3. The Incredible Mind-Split

• Exactly what departs from the physical body and brain during an OBE?

• How does this happen?

• What, if anything, is left behind to watch over the sleeping physical body?

• What safeguards and protects die continuing integrity of the original copy of mind and memory during an OBE?

Many people, not surprisingly, are fearful of attempting projection because these questions have not been satisfactorily answered. Half-baked theories, assumptions, stories, legends, and myths abound.

Two early OBE researchers and authors, Sylvan Muldoon and Hereward Carrington, attempted to deal with the subject of the commonly felt perceptions of duality - of being in two bodies at the same time, during an out-of-body experience - in their book, The Projection of the Astral Body. Muldoon stated that the physical brain receiving two sets of perceptions at the same time caused dual perception.

He considered that one set came from the physical body and one from its projected double, via its silver cord connection. The sense organs of me physical body, Muldoon surmised, must continue to function even though me physical body was left empty after the projected double made a conscious exit.

For some reason, Muldoon and Carrington did not consider the possibility that consciousness could continue to function in both bodies at the same time. They assumed the physical body was left as a mindless shell during any OBE. This observation, I believe, comes from the very real perception that every projector has of separating from their physical body during a conscious-exit projection.

This empty body assumption, like a lot of early research and books on OBE and related fields, became source material for all researchers and writers that followed in their footsteps. This error in observation has been continually propagated ever since. It is today almost universally accepted that the physical body is left empty, unguarded, and exposed during any type of OBE. Many people even believe their essential spirit or soul leaves their physical body during a projection. These beliefs, quite understandably, raise real concerns about safety and integrity during an OBE.

If the mind and spirit did actually leave the physical body empty during an OBE, it would be logical to assume that this empty body could easily be vulnerable to outside interference. The possibility of psychic attack, or even of possession, would be reasonable concerns.

Over the last hundred years or so, the above empty body assumption has generated many beliefs, legends, and rituals: watcher beings, astral sentinels, and astral guardians, plus the perceived necessity for shields, magical wards, and rituals. One person I spoke to stated vehemently that all projectors must first wash in consecrated saltwater men bind themselves in iron chains to protect their supposedly empty body during a projection-or risk possession and soul damage or worse.

Because these issues have remained clouded for so long, many projectors and would-be projectors worry a great deal about what might happen if they cannot find their way back to their body, or if their silver cord were to break or become damaged, or if they were unable to get back to their bodies, or accidentally became locked out of it in some way. They worry about returning to find their physical body already occupied by an invading spirit, entity, or demon - or even by another projector, for that matter.

The experience of consciously separating from the physical body and leaving it behind can be extremely vivid and convincing. The experience of existing and operating remotely and independently from the physical body is also very distinct.

But empty body perceptions do not allow projectors to perceive the underlying mind-split effects at work, because successfully remembered conscious-exit projection allows for only one side of a projection experience to be remembered... from the projected double's side only. If a projection is unsuccessful, the memories retained come solely from the physical body's side - all shadow memories (OBE memories) are lost.

It is necessary to have memories from both sides of a single projection experience before the mind-split can be perceived for what it is. Only then can the mechanics and dynamics of the projection mechanism be truly appreciated and understood.

The integrity and safety of the physical body and of its original copy of consciousness, mind, and memory, are never jeopardized during OBE. As I will show in the coming pages, the physical body is never left empty while it lives.

The Reflecting Nature of Hind
As part of a natural process, consciousness reflects a copy of itself, outside the bounds of the physical body, either while it sleeps or during any kind of conscious OBE.

This reflection is a kind of energetic echo, containing a complete copy of consciousness, mind, and memory. It reflects into a subtle body or energetic vehicle capable of supporting and maintaining its integrity outside the bounds of the physical body. This process does not lease the physical body empty and unguarded.

The reflection of consciousness usually happens unnoticed during sleep or an OBE. The mind-split effect is not apparent even during fully conscious-exit projections, where the projectors are fully aware of their OBE from beginning to end, including the exit and reentry phases. The symptoms of the mind-split effect are often strong, and quite evident if you know what to look for. But they are seldom recognized because of the way in which the mind-split happens, and because the nature of the physical brain is to store only a single memory for any single time period.

