Navigating the Out-of-Body Experience
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your personal profile: which approach is best
for you?
Having an out-of-body experience requires not a single skill, but a combination of skills. Just as learning to drive a car is not simply about being able to start the engine, learning to experience the full out-of-body state requires abilities ranging from relaxation, to visualisation, to letting go of fear or limiting beliefs. If any one of these factors is not in place, the result can be failure of the process. Before moving on to learning those specific skills, however, we must first identify which approaches to learning those skills are best for you.
In this chapter, we will explore the particular traits that make up your personality and lifestyle. Each one of us has particular interests and strengths as well as motivations and beliefs. By identifying these traits, we gain a clearer understanding of ourselves, which in turn helps us to identify the best approach for success in out-of-body exploration. When you understand your personality and abilities a little better, you can identify the most effective techniques to learn the key skills you need, such as relaxation or visualisation. All the techniques are detailed in the appendix, but please answer the questions in this chapter before reading ahead.
You will find that I take a step-by-step approach to both the following questions and the techniques. The reason for this is so that you can learn new skills without focusing all your attention on the ultimate goal of having a fully conscious OBE. This approach removes some of the pressure you might feel by focusing overmuch on the end result and allows you to put your energy into fully learning each skill.
Your individualized program will consist of three main components: a relaxation technique, a vibrational state technique, and a range of techniques to actually leave the body. The determination of which components are right for you will be based on five key areas: your lifestyle, personality, relaxation, and stress level, as well as whether you are likely to be better at dream methods or conscious methods.
A Program to Suit You
In this section, you will find a series of questions designed to help you identify the best techniques and approaches for you personally. When completing it, I suggest that you make notes in a journal, although it doesn’t have to be an actual book; it could also be a computer file. However, working with an actual book that you can add to and even make small drawings in is an advantage. Once you have a clear outline of what techniques you’re going to use, you may also want to make a poster or “cheat sheet” with all the details laid out clearly for easy reference.
Available time
Obviously time is an important issue when starting this program. When will you do the exercises you will learn, and for how long will you do them? The ideal amount would be one to two hours per day. The minimum realistic amount would be thirty minutes per day. If you don’t think you can spare this amount of time, consider looking in detail at your typical day and identifying a time obligation that could be reduced. Or consider using the Sleep Interruption Technique (see page 190), so that you can do your practice at a time when you would usually be sleeping.
How much free time do you have during the week?
Work out the total of free hours you have in an average week. Start with the number of hours you are usually awake and subtract time spent at work, commuting, preparing and eating meals, and so forth. Be realistic. If you have many distractions, your routine will suffer and your chances of success will diminish.
How much free time do you have during the weekend?
Do the same for the weekend. If you are extremely busy during the week, look for ways to give yourself more time to work on the program during your weekends.
Once you have an idea of your total available time, write it down in your journal. It’s important to have a routine, so decide which blocks of available time you will dedicate to this program and on which days of the week. Make an appointment with yourself for these times and write them down in your calendar or day planner.
Waking, sleep, and dreams
I have found that generally people fall into one of two camps: those who are best suited to have OBEs from a sleeping state or during the night, and those who, like me, are able to induce the out-of-body state while waking. Finding out early which camp you belong to helps you to structure your program to best take advantage of your natural patterns. Once you have discovered whether you are a Type 1 person (waking/conscious) or a Type 2 person (sleeping/dream), you can begin to explore the specific techniques for that type. If your responses don’t strongly indicate one type or the other, either approach would be equally effective, so simply choose the one that you are most comfortable using or the one you feel you would enjoy most.
How many hours of sleep is your optimum?
A. 6 to 8 hours (or more)
B. 4 to 5 hours (or less)
Do you have a regular sleep pattern?
A. No
B. Yes
Do you have vivid or lucid dreams?
A. No
B. Yes
Do you regularly have psychic feelings or impressions while awake?
A. Yes
B. No
Are you able to control your dreams at all?
A. No
B. Yes
Do you experience sleep paralysis?
Sleep paralysis is a condition in which you become conscious or awake while your body remains paralyzed, as if you were fully asleep. Some people also report seeing shadowy figures or feeling a presence, and/or sensations of vibrating or buzzing, which may have some relationship to the vibrational state experienced by some prior to an out-of-body experience.
A. No
B. Yes
Have you ever seen a ghost or experienced paranormal activity while awake?
A. Yes
B. No
If you answered mainly A, you are a Type 1 (waking/conscious) person. If you answered mainly B, you are a Type 2 (sleeping/dream) person.
