they produce a steady, solid effect.

It is essential that you learn and apply this speed-up process. The faster vibration effect is the form that permits disassociation from the physical. Once you have set the momentum of the speed-up, the acceleration seems to take place automatically. Eventually, you may sense the vibrations only as the begin. They will increase their frequency - like a motor starting up - until the frequency is so high that you are unable to perceive it. At this phase, the sensory effect is one of body warmth, slightly tingling, but not excessively so.

Consistent achievement of this stage is the sign that you are ready for the first physical disassociation experiments. Another word of warning is in order here. Beyond this point, I believe you cannot turn back. Ultimately, you will be committed to the reality of this other existence. How this will affect your personality, your daily life, your future, and your philosophies rests entirely with you as an individual. For once you have been "opened" to this other reality, you cannot completely shut it out again, try as you might. The pressure of material affairs may sublimate it for a time, but it will return. You cannot always stay on guard against its reopening. As you start to sleep or awaken, when you merely relax, the vibrational surge may come without call. you can shut it off, of course, but eventually you become too tired to bother - and you are off on another excursion. You sense that you are fighting against yourself.

And who wants to fight one's self - at the price of a good night's sleep!

THE SEPARATION PROCESS

After you have achieved the state of vibration and some control of your stage of relaxation, one additional factor must be considered. It is probable that you have already obtained it, since it is ordinarily a product of the previous exercises. However, it should be emphasized.

This factor is thought control. In the state of vibration, you are apparently subject to every thought, both willful and involuntary, that crosses your mind. Thus you must be as close to "no thought" or "single thought" (concentration) as possible. If one stray idea passes through your mind, you respond instantly, and sometimes in an undesirable manner. I suspect that one is never completely free of such misdirection. At least I have not been, which may account for the many inexplicable trips to places and people I do not know. They seem to be triggered by thoughts or ideas I didn't realize I had, below the conscious level. The only approach is to do the best you can.

With this in mind, the first practices of disassociating the Second from the physical body should be limited in time and action. What follows is designed basically as a familiarization and orientation technique which should permit an approach to disassociation without fear or concern.

Release of extremities. This serves to acquaint you with the sensation of the Second Body without full commitment. After relaxation and creation of the vibration state, work with either your right or left hand and arm, one at a time. This is important, as it will be your first affirmation of the reality of the Second. With one hand, reach for any object - floor, wall, door, or whatever - that you remember as being beyond the reach of your physical arm. Reach for that object. Make the reaching process neither upward nor downward, but out in the direction your arm is pointing. Reach as if you were stretching your arm, not raising or lowering it. A variation is simply to reach out with the hand and arm in the same manner with no special object in mind. Often this method is better, as you then have no preconceived idea of what you will "feel."

When you reach out in this fashion and feel nothing, push your hand a little farther. Keep pushing gently, as if stretching you arm, until your hand encounters some material object. If the vibration pattern is in effect, it will work, and your hand will eventually feel or touch something. When it does, examine with your sense of touch the physical details of the object. Feel for any cracks, grooves, or unusual details which you will later be able to identify. At this point, nothing will seem unusual. Your sensory mechanisms will tell you that you are touching the object with your physical hand.

Here, then, is your first test. After acquainting yourself with the object with your outstretched hand, straighten out your hand and push against the object with your fingertips. You will encounter resistance at first. Push a little harder, and gently overcome the resistance you feel. At this point, your hand will seem to go right through the object. Keep pushing until your hand is completely through the object and meets some other physical object. Identify the second object by touch. Then carefully withdraw your hand, back through the first object, and slowly back to normal, so that it feels as if it is where it "belongs."

With this, decrease the vibrations. The best way to do this is slowly to attempt to move the physical body. Think of the physical body, and open your physical eyes. Bring back your physical senses, deliberately.

Once the vibrations have faded away completely, lie still for a few minutes for full and complete return. Then get up and make a notation of the object which you "felt," locating it relative to the position of your hand and arm when you were lying down. Note the details of both the first and second objects which you felt. Having done this, compare your description with the actual first object. Make special note of small details which you could not have seen from a distance. Physically feel the object to compare it with what you felt under the vibrations.