Most people have enough trouble grasping the concept of a single projected double maintaining awake consciousness outside the bounds of the physical body. Grasping that there can be multiple reflected copies of a single mind, all existing and functioning simultaneously and independently on different dimensional levels, can take a bit of a mind flip. But that's essentially what happens.

Understanding the mind-split and the true nature of humankind's multidimensional existence is extremely important. The mind-split effect makes sense of a great deal of the often confusing and conflicting data available on OBE. It greatly simplifies the understanding of OBE, and provides insight into some of the more esoteric and mind-boggling complexities of inter-dimensional relationships and operations in general.

As I have said, it takes a bit of a mind flip to grasp the concept of there being multiple copies of a single mind, each with the potential to exist and operate independently during an OBE. Once the first level of the mind-split is grasped, the next logical step is to consider the possibility of multiple sets of memories recorded by the brain for any given time period during sleep and OBE.

This, naturally, raises questions of how the physical brain would deal with these, or even if it could cope with them at all.

• What types of memory-recording problems would this cause the poor old physical brain?

• How would this affect its overall ability to record and recall out-of-body experiences?

• And, if there are inherent problems with these memory processes, how can these be overcome to improve OBE operations and recall?

The above questions, while appearing simple, raise complex issues. When I first tried to work it all out it gave me a blinding headache!

I discovered the mind-split effect by sheer accident, during an extremely powerful projection, as told below. Subsequent experiments with the mind-split effect, sparked by this initial discovery, have since verified my original hypothesis.

Once properly understood, many of the negative effects of the mind-split on OBE recall can be worked with, or worked around, instead of being suffered in ignorance. An understanding of the mind-split effect greatly improves the chances of getting out of body to start with, even for a rank beginner. It does this by improving the likelihood that projectors will remember their OBEs after the fact. The efficiency of all aspects of out-of-body operations is, in general, also greatly improved.

I believe fully conscious OBE is nowhere near as difficult to achieve as is commonly believed today. The reason projection is considered difficult is because successful projectors usually do not perceive the mind-split and its effects. These lucky few, who have the knack of getting around the mind-split effect without even knowing what they are doing or how they are doing it, recall some of their out-of-body experiences. (No one recalls them all.)

Because these lucky few don't really know what they are doing, they cannot explain how they do it. Therefore, studying their experiences and copying their techniques will not necessarily yield the desired results.

The mind-split is the single biggest cause of OBE failure, but is virtually unknown for what it is. The mind-split leaves no trace or memory of what went wrong if a projection fails. Time and again it will turn successful OBEs into seemingly failed attempts. This thwarts the natural learning process, as it does not allow projectors to learn from their failures and thus improve upon their efforts.

Because of all this, people tend to concentrate the majority of their efforts on projection techniques, searching for just the right quick fix to launch them out of their bodies. Projection technique, while important, is not the be-all-and-end-all for successful projection.

There is a definite knack to remembering an OBE, which can only begin to be learned when the mind-split is properly taken into account.
 

Portrait of the Mind-Split
One full copy of thinking mind and memory - conscious and subconscious - stays at all times within the bounds of the physical body, whether awake, asleep, dreaming, or projecting. This original or master copy, never leaves the bounds of its physical body while it still lives.

When the physical body falls asleep, or enters the trance state (mind awake and physical body asleep), consciousness is automatically reflected (projected) into the expanding etheric body. An energetic reflection of consciousness now exists at a slightly higher energetic state than the awake physical body allows for. The etheric body now contains within it a full reflection, a copy of all memories, conscious and subconscious. The expanded etheric body is now one energetic step above the physical body, one energetic step closer to the real-time body, which is the first level of the projectable double.

The sleeping physical body contains an energetic mechanism called the dream mind. At some stage after the onset of sleep or the trance state, the physical mind (master copy) will begin dreaming. The etheric body can stay fully conscious if held in the trance state during a conscious OBE. It is also capable of functioning completely independently from its projected and dream mind aspects, even while both of these are fully active.

