I’m not a person to believe in superstitious things like evil black cats and good luck. Usually, when people talk about conspiracy theories or things of that nature, i take a skeptical approach to it. Well when i heard about Astral Projection I had the same kind of skepticism and sorta just pushed it back to the back of my mind.
Then one day, during a state of sleep paralysis (basically its when your body is asleep and your mind is awake) i started feeling rather odd. I felt like i was vibrating and falling backward through the air at the same time. My entire body went numb.
Im pretty used to sleep paralysis because it happens to me often but this was very different.
I started seeing strange things, and i got up only i wasnt awake. My body was still lying there on the bed. I was able to travel through walls and fly around. It was very thrilling, i felt like if i were falling from very high up and wind was passing me very fast. It was so amazing i had never felt anything like that before. I could go anywhere i wanted and it felt so real. I know it wasnt a dream because i was able to control it and i was able to feel myself moving around. The closest thing i can relate it to is moving around in water.
Very strange stuff… almost like an acid trip (though i dont do drugs and have never tried acid)
So i looked up astral projection and i found this website. Ever since then ive done it four times. It has been an amazing experience every time.
Like i said, i didnt believe any of this until it just happened one day… Maybe im crazy?
They call it out of body experiences, I heard it has happened to several people when they undergo surgery at the hospital and they look down and see them operating on their body.
I have no idea what causes out of body experiences, but tell me this.
1). how far were you able to go in that state, around the house, around town, to a different town maybe?
2). was the layout of the places where you went entirely the same as you remember it or how it really is?
3). how long does it usually last?
i have heard of sleep paralyisis, but i have never experienced it. and i hope i never do, it sounds awful. as for the outer body experience. i havent had one of those either.
LinkLinker: It was most definately an out of body experience but i was able to travel to other places.
PolygoneUK: Maybe it was a lucid dream but does one feel things in lucid dreams?
Icoxo:
The furthest ive ever gone was to the highway that passes by my neighborhood.
Everything seemed exactly the same as it is when im awake.
I have no idea, it could range from 15 mins to an hour.
STELLA: Yeah sleep paralysis is very scary at first but ive been through it several times and its not so bad now. One of strange things i saw prior to the experience (that i remember the most) was an empty island and i was in the middle of it. I was making buildings rise and vegetation grow. I think that part was lucid dreaming, I had complete control over my dream. After that things just kinda went dark and i got up (thinking i was awake but i wasnt) and thats when i started astral projecting (or so i think). I dont know really…
Being able to controll a dream (or think you controll it) does not make it more than a dream. Dreams can be “realistic”, but still being dreams (as they are) they are ultimatelly not real.
In either case, I assure you that nothing “special” is happening to you. Theese so called “Out of body experiences” are simply intense dreams produced by your brain.
What about this- get a (friend | gf | family member) to hide something in a pre-arranged place (eg in a cupboard that you don’t go into). Next time you experience this, if you can open the cupboard and find out what the object is, (and then confirm when you’re back in one piece ), that’s proof that you’re not sleeping.
I’m interested to find out what happens… I’ve always wanted to try lucid dreaming, but sadly I’ve never managed it…
old hag syndrom (sleep paralysis) gives me the creeps I hope I never experience it. Astral projection, possibly, maybe our minds mingle with the minds of others while we sleep who knows, it’s borderline psychology mixed with spirituality.
I reckon that anything you can consciously perceive in terms of the available human senses, can be experienced in a dream state. Afterall, the unconscious is where all sensory feedback eventually ends up in some form or another anyway.
Just as the unconscious can affect the physical body, the flow works in the opposite direction as well.
In order for me to consider that it was astral projection, you’d need to provide something more to support that you were physically outwith your body, travelling the world somehow on an astral plane.
Something like, I dunno - get a neighbour or friend to write something random on a piece of paper last thing at night without telling you. Then you dream, float on over to their place, read the paper, and write it down when you awaken. That would at least count for something. But until then, I’d still say it’s only lucid dreaming.
Out of curiosity, what does it ‘feel’ like to fly through a wall?
Social: I realize im not actually going anywhere, and i know im dreaming but this is a different type of dream so to speak. Read below for a more detailed explanation…
LinkLinker: Yes, i know the feeling and it is quite weird and very hard to do.
Benstabler: That sounds like a great idea but im not too sure it will work, read below for a better explanation.
Punkfrog: Yeah i think its more psychological than anything. I understand there’s a certain phase between REM sleep and the relaxation of the body that causes this. no-one knows for sure though…
PolygonUK (and others): I understand where you’re coming from but i dont think its possible to actually see the real world. I think what im doing is going through a cache of memory in my head and that is what im experiencing. The “feeling” im talking about isnt what you think. I mean if you get shot in a dream and you have never been shot before, do you feel it? maybe. this is not what im speaking of though. Im talking about the feeling you get when you ride a rollercoaster, that adrenaline rush. I have that all throughout the entire “dream” or “astral projection” or whatever you want to call it. Either way it was NOT a normal dream, i can assure you of this.
