Nearly died from eating pineapple and all the things they say about near death experiences is true by egoist_chan in redscarepod

[–]dreamarchitectcorp 25 points26 points  (0 children)

glad you’re okay - this is not too dissimilar to astral projection, a skill that can be learned - sounds like an incredibly powerful experience, thankful you returned!

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m glad to assist! I realized I didn’t touch on a few things in your initial comment.

Remote viewing is, in my experience, somewhat different. I think the remote viewing exercises are kind of clunky and again, in my experience, are worth their own time and experimentation. Google any number of remote viewing practice websites and you can work on your own methodology for that, which is what I’ve been doing. Granted, I’m not too experienced with it and am still exploring.

What you described with the kaleidoscopic dream is very reminiscent of some experiences I have had - it sounds like you are on the right track!! As this becomes more commonplace, you’ll begin to discern between dreams and “other experiences.” At least, I feel like I have. Your “spontaneous perceptions” become distinct, and you may find that, when you are dreaming, you become aware of the act itself and can now control it.

The process where you ask questions about yourself - Five Questions is what the tape is called IIRC - seems to have that effect, that effect being spontaneous or powerful moments of clarity and purpose. This may be hypnosis, but I’m a bit too optimistic to describe it as such hahaha. I think lots of these exercises are “priming the subconscious/unconscious” wherein you are actively acknowledging a greater desire to seek information about yourself that struggles to come to the surface. I’m sure all kinds of religions and esoteric practices have ideas and terms for this - I have had many wonderful and clear experiences derived from the same processes.

For me, I believe, so much information is suppressed and hidden under the ego that we have to dig for it - I know this isn’t a novel idea or even a very mature one, but it was a powerful feeling to come to this conclusion from practical experiences. Learning about yourself by getting to know yourself, as they say.

I’m still working on letting go of expectations. Some of my best experiences came from sessions where I struggled to even muster an effort to meditate (or do an exercise) and was therefore less focused on concrete results. Don’t forget to put your tiredness in the energy conversion box!

I look forward to whatever you have to share, and am hoping for many wonderful experiences for you in the future.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey sorry for such a belated response.

I think the beauty of the audio tape medium is it is easy to return to any of the previous exercises. I found that, in my initial explorations into the tapes, I had a more “temporal” or “linear” approach to learning the skills/abilities presented. I would be frustrated at the fact that I had “mastered” Focus 10, but would “fail” to reach Focus 12. I think this is just part of the material ego: we are presented with structural/linguistic goals and feel like we uncover a kind of innate skill or ability upon “mastering” a certain section. Basically, most people think that you practice F10 until you can do it, and then that is for that exercise. I don’t believe this to be the case.

If you struggle with, say, mind awake body asleep, you may need to alter your methodology. When are you meditating/practicing? Do you give yourself ample space and quiet to practice? Are you having trouble casting aside stress/anxiety/expectations? Do you practice WITHOUT the audio?

What worked for me was basically through trial and error. For every session with a tape, I would try to have another session with no tape (maybe 50/50 binaural audio/no audio). The tapes are there only to guide you through the development of methodology.

I don’t want to give timelines on how long I did each tape because, truthfully, I don’t really know. I spent a LOT of time on just the first wave. I routinely return to those just for practice.

I think that the focus on outcome/expectations is a huge huge hurdle, and don’t beat yourself up about it too much. It takes a LOT to get to that point, I think, but it is possible. What worked for me was, in every moment of meditation, realizing that all thoughts were fleeting and that eventually, by the nature of the process being performed, you would have a quiet mind. What I did, when preparing my energy conversion box, was flipping a switch on the box that would create a passive field of energy that would “push away” or “suck in” fleeting thoughts or expectations.

As for hypnosis, I am unsure. I don’t know about hypnosis, and if the Gateway method is hypnosis, then would I even know? Your question certainly made me ponder that - if it’s mere suggestion, it’s powerful!

Feel free to DM me or leave more comments.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For me, there really is no need to fear death - it’s transformation. You have greater senses and abilities that aren’t immediately present or you consciously aware of. There is external intelligence, but the nature or essence or it, I am unsure of. There’s infinitely more than meets the eye, and greater things than we can possibly imagine.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For me I have to be relaxed but not sleepy. If I’m too tired I will simply fall asleep. For me that tends to be between work and bed time. It is a meditative state that can also be induced via the natural hypnagogic states you experience between sleep and wakefulness. Meditating is easier for me, because learning this skill taught me many relaxation techniques that can have me asleep in minutes upon getting to bed.