The physical/etheric body now internally generates the real-time body, the first projectable double. This naturally occurs during sleep (sleep projection), but can occur during the trance state. As the real-time body is internally generated, another full copy of consciousness and memory are automatically reflected into it. As long as the real-time body generation and reflection of consciousness is still fully enmeshed within the physical/etheric body, its thoughts are fully synchronized with those of the etheric body.

No noticeable mind-split effect has occurred at this stage, although the energetic conditions that allow the mind-split to occur are now present. All systems are go at this stage and a projection out of body can now happen naturally or can be artificially triggered by a projection technique. As the real-time body projects - at the precise moment marking the beginning of separation - the first true mind-split occurs.

After projection, the real-time body exists as a completely separate entity, functioning, thinking, experiencing, and recording memories remotely and independently from its physical/etheric body.

After the real-time double has projected free, the expanded etheric body, with its own copy of awake consciousness, remains aware for as long as it can hold itself awake. It will usually consider it has failed with its projection attempt, if one has been made, although it may have experienced many projection-related exit symptoms. It will feel tired, lethargic, and heavy, often experiencing partial or full waking paralysis, and will normally fall asleep fairly quickly.

When the etheric copy of consciousness falls asleep, it appears to sink into and meld with the physical/dream mind, sharing its dream state.

During conscious-exit projection, the real-time body will be vividly aware of the sensation of separating from and leaving its physical body behind. At this stage, the real-time double is operating completely independently from its physical/etheric double. Each will occasionally sense the other's existence, and an interchange of perceptions (sensations of duality) will often be experienced.

The real-time double will, for example, often feel its physical body and hear sounds coming from that location. This sensory perception interchange, one of the most frequently noticeable symptoms of the mind-split, is greatly affected by distance. It is strongest within twenty feet (six meters) or so, and becomes progressively less noticeable with increased distance.

Conditions now allow for further energetic copies of consciousness to be reflected into higher subtle bodies and dimensions, above and beyond the projected real-time double and the real-time zone.

After this process has taken place, we have two complete energetic copies, plus their master copy of consciousness and memory:

1. Physical/dream mind (master copy)
2. Physical/etheric mind (expanded etheric body)
3. Real-time projected double (first true mind-split)

One completely exterior mind-split has also occurred between the physical/etheric body and die real-time projected double.

All three copies are energetically interconnected, and all three are capable of functioning and thinking completely independently - although in the case of the physical/dream mind, on a more internalized level of consciousness within die dream environment.

The natural purpose of this multiple mind-split effect is, I believe, to allow the essential animating spirit to strip away the layers of gross matter that hold it fixed within the physical body and physical universe. This process progressively exposes the more refined spiritual aspects of the central animating core of spirit consciousness.

This enables it to temporarily exist in higher dimensions, to reflect a part of itself there, during sleep or OBE. A solid base inside the physical/etheric body remains behind throughout this process, however, safely holding the original, or master, copy of its earthly consciousness and memories for its current incarnation.

I suggest that shifting the base level of consciousness from the physical/etheric body directly into higher dimensional levels, in a single step, is way too big a leap. This shift appears to require a gentler series of multiple reflections into progressively higher and more refined subtle bodies, via multiple mind-splits. The conscious essence held and maintained within any projected subtle body is not just a mere energetic reflection of mind and memory, but a fully functional copy of its essential animating consciousness and spirit, plus all of its conditional and influential energetic modifiers.

More on this later.

My overall impression is that this process is designed to provide the central animating spirit consciousness with regular and direct exposure to the refining and adjusting influences of living karma and universal law, as they exist at vastly higher and more rarefied dimensional levels. This, I believe, is how karma and universal law actually work: the higher subtle bodies filter up and down through the dimensional scale - from the gross physical body to its highest energetic slate - whenever the physical body sleeps.

You can find many clues showing the mind-split at work by examining some of the enormous numbers of case histories available today - if you know what you are looking for. Projectors often experience and make note of symptoms of the mind-split, but these have never been fully accounted for. The most commonly felt symptom is the sensation of duality - of being aware of the physical body while also being aware of existing in a subtle body at a different location.