Examine the second object in the same manner. You may not have been consciously aware of its presence or position prior to the experiment. This too is important. Test the line of direction from the place where your physical hand lay, through the first object and up to the second. Is it a straight line?

Check your results. Was the first object you touched physically located at a distance it would have been absolutely impossible to reach without physical movement? Did the details of the object - especially the minute details - coincide with the notes you have made? Make the same comparison for the second object.

If your answers are affirmative, you have had your first success. If the facts do not check out, try again another day. Almost without qualification, if you have produced the vibrational state, you can perform this exercise.

You can also practice the following quite easily. After producing the vibrational state, lying on your back, arms either at your sides or on your chest, gently lift your arms without looking at them and touch your fingers together. Do this quite casually, abstractly, and remember the sensory results. Once you have clasped your hands above your chest, look at them first with your closed eyes. If you have moved easily enough, you will see both physical and non-physical arms. Your physical arms will be at rest at your side or upon your chest. The sensory impressions will be with the non-physical arms and hands above your physical body. You should test this phenomenon as many times as you wish, however you desire. Prove to yourself that you are moving not your physical arms, but something else. Do it by whatever means are necessary to give you full assurance of this reality.

It is important always to return your non-physical arms to full conjunction with their physical counterparts before "shutting off" the vibration state. Although there may be no It is important always to return your non-physical arms to full conjunction with their physical counterparts before "shutting off" the vibration state. Although there may be no severe aftereffect if this is not done, I think it best not to find out in the early stages.

Disassociation technique. The simplest method to use in separating from the physical is the "lift-out" procedure. The intent here it not to travel to far-off places, but to get acquainted with the sensation in your own room, with familiar surroundings. The reason for this is that the first true experience will then be examined and explored with identifiable points of reference.

In order to assist in this orientation, it is better that these first complete disassociation exercises be conducted during daylight. Test for yourself your needs in regard to the amount of light in the room. Avoid using an electric light if possible.

To establish the condition, achieve the vibrational state, and maintain complete control of your thought processes. You are going to stay only in the confines of your familiar room. Think of getting lighter, of floating upward, of how nice it would be to float upward. Be sure to think how nice it would be, as the subjective associated thought is most important. You want to do this because it is something you will respond to emotionally; you react even before the act, in anticipation. If you continue to hold only these thoughts, you will disassociate and float gently upward from your physical. You may not achieve it the first time, or the second. But quite surely, if you have achieved the preceding exercises, you will achieve it.

A second method is the "rotation" technique, which has been mentioned elsewhere. Under the same prescribed conditions, slowly try to turn over, just as if you were turning over in bed to be more comfortable. Make no attempt to help yourself rotate with either arms or legs. Start turning by twisting the top of your body, your head and shoulders, first. By all means move slowly, exerting gently but firm pressure. If you do not, you may become loose and actually spin like a log rolling in water before you can alter the pressure. Such action is disconcerting only because you may lose all orientation and be forced to find your way back carefully in rotation juncture.

The ease with which you begin to turn, with no friction or sense of weight, will inform you that you have begun to succeed in disassociating. As this happens, turn slowly until you feel that you have moved 180 degrees (i.e., face to face with your physical body). It is uncanny how you will recognize this position. this 180 degrees about face is merely two 90 degree turns, and without orientation, it is easy to sense.

Once you are in the 180 degree position, stop the rotation by merely thinking of doing so. Without hesitation, think of floating upward, backing up away from the physical body. Again, if you have reached the vibrational state successfully, this method will surely bring results.

Of the two separation techniques, the first should be tried before the second. Then, after both have been examined and tested, the one that seems easiest to you should be utilized.

