The Higher Self and transcendent experience, including OBEs

[Ron Mauer Sr]

Posted by Finefeather (here)
You may have heard of people who say they were dreaming and then woke up in their dream and then only really woke up. OB does not take place in the same body for all people...all the time. When you 'enter' higher realms, than say the astral, you start dropping even these bodies.

I do remember dreaming that I was awakening from deeper dream, that I was awakening from a dream. Three levels deep is the most that I remember. But no consciously initiated OBE yet.

I do want question and answer sessions with HS, not an imposter, on my command.

[wolfgaze]

Lately I've been waking up (or so it seems) shortly after falling to sleep.... It happened again just last night. But it's not like I wake up and check the clock and realize I'm fully awake again, it's more of like a semi-state of consciousness and then I would assume I fall back asleep again quickly... I am wondering if this could be tied to my stating affirmations to experience an OBE. I'm curious if I could wake in this semi-conscious state and then experience an OBE if I could just remember to enact my intentions to do so.

[AwakeInADream]

Posted by wolfgaze (here)
Lately I've been waking up (or so it seems) shortly after falling to sleep.... It happened again just last night. But it's not like I wake up and check the clock and realize I'm fully awake again, it's more of like a semi-state of consciousness and then I would assume I fall back asleep again quickly... I am wondering if this could be tied to my stating affirmations to experience an OBE. I'm curious if I could wake in this semi-conscious state and then experience an OBE if I could just remember to enact my intentions to do so.

That's the perfect time to try the techniques, phantom finger wiggling and such. I'll bet the affirmations are programming you to wake up so you can do that.

[TraineeHuman]

Posted by Finefeather (here)
Remember I am wording this to make the idea more easily understandable...you don't drop bodies along the way like you do when you are taking off your clothing...it is the awareness that becomes higher...and the surroundings also change...although you have not moved an inch from these lower bodies...it can also go from a light space to a dark dingy space depending on where your mind is focused in your usual state in your physical life. Everything happens in the same space you are in.

Take care
Ray

Ray, are you emphasizing here that to get “into” a higher dimensional part of ourself we don’t go anywhere but here? Some people may find the words "you have not moved an inch from [your] lower bodies" confusing because, for example, when I began astral traveling I would visit all sorts of geographical locations on this planet, and people there. If the people (or other beings) were OB at the time, they might initially look like points of light. But, for example, many US cities looked so similar to me I got to know which town I was visiting by looking at its bridges. Then there’s the silver cord. I saw it practically every time I astral traveled in 4D. I would see it stretch, depending on how far I had traveled from my physical body’s location. When I was at other planets in the solar system, the cord would get stretched out so far I would see a bright silver node every few meters or so joined by shining violet fibres, but when it contracted it was all bright silver. I would claim I was actually at those planets, even though my physical body remained back home. So in that sense we do go somewhere. I guess once you’re in the formless worlds there isn’t such a thing as physical location but there’s still “location” there in a different sense.

And I agree. As I've said from just about the start, I'd prefer it if everyone can learn not to use any "body" at all to travel to higher realms.

[TraineeHuman]

Posted by rmauersr (here)
no consciously initiated OBE yet.

I do want question and answer sessions with HS, not an imposter, on my command.

If you have any interest in contacting your Higher Self as (generally) distinct from going OB, Ron, there’s an exercise you might like to try. And it doesn’t involve effort. It involves the opposite of effort.

When I introduced the feeling-the-aliveness exercise in post #114 (and made further comments about it in some posts not long after), there was one thing I didn’t make clear. This was that this is an exercise for directly accessing the HS (or beginning to). AwakeInADream obviously at some point managed to work out for himself that it is exactly that.

I believe there are major merits to even beginning to develop contact and communication with the HS. In places such as this Forum I’ve read of how various ET races have apparently referred to humans as mere “containers” (for Higher Selves). I would say that’s correct. Most humans on the planet today are almost entirely out of touch with their HS. Actually I suspect that most of those ET races are “us” from the future, but that’s another story. (Though I have several times glimpsed myself-from-the-future traveling back to take a quick look around at my present life, and I’ve also glimpsed other humans from the future in some kind of similar journey.)

