Miscellaneous Astral Case Histories
by Robert Bruce
Waking Paralysis Related Case Histories:
#1: Ms. E:
Ms. E. I had another spontaneous, unwanted, OBE a few days ago. I was sitting in for a Maths lecture to take a nap (I don't take Mathematics) and was feeling very cold, rather hungry and miserable as I tried to fall asleep. Since I felt guarded trying to nap, I was thus fully conscious while trying to sleep. Then it happened again! That inexorable "falling" or "drifting apart" sensation and before I knew it, I was racing forward at this crazy speed. Goodness know to where.
I 'instinctively' knew I was floating a few feet in the air, and I could 'actually feel' my astral body being whizzed away from my physical!!!! At that moment I thought unhappily to myself - "oh, no, its happening again!!" Then I tried to get out of it, pulling and dragging myself back mentally, but my physical body was absolutely paralyzed (once again).
I could "see" what was happening all through this! It was rather bright (like the lecture theatre at the time), but greyish with "stars" and bright dots everywhere, and I was in a tunnel of some kind. I was still very aware of being inside my body which was slumped over the desk, while about 70% of my consciousness resided in my projected body. I could also see myself whizzing away from where I actually was, seen from inside my physical body, into this awesome tunnel. At first I only whizzed headfirst into the tunnel, and I knew I was only looking ahead. After a second or two, when I desperately tried to look back at where my desk was, I turned my head around, but then as I looked back, I realized to my absolute astonishment that I could see 'all' around me at once, all at the same time!! My attention was focused on looking behind me, but I could also see all around myself at the same time. The best analogy I could use was that I was some sort of ball (of light???!!) and could see all around myself. I felt smaller than usual, definitely weightless, and much less clumsy.
Comments:
The above case history shows a very interesting paralysis-cum-projection experience, with a mixed bag of sensations and perceptions. These came from a fully paralyzed physical body as well as from its projected double, both at the same time. While no vibrations were evident here, it does show the warning signs of the onset of a waking paralysis episode and the link between this and spontaneous projection (the sinking feeling marking separation and exit) from Ms. E's deeply relaxed but awake state. A tube-type of projection exit occurred here (probably brow centre related) against Ms. E's will. Ms. E also experienced the mind-split effect (dual existence) first-hand, and was aware of existing in two bodies at the same time. Ms. E was fully aware of being out of her body, but was also aware of being inside her paralyzed physical body slumped at her desk. Astral sight was also experienced from within the paralyzed physical/etheric body, as was spherical vision from within the projected double.
#2: Mr. T.S.:
Mr. TS: Just before all the strange sensations, I was focusing on my body, trying to bring each part into a deeper level of relaxation, for a planned projection attempt. I then felt a numb pressure, a strong but gentle force pressing into the centre of my forehead. This was quite relaxing and soon my whole forehead began tingling. I tried to expand that feeling through my body, moving it down into my chest. As I did I felt a strong wave of vertigo - like I had lost my sense of up and down. I also felt rather nauseous and began to feel very hot. I felt very uncomfortable at this point and tried to remove the covers and get my bearings, but I found I was paralyzed and couldn't move a muscle. It was as though my body weighed a ton. After a few minutes and a lot of effort I suddenly regained motion, and as soon as I did all the strange sensations vanished. Other than the heat (and to a degree the nausea), it was not an uncomfortable episode, in fact the sensations were rather exciting.
Comments:
While there were no feelings of fear, dread or presence in the above case history, there was excitement and total physical paralysis, plus other sensations associated with a projection being in full progress during this whole waking paralysis episode. The pressure and tingling this man felt in his brow area point to his brow centre being very active during this projection, indicating this is probably his most naturally active primary energy centre. I'd say he succeeded with his projection attempt, but lost the shadow memories held by his projected double during reintegration. I would say the moment of separation was marked by the wave of vertigo he felt. His experience was centred in his physical/etheric body the whole time, creating strong physical memories (excitement) which would have contributed to the failed shadow memory download during reintegration. The nausea and heat he experienced, while unusual for a projection attempt, are typical of heavy energy movement sensations coursing through the physical/etheric body. The discomfort these sensations caused indicates energy blockages and narrowed energy pathways are present. These sensations would, I suspect, gradually ease during subsequent projections, through the forced type of energetic development this causes.
#3: Ms. P:
Ms. P: Paralysis episodes have been happening to me since I was a small child (I'm 40'ish now) and they seem to happen in "clusters". In other words, I might not have anything for months, and then many will happen in a short period of time. They usually come during my sleep at night, waking me up, but have also happened while trying to nap during the day.
