Hello everyone, first of all I want to thank Thomas Campbell and of course Mr Monroe (aka the man) for the work they have put into metaphysics, if it wasn't for you guys im not sure i would be exploring this particular pillar of life, i have always been interested in the "supernatural", and being a CG artist my imagination often loves to escape reality and norm, however although i had come across subjects such as "astral projection" during my teen years i was never really hooked, it was only untill the start of this year (i just turned 24 a few weeks ago) that i began questioning reality again, this lead me to the work of Robert Monroe and then Thomas Campbell.

Since then i have researched heavily into OBE's. Ive read all of Robert Monroe's books. I've seen many of Thomas Campbell's lectures (just last night i got done listening to a 10 hour lecture of his). Not only that but i have been using the gateway experience (hemi sync). Currently I'm still on the very first cd.

I never really was too eager to OBE, and i always had a relaxed approach to it whilst i was listening to the CD. However, life kind of got in the way and i stopped listening to the cd for a few weeks (i had only listened to it 3 times prior).

Anyways one morning a while back i woke up a few hours before i normally would, i went downstairs and drank some milk, came back up and decided to work on my CG environment, only i was still really tired and so i decided to lie back down. For a brief moment i thought to myself (according to Monroe this would be a good time to obe). And thats about as far as i took those thoughts. Anyway shortly after i fell asleep thinking about my work.

Suddenly i was aware of this insane sensation, it was vibrations, buzzing and a few other things i cant explain but i was conscious and was even thinking that these vibrations must be what Monroe was talking about (strange because i felt very relaxed). Soon after, my body was still in bed, and so was my consciousness. Only i had control of what seemed to be my spiritual body. I was afraid to look at it however, after a few seconds i decided to wave my arms in front of my eyes, although i couldn't see them.... soon after fear got the better of me, i realised my physical body was paralysed. I felt open and naked in terms of my spiritual body and i began to bury myself towards the bed hoping i could get back into the cover and protection of my physical body. I woke up but i wasn't too spooked, fell back asleep very quickly after and began dreaming about random things. Only to wake up and question whether or not i had an obe.

What do you think guys, was this an obe? Or...

I am going to buy Thomas Campbell's books next week. Does Thomas frequent these forums? If you do Thomas i would love to know what advice you would give me on experiencing more of these OBE's as the one i posted above seemed to be spontaneous.

Sounds like the start of an OBE to me! I'm happy for you. I've enjoyed Monroe's books too. I've experienced sleep paralysis almost weekly my whole life and used to fear it, and fight it. Only recently have I learned to use it to enter an OBE. Now I consider myself lucky that I'm so prone to them - it's a fantastic exploration tool.

Reading the TOE trilogy will give you a new perspective on the OBE, and other data streams you may experience in the future. I suggest you read that throughly, because the people on this forum reference it quite a bit. The only starting advice I've ever heard Tom give on expanding your awareness was to "meditate for 20 minutes, twice a day".

This has worked fantastically for me. If your curious about my experiences, Iv'e shared some of them on this forum: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4977

If you are looking for a more step-by-step program, you may wish to check out William Buhlman's books, starting with Adventures out of Body. http://www.astralinfo.org/

Thanks for sharing your story! Good luck, welcome, and have fun!

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"Wherever you go, there you are."

Thank you Sunshine :) very nice name too btw.

Ive heard of william buhlman before, i think he was on an episode of coast to coast i was listening to on youtube. i will get a copy of his book.

yes, i too get sleep paralysis however they are not as frequent as yours, mine happen maybe once or twice every other month. its a little hard to get past the fear on mine however, maybe you can understand why if i mention the last one i had.

i was woken up by something slapping my leg. it then proceeded to crawl up my body ( i couldnt see it, similar to the way i felt but couldnt see my arms during that possible OBE). it got to my chest area and then started to shake violently. i wasnt scared of it, however the fear was there because i felt as if i wasnt in control. anyways i mananged to move and then fall asleep again only to be woken up once more. again i couldnt move and a female voice from the bottom of my bed said my name. that was it for me, didnt want to sleep after that so i woke up and did my regular workout routine.... now i regret not trying to have an obe when that was happening.. :)

are those things just in the mind? or are they something real, in your opinion. it felt as real as if you were to touch me,

oh also, i have been meditating now for the past few weeks. i guess i should have listened to my martial arts instructor when he told me to start some 6-7 years ago. oh well. better now than never right? altho i doubt im going to tell him ive started now, the last thing i want is a "i told you so" from the guy that also gets to kick my ass every lesson... and then take my money with a smile on his face..

I agree sunshine. Next to the late great Robert Monroe, William Buhlman is by far the best when it comes to a leading OBE researcher. This man has travelled everywhere and the what he's found is incredible. I've read both his books cover to cover numerous times.

LOL - I picked "Sunshine" because "You are my Sunshine" was my favorite lullaby as a kid. Guaranteed to knock me out everytime. ;)

I like Buhlman's take on the whole OBE thing. Not wrapped up in superstition and dogma. He's got his own little-TOE, which (for me)works well in visualization and meditation.



Hard to say if they are "real" (a FWAU) or not. It's possible that the female voice you heard was a "guide" trying to encourage you to go OBE. NPMR appears to be a very busy place, filled with lots of life. Once your consciousness starts playing around on the dial, you are going to perceive all sorts of things (voices, music, presences, sensations).