Here’s how I described the exercise in post #114, almost word for word:

--- Firstly get yourself grounded. (There are many ways to get grounded. One simple way is to sit with your thumb touching your belly button and your hand flat against your belly in such a way that the palm of your hand is over your center of gravity, your second chakra.)

--- Secondly, ask yourself how it really feels simply to be alive. Tune into that feeling, that “sensation”. If you are calm and grounded, it will at the very least be a feeling of OK-ness, if not of profound and peaceful joy. Stay with that awareness, and that feeling. Relax into it, surrender into it.

This exercise may seem deceptively simple, indeed. That’s because of its subtlety and also because it’s very much an exercise in pure awareness. Maybe also because it’s an exercise in being very simple, or learning to be. Must be supernaive, huh?

My suggestion, Ron (and anyone) is that you go and do the exercise now, and only read on after you have done that.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Each time anyone does this exercise, it shows them directly that existence itself is a positive thing, purely in itself. That it’s great just to exist. We get sophisticated, or sidetracked by the ego, and we utterly forget the most inclusive and most omnipresent and basic fact there is. We throw the most precious diamond of all out with garbage, every day.

The way the exercise seems to work is that each time you do it, it seems to remove “territory” from the rule of negativity, kind of like reclaiming land from the sea. (And this paragraph and the one before could be seen as a kind of paraphrase of one of AwakeInADream’s recent posts.)

I consider it a very good idea to make a set time for doing it for fifteen minutes every day. If at other times during the day you get reminded to do it, or to retrieve the feeling of it, I suggest doing it whenever you get reminded. What part of you could be doing such reminding, if not your HS?

[soleil]

Posted by AwakeInADream (here)

Posted by wolfgaze (here)
Lately I've been waking up (or so it seems) shortly after falling to sleep.... It happened again just last night. But it's not like I wake up and check the clock and realize I'm fully awake again, it's more of like a semi-state of consciousness and then I would assume I fall back asleep again quickly... I am wondering if this could be tied to my stating affirmations to experience an OBE. I'm curious if I could wake in this semi-conscious state and then experience an OBE if I could just remember to enact my intentions to do so.

That's the perfect time to try the techniques, phantom finger wiggling and such. I'll bet the affirmations are programming you to wake up so you can do that.

when i try to do this, my body wants to twitch. i always feel like im doing it wrong.

[AwakeInADream]

Posted by teradactyl (here)
when i try to do this, my body wants to twitch. i always feel like im doing it wrong.

Hi Teradactyl!

The phantom wiggling worked partially for me at the very first attempt when I got my hands free, but that was 'beginners luck'. It's never worked since, and I do notice that I do get tension in my hands after trying for a while, so I guess I'm doing it wrong too. One thing I did try once was to attempt to wiggle the energy that fills my hand instead, which takes the shape of my hand and whilst this still hasn't worked yet, I did notice there was no tension felt afterwards.

I know full well that I'm not following the instructions to the letter, but that's because I just can't program myself to wake up naturally, and if I do I always move about to much. So I'm trying the direct techniques more, going about it the hard way. I still think that eventually I will get there though If I keep at it.

P.S. How exactly did you get your astral arms swinging/swimming for real when you got out? Is it describable?

Hi Ron!

The feeling the aliveness and the 30 second meditation(post#24) exercises for me really have strengthened my connection to HS, and since doing them I have started hearing sentences in dreams sometimes from HS and also whilst in the hypnogogic state before sleep (mind loop memories from the past too which HS wants me to work on). This is definitely down to those exercises because in the past, my dreams have never had people speaking in them at all. You just have to nurture the feeling that HS is constantly there (not imagine it) and you'll get results in other areas, slowly but surely. I too am hoping for that clear voice one day, but I know that I'm on that road now, and this will happen in time. I bet HS could give me that big booming voice right now, but I'd probably have a heart attack (or jump out of my skin) LOL.

