Lesson 9: DeGarcia's DO_OBE

Okay, we looked at some of the techniques of AP from Monroe last lesson, this time we will look at the lessons presented by Donald DeGarcia in his work.

This will not be a phrase by phrase examination, nor will I refute anything he states. What will be happening in this lesson is that I will be adding my commentaries to the text that I asked you to download a while back.

If you have not already done so, please download this work now. It's here for the PDF file.

You will need to get out those documents and look at it at the same time you are reading this lesson. I suggest that once you see a page number, paragraph number and the starting phrase of the paragraph, that you read the entire paragraph before you start reading my comments. That way, you will know what I am talking about.

In fact, I printed this entire document out so that I could look at it and reference it offline, for my own use.

So, let's get to it.

First notation is on Page 12, second paragraph, beginning "When you initially begin to project,"

The way DeGarcia describes these apparitions it sounds like they are nothing more than the shadows on the wall that frightened you when you were a child. Let me tell you from experience this is not the case. These apparitions can be completely terrifying and menacing. You will believe that they are fully capable of killing you and causing great harm to you. Once again, nothing is further from the truth.

These apparitions are creations of you, but you don't control them. The part of you that is projecting, the "spirit" is aware that they are creations of you, but your subconscious mind is what has created and controls these apparitions. It's up to you to understand this, and to do something about it.

My theory on this matter is that the spirit and the conscious mind act as a "governor" on the Subconscious. While the conscious mind is in the body, it keeps all that is in the subconscious under control and in place, not allowing it to run free or do damage. Remove that, and the subconscious is now free to "run amok" with your brain, not your body. Because it needs that controlling factor, the conscious, it will try to frighten your conscious back into the body with these apparitions. Like DeGarcia says, understanding what these parts are is the key to controlling them and overcoming them.

Page 13, paragraph 1 starting "So, that's it for an..."

This paragraph is important because he is absolutely correct. You cannot be immoral and project. Because if you are immoral and try to project, those apparitions that he was talking about will totally prevent the projection. If you are a coward, you will be scared back into your body, and so on.

Those apparitions are the dark and negative parts of each of us, given body. In immoral people, they are consumately stronger than in moral people. Usually moral people have realized that they have this dark side, and while they will use that side of them when necessary, they choose to live by a higher set of ethics.

It's that dark side that the Subconscious rules. That dark side is what it is made of, along with the emotions and memory. Without coming to some kind of balance with that side, not by pushing it into a box and ignoring it, you will not be able to project.

His following paragraph is completely and totally right on target as well. Pay special attention to his words here.

Page 14, paragraph 4, starting "Also, it's important to say..."

This section, all of it describing the bodies we possess is a more detailed breakdown than I give or use. But he is also correct in these statements. Occultists have thought about it for centuries, worked with these bodies, done empirical experiments, and so on. So, if you wish a detailed explanation of the bodies and their functions, pay attention. This is the best explanation of these bodies I have ever read, heard, or known. It explained a lot to me.

Page 19, paragraph 1-3, starting "And what's even worse,..." and going to "...into the locked room!"

While DeGarcia raves against the Parapsychologists, we need to remember that without their work, we may still be describing OOBE as "Dreaming" or something similar. They did a LOT of work, coined a lot of words, and discovered some people had an ability.

Looking at some of the information available, there is one fundamental problem with their experimentation. How do you separate one ability from another? As he states in the document, they would put a phrase in another room, and expect the Projector to go look at it. However, if they got the right answer, how could they differentiate it from telepathy where the subject read the researcher's mind as to the contents of the document, or intuition where the subject pulled the information on what was in the paper from the collective unconscious, or from scrying where they "saw" the paper in their mind's eye....

To say that these experiments were useless is to dismiss what they DID do, namely they came close to proving that these abilities exist (the Great Randi notwithstanding). One of the major problems is that the parapsychologists gave up before they started getting TRUE results.

I believe that if they did their experiments now, that they would discover that MORE people had these abilities, and that more and more people were discovering and developing these talents.