For example:

"I was flying through the clouds when I suddenly became aware of feeling my physical body back on my bed, and of hearing the clock clicking in the room and traffic noises drifting in through the open window".

Fig. 2.

Mind-split effect, showing subtle bodies.

Duality sensations are an occasional side effect of the mind-split, caused, I believe, by the silver cord, which is the two-way energetic linkage connecting the physical/etheric body with its projected double.


Shadow Memory
Shadow memory is my term for all memories not gained during normal waking consciousness by the physical body - memories gained through OBE, including lucid dreams and dream experiences. Shadow memories are downloaded into the physical brain after an OBE, and appear to exist in inaccessible levels of memory.

Full waking consciousness completely overrides and hides shadow memories, making them extremely difficult to access and thus remember under normal circumstances.

A very light trance or near-daydreaming state encourages shadow memories to surface inside the conscious mind where they can become real memories. During this relaxed state, the conscious mind tends to wander through events, ideas, fantasies, and memories, which causes associations to be made with fragments of shadow memories. Associations trigger the upsurge of shadow memories into conscious levels of the mind. The first few minutes of each day, just after waking, are when most people recall shadow memories.

This is thus the ideal state and time from which to practice shadow memory recall exercises, using leading trigger phrases to cause associations.
 

Double Trouble - Experience
I experimented with duality, mind-split, and astral-feedback effects for well over a decade before writing this book. I had always been curious as to how and why my physical body reacted with its projected double, and how distance affected this.

I intuitively sensed there was more to this than the common belief that the physical body tries to reclaim its projected double if it gets too close. I had often experienced unexplainable and confusing mixtures of perceptions and memories, at times with two or more sets of events apparently occurring at the same time during OBEs. Like many projectors, I had also often been aware of events and noises in the real world around my physical body at the same time that I was experiencing things in my projected double at a remote location.

The following is a detailed account and breakdown of my first full mind-split and astral-feedback experience. I have tried to simplify this as much as possible to ease the inherent difficulties - not to mention the grammatical nightmares - that arise when trying to explain something as unnatural and confusing as a fall mind-split experience.

Please bear with me.
 

Physical Body's Side
Meditating in my chair by the fire, I slowly returned to a less-abstract level of consciousness as rain started drumming heavily on the roof. The wind was getting up and shaking the windows and doors. I glanced at the clock, briefly illuminated by a flicker of lightning. It was half past two in the morning.

This was not unusual for me, as occasionally I will meditate all night. I felt wonderful, well-rested and full of energy. As the first distant sounds of thunder rolled softly over the house, I thought to myself,

"I don't think I've ever projected in a thunderstorm.... I wonder what it's like?"

Closing my eyes once again, I raised more energy through my still active primary centers, deepening my level of trance.

When I was satisfied with my level of trance, I shifted my body awareness out in front of myself, strongly feeling myself as standing a few feet in front of my chair. The vibrations quickly started and spread throughout my body. My heart center soon began to race. The vibrations peaked and I felt a trickling upward rush of energy through my stomach and a brief falling sensation as I began to project.

Then, just as I considered everything was going fine, the vibrations suddenly stopped and... nothing happened... zilch! Puzzled, I sat pondering, heavy with trance, wondering why such an apparently successful projection exit had failed. This had happened to me on many occasions, but I had never understood why.

I was, however, just about to find out why... the hard way.
 

Projected Double's Side
Buzzing free of my physical body after an easy exit, I came to rest floating several feet in front of where I was sitting. At this distance, my real-time double reflected the heavy action within my heart center. It throbbed loudly as energy poured into me from my physical/etheric body.

It felt as if there were a little petrol engine throbbing inside my chest. As I floated across the room, the little engine in my chest purred faster as if to match my speed, then slowed again to a steady throbbing whenever I stopped.

I passed through the wall near the window and went out into the blustery rain-drenched night. What a gloriously wet feeling! I could feel and smell and taste the rain passing through me as I floated across my front garden. The invigorating sounds and smelts and tastes of rain and wetness and plants and trees and soil and grass were everywhere. These rain smells were so strong, many times stronger than I would be able to sense in my physical body.