Hi TraineeHuman!

I'll keep on the lookout for that something deeper you mention in the feeling the aliveness exercise, I think I'm ready for a little more.

[soleil]

Hi Awake, what i did was i laid on my stomach and just imagined the movement of swinging my arms, as though i was suspended in the air, or while laying on the mattress. i visualized no mattress and just suspended in the air, parallel to the bed, cuz i was on the bed, and it was the easiest. it can be held for a long time, i just cannot figure out how to get OBE from this method.
when i did end up in my first OBE, it was from just waking up in the middle of the night, i felt something that made me want to get out of bed and i ended up checking the bed, and saw me. i really dont know how i did it or how i manifested it so easily. i havent been able to do it again.

also, i have been hammering my subconcious with OBE affirmations all day yesterday and a bit so far today. i ordered my subconcious to wake me up without opening my eyes. i've been able to do this successfully, without further thought to it, but have not been able to get out yet. 50/50 being too tired/yet motivated. the too tiredness, stops me everytime. so i've been thinking of/and doing direct methods as well before falling asleep. it adds to my affirmations in my subconcious too.

[AwakeInADream]

I guess it just takes time, we can take hope from the fact that the door has been opened at least once (more if you count the 'dreams').

[soleil]

what i keep thinking is, how do i make this easier, like looking at things like a child. i know now that if doing OBE is so simple that lobsang rampas lesson on it was so short, then it is us (me) who is making it more difficult that it needs to be. i'm going to experiment daily till i have success.

awake, if you are at home, or can do this while alone later, i recommend swinging your astral arms while laying on your tummy, hands or arms whenever you put them. just to get the feel, because later if you try it at night and it gets your astral moving, you might have some luck!

[Jake]

I like to use the 'full body bounce' as described by Robert Bruce in his energy work practices. Astrl body loosening is the point to this particular technique... The dreaming mind likes to repeat patterns that were active during waking time! Many times when you practice certain techniques during light meditation, your dreaming mind will mimic the technique,, and if done right, can cause spontaneous lucidity within the dream! It is called 'setting signposts'!!! Something that wil spawn lucidity during a dream or non-conscious OBE.

Many times throughout each day I will pause to look around and try and determine if I am dreaming or not!! (how can one tell anyways?) Often, while dreaming, I will find my dreaming mind repeating this patter... Trying to determine if you are dreaming while within a dream will cause instant lucidity within the dream,, then you can use the dream as a platform for projection!!! It doesn't always work, but it another approach!

I love the work you guys are putting in here, and I appreciate the sharing of experiences!!!

[wolfgaze]

Posted by Jake (here)
I like to use the 'full body bounce' as described by Robert Bruce in his energy work practices. Astrl body loosening is the point to this particular technique... The dreaming mind likes to repeat patterns that were active during waking time! Many times when you practice certain techniques during light meditation, your dreaming mind will mimic the technique,, and if done right, can cause spontaneous lucidity within the dream! It is called 'setting signposts'!!! Something that wil spawn lucidity during a dream or non-conscious OBE.

Many times throughout each day I will pause to look around and try and determine if I am dreaming or not!! (how can one tell anyways?) Often, while dreaming, I will find my dreaming mind repeating this patter... Trying to determine if you are dreaming while within a dream will cause instant lucidity within the dream,, then you can use the dream as a platform for projection!!! It doesn't always work, but it another approach!

I love the work you guys are putting in here, and I appreciate the sharing of experiences!!!

I've had a handful of dreams involving levitation and using my mind focus to cause my body to rise into the air like there was zero gravity. I only have a very brief recall from those dreams though, but they were distinct enough for me to remember them. Most of my dreams are very nonsensical and void of any significant meaning or experiences.

[TraineeHuman]

I’ve had an interest in understanding and researching how affirmations work, and also fail to work, for about four decades.