However, he does have a point that a topic like this should be approached as an occultist, rather than a parapsychologist. To the occultist, it does not matter which skill you use to read the paper, all that matters is that the paper was read.

Page 22, paragraph 2, starting "Perhaps the most important..." and the next three paragraphs.

Here we have a good definition of how different people view our existence here. ALL religions, regardless of their origin, use the Occult View. To all of us, we KNOW that there is an existence outside of our bodies, and this can be illustrated by the simple fact that if someone believes in Life After Death, they are ascribing to the Occult View.

I have known some agnostics and atheists who passionately believe in the "materialistic view" and they are incapable of projecting. They don't even recognize that such an ability can exist, much less that it can work, and that there is a part of them that exists independent of the body. If, somehow, they do manage to project, they tend to get an Occult view pretty quickly.

Page 24, first paragraph, starting "Well," and going to the end of the next paragraph.

Here he presents his theory of how he projects. It's pretty good, and it tallies with some descriptions I have heard. I have a few specific problems with his description and explanation, but I have been pointing out to you all just what I DO have a problem with as we come to it.

He does a good job in that he presents something close to the "frequency" theory I have, but it's not the same thing. But this is a good thumbnail to start with. However, I will present my theory in another lesson.

The second paragraph in this section only illustrates my point of the Structure of the planes. For instance, he says that he DOES go someplace that looks similar to his room, but it is not his room. Sounds kind of like a MHB or a fiction to me. So, here we have independent evidence.

Page 29, paragraph 4, starting "There is another member..."

Wurf.... This is a heavy paragraph in itself, but it is even more powerful when you realize just how RIGHT he is in these statements.

For me, this basically means that "It does not matter how I express my consciousness, 'I think, therefore I am.'" I know for a fact that he is correct, and you will discover this too.

Keep this in mind for when you start encountering other beings, you will have to realize that they think too, and as such are worthy of your respect.

Page 30, Paragraph 2, starting "This is VERY important."

In this and the following paragraph he is absolutely correct. The reasons he lists I wanted you to be familiar with so that I could cite them to you and have you understand what I was talking about. So pay attention to this paragraph and the following one.

Page 31, paragraph 4 starting "Another thing I want to say..."

In this paragraph, he is absolutely correct. AP IS a skill, one that does take quite a bit of practice, patience and dedication, but it's one that can be learned by anyone. As such, it can be done by anyone who decides to do so, all it takes is time and heart. Keep this in mind.

Page 33, paragraph 2 starting "Consider this:" and the next two paragraphs.

This section, as much as I hesitate to admit this, is something I never considered. Until I read this document in preparation for this class, I had not thought of AP in this light. When I did read it, it spoke powerfully to me, so much so that I got chills.

That usually means that something I have read or done has quite a powerful meaning to me. As such, think this over and decide if you want this reasoning as part of your "view" of the planes. For me, these three paragraphs are correct and accurate.

Page 34, paragraph 5, starting "First Fact"

Pay attention to the next two pages. This is further elaboration on the above and as such, it needs to be looked at.

In this section, he gives a VERY good description of the waking state and the dream state. Honestly, this is the absolute best description that I have seen, which only makes sense since he does that for a living. So, his comments in this section on dreams and Lucid Dreams are about as accurate as it is possible to be. I don't have a lock on this knowledge, and DeGarcia just proved that to me and everyone. LOL

Read until you come to the paragraph starting "If you do these exercises..." on page 41

Page 44, paragraph 14 (section A) starting "Hypnogogic Imagery" to page 47, last paragraph.

Here's where he describes the hypnogogic imagery that I told you we would be looking at. So, look already. LOL

Now, when I read this section, I saw many things that happen to me all the time in his descriptions. I don't know how many of you out there have this happen to you, but I know I have it happen to me all the time.

As such, he is also just as accurate in this section as he is with the dreams. Mostly, from my experiences, he is accurate as it is possible to be in this document.

But he does miss some things, which I have gone over, and he also breezes past the Wiccan/Pagan mindset on all of this. Understandable, but this class we are trying to focus on these associations.