I actually projected once during the day, which was a wonderful experience and quite different from the paralysis I normally get.
Here's what usually happens: during sleep, my normal dream state seems to take on a bizarre or sinister twist and I'm overcome with fear - because I know what comes next! The dream (of whatever) ceases, and the vibrations start. As they increase in intensity, I find myself completely heavy and totally paralyzed in my physical body...and at the same time very frightened. Sometimes it feels as though an evil entity is trying to overtake my body. At this point I feel a primal scream coming from the very depths of my soul, as if to save myself. Apparently, I do actually yell out and cry at times, as my husband reports that he frequently has to wake me because I'm having a bad dream. The moment he touches me, or I am able to move even a little finger, its all over. But I am left with a sense of dread and uneasiness, although I am then wide awake. And the funny thing is, if I go right back to sleep, it will happen again...as if the first episode wasn't complete.
I've tried everything over the years, including fighting it, accepting and relaxing into it, surrounding myself with white light, praying before sleep, commanding it to stop, and actually wanting and trying to consciously project -- nothing works. Those times in which I really try and relax into it and just let it happen seem to be the most frustrating, because it feels like such an effort and struggle, and then nothing happens - I just end up getting paralyzed again.
The most dramatic time, the time that I did get out, was quite pleasant, although it was extremely brief and during the daytime. This particular time, I was napping in my bed during the day, and suddenly the vibrations started. This time was different, though, I seemed to roll over right through the frame of my waterbed, and it felt as if I was hovering right by the side of my bed. But I didn't feel completely out, it seemed as if the lower part of my body was still attached. I remember looking at my night stand, the floor, and other things in the immediate area. They seemed to "glow" with a blue colour. Then I was able to lift my hand and look at it, and as I did, I realized that this was the "real" thing, and I felt very happy and excited...then it was over. For the rest of the day, I walked around on cloud nine, almost as if this were concrete proof to me that there is an afterlife. I was very elated.
Comments:
This above case history shows fairly severe and repeating waking paralysis. Ms. P appears to have fairly strong natural projection abilities, but has obviously become intimidated by the fear her frequent bouts of paralysis are causing; which is quite understandable. It is also quite possible that emotional feedback is playing a significant part here. This is compounding her natural fears, causing an emotional tug-of-war between her dream mind, etheric mind and her projected double, in varying combinations. The latter part of this letter also shows the marked differences between night and day projection, and how much less fear is caused during daylight projections. She thoroughly enjoyed her one remembered daytime projection and experienced no fear at all. This strongly suggests that her natural fears are contributing to or even creating the underlying conditions which are causing her waking paralysis episodes. Of note, her hand did not melt when she looked at it, but it is possible she did not look at it for long enough to cause the melting hands effect.
Miscellaneous Case Histories:
#1: Ms. S:
A - Ms. S: I got up early one morning to go to the bathroom. When I returned to bed my body felt tingly and fuzzy all over. I lay down and after about ten seconds I felt a strong sinking feeling. When the sinking feeling stopped I felt as if I was moving inside of myself. I then had the most distinct feeling of leaving my body and then of hovering in the air above my bed. I felt disorientated and my vision was distorted (I think I was seeing in all directions at the same time). I had no body. I was a point of consciousness. I wasn't sure how to move (I've since read your 'Treatise on OBE -- 1994). After a few seconds, I was suddenly pulled back inside my body, but I never felt myself re-enter. I raised my head, laid it back on the pillow and began the process again. I left my body four times that morning. I was really excited because everything felt so real.
B: For the last few nights I've been trying to get out using the Rope Method. I lay on my bed and feel myself climbing the rope. Its hard for me to stay still for long because I start to get an extremely ticklish sensation (especially my face) and sometimes it feels as if parts of my face are twitching. Eventually, it gets unbearable and I have to scratch, which breaks my trance. Also, if I do feel that something is really happening, I get a surge of fear and excitement in my chest. I think this also hurts my chances of getting out, but I'm not sure what to do about it. At times I get the subtle feeling that the sinking energy feeling is about to start, however, as soon as I have this realization the feeling subsides. Its as if realizing that the sinking feeling is about to occur prevents it from happening.
Comments:
A. I would hazard a guess that this lady had an OBE already in progress while she went to the bathroom. When she returned to bed her projected double appears to have returned and immediately exited again (sinking feeling) taking her center of consciousness with it this time.