In the ‘Adventures in the afterlife’ video of Buhlmann, at 28:43 the interviewer, Wendy Garrett, refers derogatively to: “some [hypothetical] New Age community where we go practice saying affirmations”. I don’t know whether Ms Garrett said this because she is one of many professional New Age or alternative practitioners who these days do apparently consider affirmations to be something “ridiculous”. But later in this post I’d like to give you some possible reasons why some people, maybe including even Buhlmann’s own interviewer in this case, consider affirmations a very inadequate or amateurish tool.

Because I have (among other things) a degree in psychology plus a degree in social work, I have a professional take on this subject, most of which I won’t bore you with.

About forty years ago, a very bright Indian postgraduate student told me he considered I was wasting my time or deluding myself being interested in spirituality of any kind. This was so, he claimed, because all forms of spirituality were ultimately nothing more than forms of self-hypnosis, he very confidently proclaimed. And all varieties of self-hypnosis, according to him, were just products of the mind, and ultimately just an elaborate fantasy and a delusion – not anything like universal reality or deeper reality at all. He even advised me to read some of J. Krishnamurti, and promised it would then be very clear and obvious to me that this was so. A year or so later, an acquaintance of mine who I knew had very extensive knowledge and direct experience of spiritual matters told me she had commenced intensively studying hypnosis, because from her knowledge of yoga (which I knew to be vast) practically everything in yoga could be reduced to self-hypnosis, or so she claimed.

I then began some study of self-hypnosis (of which affirmations are one variety). In retrospect, though, I would today observe that at that time, in the world of psychology behaviorism and behavior modification (or reprogramming) or “(so-called) cognitive” behavior therapy was taking over as the preferred approach. The reason it was taking over big time was that it worked much more effectively than other approaches for obtaining quick and tangible results to people’s behavioral problems.

What has happened in the world of psychology since then, though, is that in the last decade behavior modification has been losing out in a big way to something known as person-centered psychology. Person-centered psychology has in recent years been conclusively proved to be much more effective practically at getting results and solving behavioral or psychological problems in many areas. It just so happens that the foundations of person-centered psychology are effectively the same as those of the psychologies practiced by the meditation traditions.

When someone like Buhlmann began his studies, at that time it was considered to be proved that reprogramming of some kind was the only method that worked effectively. Period. When he decided to specialize in hypnotherapy, he would have done so because it was one variety of reprogramming. And he would have felt justified in taking the attitude that such methods were the only truly professional ones. And that they were the best and quickest that there were.

Of course, any kind of reprogramming increases the part of you that is programmed, which we also know as the ego. That’s one reason why today my respect for hypnotherapists, including Buhlmann, is not so high. Another reason it’s not as high as it might be is that they want to make reprogramming very respectable in alternative circles, and act as though it’s already very respectable there.

Over the decades I started to hear more and more feedback from various professionals of an alternative bent – either with solid academic qualifications and extensive training like myself, or with true professional expertise in fields such as clairvoyance. All this feedback was that affirmations (and, indeed, other kinds of self-programming) don’t really work effectively.

In post #402 I’ve already described and explained for you some of the reasons why they don’t really work. I won’t repeat them here. Please ignore them at your own peril. Some people learn by making lots of mistakes and only then being willing to listen to the truth.

Maybe what clinched it for me was a clairvoyant teacher I used to have who was one of those people who was absolutely obsessed with seeking out the real truth. And when I say obsessed, it’s hard to describe how much in a way other people might believe. When I met her, she had a set of about 30 affirmation cards she used to sell people and encourage people to use every day. Then there was a period of over three years when I didn’t see her. When I came back she was no longer promoting those cards, and greatly regretted having ever promoted them. I asked her why, and she told me that after very intensive investigation she had determined that affirmations simply don’t work in most situations. And this particular clairvoyant was one of the most accurate ones I have ever known. Could she perhaps have deeper insight than you (and more experience with many clients and the effects of their affirmations)?

Many people cling to the only method(s) they know. If such methods have apparently led to some success for them, they blindly believe that is the only thing that will work for others. Wrong.

