Sensory Deprivation & Astral Projection

[IllusiveOwl]

For some time now it has been a goal of mine to leave my body while in meditation and I feel I am getting close to that goal.

The primary method that has helped me advance the most towards success in the process has been the addition of sensory deprivation to my meditation practice.

I have about a year and a half of daily meditation under my belt, usually ranging from 20 - 60 minutes, sometimes longer, with only one spontaneous Samadhi-esque suprasensory experience having occurred. Within the last few months I began to add a banishing ritual to cleanse the meditation chamber, assembled an elaborate altar, and have been experimenting with grounding rings to boost focus unconsciously.

I have experimented lightly with Sensory deprivation, but today I believe I found a very dependable set up. I wanted to share it in case any of you wanted to try it yourselves, and also if any of you have experience with this, to share your own rigs / findings.

First, I do a LBPR with my black catalyst switchblade, then assume full lotus on my black meditation pillow. I do my procedure for lighting candals before my idols and offer incense, before taking a ring I leave charging before each idol. Then I put in ear plugs, dawn a 100% effective blindfold, and put on a black rubber gas mask I got from a surplus store. I hold a porcelain lotus in my hands and meditate.

The focus this experience gave me was instant and potent. My whole body went numb faster than usual and the background pain of the position helped my focus on bodily seperation a great deal. After a short period of heavy breathing, I felt completely disconnected from my body and began to experience bright swirling and elaborately changing light.

This feels like the edge of real progress, I believe as my focus becomes more refined (I kept falling back into focusing on thoughts and analysis, pulling me out of it) I will achieve genuine Out of Body Experience.

Again, feel free to share your own experiences with sensory deprivation below

 

[Aeternus]

That's excellent to hear my friend @IllusiveOwl ! May the Universe bless you in your astral projection practice, as well as with other practice as well.

As for my experience with sensory deprivation, it was wonderful. I entered trance then visualized myself gradually uplifting myself from my body. Destination was Heaven and I gradually visualized myself leaving my physical body, and I soon reached the Pearly Gates. It was wonderful.

After I finished what I wanted to do in Heaven (see how it looks like on the inside and talk with my Guardian Angel in an even more profound way), I visualized myself exiting the Pearly Gates with the same respect that I entered them, and then, gradually entering back my physical body.

And one other astral experience, shorter this time, was when I was searching for an elemental imbalance that was causing me some problems. I visualized my physical body laying on the ground like you would do when you want to form a snow angel, and my astral body like a mirror which would show me, in a very detailed manner, all my elemental status. And I saw tidal waves which indicated water, some hot fire den which indicated fire element, a whirlpool, more like a tornado which indicated air element, and I also saw some wild west sand-like structure, that indicated Earth.

Hope you enjoyed reading this! I love astral projection as it is wonderful and can lead to tons of discoveries

 

[szamatlii]

For some time now it has been a goal of mine to leave my body while in meditation and I feel I am getting close to that goal.

The primary method that has helped me advance the most towards success in the process has been the addition of sensory deprivation to my meditation practice.

I have about a year and a half of daily meditation under my belt, usually ranging from 20 - 60 minutes, sometimes longer, with only one spontaneous Samadhi-esque suprasensory experience having occurred. Within the last few months I began to add a banishing ritual to cleanse the meditation chamber, assembled an elaborate altar, and have been experimenting with grounding rings to boost focus unconsciously.

I have experimented lightly with Sensory deprivation, but today I believe I found a very dependable set up. I wanted to share it in case any of you wanted to try it yourselves, and also if any of you have experience with this, to share your own rigs / findings.

First, I do a LBPR with my black catalyst switchblade, then assume full lotus on my black meditation pillow. I do my procedure for lighting candals before my idols and offer incense, before taking a ring I leave charging before each idol. Then I put in ear plugs, dawn a 100% effective blindfold, and put on a black rubber gas mask I got from a surplus store. I hold a porcelain lotus in my hands and meditate.

The focus this experience gave me was instant and potent. My whole body went numb faster than usual and the background pain of the position helped my focus on bodily seperation a great deal. After a short period of heavy breathing, I felt completely disconnected from my body and began to experience bright swirling and elaborately changing light.

This feels like the edge of real progress, I believe as my focus becomes more refined (I kept falling back into focusing on thoughts and analysis, pulling me out of it) I will achieve genuine Out of Body Experience.

Again, feel free to share your own experiences with sensory deprivation below

Holy FUCK, man. Ever gone into a real tank somewhere? I've definitely thought about them in a spooky sense.

