When I had my first out-of-body experience I first did the wake up back to bed routine, where you wake up after a few hours sleep and then try for an OBE. The idea being that you aren’t as tired and then being able to stay aware while the body falls asleep is easier. I then tried to keep my mind awake while my body went to sleep. I was successful and had my first out-of-body experience….wow!

This technique suited me at the time as I would normally get woken up during the night a few times as I had young kids and a snoring husband, so I wasn’t actually setting an alarm clock to wake up as some people might do. I believe that any astral projection technique should be integrated as much as possible into your life, I’m not sure if disturbing sleep is a good idea or not, sleep is very important so this may not be a good idea if you generally have problems sleeping. I still wake up during the night but rarely have problems getting back off to the world of nod.

I have talked about the above technique in another 2 episodes which you can find on my site. Go to astralprojectionpodcast.com and do a site search for ‘Staying Awake While Falling Asleep’ and ‘Reaching the Mind Awake Body Asleep State’

Although experiencing yourself sinking down into sleep and staying aware during the whole process is a great feeling, it is in my opinion not the easiest of techniques and can lead to frustration if you end up dropping off to sleep. One of my favourite techniques involves visualisation and tactile exercises. I started to use this technique after my first OBE so I would keep my experiences going, believe me after the first one I didn’t want it to be a one off. After a while of programming the following technique into my subconscious often I would automatically find myself in the astral version of my chosen place of visualisation. It became my astral base camp.

This technique involves taking some time each day to visualise and feel. You choose a place you know well, a place you love to be, a place where you are or were very happy. Then you have to bring it to life in your mind’s eye not only visually but also in a tactile sense. For example, I chose my garden in England where I had spent many hours playing as a child, I know the garden in all seasons, and it is a place I can replay very well in my mind. However, this technique is not only about visualisation you have to really feel as if you are there by remembering the smells, how it felt to be there, etc., I used to climb the apple tree so I used to replay how the bark of the tree felt as I was climbing, I remembered the smell of apples that had fallen on the ground and started to rot, the smell of newly cut grass.

I had a photo of the garden which I carried around with me and when I had a moment during the day I would take out the photo and start visualising and feeling. I would imagine myself flying around the garden and repeat to myself ‘now I’m out-of-body’. Basically this is all about programming your subconscious mind to wake you up when already in the astral, or if you are in the mind awake body asleep state you can go through this visualisation and feeling activity to get you out of, and away from, your sleeping body.

I would also go through the same process before sleeping and each time I woke up during the night, you certainly have to be dedicated but it is definitely worth the effort as you don’t have to set any alarms to wake up so your sleep doesn’t get interrupted. It is also a technique most people should be able to integrate into their day. For me it worked, years later I still find myself in my astral garden, every so often I do the visualisation and feeling activity but not everyday. If I haven’t had an OBE for a while I might start to do it more often.

With any technique you choose consistency is the key, you have to keep at it, you cannot program your mind in just a week, so you do need patience and you need to make an effort.

Consistency and dedication pay off, I have not been having out-of-body experiences all my life, I would have the occasional lucid dream this is as far as my adventures went. I had my first OBE around the year 2000 and was determined to keep them going, so I was consistent in my practice and patient, I didn’t allow myself to get frustrated but considered it all a great adventure and so it has continued to be.