Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Controlling Your Reality in an OBE

by Bob Peterson

Recently, Jess Golden posted a very good question in the Astral Projectors facebook group. She asked:
It is said that the astral realm is controlled by thought processes. I believe that. However I am having troubles. I did a test where I commanded (while I was in the astral) that a series of numbers appear. I said it loud and with conviction. However NOTHING happened!!!!!

What gives?!?!
Later on, she sent me a private message that said, in part:
I don't even know if I could manifest Green Eggs & Ham in the astral!

LOL. Okay, here's my take.

First I have to make clear: I've always maintained that there is a difference between out-of-body experiences and lucid dreams (many authors do not). And unless you've seen the difference, it's hard to tell them apart. In both experiences, you're awake, aware, lucid and out of your body. So what's the difference?

In a lucid dream, you're basically hallucinating (because that's what a dream is), and you're in complete control of your hallucination. So it's easy to create a series of numbers or green eggs and ham or whatever you want. You're probably floating above your physical body, but you're dream hallucination is still going on in front of your eyes.

In an OBE, you aren't hallucinating, so you have much less control over your environment. That's not to say that you're seeing our physical world, or even an echo of it (which some people believe). It does, however, seem to be some kind of objective reality.

Yes, many authors claim you can manipulate astral reality with a thought. I wonder if maybe some of these authors got that idea because they were experiencing lucid dreams rather than OBEs. That's best left for another article.

(By the way, you can transition from a lucid dream to an OBE by dispelling the illusion / hallucination of the dream. When you do, you will see the hallucination dissolve, and you will "wake up" in the out-of-body state.)

I wrote in my first book about how I struggled with these kinds of problems--trying to use thought power--all the time when I was first starting out. I'd try to get to a friend's house, and I'd follow the advice of all the books, and even try my own things. I'd visualize my friend. No movement. I'd think about them. No movement. I'd say their name. No movement. I'd voice my desire. No movement. I'd demand to get there. No movement. Sometimes I'd even try to fly and end up falling on my face in the middle of the street. The books said it was easy: Just think about the person or a place and *poof* you'll be transported there. Wrong. For me it was not that easy.

I often get asked if I've gotten better at out-of-body transportation since that time, and the answer is: a resounding yes. I was like a baby who wants to walk, but whose legs were too weak to do it. I needed practice, patience and I needed to exercise my astral muscles. Like a baby, I learned slowly by doing it, trial and error.

So how do you travel to a person? It's kind of hard to explain. It has a lot to do with intent, exerting your will, and focusing your consciousness. It's almost as if you think of that person, at their remote location, then you place your intent there, then you follow your line of intent to where you put it by exerting your will. I know that sounds cryptic, but like I said, it's hard to explain.

As for commanding things to appear: The fact that you're having trouble doing it is proof enough for me that you're having a genuine OBE and not a lucid dream. If it was a lucid dream, you would be able to easily change it by an act of sheer will.

I remember one lucid dream I had in which I found myself in a (hallucinated dream) hospital. I was walking down the halls, but I decided I wanted to fly. So I started flying down the hall, no problem. I was about to hit a wall, but with an act of will, I commanded the walls of the hospital to open up into a tunnel, then I flew down the tunnel. It was great fun, but eventually I got bored and dispelled the hallucination. After the dream dissolved, I found myself in an OBE state, comfortably floating above my body.

Now let's briefly talk about limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs can and will tie you down and prevent you from accomplishing your goals. In my opinion, this is true not only of the astral world, but the physical world as well. If you think, "I'll never be good at math" then you won't. If you think, "I'll never be rich" then you won't. The concept of "thinking outside the box" is important to your experiences in life, and I do mean that literally.

Likewise, in an OBE if you think, "This is nonsense; I can't fly" then guess what? You won't be able to fly in your OBE. Sometimes you have to combat your own self-doubt to get something to happen. Often all it takes is a suspension of disbelief and self-doubt.

Sometimes all you need is a crutch. One perfect crutch I've found is the invisible helpers. Don't be afraid to ask aloud, "Can I get some help here? I want to do X." Often an invisible helper will accommodate you and give you a helping hand. Sometimes that's quite literally. For example, there have been times when I've asked them to help me fly, and felt their warm hands gently grabbing my wrists and helping me lift off.

Once you prove it to yourself--with their help--that you can do something (like flying), the limiting belief is no longer an issue. Sometimes you just need to get out of your own way.

As for manifesting astral things, like green eggs and ham, I'd like to give you a word of warning. It has to do with something I wrote about in my first book, which I called "The fantasy trap." The problem is this: If you try to use your imagination to create an object, it can easily lead you to focus your attention on your imagination. Focusing your attention on your imagination can easily lead you back into another dream hallucination, which in turn, can suck your awareness into the dream state. Pretty soon, you can find yourself dreaming, and it's often not a lucid dream.

