Phenomena Are Signs Of Success
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org,
please feel free to visit the school website)
When you experience phenomena, you know you are entering “The Zone.” Don’t worry if you feel things suddenly being out of the ordinary. It is a sign that you are moving into the right direction!
Weight changes are common for people who are entering the state of awareness that is necessary to experience OBEs(Out of Body Experiences). You may feel heavy or light, still or floating. Whatever your experience, just let it be alright. You may even have distorted perceptions of the proportions of your physical body. For instance, your arms might suddenly feel longer, or you might feel something at the top of your head. Just relax into the sensations of your body. This means you are reaching the body asleep/mind awake state.
You might find your breathing becomes very slow and rhythmic, like that of a yogi in deep meditations. You will eventually lose awareness of the activity of breathing itself. As you deepen, you might suddenly realize that you actually stopped breathing (this usually happens on an exhalation, you haven’t inhaled for a few moments and rested in the stillness of the “not-breath”). This is perfectly alright. Trust your automatic nervous system to kick in as needed. Many times during the night you rest in the spaces between the in-breath and the out-breath while you are asleep. Your body always takes its next breath when it is ready to continue. It is automatically programmed and will not fail you. Let it be alright. Again, you are experiencing the body asleep/mind awake state of awareness.
You will notice temperature drops in your body, so make sure you have a blanket over yourself to keep you warm. You may even feel icy sensations, heat, or the many shades in between. Allow this to be alright. It means you are beginning to separate your consciousness from the physical body, and there will be some sensations that are unusual to you.
Some people get very frightened when they experience what is called Sleep Paralysis. It is actually quite normal (refer to the section about sleep paralysis in the UMS course Dreams & Dreaming.) Sleep paralysis is a condition purposely imposed on your body through your own body’s chemistry to prevent movement or acting out of your dreams. If your body did not interfere with the messages your brain is sending to your muscles during dream time, you would be flailing about, perhaps even hurting yourself or someone. It is the same in astral projection, for your body sleeps while you have experiences in the astral worlds. It is necessary that your body remain unmoving during astral projections as well for the same reasons as during dreamtime. Also, it is necessary that you not move your physical body while you move your astral body out of it when you first reach the state necessary for astral projections. You must be able to lift out, and without paralysis of the physical form, you would not be able to make the separation. Let it be alright if you are paralyzed, even if it is for a few moments when you return from an astral projection. Your body will regain the ability to move within a few moments of awakening from the sleeping state that the body is still immersed in.
Hypnagogic images are a mish-mash of different visuals, like geometric designs, lights, flashes, scenes of places you may or not be familiar with, faces, or unknown objects that are not recognizable to your human interpretation. They happen quickly and in a disjointed fashion, moving in and out of your awareness without a “story” or making sense. Just let these images pass, and soon you will find yourself in a coherent astral zone after you have passed through the hypnagogic state. The first time I had purposely induced an astral projection, I found myself pushing up through thousands of images and dreams, as if coming to the surface of water, and suddenly I was free and able to fly wherever I wanted. It seemed to be some kind of consciousness membrane I pushed through. I often have that experience of the hypnagogic state right before a deep experience in meditation or some sort of soul travel, and it lets me know I have pushed past my human limitations on my consciousness. Do not be afraid of these images, they are alright.
Accompanying these hypnagogic images are sometimes auditory, like whistles, ringing, pops, cracks, names, music, or the Doppler effect like a helicopter flying by. Don’t be afraid or worried about them. This is just mass consciousness “noise” that is floating about all the time. Same with the images. Just let these all go and pass into the void on the other side, or emerge in the astral worlds. These are only fleeting and temporary perceptions that are not your destination. Some have thought these are the voices of demons, and perhaps there are some strange images and sounds, but again, realize it is just psychic noise that you will push past in a moment.
A large or small feeling is a good sign, and usually sets in after sleep paralysis has taken effect. If you feel really small, you can move in any direction and travel astrally. If you feel really large, try rolling over to get out of your body. Also, if you feel vibrations, this is an excellent sign. You might feel as if an electrical current is running through you, or as if you are shaking very fast. This is fine. This means that you’re moving through a dimension, or your astral body is separating from your physical body.
If you have a racing heart, just relax. Sometimes people have a fear response to astral projection, especially when it is about to happen! It is an adrenaline response. It also can have something to do with the heart chakra opening and opening to the vastness of the universe.
If you blackout, and then wake up again, it is alright. You are treading the fine line between the sleep/awake border and you may find yourself moving in and out of consciousness. It is alright. You will stabilize and stay awake in the astral worlds in a short time.