For a long time, I had a problem with differentiating between what I imagined and what really was. I came to the conclusion that it didn't matter, but in the process I DID learn to tell when something was from me and from outside of me.

The way I found out which was me is the "pre echo" of thoughts. From my experience, whenever you think something, there is a "sense" of the thought forming in the back of my head. I feel that and I know that whatever pops into my head is from me. If I don't get that feeling, or if there is a feeling of a "sense" of what I am imagining coming from someplace other than me, then I know it's a true vision.

What does this have to do with hypnogogic images? It's very easy to trick yourself into believing that you "see" something in those images when it is nothing more than your own desires made manifest. You HAVE to be able to tell the difference between these images to make progress.

Also, I have found that the images "flow" better and easier if I don't try to control them. I know that that sounds really "DUH", but it needs to be stated. You will have the opportunity to control those images, but if you don't they will come faster and with more detail than if you try to "sculpt" something.

Blackdove, this may be part of your problems with meditation and visualization. It's a Zen state of letting the image be, rather than making it be. Don't fight to create the image, it already exists. You have to learn the trick of getting your mind out of the way of what you are trying to do.

Page 62, paragraph 4 starting "I suspect"..."

I don't know about CompuServe, but I do know about several other places to look for more information. I'll list them.

http://www.spiritonline.com/files/messages/15/15.html Spirit Online
http://www.boudicca.de/files/91/files.htmOOBE File areas
http://www.tanega.com/astral/astral.html Astral Projection Home Page
http://www.greatdreams.com/drmrdr.htm DREAM READER'S ULTIMATE PAGE

And there are a lot more. Do a websearch for "OOBE, Lucid Dreams, Astral Projection, Out of Body" or anything else you can think of. I bet you get about 2000 hits or so.

Let's take a break for a while. Get up, walk around before your eyes turn into squares and come back when you are ready to continue.

Okay, onward and upward...

Page 81, paragraph 4, starting "Exercising Psychic Powers" to page 82 paragraph 0, ending "...illustrate doing this."

In this section that he talks on, I have found him to be somewhat correct. It is infinitely easier to use your psychic powers on the Astral Plane.

Why? Several reasons, and they are uniformly MY theories, with little concrete evidence to back them up.

First, there is no sun. If you have ever been outside when the sun is going as much as it can, with no cloud cover and meditated, you hear this "hiss" in the back of your head that is distracting and painful after a while. (At least, I do.) However, doing the same thing at night, with or without the moon, there is not only no hiss, but you can hear the stars talking to each other.

What I think is that the electromagnetic radiation from the Sun interferes with the psychic powers to a point where only those who are tremendously gifted can actually use them during the day. It's harder to hear with your ears during the day than it is at night and so on. I think all of this is interrelated.

Without the sun being on the Astral plane, you don't have that limitation. It is easier to use your natural gifts since there is no hiss.

The next reason is that I believe that while we are in a body, simply monitoring and collecting data from that body and our surroundings takes up so much of our attention and concentration that you don't have time left to listen for other minds. No matter how deep the trance, there is still part of you that is busy monitoring your body for information.

In AP, that part of you is divorced from the mind. It is left behind in the body, and any alerts it sends out will come down the Silver Cord to you, wherever you are. Thus, it's easier to ignore that little part that is going "Heart beat 97, respiration 30 (Need to quit smoking), blood pressure 120/90 (starting to get a headache) pain in toe from ingrown toenail (get it cut out) pressure from the bed...." and so on.

The last theory I have on this is that for here and now, the use of psychic powers is something of an unnatural thing. Not that it is, but the way we are designed genetically and physically has started out with psychic powers that are not that common, and slowly they are becoming more common, but they are still new tools that we need time to get used to. Kind of like growing a third arm in the middle of your back.

On the Astral Plane, they are not only Natural to use, but the only thing to use. Do you think that this bird is talking to you in English with their beaks? No. The words and vocal cords cannot wrap themselves around the human words, so they make sounds with their mouths and bodies that they would normally make, and project to your mind what they are saying. Thus, you hear them talk. And the same process is reversed when you speak back to them. The bird "hears" in his head what you say in the sounds he is familiar with.