The questions in the next section are designed to help you identify your personality type, and will further clarify which techniques may be most useful to you.
Relaxation
What level of stress would you say you experience in your day-to-day life?
A. High
B. Average to low
(A) If you feel that you have a high level of stress, for example, from a difficult or demanding job, you may wish to try the Presence Technique (see page 182) in your program. This will also encourage you to work on changing your reaction to stress in your daily life. You should also use the Deep Breathing Technique (see page 180) as part of your program.
(B) Please use the simple Deep Breathing Technique (see page 180).
Vibrational state
Have you ever experienced a feeling of vibrating, buzzing, or energy flowing through your body before or after sleep?
A. Yes
B. No
(A) Try to remember the details: when did/does it happen most commonly? At what time of day or night? What had you been doing beforehand? How did you feel emotionally? Note these points down in your journal.
(B) Try not to have a preconception of how this state will feel; it is different for different people. Also, you may find that you can exit your body without experiencing it, so explore the methods for inducing it but just allow whatever happens to take place naturally.
Are you able to imagine or visualize well, such as in a guided meditation?
A. Yes
B. No
(A) Use the Three-Dimensional Doorway Technique (see page 187) as your vibrational state technique.
(B) Work with the basic Introductory Vibrational State Technique (see page 186). Most people find this technique fun and easy to do. Also, don’t get disheartened if the
vibrational state does not happen right away, since it does usually take practice, and as I’ve said it is not necessary for everyone. However, do be aware that it is the most consistent way to have an OBE.
Personality
Are you more of an intellectual, visual, auditory, or physical person?
I have given examples below of types of activities that might characterise each type of personality. Select the one that you are most comfortable with or best at. This will allow you to find the technique that is likely to be most effective. If you find it hard to decide, you may want to think about your job, or your hobbies, or maybe ask a friend what category he or she would put you in.
Some people may find themselves unable to settle on just one category. For example, you might enjoy painting and consider yourself primarily visual, but you might also listen to lots of music and find that you respond strongly to the emotional impact of sound. You would then consider the visual as your main technique, but could also incorporate elements of the auditory approach, such as binaural beats.
Intellectual (studying, computing, writing, debating,
doing puzzles)
Visual (art, photography, fashion)
Auditory (listening to or playing music, listening
to audiobooks)
Physical (sport, camping, hiking, yoga)
Do you work better alone, with a partner, or in a group?
A. Alone
B. Partner or group
(A) Working alone to have an OBE has been the trend in most books, but there is no reason why it must be so. If working alone, you might find it helpful to develop a strong driving focus such as trying to reach a place where you have always wanted to go (or return to).
(B) As we are social creatures, I actually recommend working with a partner or even a small group. Developing a link to another person can give you the additional motivating factor of leaving your body to reach your partner. There are techniques in the appendix designed specifically for working with a partner.
Beliefs about OBEs
How do you feel about having an out-of-body experience?
A. Extremely positive
B. Excited
C. Positive
D. Open, but don’t know what to expect
E. Nervous
F. Very nervous
In the next chapter, I deal at length with fears that may arise, but the important thing here is to really explore how you feel. Write out anything you think might be important in relation to the above question. Then, after trying the advice in Chapter 5, ask yourself the question again. Has your answer changed? As with all the questions here, use them as a starting point and enter as much information into your notes or journal as you feel might be beneficial.
Physical body
What is your level of fitness?
A. Very fit
B. Fit
C. Average
D. Below average
E. Unfit
F. Disabled
You may wish to get a health check before beginning your program, since some of the more physical techniques can be strenuous for those not used to them. If you have a disability, you may still be able to work with some of these techniques; again, it is best to get professional advice first.
If you feel comfortable that you are in the A or B category, then you will probably find the G-Technique (see page 200) particularly useful. People who answered C should use their own judgment as to what techniques might be most appropriate. If you answered D, I recommend the Sticky Hands Technique (see page 206), if you can find a partner to work with. If you fall into category E or F: unfit, disabled, or suffer from a health condition, I would recommend avoiding the G-Technique unless you are certain, after professional advice, you are up to it. If you take medication, especially pain killers, this might reduce your sensitivity. In this case working with the Sleep Interruption method might help.
For those with a previous out-of-body experience
What was the cause, if known?
A. I induced it consciously
B. Via a dream
C. It was spontaneous
If yes, when did it happen?