By contrast, I happen to be familiar – often at a practitioner level -- with virtually every modality of spirituality and psychology and energy work and so on. I’ve had more than a hundred professional teachers with all of whom I’ve worked intensively every week for months or years. I’ve also had dozens (or probably more) of non-human teachers from higher dimensions over many years – and they have generally been the most helpful, though I feel I also learnt a lot from Nature. So, I’m in very much a position to compare different methods and approaches and beliefs, and able to try to warn you in advance in such a way that you won’t fall into the biggest holes if you listen to what I’m saying for your benefit.

Another point is that virtually any kind of effort creates and activates more ego. I’ve noticed many posters exerting huge effort in trying to get OB. Of course that makes things unnecessary difficult for them. The effort is the very thing that is causing the difficulty. I, for one, am anything but surprised at the difficulty they experience by following such a false path. You folk must have been very badly misled to be doing that. Is it not true that at the beginning of this thread I went to huge lengths to try to emphasize that the most essential skill for learning OB travel is that of letting go? Maybe I should add here that if you’re using any effort at all, you’re certainly not letting go. What does at least partly work is strong intention. But strong intention is something very subtle in many ways, and certainly free of effort. I’ve also mentioned how your intention is part of your 6D self, and therefore of your Higher Self. So just by having a pure intention you’re in that moment connected up with your HS.

Regarding the use of intention, I remember using it when I learnt to astral travel in my twenties (before I went to the lady in charge of the psychic development circle). The first time I tried, I noticed a blue hoop and an orange hoop and how I seemed to go through them to get OB. In subsequent journeys or attempted journeys, often I would only see one of these two hoops. But I didn’t worry in the least – which would have been to indulge the ego. There would be just the faintest thought that: “Oh, I never saw the blue hoop this time.” Not: “I must somehow force myself to see, or go to, the blue hoop!” And so on for all the rest. That’s how pure intention works – with gossamer.

Another point. As far as I know, the most effective way to learn OB travel is through the use of meditation, and not through Buhlmann’s or anyone else’s affirmations and visualizations. That was how I learnt, as presumably did Wendy Garrett, and virtually everyone else. Incidentally, if anyone tries to tell you that “visualization” exercises don’t involve the use of meditation, I believe such a person must be quite ignorant regarding that. Basically, all “visualization” exercises have two steps. The first step is to relax the body and empty the mind of thoughts. In other words, it’s basic meditation. The second step, as I’ve already explained, is to reprogram yourself, i.e. create extra ego. Of course,if instead you were to use pure intention, the “visions” or inspirations that might come to you from your HS would not be egoic. Those are the only “visualizations” I allow into my own life.

[soleil]

thanks for the insight TH. understood

[Hazel]

Seems to me that the 2nd body (dream body) attention (attending) = is encouraged by 'seeing'
this is served best by the practice of small warm-up exercises.. done in a relaxed way/without too much anxiety over outcome

e.g.. grab a pair of socks (one enclosed in the other/like a ball), then choose a room in the house; in the doorway stand with your back to the room with eyes closed/then toss the socks over your shoulder into the room.
As you stand there, while the socks are in motion toward landing.. use your minds eye and watch where they land.

The process and others like it trained my faith in my capacity for 'moving and seeing'.. until such knowings became 2nd nature.
I have had several OBE's.. spontaneously since quite young.

But intuitively (while awake) surrender to my minds eye, has taken me on many lucid unfolding journeys... flying and just finding myself in places on the globe and off it.
Have journeyed while 'asleep' too.. and interestingly both kinds of experiences have a similar quality.

Hope this is useful to someone in some way...

[Freed Fox]

So it seems that higher silence and a peaceful state within are truly key. I know you said as much earlier on Trainee, but I admit that I missed your post about affirmations (#402, pg 21). Thank you for these specific references, as they are very helpful.. After all, at 30 pages with posts probably averaging 3-4 paragraphs, you could probably make a book out of this thread by now.

