Astral experience during grad school
 

I had a weird experience once. In grad school, I took a nap one afternoon and between a waking and sleeping state I looked down at my body and there was like a spirit body, attached at an angle to my head. I nearly woke up at the moment when this other part of me was about to fly off. And the hinge was at my head. I even played with it a little, making my "feet" go up and down.

I'm not given to hallucinations and no drugs or alcohol were involved. This was an indication, to me, that there is, indeed, a spirit body, and one which may travel about when one sleeps. And by extension, if there is a spirit body then all kinds of other things may be true.

I ordered the Robert Monroe books and read the samples on Amazon. Does my experience not support his thesis?

Being involved in the radio industry at the time, Robert had a strong belief that we are sensitive to different frequencies. You'll see this in his books, as well as what is being taught at the Monroe Institute. Ultimately, out-of-body experience do not necessarily require different frequency inputs, although it may help.
You'll notice that you were not exposed to any frequency inputs during your
experience. A closer examination of what you WERE exposed to might help you get into a separation the next time--questions might be: Were you very tired at the time? What were you doing just before this experience? Do you meditate frequently? (perhaps your mind was clear of "clutter" and was open to the experience).
Two things: please continue to examine and experiment, and keep us advised!
Rob

Thanks for your response. The paperback copy of Far Journeys just arrived, but at present I don't know what "frequency inputs" are. I was in a master's program for violin performance. Lots of frequencies there!!

This occurred c. 1997, have never formally meditated much, and I was young back then so probably not tired, really, only tired enough to need to take a nap in the afternoon.

iv had ths happn 2 wen i had nap sean thng no 1 els can

After experiencing the spirit body many times in my life, I find it humorous to remember that not everyone is aware of this truth. Yes, your experience does support Monroe’s (and others’ throughout the centuries) thesis. The fact is, it is not all that subjective to those of us who have experienced it. There are certain consistent elements. Just spend some time browsing this forum (of course with some mild skepticism in some instances). It is my opinion, based on personal experiences and observations, that there is nothing “pseudo” about this science. It is quantum physics, and we are the few fortunate to experience it in more than a theoretical way.

Also, I enjoyed the first two Monroe books a great deal.

I started the second book but haven't gotten past the sample pages I read on Amazon. My incident was very real. It wasn't a dream. Odd awarenesses do occur in that place between sleeping and waking. [Sometimes I used to hear my (deceased) mother's voice, calling my name.] That would be one so-called sane explanation, but it really was not a mere dream.

I guess one or more of the three books indicate how to go about doing this? Little scary doing it on my own. Hope it doesn't cause any problems. Psychologically, or philosophically, I'm a free thinker in the tradition of Bertrand Russell/Dawkins/Hitchens/Harris, et.al., so if I come to find validity in this, it's a big change.

Monroe didn't like the term, astral projection, but preferred OOBE, so I guess it's better to use that?

Googled and found a very long thread on a sceptics board. Do not yet have the privilege of posting the URL.

What this indicates to me is that while all of this is new to me, there is nothing I could say, report, learn or contribute, which would actually be new within the literature on the subject. It's easy to forget that. It's also true that there are lots of folks who write clearly and beautifully, also easy to forget.

But I'm not seeking attention; I just wonder what the truth is. This may well be a function of the fear of approaching old age. And not just for me personally.

The "frequency inputs" are aural, generally provided through headphones. If you attend the Monroe Institute, they place you in a controlled chamber with headphones and adjust frequencies--there's much more to it than that, as you will see in your readings.
Good luck and hang in there...please keep us posted.

I agree. It wasn’t a dream. His preference for the term OOBE is the reason I like Monroe so much. He avoids sensationalized terms.