<--------------------------------------------------------------> <__Astral_Projection_Part_II_> <__The Seperation Process____><_______Arkham Asylum____________> <__By: The Joker_____________><_______(302)-639-5537___________> <__& The Occult Crue_________><______65 Megz_24oo Baud_________> <-------------------------------------------------------------- The following was taken directly from the book Journeys Out of the Body, by Robert A. Monroe. THE SEPARATION PROCESS After you have achieved the state of vibration and some control of your stage of relaxation, one additional factor must be considered. It is probable that you have already obtained it, since it is ordinarily a product of the previous exercises. However, it should be emphasized. This factor is thought control. In the state of vibration, you are apparently subject to every thought, both willful and involuntary, that crosses your mind. Thus you must be as close to "no thought" or "single thought" (concentration) as possible. If one stray idea passes through your mind, you respond instantly, and sometimes in an undesirable manner. I suspect that one is never completely free of such misdirection. At least I have not been, which may account for the many inexplicable trips to places and people I do not know. They seem to be triggered by thoughts or ideas I didn't realize I had, below the conscious level. The only approach is to do the best you can. With this in mind, the first practices of disassociating the Second from the physical body should be limited in time and action. What follows is designed basically as a familiarization and orientation technique which should permit an approach to disassociation without fear or concern. Release of extremities. This serves to acquaint you with the sensation of the Second Body without full commitment. After relaxation and creation of the vibration state, work with either your right or left hand and arm, one at a time. This is important, as it will be your first affirmation of the reality of the Second. With one hand, reach for any object - floor, wall, door, or whatever - that you remember as being beyond the reach of your physical arm. Reach for that object. Make the reaching process neither upward nor downward, but out in the direction your arm is pointing. Reach as if you were stretching your arm, not raising or lowering it. A variation is simply to reach out with the hand and arm in the same manner with no special object in mind. Often this method is better, as you then have no preconceived idea of what you will "feel." When you reach out in this fashion and feel nothing, push your hand a little farther. Keep pushing gently, as if stretching you arm, until your hand encounters some material object. If the vibration pattern is in effect, it will work, and your hand will eventually feel or touch something. When it does, examine with your sense of touch the physical details of the object. Feel for any cracks, grooves, or unusual details which you will later be able to identify. At this point, nothing will seem unusual. Your sensory mechanisms will tell you that you are touching the object with your physical hand. Here, then, is your first test. After acquainting yourself with the object with your outstretched hand, straighten out your hand and push against the object with your fingertips. You will encounter resistance at first. Push a little harder, and gently overcome the resistance you feel. At this point, your hand will seem to go right through the object. Keep pushing until your hand is completely through the object and meets some other physical object. Identify the second object by touch. Then carefully withdraw your hand, back through the first object, and slowly back to normal, so that it feels as if it is where it "belongs." With this, decrease the vibrations. The best way to do this is slowly to attempt to move the physical body. Think of the physical body, and open your physical eyes. Bring back your physical senses, deliberately. Once the vibrations have faded away completely, lie still for a few minutes for full and complete return. Then get up and make a notation of the object which you "felt," locating it relative to the position of your hand and arm when you were lying down. Note the details of both the first and second objects which you felt. Having done this, compare your description with the actual first object. Make special note of small details which you could not have seen from a distance. Physically feel the object to compare it with what you felt under the vibrations. Examine the second object in the same manner. You may not have been consciously aware of its presence or position prior to the experiment. This too is important. Test the line of direction from the place where your physical hand lay, through the first object and up to the second. Is it a straight line? Check your results. Was the first object you touched physically located at a distance it would have been absolutely impossible to reach without physical movement? Did the details of the object - especially the minute details - coincide with the notes you have made? Make the same comparison for the second object. If your answers are affirmative, you have had your first success. If the facts do not check out, try again another day. Almost without qualification, if you have produced the vibrational state, you can perform this exercise. You can also practice the following quite easily. After producing the vibrational state, lying on your back, arms either at your sides or on your chest, gently lift your arms without looking at them and touch your fingers together. Do this quite casually, abstractly, and remember the sensory results. Once you have clasped your hands above your chest, look at them first with your closed eyes. If you have moved easily enough, you will see both physical and non-physical arms. Your physical arms will be at rest at your side or upon your chest. The sensory impressions will be with the non-physical arms and hands above your physical body. You should test this phenomenon as many times as you wish, however you desire. Prove to yourself that you are moving not your physical arms, but something else. Do it by whatever means are necessary to give you full assurance of this reality. It is important always to return your non-physical arms to full conjunction with their physical counterparts before "shutting off" the vibration state. Although there may be no severe aftereffect if this is not done, I think it best not to find out in the early stages. Disassociation technique. The simplest method to use in separating from the physical is the "lift-out" procedure. The intent here it not to travel to far-off places, but to get acquainted with the sensation in your own room, with familiar surroundings. The reason for this is that the first true experience will then be examined and explored with identifiable points of reference. In order to assist in this orientation, it is better that these first complete disassociation exercises be conducted during daylight. Test for yourself your needs in regard to the amount of light in the room. Avoid using