Lucid Dream or astral projection, either way the experience is amazing and i hope that you will all have a similar experience one day.
I fell asleep a couple of times for just a few minutes…that’s kinda wierd.
It’s like…you’re laying there…then you look up, and it’s suddenly darker, and you’re colder and…it’s rather strange.(does anybody know what I’m talking about?)
The thing you described sounds extremely strange.
What are the circumstances for you to go into this state?
Are you laying in bed? Just relaxing in a chair?
It sounds kind of neat.
I wish it would happen to me.(maybe)
Usually it happens when Im laying flat on my back with my head facing the ceiling. I try to induce it by clearing my mind of all thought and consciously checking back after a while, then i clear my mind again. You will feel when your body is relaxed to a point where you’re half asleep, then right before you fall into a dream check back. You have to catch yourself at the right moment. Then when that happens you wont be able to move and you will only be able to think. The key is to keep your mind awake and allow your body to sleep. Then you’re in a state of sleep paralysis… Edit (You will be scared at first but try not be afraid, stay calm because if you freak out you might wake up)
Every time this has happened to me ive been in that state. Try expirementing and see what kinda results you get. I’ll try to induce it tonight to get a better description of what to do next. Im not sure how to go about describing it yet…
OBEs are often initiated through lucid dreaming, where one is aware they are dreaming, though other types of initiation are discussed later. The majority of subjects (55+ of the 66 cases), who claim to have had an OBE, reported being asleep, on the verge of sleep, or having been asleep shortly before the experience. A large percentage of these cases referred to situations where the sleep was not particularly deep (due to illness, noises in other rooms, emotional stress, exhaustion from overworking, frequent re-awakening, etc.). In most of these cases, the subjects then felt themselves “wake up”; about half then noted a feeling of physical paralysis. These may be examples of sleep paralysis.
There appear to be two common forms of such lucid experiences. The first involves lucid dreaming, where the subject is immersed in unrealistic worlds, or in a modified form of the reality with impossible or inconsistent features. A second experience is of a more physical nature where the environment is consistent with reality; this is often called an etheric or ethereal experience. This type can be frightening, as extremely realistic physical sensations may occur, often including magnetic and vibrating phenomena, loss of balance, and confusion. The person believes he has awoken physically and panic can be caused by the realization that limbs appear to be penetrating objects. Transition can occur between these states one or several times; this transition may feel much like awakening, including the sensation of numbness often felt on awakening.
This describes what im talking about pretty well, and it has been proven scientifically that OBE’s can in fact be induced but it has not been well documented. (those facts came from the article as well)
Is this anything unusual. This is one of the typical things that happens with sleep paralysis. Another is the feeling that someone is in the room with you. And a third is that somone or something is jumping up and down on your chest.
Most people will have a couple of incidents of sleep paralysis in their life time. I’ve had two that I can remember, one where I thought something was jumping up and down on my chest, which is kind of freaky because it was impossible for me to move.
hah, sleep paralysis. First time it happened to me I was laying flat on my back arms splayed out. I didn’t notice that anything was wrong until I
a.) tried to lift my arm,
b.) tried to turn my head to see why it wasn’t moving.
weirdest feeling ever though I think I could turn my eyes a little bit. Thought I was dying so I tried to scream. All that happened was a little air leaving my chest.
happened quite frequently for a few years after that, then rarely, haven’t had it in a while now.
One time that stuck out: one of the first times it happened, right after I opened my eyes, the room seemed to darken and the walls started to look greenish. the dimly lit hallway turned nearly pitch black. To my young eyes it appeared as if the walls were bleeding green blood, I couldn’t move, close my eyes, or scream. heh…fun stuff that…
I’ve noticed that it tends to happen more often when I would be awake for a long time, still not tired, but force myself to try and sleep anyways. Or when sleeping while being completely exhausted. Always happens when waking up for me.
A couple of times while lying in bed I’ve experienced the sudden sensation of falling ‘through’ the bed. It feels like I’m free falling for less than a second, and then my pulse rate increases dramatically for about 20 seconds.
I can’t say what causes it or how it happens, but it’s just another one of those weird things that happens when you’re trying to get to sleep.
I got an astral projection right here (grabbing my crouch)!
The weirdest thing that happened to me was that I experienced about 5 to 8 false awakenings in one setting, with the last 3 false awakenings being lucid. Not very suprisingly I was totaly desoriented for the rest of the day wondering if I’m in reality or just another lucid dream.
You might want to check Richard Linlater’s “Waking Life” too.