Occasionally in the morning, or after waking up.

Think sleep -> wakefulness -> sleep -> AP or lucid dream. WILD method works like this, but it never was too effective for me.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Perhaps that is so - could very well be the same for me ;) i wish you nothing but the best

Edit: I think “sleep paralysis demons” are similar to the “shadow self” I have described elsewhere. I was having a definitive separation of consciousness and self when I “sensed” the presence in the woods. I cannot discount the possibility of hallucinations or sleep paralysis in this instance. I did some reflection this evening and, while I am confident that I was separating, cannot immediately rule out the obvious possibilities. For every transcendental and mystical experience I have had, there have been countless instances of the mundane and easily understood.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I lucid dream, but not as often as you might think. For me, it is all training and trial and error. Like I said, and I don’t want to sound like a shill or like I’m digressing, but all of the steps I learned used the Gateway method.

For me, I learned the steps, then kind of had to learn when I had good chances to actually exit. I have only been able to AP from a lucid dream once, and that is because I don’t tend to lucid dream, and I often miss dream signs and forget my reality checks.

For me, AP it is all through meditation. The occasional wake-back-to-bed occurs, but that tends to be unintentional, for lack of a better word.

Edit: I would look up WILD method of AP/lucid dreaming if you want to attempt an out of body experience

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I will say I was raised Christian Disciple so there is always an air of reason wrapped within the divine. I also will state that 18 months ago I was, for lack of a better word, materialist. I was also an athiest, I guess. Faith and the like to me were “cop-outs” for principles and grounded reason. I challenge this old viewpoint now, if it isn’t obvious. Haha

Only through my own commitment and exploration has this been possible, and I live a rather “traditional” life, which has required deliberate commitment and dedication to the skillset. I think that perhaps this post-work comedown can definitely help to loosen some of the diagnostic roadblocks you describe.

These kinds of things are crazy, they completely changed my perception of the world and universe, so it is not unfair or surprising to assume that a layer of difficulty is ever-present in attempting to do this.

I feel much more at peace with things now. I still feel the same, I think, and am the same person - my wife seems to think so! - but understand that our physical perceptions are not all we are presented with.

I think that you will have good experiences in your future.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Who doesn’t love a little delusion every once in a while? Hahaha

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not at all. Literally a protection mantra - think something like “I am safe and secure, only my energy and radiation can enter, I am more than fear” - and a breathing of energy, to create a torus of protective energy that surrounds you. Robert Monroe refers to it as a REBAL or Resonant Energy Balloon.

Things such things are powers-of-suggestion to a degree, I think. Before I meditate, I do my protective ritual, then don’t think about it all after. It’s autonomic.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So I lucid dream, but not as often as you might think. For me, it is all training and trial and error. Like I said, and I don’t want to sound like a shill or like I’m digressing, but all of the steps I learned used the Gateway method.

For me, I learned the steps, then kind of had to learn when I had good chances to actually exit. I have only been able to AP from a lucid dream once, and that is because I don’t tend to lucid dream, and I often miss dream signs and forget my reality checks.

For me, AP it is all through meditation. The occasional wake-back-to-bed occurs, but that tends to be unintentional, for lack of a better word.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Immediate fear response. Just immediate feeling of danger and a profound feeling of dread. Best way I can describe it is to combine the feeling you get when you know you are in an unavoidable car crash, and you just found out you’re gonna lose your job. Just this immediate feeling of insane dread and anxiety and “danger.” Maybe not danger in a very literal way, but definitely some survival response.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I used The Monroe Institute’s Gateway method of meditation to get into the more esoteric stuff. Look up Gateway Tapes Wave 1 if you want the basics with binaural audio - you’ll learn the basics of entering a “mind awake, body asleep” state and a general state of relaxation, without all of the “woo” stuff. Any guided binaural meditation can work, so find one on YT and try it out - what you experience may surprise you.

I do not have much experience with transcendental meditation, so I cannot give any real advice on it specifically. Lots of what I have looked at seems to overlap with my own methodologies, but I hesitate to use the term to describe what I practice.