B. While managing spontaneous exits well, this is a good example of how heavy Cobweb sensations can ruin an otherwise successful projection through distraction. The torso energy surge is also quite evident here. This all indicates Susan is very close to succeeding at conscious exit projection, despite all these problems. (See Astral Dynamics for more information on Cobweb phenomenon, and how to overcome it)
#2: Mr. C:
Mr. C: I lay on my back in bed and went through my relaxation techniques and my body went completely numb and felt very heavy. At the point where I start to actually project I realized I was having a projection and my heart jumps in excitement and shocked me back to my physical body. My heart felt like it was going 150 plus. Next time, I was just relaxing and not intending to have a projection. All at once my astral body rose out of my physical body at what felt like a 90 degree angle. Like a SNAP. Then I knew again where I was about to go. All of a sudden thunderous lightning sounds tingled and crackled loudly all around me. I struggled to maintain this place, but faltered and slipped back again, in excitement, into my physical body.
Comments:
The above experience shows some fairly heavy exit sensations, with heavy thrumming and surging of emotional energy through the chest and heart center, plus loud astral noises ruining an otherwise successful projection. The surge of emotional energy through the chest area and the problems this can cause are also quite evident here.
#3: Mr. T:
Mr. T: I have tried to project many times, and tried energy work with my chakras, but have never quite managed to get out of my body. I did have some very interesting experiences though: I could definitely feel energy coming up through my legs, and could feel my base chakra pulsating and throbbing. When I get into the trance state, my arms and legs feel strange and enlarged, as if they are floating, and I can't tell if they are touching anything, or upside down or which way they are. I think I have started to separate from my body a few times, but each time this happened I think "Wow, something might happen this time" and my excitement ruins it. A few other times I have just been lying in bed trying to get to sleep and it has just started happening. I feel this incredible rush of energy go right through my body, very strong in my chest area, then once again I get excited and think "Wow, something is really happening and I'm not even trying", and this ruins it again.
Comments:
This is a good example of energy movement up the legs and strong physical sensations in the base center. The emotional energy surge is especially strong here and appears to be causing most of the problems. It also shows how reacting to the torso energy surge by becoming excited can ruin an otherwise successful projection exit. Conscious exit projection, or even going along with a spontaneous projection exit, requires a delicate mental balancing act. The physical body and its mind and emotions must be kept under strict control at all times. Emotional reactions to the projection reflex are especially troublesome for new projectors.
#4: Mr. F:
Mr. F: Recently, I was sleeping in a tent and had a strange experience. I became totally relaxed, and then started to feel this energy, a really light energy, all through my body. I felt this very strongly in my hands. I lay very still, thinking about nothing for several minutes. Then, I felt these really strong vibrations and thought "I can go out of my body now!" My vision changed from pitch black to blurry white. It was really freaky. At the same time, I felt the definite sensation of my upper body slowly moving out of my regular body. The weird part was that I was in control and could feel the essence of being in two bodies at the same time. My heart then started pounding really fast and I got scared. This ended the experience.
Comments:
The above experience shows strong energetic sensations, vibrations and energy movement in the hands and up the arms (two main energy conduits into the upper body and the higher primary centers). Partial astral vision is experienced prior to the projection (blurry white). It also shows a mild sensation of duality caused by the mind-split at close range and of fear caused by normal exit sensations (racing heart center) ruining an otherwise successful spontaneous conscious exit projection.
#5: Mixed Experience - "Ms. S"
This case history illustrates some confusing aspects of projection, and how dream memories often become mixed with projection memories. I have broken this up into parts A & B, to clarify my comments on each part. (I will be using this format with all case histories in this book)
Ms S: A: After trying your new rope technique, I suddenly became aware of myself floating 5 feet above my body. I was paralyzed and scared and couldn't move. Strong vibrations were travelling throughout my body. A black hole appeared near me and I started really zipping through it. I suddenly realized I was in the stages of a full astral projection and panicked. Fear of what was happening stopped the process.