The rain-swept night filled me with a wonderfully happy type of energy. It felt great to be so alive and out of my body on such a glorious night as this. Swooping up and over the roof with a quick loop, I hovered, looking around, the rain-filled wind buffeting and sleeting through me even more strongly up here.

[The wind and rain did not actually move my projected double, but I was keenly aware of the sensation of them passing through me.]

Sitting on the chimney, I gazed out over my old hometown, watching the rain dance in the streets below me, swirling and gurgling happily down gutters and drains. I listened carefully, taking everything in. The rain sounds seemed full of friendly voices, murmuring magical bubbly rhythms. Above, the low boiling clouds glimmering with hidden internal lightning.

The tow sounds of heavy rolling thunder filled me with awe and tingling energy. Sitting on the roof, enjoying the storm and feeling a bit like a wet Mary Poppins, I felt something tugging at my innards. I knew that this was coming from my physical body in the room not far beneath me.

I reached out with my feelings and sensed my physical body, instantly becoming aware of it. I felt the chair beneath me and the pillow under my feet. I could hear the drumming rain, but as it sounded from inside the house. Funny thing, for a moment I felt tike I was back in my body again. I could hear my father's old clock ticking on the wall. The sound of my old Labrador, Blue-Boy, snoring and dream yipping, drifted in from under the kitchen table in the family room to my far right.

Floating higher above the roof, I swooped down through the garden and looped back up high, just grazing the dark-gray underbelly of a heavy storm cloud in the process. The sensations coming from my physical body eased the higher I went, soon stopping altogether. When I floated back down to the roof again, the tugging sensation began again. This was getting really weird, I thought.

I had often wondered at the real cause of the proximity reaction between my projected and physical bodies. Many times I had felt myself being in more than one place at the same time, sometimes even flickering back and forth between my two bodies. But, I asked myself again, how could that be? It didn't make sense. If I was up here, then how could I be down there at the same time?

Surety, once I left my physical body I was out of it and my body was left empty behind me, a mere hollow shell... or was it?

My physical body was less than twenty feet below me at this time. I was intrigued now and decided to devote the rest of this projection to investigating proximity and duality sensations a little more closely. Passing through the roof, I watched the insides of tiles and timbers and plaster sheeting as I passed through them. I could feel resistance and texture and could even taste their dusty acrid flavors.

Each type of matter looked quite different from any other and all were brightly illuminated on the inside, not dark as you might expect.
 

Projected + Physical Bodies
As I came through the ceiling, I saw my physical body in the armchair, right where I'd left it.

At the same time, though, I also became fully aware of myself sitting in the chair, watching my own projected double coming down through the ceiling, I was seeing myself floating down through the ceiling, as well as seeing myself sitting in the armchair - both at the same time! It was me sitting in the chair, watching my projected double floating down through the ceiling.

But, it was also me floating down through the ceiling, watching myself sitting in the chair, while also watching my projected double watching the other me sitting in the chair.

I was aware not only of both sets of vision, but of both sets of thoughts, from both sides at once. I was aware of being aware of both sets of thoughts, and of being aware I was aware of being aware of being aware of both sets of thoughts, and this was swiftly compounding and getting worse. This was not only mind-blowing and confusing, it was also starting to make me feel quite ill... both of me.

An important aspect of this experience is that until my physical aspect saw its projected double entering the room, it was totally unaware its earlier projection attempt had been successful. Luckily, at mis time, my physical aspect was experimenting with real-time sight, and was observing and studying the room around it If not for this factor, I doubt I would ever have discovered the mind-split. Nor would I have experienced the full-on duality and astral-feedback effects that occurred, which gave me such an insight into the nature of the mind-split.

My physical aspect was only momentarily surprised when it saw its own projected double. As soon as it connected visually, a strong telepathic link formed between them and memories flooded both ways. An exchange of memories occurred between my physical and projected aspects. Both aspects, physical and projected, then knew exactly what had happened to each other from the moment of separation, when the mind-split had initially occurred, until then.

This provided me with a unique experience: that of having two completely different sets of memories, for a single time period, coexisting within my mind (within both aspects of my mind) at the same time.
 