 

[IllusiveOwl]

Ever gone into a real tank somewhere?

Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity, but if I did I would like to be blindfolded and ear plugged, that has helped a lot with centering awareness. Being in a tank ought to be easy to Astral project in since youre already floating, and no need to fear body aches or numbness.

I would like to say the gas-mask is very effective and has improved my overall daily meditation. It's like the gas mask emphasizes the alien nature of our faces and the mechanical foreign-ness of our breath at first meditation was an exercise in resisting boredom but now it's... so much more, exercising muscles I never dreamed of having.

The senses are all distractions, the 5 senses are the 5 wounds of Christ up on his cross. Sensory deprivation'll help you trance beyond your slave-self, I believe you are also interested in Trance states, so it could be a useful avenue for you. Mixing in psychedelics would be interesting too, typical psychedelic-psychotherapy is conducted with the patient blindfolded with headphones on.

 

[szamatlii]

Going to keep all of this in mind, but I think the gas mask idea might be a bit much for me. At least now lol.

Maybe next time I go to the tanks, I'll leave the music and lights off and try some meditation. My first and only session was essentially big boy bath time. Could even stop at the store and get some mushrooms before my next float. Been at least a year, and I'm starting to feel the... fungal itch.

 

[IllusiveOwl]

Could even stop at the store and get some mushrooms before my next float.

Ah, if you are early into your meditation practice, perhaps it may be good to wait before enhancing it, you don't want to wind up like Terrence M in the south American jungles trying to conduct reality breaking experiments using your voice atop a mountain. You need to empty your cup first, before pouring new insights therein, otherwise what you have and what you learn may not mix well...

the gas mask idea might be a bit much for me.

I am a bit curious where the trepidation comes from! Maybe I am just a little too masochistic, I have confronted the actual terror of "I am dying, this is the end" one too many times to understand fear of a little darkness.

I'll leave the music and lights off

I transitioned slowly to meditation as well, back before I had my first experiences of "actual" consciousness, I would lay in the tub with incense and listen to Ram Das / Alan W like a noob and often music as well. It's a transition, but the goal is to get in touch with yourself. It's hard to do that when focus is being guided and hijacked by emotions dancing to a tune.

I suggest Zazen meditation, just sit. No goal, no insights, just learn how to only sit. You are capable of so much, but you are a slave to your thoughts, opinions, emotions; you are guided by them like a dog on a leash. Silence is freedom, to reference the Platform Sutra, meditation and wisdom are like a lamp and it's flame, one cannot exist without the other.

 

[szamatlii]

I am a bit curious where the trepidation comes from! Maybe I am just a little too masochistic, I have confronted the actual terror of "I am dying, this is the end" one too many times to understand fear of a little darkness.

I just know having something stuck to my face would be uncomfortable for me. I'll have to look into Zazen, though. Need a good starting point in meditation without a doubt.

 

[IllusiveOwl]

I just know having something stuck to my face would be uncomfortable for me.

Perhaps this fear of discomfort is something to look into! Historically shamans would dance to exhaustion, cause themselves great pain and take overwhelming drugs to trance; these were very uncomfortable methods as well, just like sitting in lotus could become really agonizing after a time. Pain and discomfort mean nothing to me now and my life is much more peaceful for it.

In meditation, the best thing to do is to focus on the pain, meditate on your discomfort. See what it really is, see how data your brain is communicating to you actually affects you. The way out is through, to transcend pain you must make it your focus.

Besides, physical pain is nothing compared to existential or cosmic pain. To become invulnerable, you must temper yourself from a slab of iron into steel, through fire and hammering. To let go or fear, you first need to be grasping it in your hands. The spirit is, of course, more invulnerable than anything else, but to discover it first everything else must be stripped away.

Need a good starting point in meditation without a doubt

I started my practice with just 10 minutes a day. It's nessecary to build up to a full 45 minutes, then once you actually start enjoying it, you can do it at your leisure.

If you would like audio to meditate to, I highly suggest this female monk's channel, she reads from several different traditions, but the message is the same:

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Post automatically merged: Aug 12, 2024

Update to method:

Just realized I could swap ear-plugs out with earbuds. For those interested in hrz and the Gateway process, using earbuds under the gas mask with a blindfold was very interesting, I have only experimented with 7.8 hrz so far.

Post automatically merged: Aug 12, 2024

Update: I've heard interesting things about 110 hrz, I'll be trying that soon.