Practicing meditation and lucid dreaming techniques will help you to focus your awareness and control if you have an experience like this again. :)

I've experienced "night-hags" and other unwanted visitors at various times and I always came away with the feeling that they were something more than a dream. But I've seen this explained as a hallucination:

"There is a second type of sleep paralysis known as hallucinatory sleep paralysis (HSP). HSP is fairly rare yet often quite disturbing. In addition to the common symptoms of being unable to move or speak HSP is accompanied by nightmare-like hallucination that can be auditory, olfactory, and/or visual.* "

I will say this, I have had a couple of encounters with entities I consider to be real (a FWAU). The sense of presence and clarity was unmistakable.

The thing I like about Tom's TOE and Buhlman's work, is that it encourages open-minded skepticism. As I continue to explore, (collect data) I have a better understanding of my perceptions, fears, and awareness.

As Tom says "It's all data". Hopefully, as we progress as spiritual beings, we will be able to better filter out all the ego-related clutter and better perceive Big Truth.


*http://www.hauntedbay.com/features/nightterror.shtml

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"Wherever you go, there you are."

Urban Monk,

You asked, "are those things just in the mind? or are they something real"?

Yes to both. It is all just in your mind. Why would you think that this means it is not real? That understanding is the general idea of everything being discussed here.

Ted

Thanks all for your helpful replies.

Thanks sunshine i will work on lucid dreaming, ive only ever had 1 and havent really tried since then, and yes meditation has become a daily thing for me now, hopefully good things will follow.

Ted. What you said blew my mind, but i guess i could define "real" as something that can happen to more than just one person, an example of this, is say if that thing that said my name then was able to speak to a diff family member, i would consider that as real, and imaginary would mean its only in my head, created by me, for me and noone else.... that doesnt sound right does it? this is a total mind Frosdfsf.

It looks like im going to have to read those books asap if im to understand this. how does one tell the difference between something made up, and something real.

in terms of obe's, if i wanted to extract information from a particular place, how do i seperate whats in my head, to what i could use and study in terms of the real world.

i dont understand, i will stop wasting your time n ill get back to you guys on this when i have read the books.

Peace to you all.

Hi Urban_Monk,
I wouldn't say anything is a waste. Here is a link to the google book version for now, http://books.google.com/books?id=6To090 ... &q&f=false.
Love to you and yours,
Bette

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All That Is
what is?
Consciousness.

Thanks bette, hey you wouldnt happen to know anything about the journeys out of the body cd's would you?

i was wondering what particular condition (A,B,C or D) would be best for use on a nightly basis, maybe even fall asleep with it on loop.

Thanks.

You are welcome UM. I am not familiar with cd's you ask about that I know of. Are you talking about The Monroe Institute (TMI) hemi-sync cd's?
Love
Bette

_________________
All That Is
what is?
Consciousness.

Hello again.

sorry for not making myself clear bette.

http://www.hemi-sync.com/shopexd.asp?id=241 << you will find the cd's im talking about there, you get 6 hemi sync cd's.

I haven't ever experienced those cds but probably should do so.
Love
Bette

_________________
All That Is
what is?
Consciousness.

Hi there, I have used Journeys out of Body and the 4 cds they are a gradual introduction to a deeper and deeper state so its best to go through them in order. Once you are on to condition D you can use that for as long as you like. The whole point is to be able to hold that state and remain completely alert in point consciousness with the mind totally quite. Toms suggested method of meditation in MBT has leads to exactly the same place, hemi-sync is just a tool but it can be useful in the beginning.

Hope this helps
Regards
Daghda

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Love is the answer!

Bette's right - please don't feel like you are wasting anybody's time. I'm glad that this forum is encouraging you to read Tom's books - it's lovely to see that others are interested. :)

Here's just a couple key concepts (as I understand them) from the book that will help:

1. All realities are virtual realities. The only "true" reality is consciousness.
2. Experiencing consciousness and Big Truth are subjective experiences.

I totally get your questions about real v.s. not real. # 1 will make more sense when you get through Tom's trilogy.

But for now, concept #2 is something to think about. How we experience our world and consciousness is an individual experience. Only YOU can discover what is true. Careful, honest methods of scientific exploration is one of your best tools; explore, test, gather data, learn, try.

All experience is filtered through our ego, perceptions, belief traps, paradigms and fears. Think of it as dirt on the lens of your mental telescope. So a first step is to try and clean the muck off our lens. I've realized that ego is worse than old chewing gum...

A reading of Tom's books will give your lens a good scrub. He encourages you to be both open-minded and skeptical of his TOE. It is a challenging, and in-depth book, but also enjoyable. "Mentally Juicy", I would say.

My mental telescope is covered in a lot of junk - but I've caught a peek at a star or two. Hopefully someday, I can upgrade from my junior astronomer special and see a bit more! Although I don't know if I'll ever have a Hubble like Tom. ;)

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"Wherever you go, there you are."

Thanks people, i will go through the conditions in order then, good job on clearing that up for me.

Sunshine, i understand what your saying and it all sounds very exciting :) but dont kid yourself, you will be better than Tom one day ;)