Physical Body
As stated, my physical aspect was aware of attempting a projection and feeling the usual energetic sensations associated with a powerful real-time exit. These sensations had then stopped cold, leaving my physical aspect sitting in the chair wondering what had gone wrong.

It (I) decided to carry on with some energy work and real-time sight experiments. My physical aspect was totally oblivious, at this time, that it had already successfully projected its real-time double. My physical aspect felt a little heavy and sluggish after the supposedly failed projection attempt, with all the symptoms of a fairly deep trance.

I also had fairly strong real-time sight, and could see the room much clearer than before. This was all fairly normal for the type of meditation and energy work I was doing at the time. I did not suspect that anything extraordinary was happening to me at this time.

I decided to play around with real-time sight instead of falling back into a more abstract mystical state of deep trance meditation. I studied the room around me, slowly shifting my view so I could see behind me without physically moving. I was moving my etheric body around, quite literally, inside my own skin. There was no real sensation of movement, although it took considerable effort and concentration to do it, but my point of view moved as if my head were turning.

By the way, this indicates that the etheric body (if awake) can gain some freedom of movement inside its physical body while an OBE is in progress. After several minutes, I felt an uncomfortable tension building up in my torso. This had happened a couple of times already during the course of my current experiments, but I thought that my effort to rotate my etheric body inside my physical body was causing it.

I tried to extend a part of myself through the wall behind me, to project my point of view through it, but failed, although I could see behind me fairly clearly. I then felt a tangible presence in the room with me. I rotated my gaze to the front again, just in time to see an astral being slide down through the ceiling. I was momentarily surprised and perplexed, but realization flooded me the moment my gaze connected with the gaze of my projected double.

This caused an incredibly strong telepathic connection, visual plus mental, and another set of memories suddenly flooded into me... feeling almost as if they had been there all the time.

As we connected, the uneasy tension in my physical body worsened. I started to feel steadily increasing symptoms of nausea and something like physical shock.

This connection was the start of what I now call astral feedback.
 

Physical + Astral Bodies
As my physical aspect and its projected double connected, we both became aware of both sets of memories from the moment of our initial separation at the projection exit.

Once the telepathic connection and astral feedback started, I began to feel weak and nauseous in both bodies. My physical heart began pounding erratically—and this was reflected into my projected double. I was experiencing two completely different sets of vision, thoughts, and feelings, all at the same time, reflecting back and forth and swiftly compounding.

This was, apart from the growing disorientation and nausea, absolutely fascinating. It also made a lot of sense. This first full mind-split experience provided answers to a lot of questions about certain projection oddities and phenomena. Just because my projected double was separated from its physical body, why would my physical mind (original copy) have to stop thinking and being? Why would it be left empty?

I now had firsthand evidence that the mind splits, reflecting itself into two or more identical and independently thinking aspects during a projection.

My projected double moved with some difficulty, carefully observing and studying its physical body in the chair, while the physical aspect of me watched it back and tried to do the same. This was no mean feat and took some very real effort on both sides. The nausea and mental pressure steadily increased in both aspects. I studied these effects as best I could in the short time I had. My heart center was throbbing unevenly and it felt like my physical heart was also pounding heavily and erratically.

My level of trance began eroding at the start of the telepathic connection and I was now feeling more paralyzed than tranced. My physical body felt disoriented, dizzy, and highly nauseous. I could feel cold sweat trickling down my face and a chill spreading through my stomach and bowels. I felt like I was going into physical shock and would soon lose control over my bodily functions or pass out, or both.

Throughout all of this I remained calm and controlled, but my mind(s) were definitely being stretched way beyond their design limits. I started to worry, considering the possibility that I might damage or kill myself if I continued with this experiment for too long. This would obviously negate its value entirely, to say the least.

As my projected double was the only aspect capable of moving, and as this aspect was fully aware of the danger we were both in, he (it? I?) quickly moved out of the house. The feedback ceased the moment he went out through the wall and we soon lost contact with each other entirely.

The nausea, etc., quickly eased off.
 