So my best advice is to set goals for your OBEs, try to stick to your agenda, try not to get distracted, and don't use your imagination for things like this, because you'll just spoil the OBE when you could be out there exploring.

2013 Jul 30

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Book Review: Astral Travel & Aura Viewing

Book Review: Astral Travel & Aura Viewing

by Yvette LaBlanc
Review by Bob Peterson



The book is divided into four parts.










2013 July 11

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Stairway to Heaven

Stairway to Heaven

by Bob Peterson

Message number one from the Universe:

A few days ago I heard the classical Led Zeppelin anthem Stairway to Heaven on the radio. And it makes me wonder: Is it about out-of-body experiences? After all, climbing a stairway to heaven wouldn't be much different from the famous rope technique; climbing a rope or a ladder. There's even a ladder pictured on the Astral Projectors group page on facebook. Why not stairs?

Message number two from the Universe:

When I got home I kept thinking about the song. I felt inspired to research an article on how the song might be related to out-of-body experiences. After all, it's well known that Jimmy Page was into new-age stuff. I googled the meaning of Stairway to Heaven, and according to one site:
The lyrics came to Robert Plant in a flash of inspiration when he and Jimmy Page were sitting by the fireplace at Headley Grange with Page strumming the intro chords. Said Plant: "I was holding a pencil and paper, and for some reason I was in a very bad mood. Then all of a sudden my hand was writing out the words, 'There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold/And she's buying a stairway to heaven.' I just sat there and looked at the words and then I almost leapt out of my seat."
So clearly this was a case of automatic writing, which is typically viewed as spirit communication. In other words, it sounded like someone from the spirit world reached across the veil to give Robert Plant (and the world) some messages, albeit cryptic ones.

I took a look at the lyrics and I started to believe there wasn't enough material there for a decent article. It seemed like a stretch.

Message number three from the Universe:

Then, early this morning, a new-age radio talk show host, John DeSalvo, not only posted a youtube video of Stairway to Heaven, he also quoted some of the lyrics on facebook. Hm, I wondered, is the Universe trying to tell me something? Getting the same message twice is nothing, and can easily be ignored. Getting it three times is what I call "a coincidence" and I'm well practised in brushing those off too. So no big deal, right?

Message number four from the Universe:

After checking facebook this morning, I turned my attention to other things. First, I fired up my computer's music player in shuffle play mode. There are 6490 songs to choose from--enough to play nonstop for more than 23 consecutive days--but it somehow managed to "randomly" play Stairway to Heaven as its first song!

Hm. Now I knew something was up. When you get the same message from the universe four different ways, you should definitely pay attention. I took another look at those lyrics:
Then the piper will lead us to reason."
I kept getting this song from multiple sources, and I'm not alone: John DeSalvo got it too. Maybe a spirit, reaching across the barrier of death, is trying to "lead us to reason", by making us "call the tune." So for the sake of argument, we should call him (or her) "the piper".

What does this song have to do with out-of-body experience, you ask?

I mentioned in my first book, Out of Body Experiences, that I've had my best luck inducing OBEs when my head was pointing to the west. And yes, my spirit is crying for leaving: leaving the body!

To me, that sounds an awful lot like hypnagogic imagery, a precursor to OBE. It's very common to see things and hear voices when you get to that stage.
Translation: if you're persistent and keep at it, OBE can change your life and your way of thinking.
"Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven."
Translation: While inducing an OBE, you need to focus. Stray thoughts will interfere and kill your attempt. Stray thoughts lead to other stray thoughts, and pretty soon you're no longer in the right frame of mind.
"Your head is humming and it won't go."
That sounds a lot like the vibrations, doesn't it? It often feels like your head, and sometimes your whole body, is humming.
"In case you don't know: the piper's calling you to join him."

If "the piper" is a spirit with a message, perhaps he is "calling you to join him" in the spirit world. How can that happen? Only in an out-of-body experience.
"And as we wind on down the road, Our shadows taller than our soul."

That reminds me of how our fears can outweigh our ability to leave the body. It's only after conquering our fears that we can start to leave the body.
"Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind?"
In other words, the stairway to heaven is not a real stairway, but a stairway in your imagination. It's very common to use intense visualization to achieve OBE.
"And if you listen very hard, The tune will come to you at last."
The act of "listening very hard" is a trick I mentioned in my article "OBE Class Notes". Pretend there is a sound that's about to be played, and just listen for it. It's a trick to "quiesce" or silence your mind.
"To be a rock and not to roll."
Perhaps this is a reference to the stillness required to achieve OBE?

Well, maybe I'm reading too much into the song. 'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings. But remember the song Kashmir? "I am a traveler of both time and space to be where I have been." Perhaps that was another hint.

Maybe the song is nothing more than poetry. Still, being reminded of OBE is never a bad thing. It can plant the idea of OBEs into your subconscious. Or should I say "Plant" with a capital P?

2013 July 5