A. Before sleep
B. After waking in the morning
C. During the night
If you answered A, “I induced it consciously,” how did you do so?
A. Visualisation
B. Sound technology such as binaural beats
C. Meditation
If you have had an out-of-body experience in the past, you can draw upon it to help with your program. Take a moment to think more carefully about your experience(s) and answer these additional questions:
1. Where did it happen? Was there anything unusual or interesting about that place that you could re-create?
2. How did it feel? Include your sensations, thoughts, and emotions in as much detail as you can. If you felt afraid, be sure to read Chapter 5, “Transforming Beliefs.”
3. Were there any distinctive colours, sounds, or energies?
Look for ways to incorporate the elements you identified above into your personal program. For example, if you were burning incense when you had your OBE, try burning that same incense during future attempts (scent is a particularly powerful memory cue). If you induced the experience consciously, look for techniques that incorporate the method(s) you used.
Working with Your Personal Profile
You now have identified some key information about your sleep habits, health, psychic experiences, lifestyle, and fears. This will help you select the techniques that are best for you. Be creative and adapt them to suit you, especially if you have had previous experience with the out-of-body state. If you have never had an OBE, you will have a much better chance of success if you look closely at your personality and your needs. In the next chapter, we will explore the fears that you may have and how best to allay them.
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5
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transforming
beliefs
In my experience working with people over the years, I have come to the conclusion that learning a few techniques for having an out-of-body experience is often not enough. Instead, we must understand the process that brings about an OBE and make changes in our lives to allow that process to take place. If we ignore the wider aspects of our lives, we will often fail in our attempts. Why? Because the way you view the world—what you see as positive, how you feel, and how at peace you are (or are not)—will impact the process on a fundamental level. That’s why this chapter is called “Transforming Beliefs”—it is about understanding what might hold you back from having a full out-of-body experience and making the changes necessary. This will make your chances of success much higher. I have found that an unwillingness to change is the best indicator of those who will fail.
Some might find this confusing. After all, isn’t the aim of this book to learn to have an out-of-body experience? What has how you live your life or what you believe got to do with it? The OBE is by definition an exceptional, or at the very least unusual, experience; therefore it requires a degree of stepping away from your comfort zone, away from the so-called “normal.” If you stay within the boundaries of the everyday, you will only experience the everyday. Most people take the approach that they want to have an out-of-body experience, so they lie down and do some visualisation technique or other, and nothing happens. They then get on with their lives and say, “It doesn’t work.”
We must rewire our understanding of ourselves and what is possible, as well as deal with our fears, if we are to have regular and powerful out-of-body experiences. Limiting beliefs and fears of the unknown are key factors in distracting us from reaching our goals, not just when exploring the OBE but in the wider world as well. In my work teaching, I find more than anythin
g else that fears based upon a lack of familiarity with the out-of-body state come to the surface again and again—especially when we are dealing with issues concerning “the other side” or the afterlife. This is because we fear dying or the experience of being outside of “ourselves.” So in this chapter I am going to explore these fears, offer strategies to work with them, and give additional insights into the nature of OBEs.
What really takes place when we are in the out-of-body state is that we can realise our essential, or core, self. Our body is no longer the location of our understanding of what we are. We see that as Robert A. Monroe, author of Journeys Out of the Body, says, “We are more than our physical bodies.”
For you, the reader, this book offers insights into accessing what I have come to call the transphysical levels—the invisible levels or planes, independent of the physical body, that are generally thought of as being subtler, more refined planes of existence. And what’s more, as you learn to access these other levels, the OBE also offers amazing journeys anywhere in the universe. When you do experience the transphysical, you will see and feel levels of energy and forms of pure light that cannot even be imagined until you come into contact with them. The only thing that really stops people and makes the process harder is the fear already mentioned. One of the best methods to overcome fear is to familiarize ourselves with what being beyond the body really means and, by doing so, dispel myths and become increasingly more comfortable with how safe the practice really is. The previous chapter, in which you explored aspects of your personality, should have given you a clearer appreciation of who you are. The next step is to look at any limitations or obstacles that might prevent you from achieving a full OBE.
The Problem of Fear
Foremost among the fears involved with OBEs are the fear of losing control and the fear of bodily death. I believe they arise from the fact that we have nothing to reference when we find ourselves outside of our bodies; we cannot compare this state to anything else that we experience on a day-to-day basis, or even within most spiritual practices. For this reason, fears are normal but they can be transformed by building awareness. Part of this process is engaging directly with some aspects of your own fears.