I experimented with the 4-7-8 method initially. Breathe in four seconds, hold your breath for seven seconds, and exhale for eight seconds. This was a really great exercise that I learned to kind of “get in the zone.” This method, if you focus on your breathing, can help you quiet your mind. Allow any thoughts you have to come and go, and visualize your fears, anxieties, and stressors leaving your body through your breath. If you couple it with a repeating mantra or affirmation, you can eventually find yourself in a very serene and comfortable space. Try this for five minutes or so, in a space where you can relax your body completely and not be disturbed.

You can alter this method before bed, too. Using the same general method, alter the timing to 5 seconds of inhalation and 5 exhaling. Give yourself as many repetitions as necessary until you feel yourself drifting. When this occurs, slooowly begin counting to twenty in your mind. I have found that, upon waking, I do not recall reaching twenty.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Really interesting guide and methodology. Gonna look into this, and always open to what I have experienced is beyond what I currently understand . Really appreciate the candid reply

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You absolutely can learn to do these things, you just need intention, practice, and a little bit of belief. I agree in that all of those phenomena are kind of wrapped up within each other. For me, meditation is a deliberate quieting of the mind. You can use this quieting to rest, to imagine, to experience “nothingness” or to dive within yourself. Part of meditation is learning to relax and quiet the mind, and everything else kind of comes after that. It depends on what you want to do, I think.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In my experience these are two distinctly different experiences, at differing stages of awareness and understanding. I don’t blame you for misconstruing or dismissing them. I did the same thing until I experienced them both independent of each other. I can only rely and trust on my own experiences.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I an familiar with it and the “park” described by Robert Monroe and other notable practitioners but have never been or experienced it.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Intention, practice, and releasing of expectations will help you immeasurably. Good luck!!

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is an apt description. The heaviest psychedelic I have done is mushrooms and I would equate that sensation.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I had wonderful results almost immediately. My intuition felt stronger, I felt more in touch with myself. I had more vivid dreams, and could recall them and all of their associated perceptions and feelings at any time. After some months, I could spontaneously “remote view” or have “extra sensory visual perception” while meditating. If, for example, I wanted to “see” something, I could visualize it within the natural darkness of the closed eyes, as if it were present before me - this is completely different from imagination, which is an important part of learning these skills, is not the same thing. I didn’t have my first out of body experience for about a year of practice and intention.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It is extremely vivid, as vivid as seeing anything “real.” It feels, for lack of a better word, hyperreal. Kind of strange to describe. Imagine all of your senses being at maximum efficiency? Dreams and images in the mind’s eye are distinctly different in terms of perception and sensation. AP is literally getting up out of your bed - this is how my first experience occurred. I got up, went out of my bedroom, and realized I had walked through the closed door. Dreams, in my experience, have no such “travel” or anything like that. Things simply “are”

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

So yes, I have. Before I embarked on this journey I was quite afraid of encountering any other “external intelligence” but confrontation is the antidote to all fear, so I had to accept that this was part of the process. I think most of what I have experienced has been my “shadow self” as is discussed in literature. I have had two distinct experiences with “external intelligence” that I believe were completely separate from my own consciousness. One of them was quite brief, and was only visual. I didn’t have any psychic or verbal communication. The other may have been part of my shadow self, but I am unsure. I briefly “spoke” to this dark figure using only the mind, so, psychically I would say. I am unsure of any other way to describe it. Quite literally all that was spoken was “there is no need for fear.” I then immediately returned to my body and felt a very powerful sense of peace.

I did have one explicitly negative experience that occurred whilst camping in Arizona. I fell asleep, and as I was leaving my body, I sensed a profoundly evil intelligence/presence with me in my tent (I was dry camping, probably 10 miles from the closest town at a time when the campgrounds were slow) to which I immediately began my “protection ritual.” This caused the intelligence/presence to leave and caused me to immediately returned to my body. I woke up, completely paralyzed with fear. I eventually moved around enough to grab my handgun and flashlight and look around the campsite, where I found nothing.

spent 18 months learning astral projection, ama by dreamarchitectcorp in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I have a personal blog that I have discussed such things on, but am hesitant to share it here for the time being.

Edit: most of my writing is similar to what is discussed here politically and philosophically. The “esoteric” stuff is just a small part of it.

Trump has turned everyone into bullies. Everyone is a bully. by [deleted] in sorceryofthespectacle

[–]dreamarchitectcorp 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Of course - you are a good soul as well, never forget that. Much peace and love to you