Local experiments and familiarization. Once you have succeeded in the separation process, it is most important for your own objective continuity that you remain in complete control. The only possible way to do this seems to be by staying close to the physical in the early stages. Whatever you may feel emotionally, keep in close proximity to the physical. This admonition is made not because of any known danger, but so that you will maintain a step-by-step familiarity and thus perceive for yourself exactly what is taking place. Wild, uncontrolled trips at this stage may well produce uncomfortable situations and conditions that will force you to relearn much of what you have already achieved. The process of mental acclamation will be different from any you have ever consciously experienced. The gradual adaptation will greatly enhance your peace of mind and confidence.

At this point, the principal exercise is to return. Keep your separation distance no more than three feet away, hovering over the physical. Do not make any attempt at this time to move laterally or farther "up." How do you know how far aware you are? Again, this is something you sense. Your vision now is zero. You have conditioned yourself not to open your eyes, and let them remain closed for the moment. Stay close to the physical. The mental concept of this will keep you in proper range.

For the next three or four exercises, do nothing but practice getting "out" and returning to the physical. To return under these conditions, merely "think" yourself back into the physical, and you will return. If you have used the first method of separation, the reintegration is relatively simple. When you are back in exact alignment, you will be able to move any portion of the physical body and reactivate any or all of your physical senses. Each time you return, open your physical eyes and physically sit up so that you know you are completely "back together." This is to ensure orientation, to instill confidence that you can return at will, and most important, to assure yourself of continued contact with the material world in which you now belong. Whatever you believe, this reassurance is most necessary.

If you have applied the rotation method, move slowly back toward the physical, again by thinking of it, and when you feel you have made complete contact, start your rotation back 180 degrees to conjunction with the physical. It seems to make no difference whether you continue the circle of rotation or reverse and turn back in a motion opposite to that which helped you release.

In both techniques, there seems to be a slight, click-like jerk when you are again in conjunction with the physical. An exact description of this sensation is quite difficult, but you will recognize it. Always wait a few moments before sitting up after you have returned, primarily to avoid any possible uneasiness. Give yourself some time to readjust to the physical environment. The physical act of sitting up provides evidence of continuity in a demonstrable form; you will know that you can consciously, willfully act in a physical movement interspersed with experiments in the non-physical environment and retain conscious awareness throughout the process.

You will have completed the cycle when you are able to separate, return to the physical, sit up and note the time, go back to the separation process, and return to the the physical a second time, all without loss of conscious continuity.

Note from Daven: There is more, but the document that this is taken from is incomplete. However, in hopes that this is of interest to you, this is the complete text of chapters 16 and part of 17 from "Journeys Out of the Body" by Douglas Monroe. I hope that you are able to read this work at some point in your investigations.

That's all for now. See you here in two weeks.

Assignment:

Back in Lesson 3, we started an AP Journal. I want you to correlate that data now. Take the things that I had you write down, such as time of day, moon phase, your position and so on, and compile it into a table of correspondences. Begin looking for patterns.

Post this table with your assignment and answer these questions:

Does time of day matter? Does place, position, mental attitude or other factors affect your ability to project or get into trance? Can you think of anything else that MAY affect your ability to project (like Monroe's prohibition against jewelry or tight clothing)? Can you think of anything else that might HELP you project? Do any of these factors matter at all?

Send this into the usual place, and we will look at it a bit more when we start Lesson 10 along with some other topics.

Note; this assignment is an absolute requirement. If you do not turn this assignment is, you will not pass this course. If you need special considerations or if you have not been keeping this list of factors that may be affecting AP, please contact me at the same address you turn your assignment into.

(Note to Umbria: Please forward any of these emails on to me as soon as possible. Thank you. Remove this line.)

To keep: In your journals, write your impressions of this section. What I want you to figure out is if you think these techniques and suggestions will help you in your quest. You do not need to turn this in, this is for your own information only. Write why you think that these will or will not help you, and decide what WILL help you in projecting. This list of "rules" will be your guideline for projecting, and they will be the rules that affect you from now on, so consider them carefully before you decide to include them or not.

To study: If you have not already done so, download the document DO_OBE by Donald DeGarcia and read it. This text will be the subject of our next lesson. If you need a copy of this, I have it and can email it to you if you can't go online to download it.

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