B: I woke up half an hour later, then finally went back to sleep and began what I thought was lucid dreaming. In the lucid dream I decided to practice my flying. I went outside, ran and jumped into the air and was soon flying very high and fast. Suddenly I felt my real body back in bed and the flying/falling sensation became much stronger. At first I was scared, but then decided to go with it. Suddenly, I was back in my physical body, briefly, and was then catapulted out of my body again and was left standing (wobbly sea legs and all) in my bedroom facing my dresser. I was so excited! I knew I was out of my body in what you have called the real time zone! I decided not to go too far or to stay out too long (taking your advice to keep it ultra short) so I returned to my physical body. I lay on top of my physical body, expecting to be reunited with it immediately. My projected double seemed not to connect with my physical body right away, so I decided to go back out again. The moment I had the thought I popped right out again. I turned around to look at my body on the bed but could not see it, but I did see my husband clearly in bed beside me. My attention was then drawn to a bright light coming from my side of the bed. As I looked closer, I discovered a long rectangular TV screen playing Mickey Mouse cartoons. I was amused. I couldn't wait to tell my husband, so I laid down to re-enter my body again. It took a few minutes to get settled back into my body. I patiently waited, not scared at all. Several times I lifted my astral arms out to see if I was back, and could see them clearly each time. I started counting and feeling for and wiggling my toes and then, suddenly, I was back in my body. I woke my husband to tell him "I DID IT!!!"
Comments:
A: This first part shows waking paralysis, but as felt from the projected double's side. I'd say its possible the physical body was also awake and paralyzed at this time, but the memories of this seem to have been lost here. Ms. S's projected double may have been picking up the vibrations and paralysis from her physical body. Some degree of emotional feedback (fear and anxiety) seems to be at work here, possibly causing paralysis - the most likely scenario. The projected double's side of these memories has replaced the physical body's side after this part of the experience ended. This also shows the start of an astral tunnel or tube type experience. If Ms. S had gone with this she would have definitely ended up somewhere within the astral planes.
B: This shows how strong physical sensations, often felt during a projection exit, can be equally felt from within dreams, lucid dreams and projections. This also shows the strong, often visceral connections which exists between all these states of being. And, how a dream or lucid dream can be converted into a projection if the projector initiates and/or goes with the projection sensations when they occur, i.e.., falling, vibrations and other projection related sensations. This experience also shows how Lucid Dreams and projections can happen at the same time, and how these will often become mixed during the memory download into the physical brain - all contributing to the final memory set.
This experience shows the wisdom of keeping early projections ultra short. Ms. S's missing physical body and the Mickey Mouse on TV part shows how reality fluctuations can occur during a projection. Ms. S studied the area where her physical body should have been, maybe a little too closely, possibly causing this reality fluctuation. Ms. S's subconscious mind may, on the other hand, have been unable to accept the possibility of seeing another Ms.S. It may have created the TV set when it hid her physical body.
If Ms. S had not re-entered her body so quickly after the exit I doubt she would have recalled any part of this experience - reentry was difficult enough as it was. I would say Ms. S's physical/etheric mind had only lightly fallen asleep and was a fair way off the deep-sleep state. A very early light-sleep state is the perfect time for the projected double to reenter its physical body and cause it to wake or partially wake. This maximizes the chances of shadow memory recall. Working out this perfect time is quite difficult though, as everyone slides into sleep, and through the various stages of sleep, at different rates.
#6: Duality experience - "Mr. S"
This next case history shows duality, a symptom of the mind-split, being experienced during a real time projection.
Mr. S: A: I was meditating in a chair when, quite suddenly, I began to see through my closed eyelids, and could see the room around me clearly.
B: I then got up, out of my body, and was walking down the hall to see the rest of the house when the phone rang. It sounded as if I was hearing this 'twice', one ring slightly before and out of phase with the second, almost like an echo. I assumed it was because of some kind of a lag in my physical body's nerve impulses, etc, from when the ear comes in contact with the sound to when the brain recognises it as a sound. This was not a very pleasant experience, and it was something unlike anything else I had experienced previously, so I immediately sped back to my body.
C: I got out of the chair to share my experience with someone. The only person I could find had just picked up the phone and was talking on it. This was the telephone I'd heard during the OBE.
Comments:
A. This shows clear real time sight was enabled just prior to the exit, which is typical of most conscious exit projections.
B. Shows some of the effects of the mind-split, re the uncomfortable effects Mr. S experienced, indicating some mild auditory astral feedback. This was probably caused by hearing the same sound from two different but connected bodies at the same time. It also shows how real life sounds can be heard during a real time projection.
C. An apparently real life event (objective experience) was witnessed during this projection (telephone ringing) and this event was verified immediately after the projection.
Article by Robert Bruce
Copyright - Robert Bruce
Website: http://www.astraldynamics.com
Forum: http://astralresearch.com/posts/
Misc Astral Cases
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