an electric light if possible. To establish the condition, achieve the vibrational state, and maintain complete control of your thought processes. You are going to stay only in the confines of your familiar room. Think of getting lighter, of floating upward, of how nice it would be to float upward. Be sure to think how nice it would be, as the subjective associated thought is most important. You want to do this because it is something you will respond to emotionally; you react even before the act, in anticipation. If you continue to hold only these thoughts, you will disassociate and float gently upward from your physical. You may not achieve it the first time, or the second. But quite surely, if you have achieved the preceding exercises, you will achieve it. A second method is the "rotation" technique, which has been mentioned elsewhere. Under the same prescribed conditions, slowly try to turn over, just as if you were turning over in bed to be more comfortable. Make no attempt to help yourself rotate with either arms or legs. Start turning by twisting the top of your body, your head and shoulders, first. By all means move slowly, exerting gently but firm pressure. If you do not, you may become loose and actually spin like a log rolling in water before you can alter the pressure. Such action is disconcerting only because you may lose all orientation and be forced to find your way back carefully in rotation juncture. The ease with which you begin to turn, with no friction or sense of weight, will inform you that you have begun to succeed in disassociating. As this happens, turn slowly until you feel that you have moved 180 degrees (i.e., face to face with your physical body). It is uncanny how you will recognize this position. this 180 degrees about face is merely two 90 degree turns, and without orientation, it is easy to sense. Once you are in the 180 degree position, stop the rotation by merely thinking of doing so. Without hesitation, think of floating upward, backing up away from the physical body. Again, if you have reached the vibrational state successfully, this method will surely bring results. Of the two separation techniques, the first should be tried before the second. Then, after both have been examined and tested, the one that seems easiest to you should be utilized. Local experiments and familiarization. Once you have succeeded in the separation process, it is most important for your own objective continuity that you remain in complete control. The only possible way to do this seems to be by staying close to the physical in the early stages. Whatever you may feel emotionally, keep in close proximity to the physical. This admonition is made not because of any known danger, but so that you will maintain a step-by-step familiarity and thus perceive for yourself exactly what is taking place. Wild, uncontrolled trips at this stage may well produce uncomfortable situations and conditions that will force you to relearn much of what you have already achieved. The process of mental acclamation will be different from any you have ever consciously experienced. The gradual adaptation will greatly enhance your peace of mind and confidence. At this point, the principal exercise is to return. Keep your separation distance no more than three feet away, hovering over the physical. Do not make any attempt at this time to move laterally or farther "up." How do you know how far aware you are? Again, this is something you sense. Your vision now is zero. You have conditioned yourself not to open your eyes, and let them remain closed for the moment. Stay close to the physical. The mental concept of this will keep you in proper range. For the next three or four exercises, do nothing but practice getting "out" and returning to the physical. To return under these conditions, merely "think" yourself back into the physical, and you will return. If you have used the first method of separation, the reintegration is relatively simple. When you are back in exact alignment, you will be able to move any portion of the physical body and reactivate any or all of your physical senses. Each time you return, open your physical eyes and physically sit up so that you know you are completely "back together." This is to ensure orientation, to instill confidence that you can return at will, and most important, to assure yourself of continued contact with the material world in which you now belong. Whatever you believe, this reassurance is most necessary. If you have applied the rotation method, move slowly back toward the physical, again by thinking of it, and when you feel you have made complete contact, start your rotation back 180 degrees to conjunction with the physical. It seems to make no difference whether you continue the circle of rotation or reverse and turn back in a motion opposite to that which helped you release. In both techniques, there seems to be a slight, click-like jerk when you are again in conjunction with the physical. An exact description of this sensation is quite difficult, but you will recognize it. Always wait a few moments before sitting up after you have returned, primarily to avoid any possible uneasiness. Give yourself some time to readjust to the physical environment. The physical act of sitting up provides evidence of continuity in a demonstrable form; you will know that you can consciously, willfully act in a physical movement interspersed with experiments in the non-physical environment and retain conscious awareness throughout the process. You will have completed the cycle when you are able to separate, return to the physical, sit up and note the time, go back to the separation process, and return to the the physical a second time, all without loss of conscious continuity. The notation of the clock reading will help in this. The next step in familiarization is to separate to a slightly farther distance, applying the same procedures. Any distance up to ten feet will do. Always keep mental concentration on a single purpose without stray though patterns, especially in these extended exercises. After you have become accustomed to the feeling of being more "apart," mentally tell yourself that you can see. Do not think of the act of opening your eyes, as this may well transmit you to the physical and diminish the vibrational state. Instead, think of seeing, that you can see - and you will see. There will be no sensation of eye opening. The blackness will just disappear suddenly. At first, your seeing may be dim, as if in half-light, indistinct or myopic. It is not known at present why this is so, but with use, your vision will become more sharp. The first sight of your physical body lying below you should not be unnerving if you have applied the previous exercises. After you are satisfied that it is "you" lying there, visually examine the room from the perspective of your position. Mentally move slightly in one direction or another, slowly and never violently. Move your arms and legs to reassure yourself of your mobility. Roll around and cavort in the new element if you wish, always staying within the prescribed range of the physical.