There is a recurring issue with meditation that I've been having, that I don't recall seeing mentioned. I will, as per the norm, get completely relaxed and cut out the internal chatter going in to meditation. After a while, I will begin to see waves of color sweeping across my eyes (typically forming at the periphery of my 'field of vision', and sweeping toward the middle, often near the bridge of my nose). These are of course not problematic in and of themselves, but usually shortly after these begin, my eyelids will begin sort of...fluttering. It's as if something is trying to forcefully open my eyes (or get me to open them). I do my best to stay relaxed, but this activity inevitably draws my concentration to keeping my eyes closed, which is of course detrimental to the meditation. I don't think I can explain it any better than that...

Anyone else have this issue, or potential remedies?

[soleil]

i experience the same as you freedfox, i look forward to any help on that too

[Freed Fox]

There are a couple of things I neglected to mention in my last post.

The 'fluttering' is not necessarily accompanied by any invasive/distracting thoughts. That is, I can more or less maintain clarity and silence in spite of it, but as I said it seems detrimental to the meditation effort, and leads me to enforce a subtle mental directive to 'keep 'em closed!' along with keeping at least a portion of my awareness tied to my physical body.

The colors are quite interesting though, and I do recall others mentioning them. For me they tend to be bands of either yellow, pale green, or dark blue/violet. They don't always sweep down and toward the nose. Sometimes they migrate toward the top center of my 'visual field' (to the third eye area, I suppose). I just meditated again and after 20 minutes or so they did neither, and instead created what looked like pale green smoke formations near the middle, subsequently 'drifting away' in a very smoke-like fashion.

I've been working at releasing attachments, both positive and negative (as I remember you mentioning as crucial, TH). Although I consciously feel rather detached, I realize it could very well be some level of attachment which is keeping me pretty well anchored to my physical body for the time being... My personal recommendation for myself is to remain persistent and try to diminish my self doubts, but I'm always grateful to receive further perspective and insight from those more experienced than I.

Be well everyone, and all the best.

[Jake]

When I am in light trance, I will often see a dark purple color gathering into the middle in wave after wave,, and sometimes it feels as though I am struggling to keep mee eyes closed but nothing too distracting... Other times, the dark purple will turn into a hi-def visual screen ! Indicating that I have dropped deeper into a waking trance!

One of the things that came to light during my work with Robert Bruce was that a common attribute to those folks who had spontaneous OBE activity was that they drop into trance quite easily... One of my sleep studies indicated an abrupt jump from alpha (light relaxation) to delta sleep,, bypassing beta/theta altogether!!! Episodes of alpha wave intrusion into delta sleep were also abundant!! Mapping the levels of trance, while a slippery slope,, will become more and more important as we bring this topic to the forefront!!

Dream remnants and memories of dreamstates and dreamstate lessons are NOT to be ignored!! Repetitive learning of specific mental functions,,, ie,, telepathy/telekinesis/FLYING,,, etc,,, are indications that your sleeping mind has taking a liking to learning navigational mindset functioning! (which is the 'shape' or 'form' that you have to hold or flex to achieve the desired result!

Which ultimately means that you are learning astral navigation, through the dreaming mind!!!

I always say NEVER DISCOUNT YOUR DREAMS!!! We are asleep in a dream, even now!!

Jake

[Ron Mauer Sr]

Posted by Jake (here)
Dream remnants and memories of dreamstates and dreamstate lessons are NOT to be ignored!! Repetitive learning of specific mental functions,,, ie,, telepathy/telekinesis/FLYING,,, etc,,, are indications that your sleeping mind has taking a liking to learning navigational mindset functioning! (which is the 'shape' or 'form' that you have to hold or flex to achieve the desired result!

Which ultimately means that you are learning astral navigation, through the dreaming mind!!!

I always say NEVER DISCOUNT YOUR DREAMS!!! We are asleep in a dream, even now!!

Jake

That is encouraging. I fly often in my dreams. Sometimes as a passenger. Sometimes teaching others how to fly. Sometimes wanting to take off in a small Cessna, but very impatient because I've not had a recent flight check. But without a doubt, I knew I could fly proficiently. A few times I've taken off and hoped that no authority figures noticed that my license was not current.

And other times I fly without needing an aircraft.

I absolutely love flying.