Projected Double - Same Time Period
I felt weak and heavy; movement was becoming extremely difficult, like wading through thick mud. I struggled to move about the room while trying to study and understand the strange effects I was experiencing. I had very little energy and felt the nausea my physical body was feeling, which seemed to make it even worse, somehow reflecting and compounding it.

I felt an incredible pressure, as if something were dragging at me and sucking the life out of me.

I moved away from my physical body, an extremely difficult thing to do. I felt a great weight pull ing at me from behind as I turned my back on my physical body. It was as if I were moving in slow motion. A chill went through me as I turned and an atmosphere of fear settled over me that I could not explain.

We understood what was happening to us, both aspects of myself, and both of us concentrated on clearing our minds in an effort to ease the telepathic tension between us. This helped a little, and with enormous effort I made it through the wall and back out into the rain-drenched night. The pressure eased off quickly as I left the house and soon disappeared altogether.

I flew away from the house, skimming rooftops and enjoying the thunderstorm once more. Flying through heavy rain is a truly invigorating experience and I felt the strength flowing back into me. Looping high under the heavy storm clouds and swooping down again, I followed the wet road at motorcar speed close to the surface, watching the heavy raindrops dancing off the road as I slid along it. I could taste and smell the wet bitumen intensely and could also feel the texture of the road's surface as I scooted along it, weaving through the shadows of the dimly lit, tree-lined street.

I mulled over the implications of what had just happened and decided I had better get back to my physical body fairly soon, as it had been quite distressed when I'd left. My physical aspect probably would expect me back very shortly and would not appreciate it if I stayed out for too long. I knew I'd feel that way if I were he, which I was, or am. On that slightly confusing note, I turned and made a beeline back to the house and my waiting physical body.
 

Physical Body
Once the projected double departed, the nausea eased quickly, but I still felt quite shaky and my heart continued thudding erratically, missing the occasional beat. I could move again, but only just, and I still felt partially paralyzed. I figured my projected double was still out but would return very soon. I knew I would if I were he, or rather, if he were me, which he was, or I was, or I am, or he is (whatever the correct grammar for this is).

I relaxed, trusting myself, and cleared my mind to make the coming reentry easier.
 

Astral + Physical
My projected double returned a few minutes after leaving, slipping quietly through the wall and into the room. He/I approached my physical body, feeling at the last moment like he/I were being sucked into it. My physical aspect became aware of its projected double's return when the feeling of tangible presence and tension began again.

A few seconds later, my physical aspect felt a tingling energetic body rush as its projected double reentered and reintegrated with its physical body. The tingling surge of energy started in my legs and quickly rushed up through my torso (a trickling, tingling excitement kind of energetic sensation) from my groin up through to my heart.

The gap in my memories, from the time my two aspects had last parted company, suddenly vanished. I now had full recall of both sides of the latter part of the experience, the most recent part.

I must say, it is an extremely odd thing to have two sets of memories for a single time period, but you soon get used to it.
 

Separation Point
The mind-split experience, as given above, and the many controlled experiments I have done similar to this, indicate that when the projected double leaves the physical body it takes with it a full copy of all memories up to the exact moment of the mind-split. From that moment onward, the projected double records its own memories completely separately.

The physical body also continues recording its own set of memories after the moment of separation - memories of a continuing and unbroken existence within the physical/etheric body after an apparently failed projection attempt. The physical body has no further contact or way of knowing what is happening to its projected double after the moment of separation.

When the mind-split occurs, there is a very definite break in the connection between the physical brain and its projected copy, as though a switch had been thrown. Many projectors hear a definite "Click" at the moment of separation, sounding much like a light switch being thrown. This may be a symptom of the mind-split occurring.

Both physical and projected aspects continue to record two completely separate sets of memories, in two unbroken streams, separately and independently, until reintegration. If the download of the projected double's shadow memories (into an accessible level of the physical brain) is unsuccessful, the physical/etheric mind will have no way of knowing that a projection ever took place. In this case, only the memories of the physical/etheric aspect will remain.

This is what normally happens after a seemingly failed projection attempt, where projection-related symptoms have been experienced, e.g., vibrations, rapid heartbeat, and falling sensation, but an OBE is neither experienced, realized, nor remembered, after that moment.

