Techniques and Methodology - I need Advice!

Hello everyone! It's me again, and this time Im not coming to you about something that's happened to me. Rather, I come asking for the knowledge and skills some of you use in Meditation. It has been suggested to me many times, but only a few have really tried to start me on the right path.

I will admit, I was a bit skeptical at first, but I'm really intrigued and eager to learn more about the methods of meditation used by ATS members to contact their spirit guides and reach the Astral plane.

Looking forward to your advice and tips!

Hey Conquistadork, nice to see you again!

I started 4yrs ago by coming across this site: innertalk.com...

It has helped me with my meditations by teaching me how to focus on each body part and attaining total relaxation.

I hope this helps! good luck

oh by the way you will need real player for the audio.

Thanks alot Dust, you go from greeting me to helping me in my "Quest"

You're great, again, thanks alot for the help, I'll definetely be checking this out

Well, to reach the Astral Plane i can suggest you several things.

1- Go anche check this link www.abovetopsecret.com.... It's one of the sticked topics in this forum, and there you've got 22 pages all about Astral Projection.

2- Give a look for William Buhlman's books about Astral Travel. He has been studying Astral Travel for quite some years now, and he's got some good insights about it. I don't know their titles in English, but i think you'll manage to find them easily.

3- I haven't managed to obtain a conscious OOBE (Out Of Body Experience another name for Astral Projection) yet, but according to what i've read here and in Buhlman's books, you can try and do as follows:
- lay down on your bed, in a comfortable position, usually laying back with legs and arms slightly "opened" (can't find a more suitable word, sorry)
- try and relax your body. You must make your body fall asleep, while keeping your mind conscious. One of the most used methods is trying to make your muscles relax and sleep, starting from your feet and slowly moving up through your body. You can either visualyze your muscles while you relax them, or just feel them, it's up to you.
- keep your mind awake and prevent it from drifting off
- for this step, i've read several methods, i will tell you some. A) Empty your mind, you must have no thoughts at all. If any thought comes to you, just ignore it and let it wear off. It takes some practice, but after some days you'll already manage to notice some progress (this technique seems pretty useful also for just sleeping better). B) Focus on your intentions to have an Astral Projection. You can either concentrate on your intention, or repeat some kind of mantra in your head, such as "My mind is conscious and now i'm going to have an Astral Projection". Just an example. Personally, i think it's better to find a sentence as shorter and clearer as possible. C) You can try and visualyze your Astral Body departing from your phisical one. Some people imagine it as a fog of some kind, some others imagine a "blurry/ghostly" copy of their body, usually bluish, floating away from their own body. It's up to you, and nothing prevents you to find other solutions, maybe more suitable to you.
- At this point, if everything went ok, you should experience at least one of the following things: energy flowing through your body, vibrations, everything spinning around you, odd noises or voices, paralysis. And they could be quite unexpected and "strong". Ok, don't panic, don't lose your focus, don't move, don't think of your body, just follow these sensations, abandon yourself to them and allow them to fill you, because they mean you're quite there.
- if everything goes ok and you manage to arrive at this point without losing your focus or anything else, you should sooner or later hear a *snap* and there you go, you're in Astral Plane.

A little side note or two. First of all, don't worry if you fail your first attempts. It requires a lot of patience, preseverance and knowledge. Don't get upset and keep looking for informations and insights. It often requires many days or several months.
Sometimes you'll fall asleep, and then suddently wake up in the middle of the night being paralyzed, feeling energy or vibrations, hearing odd things. As said above, don't panic because this means you're almost there.

Well, that's all i can think of. These aren't first hand informations, because as i've said i haven't managed to consciously AP yet, still i hope they may be useful.

Wow, thanks alot sparhawk. This board just doesn't stop surprising me, people so helpful, it's really great!

Some good techniques to get started are

Concentrating on one object for a period of time. This focuses the mind and body into one point. One way to do this is by using crystals. Crystals contain energy of their own. Grab a natural quartz crystal that refracts the light well. Put it near a steady light source, candles are no good really for this exercise. Turn the crystal slowly until you have a tony pinpoint of light. As you watch it the light will start to fade and move away, this is because of the facets in the crystal create tiny mirrors, what you are actually doing is following that light source along those mirrors. You will find it you turn the crystal gently you can focus in on the pinpoint of light and follow it through the crystal, by this time your breathing is slow deep and regular, the only thing in your consciousness is thelight in the crystal and the fascination of it moving through the minute mirrors.

This is a fantastic training exercise for all aspects, for concentration, for vision, for mind control, colour and light, breathing, relaxing and much more.

After you have done this for a while you will feel totally relaxed.

I find lying on the back when going to sleep is much more conductive to OBE's than any other position, It happens in other positions but it is far easier for it to happen when lying on the back. This may not go for all people by any means, but that is my experience in the matter.

Never heard of that before Mayet, thanks alot!

Any crystal will do? going to have to hit the local quarry then!

be skeptical...

If you are , dont even bother....It is w i l l and personal strength that gets you there .

number 2..... you ready?

easiest way is lay down comfortably in bed .....hold your hand off the bed with a coin in your fingers try meditating...when the coin slips from your fingers..THAT is the PLACe youwant to be..the fine place between wakefullness and sleep, that moment you lose the energy of awareness ..When you lose LIFE to sleep...obvious to nothingness..awareness to pure spirit..capture that moment ...that finite moment and you will find meditation....stop your thoughts when they begin...quiet your mind with each rupture ...dissolve each bubble of thought with silence and you will find your spirit takes over. It is a concious awareness..only moment to moment will bring you to true meditation....this takes time and heart when you master it...yu will never be the same

Good hint Kris, never heard of that "trick" with the coin... have to try it.

