ForumforAstral
I sincerely hope this helps newcomers, ( It's helping me alot, he addressed just about every single point that I struggle with... )
'' 1. State of mind is very important to a first projections
When I started, I was attempting to go about projection before I went to sleep, in the evening or in the late night. Unknowingly, this was my first critical mistake. I read that night attempts were more difficult, however, I thought I could manage harder training. Who wants to get up in the morning to project, that sounds like a complete S*** fest and , plus, I want to learn to project at night. I was wrong. I got extremely proficient at entering a strong F12, to the point where I could force immense vibrations. But it was always the same things that got in my way. My breathing. A really annoying itch. Thinking I heard something. In essence, BEING AWARE. I was shooting myself in the foot.
When you go about phasing its not that you are shutting off your psychical awareness, but rather completely diverting your focus; on visualization, or being really good at a mantra. This is extremely difficult. I will repeat that, this is extremely difficult. In the old world, people would train a lifetime to master this. And you want to pump this thing out?
You need help if you want to do this quickly. The helping crutch is choosing the right frame-of-mind. You will use this to get through the exit the first time. Once you know that feeling, I can assure you will understand the basic way to get there. So what is this crutch of a state? We have all had it. It is the "screw it, I am going back to bed to catch another hour of sleep" feeling. It is that quintessential, identifiable drowsiness that is actually rather rewarding and pleasant. So I highly recommend, not attempting to project at night, but instead sleeping for like 4 hours, waking up and forcing yourself out of bed. Take a shower, eat breakfast, and start you day, really do whatever you want, until that, screw-it-I-am-going-back-to-bed-for-another-hour feeling creeps up. That's when you lay down on your non-usual sleeping comfy place and attempt your projection. Again, this is to learn the way to get there. Then you can really start your training once you know the initial path.
2. Practice meditation
There is not an agreed upon nomenclature in this field, so for this purpose, I will refer to meditation as a deliberate mental expedition to find the "exit" into the astral. I was meditating, when I thought I was on the path to phasing. This was my second critical mistake. When meditating, you can get very deep into your consciousness(a deep F12), you can even stand at the foot of the "exit", but you will not know HOW to use the exit unless you have experienced it once before. When I started I was so full of vigor to find it enter it, and failed repeatedly. I can't tell you how frustrating this is; you will time and time again wake up sweating, trying to analyze what you did wrong. I am sure most newcomers will experience exactly what I am talking about. So, when beginning, you are in a conundrum of sorts, you need to get somewhere you don't know how to get to, and all you have is a myriad of mixed approaches people have suggested to explore your surrounding when you close your eyes in a relaxed state.
Now although these repeated attempts at meditation are frustrating, especially when they appear fruitless, please do not discount them. They will teach you how to get to the exit, even if you can't go through it. So when you finally give the morning technique a shot, you will identify and understand all the basic feelings you encounter. You need to understand and be comfortable with all these feelings and learn what the milestones are so they don't freak you out, when you experience them and can discount them without a worry.
So contrary to what I said in 1, practice before bed. Do it and do it often, but understand that a deep F12 state is your goal. This I did right. Hell, try to find the exit, but please don't get frustrated if you can't, just simply understand you are going to need that state of mind tip in 1 to understand the way. Then when you understand how to apply the way to find that exit in a deep F12. Practice, Practice, Practice.
Intermission - I so wish I had these tips when I started.
3. Don't search for the milestones
Vibrations. Random Noises. Mind Awake Body Asleep. A feeling of being pulled upward. I know all these sensations very well after all my practice, but when you are actually phasing, experiencing any of them doesn't matter, ignoring them is what matters. That is so vital. I would stay up night searching for the path, exploring colors, reaching chest pounding and hyperventilation dead ends, thinking I just need to get past those points. Thinking that finding the vibrations is the secret to astral projection and I am just failing at finding them. This is NOT the case. Phasing is natural, there is no searching for milestones. There is no getting past anything. I could never believe that it just happens so easily, but it does. I feel so foolish after all my attempts, but am grateful I understand how to reach different levels of consciousness so quickly now. So how do you get there if milestones aren't the solution?
4. Visualization
Visualization is the key. Honestly a mantra does not work for me because I get to bored with it after a while, and start thinking about other things. I think very few of us are that mastered at focus. Again, that's a lifetime of training. So what exactly is visualization?
The best example is daydreaming. You know when you are daydreaming, and you snap back into reality. That action, that disconnectedness, is exactly what we are trying to achieve. That is what we want to attempt to recreate. Lay there in a relaxed state taking deep breaths and start thinking out stories. Really anything you could daydream about. Ironically, this is how I get to sleep at night. The differences, is that because you have been practicing, you know all the cues of falling asleep. You will visualize a story, and then snap back to thinking that you lost focus of your story. You'll be like, "Crap!" But, actually what you just did was perfect. You are more disconnected and still maintaining awareness. So, then visualize another story, try to bring it as far as you can. And again you will lose focus and snap back. Be persistent and stay focused on you stories. Really they can be any physical manifestation daydream, just keep 'em coming. Eventually, the milestones will start to kick in. For instance a noise in one of your visualizations will actually happen, but because you have been practicing you will not be startled. Just think, "good" and enjoy the added effects to you thoughts. Keep up your visualization attempts and deeper, passing the vibration milestones, far past where you realized you are actually laying there. It will just happen, because you will be so engrossed in your visualization. You will feel vibrations and a rush/whoosh. From this point, you have entered the natural process. It will feel natural, just maintain composure and keep focus on you visualizations. From this launching pad, you can go all sorts of places depending on your proficiency.
5. Remember your training
Because you have been practicing and reading so much about the astral, remember the tenets will be easy when you get to the training ground or wherever the launch takes you. Thought = Action, Emotions will Manifest. Intent is King.
You will feel light and soft and everything will be beautiful. The astral is absolutely gorgeous. It is more astounding and comforting then anything I could have ever imagined it to be.
To recap. Don't force yourself into a state. You have to know the path. Stay up late, wake up a couple hours early, but use those hours to go back to rest/attempt when your body tells you too. Practice before going to bed on normal nights. Understand the milestones, but don't search for them, the process is natural. Searching will interfere with the steadfast visualization that is truly required to achieve success. ''
- Source: Contenteo, AstralPulse :)