Do this enough, and you get LOTS of practice to do the same thing on this plane with your own body.

Page 84, paragraph 5, starting "Here is an example of me using clairvoyance...." to the end of that section.

I know of one practitioner who projected three levels down. He projected out of his body here, then tried projecting while on the AP, then did it again and one more time. He told me that the worlds got more and more surreal as he projected out. He was also smart about it in that he stayed right in his room and DID NOT attempt to go anyplace.

But it makes for an interesting thought.

Page 94, 5th paragraph, starting "[Right now I'm awake..."

Sounds like he projected into a Might-have-been to me. But that's just a guess.

Page 105 first paragraph starting "So, there you have it."

Read this carefully. This is why I had you download this file and read it. You can't have enough knowledge about the Astral Plane. Someplace in the middle of his interpretation and mine and Monroe's and many other's experiences, you may find what you are in and seeing.

It would be like Lewis and Clark, me and James Audubon all going on a trip to the same locations in the US (say, Montana). Lewis may focus on the geography, Clark on the watercourses and floodplains, I may focus on the feel of the earth and what the sky looks like, and Audubon will focus on the animals and fauna of the environment. All of us may mention in passing the plants, but until you get to Montana and look for yourself, you won't know what some of those plants look like, or what is safe to eat. But you will have picked up a bit here, there, everywhere in our different manuscripts of the area we passed through. Enough to get you by until you develop your own perceptions of the place.

This is how I started out, this is how DeGarcia started out, and it's how many different APer's started out. Monroe was the first, the first man in "space" as it were, and he came back with incredible descriptions of the areas that made others start looking for a way out of their bodies.

So don't stop studying. Believe me, it helps. You all know how much experience I have with this, but this is the first time I sat down and read DeGarcia's work front to back, and I found TONS of validation for my ideas. I re-read Monroe, and damned if I didn't find the same thing in there. So don't stop. (not that you will have any choice in MY class. LOL)

Page 106, entry #1

I find that this particular entry in DeGarcia's journal is an excellent example of perceiving harm come to him. Despite the fact that he KNEW that he was in the AP, and that he would not be harmed, his visceral part of himself was probably screaming "RUN YOU IDIOT!!!! IT'S GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!"

This gets easier to overcome with practice. But it's the same skill you may already have. It's controlling your emotions and not letting them control you. The visceral, animal part of you will be screaming for you to survive and save yourself, but you can overcome that, but if you perceive yourself harmed, then all that portion's fears will come true, and you may become injured again.

Page 113, paragraph 2, starting "Meeting people:"

This section of the denizens of the Astral Plane we will go over more fully in another lesson, I just want to say that the most common people that you will meet, in my experience, will be sleepers. People who are having Lucid Dreams, but won't remember them when they awake.

Also, I have never been to this realm of the dead that he describes where there are nurses and so on to take care of the newly deceased. It, to me, sounds like the Nursing Home of the Damned. Not a place that I would like to spend any amount of time.

Okay, we are done with my commentaries. If I left something out, it was not intentional, but really it was because I was a little too busy at my day job to completely absorb everything.

Note, you do NOT have to read the 4 papers at the end. Do that if you wish to.

Also, he gives you a lot of good references. Some of them I have herd of, and others I have read, but all in all, this is a fairly complete list of the cream of the OOBE crop to read. So take a look if you can.

Stars light your path

Daven

ASSIGNMENT:

To turn in: A list of questions on this document and lesson from DeGarcia. Anything that you find that you need further elaboration on, please list them here again.

To study: This document again. Read it from the perspective of someone who is experienced at AP and see if you can find areas that are true to you and false to you. Read it critically.

To keep: Pick a book from the references he lists. Write a short (one page) review of that book and put it in your journal. Cite passages and think of things that the author either was correct in or completely mistaken in. Cite examples and keep this for future reference.

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The URL of this document is http://davensjournal.com/OOBEL9.xhtml