Fluttering Eyelids - Was this REM? Was I close to achieving Astral Projection?

[Rememoration]

Ahhh, I've been that close, but I can I never really tell , because I can't see.
I have this feeling that I want to open my eyes, but when I do and try to see if I'm out I just open my actual eyes. Astral Projection's hard work, bro'. :T

Originally Posted by Rememoration

Ahhh, I've been that close, but I can I never really tell , because I can't see.
I have this feeling that I want to open my eyes, but when I do and try to see if I'm out I just open my actual eyes. Astral Projection's hard work, bro'. :T

I try to completely forget about my physical eyes and look through my third eye. It keeps me from accidentally opening my physical eyes and waking myself up. I also think it is helping to facilitate separation but that is only conjecture.

[Xanth]

Originally Posted by vagabond

I try to completely forget about my physical eyes and look through my third eye.

It's unfortunate, but a statement such as that is very confusing to people, especially beginners. The next question is "how do you look through your third eye?" ... the answer is, you don't, at least not initially.

This is why I fully endorse removing this kind of talk from this subject.

Truth is, while practicing, you DO begin by looking through your normal physical eyes. There's no way around it. They don't just "shut off" because you want or tell them to.

When you initially close your eyes you will be looking through your physical eyes into the non-uniform blackness. After a period of time of doing that and focusing yourself away from your physical senses well enough, your physical eyes will begin to shut down due to lack of visual stimulus. This is normal... at which point you'll then begin to see non-physically (I refuse to say "third eye" here since it is associated with too many mystical connotations and beliefs).

That's it really... it's just a matter of reducing your visual stimulus. Closing your eyes begins this transition. You *CAN* do it with your eyes open though. You can actually watch the process of your physical eyes shutting down. If you stare at an unchanging scene and keep your gaze from moving, you'll begin to see parts of what you're looking at "fade away". This is the act of your physical eyes shutting down... and is the goal you're aiming for with closed eyes.

Originally Posted by Xanth

It's unfortunate, but a statement such as that is very confusing to people, especially beginners. The next question is "how do you look through your third eye?" ... the answer is, you don't, at least not initially.

This is why I fully endorse removing this kind of talk from this subject.

Truth is, while practicing, you DO begin by looking through your normal physical eyes. There's no way around it. They don't just "shut off" because you want or tell them to.

When you initially close your eyes you will be looking through your physical eyes into the non-uniform blackness. After a period of time of doing that and focusing yourself away from your physical senses well enough, your physical eyes will begin to shut down due to lack of visual stimulus. This is normal... at which point you'll then begin to see non-physically (I refuse to say "third eye" here since it is associated with too many mystical connotations and beliefs).

That's it really... it's just a matter of reducing your visual stimulus. Closing your eyes begins this transition. You *CAN* do it with your eyes open though. You can actually watch the process of your physical eyes shutting down. If you stare at an unchanging scene and keep your gaze from moving, you'll begin to see parts of what you're looking at "fade away". This is the act of your physical eyes shutting down... and is the goal you're aiming for with closed eyes.

Being as the comment was from one beginner to another, I find nothing confusing about it and I think that your criticism is out of line. Those of us just beginning to expand our horizons should be able to openly discuss it with each other without being made to feel uncomfortable. I was simply stating what has been working for me, again from one beginner to another. Practically everybody has at least an idea of what the Third Eye is due to it's place in pop culture and though I do NOT disagree with your overly technical description, I find it to be much more confusing and over-thought than my remark was--as well as incredibly condescending.

[Rememoration]

I understand that there is much controversy playing around the Third Eye as a whole.
Now, I'm not exactly a beginner. I know my part in the matter, so no problem there. The comment wasn't too vague, I could understand it. :]

[Xanth]

Originally Posted by vagabond

Being as the comment was from one beginner to another, I find nothing confusing about it and I think that your criticism is out of line. Those of us just beginning to expand our horizons should be able to openly discuss it with each other without being made to feel uncomfortable.

My apologies if I sounded rude. It wasn't my aim.
I was trying to point out that everyone actually has a slightly different view of what the "third eye" is and how it relates to astral projection.

I was simply stating what has been working for me, again from one beginner to another. Practically everybody has at least an idea of what the Third Eye is due to it's place in pop culture and though I do NOT disagree with your overly technical description, I find it to be much more confusing and over-thought than my remark was--as well as incredibly condescending.

I've found that people tend to respond and learn much faster when you remove all the mystical connotations and speak with more modern ideas and such. "Third eye" isn't very modern... it's old world, mystical and very confusing to people starting out.

In the end, should someone choose to use the overly mystical metaphors, so be it. I think they're just making it even harder on themselves to learn something that's already difficult enough due to societal beliefs pushed upon us from such an early age.

Originally Posted by Rememoration

I understand that there is much controversy playing around the Third Eye as a whole.
Now, I'm not exactly a beginner. I know my part in the matter, so no problem there. The comment wasn't too vague, I could understand it. :]

Well that's just it though... ask 100 different people what they believe the third eye is and you'll either get some canned book response or 100 different answers.
I dunno about you, but that's much more confusing to me... and the reason I strive to remove all mystical concepts and ideas from this non-mystical topic.

Honestly, I've had my third eye vibrating and opening without much influence from myself. So not everyone spends time opening their third eye, also if one wants to astrally project, I think they should research first. I've projected into a dimension where it was quite frightening with dark entities of which I received very dark message that it was a dark dimenson, may have been the lowest dimension. What I'm trying to say is just be careful where you're projecting yourself :) Get yourself in a higher vibration state - start meditating everyday, eat fresh food, cut out caffeines/energy drinks and drink lots of water, start exercising to get the full effect!

[Apakhana Akshobhya]

I've had my eyelids flutter allot too, but nowhere being close to AP either so it's hard to say what is really going on. It's a physcal phenomena so I suspect it has more to do with the brain-body communication being a bit abnormal because of the state your in than it would have to do with anything else.