Another little insight, could be sleeping in an uncomfortable position. Personally, in fact, if i lay down in my most comfortable way, i fall asleep deeply and rather quickly.
But when i fell asleep and wasn't in a comfortable position i experienced the typical "vision through eyelids" (this usually means you're almost ready to begin an Astral Travel), probably because such a position kept my mind a little awake and conscious. It's doesn't work every time, but maybe it could help...

There's a Series of CD's that are REALLY good, on meditation Techniques, these are usually used toward insight, Repelling Negative Energy(Staying Calm throught the day, like Anger management). But they have some awesome Techniques for clearing your mind. One that I can recall is a LockBox, it can be any form, shape, size. It can be technilogically advanced or a treasure chest. You visualize it, after first creating it, by letting it appear (The CD Commentary is accompanied by sounds of a shore, so I visualize it rolling in with the waves) Or retrieving it from a closet in your mind or something. Then you create a symbolism for everything that pops into your mind. Work, Family, Friends, ect. Just as long as you identify with the symbols toward those things, anything should work. A cellphone for work, a photoalbum for family, a beer can for freinds >.> And you put them all in your box, and in your mind, tell yourself that you no longer need these things durring selfexploration, so you're going to put them away. I was amazed at how well it works. But if I can find the CD's I'll listen to them again, and post some more.

But the Actual CD experience is great, because it uses Tones to help you concentrate. Left and right Clashes of Sharps and Flats.. It signifies your brain working in unity, because in the left side plays a note, then the right side plays a note slightly lower tone. So the result is a vibrational sound that only your mind can hear. Other people can hear it too, because they have minds aswell. But it can't be recreated in any other way. Authentically recreated. Imitated, maybe. But a Computer couldn't recognize it as one sound. Like the brain would.

Originally posted by Conquistadork
Never heard of that before Mayet, thanks alot!

Any crystal will do? going to have to hit the local quarry then!

Well umm yees i guess... .. especially if you have a quarry nearby with clear quartz points, milky ones are really not conjusive to the exercise. if you do have a good quarry with clear points, even the actual collecting can be a great meditation practise.

But if not go to a good spiritual shop, buy some nice smelly insense and buy yourself a lovely clear point. Make sure when you hold it up in the shop to the light and turn it you can see plenty of light points. The ones that refract rainbow colours in spots are especially good.

Don't worry about all the "make sure you wash it in soapy water" "make sure you wash it in salt water" "make sure you leave it in the moonlight" stuff. Its the thought, once again pure will that is the thing that works, so if you "believe" you can clean your crystals by simply running them under clear water then it will work.

Get to know your crystal, once again dont let the "don't let anyone else touch it" stuff worry you, Pure will once again. If you do not believe people can harm your crystal with negative energy, then they can't.

But as said examine it, feel it, look at all the tiny mirrors and then play with the light.

You may not feel at first as though you are getting anywhere but after a while you may be sitting an exam or studying and all of a sudden you will realise your focus is stronger than before, your concentration and ability to stick to it will be stronger.

Well, as far as i know, putting a crystal in earth or in salt (if you don't have a garden) is useful, because it neutralyzes energies left from other people who have touched the crystal.

Sparhawk, it is the thought of the "cleansing ritual" that cleanses. Crystals have their very own energy and its not the same as human..

pure thought however. In other words.....

I have a crystal, I do not believe that anyone can leave unwanted energy behind on a crystal... it then won't because I have no fears that it will.

I have a crystal, I believe that by simply running it under cold water, it will be clean... It will because I have no fear of it not being cleaned by this ritual

I have a crystal, I do believe that if anyone touches it it will be bad for me.. It will because I have the fear that it will....

Salt actually damages crystals and some other stones. Have you ever seen what saltwater does to an opal? not pretty, fastest way to make a beautiful stone utterly worthless.

Once again its the thought and the will and fears that determine the happeneing for an individual. Sunlight, moonlight, magnets and things like that however may be of benefit to crystals.

I can see your point and have to agree with you, although my knowledge in this field is a bit limited.

Pyramids may be useful for crystals?

[edit on 25-12-2005 by Sparhawk]

Don't get "just any" crystal, go where you have a large selection. Pick up a few (one at a time) "your" crystal will tell you when you have found it. It's just a different feeling, but you will know when it happens.

It may seem weird taking advice from "Beer_Guy", but I have many crystals and I also meditate quite often.

I hang a quartz point on each batch of wine and beer that I make in the hope that it might help in some way. It may be weird, but I go with my feelings.

Good Luck!

I found the CD, and I listened to it last night, and I never realized this before, but the on the last CD of the Volume I have, he is literally explaining how to OBE. The only thing he doesn't say is that you are OBEing, he just lets you figure it out. It takes alot of Concentration, and practice of the methods he gives you, and I forgot most of them, so I didn't remember how to meditate like they explained. But, I remember that the lock box was actually called the EnergyConversion Box. The name of the Tone thing, that would play in your ears is called Hemisync, and what I thought was the Ocean is the Ocean, but later on it becomes steady, no longer signifying waves, but a wind noise. Just incase anyone wanted to know, it's called HemiSync: The Gateway Experience, Wave I - Discovery. There's also an Afirmation that you should repeat, "I am more than my Physical Body." I think that helped me alot, though I wasn't trying to Consciously OBE, I felt like I could have right at that point, only after that I have so much doubt still in me, that I couldn't bring myself to try it. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it though.

I met a guy once who could in a tranced state invite entities into his body and into the body of people interested in is abilities.

I have felt the presence of low vibration entities and suggest you play very carefully, placing yourself in a position that allows contact can lead to serious problems in life.

When they come they may not want to leave!