On reintegration, the strongest set of memories for the same time period - usually the physical/etheric body's side of the experience, its thoughts and dreams - becomes the memory stream retained and recorded in the physical body's permanent storage mechanism, the human brain. This is because the physical/etheric body's memories are automatically recorded by the physical brain as they happen, making shadow memory recall, by nature, a fairly difficult proposition.

If the projected double does not succeed in impressing its shadow memories strongly upon the physical brain during reintegration, or if the physical brain is unreceptive, its shadow memories will usually fail to make any noticeable impression at all. They thus become effectively lost to the conscious mind.

Shadow memory loss is far less likely if the physical/etheric mind works with its projected double before, during, and after their reintegration.

This is part of the reason why I strongly advise people to keep their early projections ultrashort, as this greatly increases their chances of reclaiming their shadow memories during reintegration.


Astral Feedback
As the above mind-split experience shows, astral feedback can occur if the physical/etheric mind connects with its own real-time mind during a projection. Direct astral feedback is a powerful energetic, telepathic phenomenon that, if allowed to continue for too long, could very possibly cause psychological, energetic, and even physical damage to the brain.

Direct astral feedback is like forcing the human mind to grasp actual infinity - the limitlessness of which no human mind is capable of grasping.

Fig. 3.

Dual memory streams of mind-split, from separation to reintegration, showing failed shadow memory download.
 

Full astral feedback, as shown above, seems to occur only when both physical and projected doubles are fully awake and focused directly on each other at the same time.

This can easily be avoided by not looking too closely at your physical or projected bodies, from either aspect, during a projection. If this does happen, however, astral feedback can be broken very easily when it first starts by simply shifting the attention of the projected double away from its physical body and leaving the area immediately.

But the energetic sensations caused by the reintegration of the projected double with its physical body are extremely important to shadow memory recall when working with the mind-split.

All reasonably competent real-time projectors can re-create a full mind-split experience with astral feedback, provided they can hold their physical/etheric aspect awake for long enough after the exit, and if they can use real-time sight ability to make the necessary visual/telepathic connection. This will provide firsthand evidence of the mind-split and its far-reaching effects.

To sum up, astral feedback has three main aspects:

1. Telepathic connection: Astral feedback results from the physical/etheric and real-time mind focusing directly on each other during a projection, forming a direct two-way, reflecting, compounding, and incredibly strong telepathic connection. This is something like the infinity effect you get when you hold two mirrors facing each other. Each mirror (or mind) reflects a reflection of its own reflection (identical minds) and this compounds back and forth into infinity.
    

2. Visual Connection: When the physical/etheric mind is awake during a projection, it usually gains some degree of real-time or astral sight. This allows it to see into the real-time zone around it, making it possible for it to see its own projected double. This in itself presents no real problem unless the projected double looks back at it.

    

   They then begin seeing through each other's eyes, and this causes a reflecting visual link that begins compounding into infinity, along with their thoughts and feelings. A direct two-way visual connection appears necessary to cause astral feedback. This is a very disturbing phenomenon and I don't recommend you try it for more than a few seconds at a time.
    

3. Emotional Connection: Emotion can also form a part of astral feedback, as above, but will more often cause a different type of feedback on the emotional level alone. Emotional feedback, which does not appear to require a telepathic or visual connection, is quite different from astral feedback. It does not cause the same nauseating feedback effect, but can affect the physical/etheric body and its projected double quite strongly.

    

   Fear, anxiety, anger, excitement, and the sexual urge - especially primal urges such as fear and sex - all have very strong emotional undercurrents that can cause particularly strong emotional feedback between the physical/etheric, real-time, and astral bodies. If not taken into account and controlled, primal urges can reflect back and forth, growing in strength and compounding. This can cause enormous problems for an unwary projector.

OBE Success and Failure
Apart from my own extensive projection experience, I have also dealt with an enormous number of case histories during my years consulting on the Internet.

In this time, I have dealt with a great many almost projection experiences sent to me by projectors who appear to be doing everything right. In most cases, they have learned and practiced the necessary skills and techniques, but keep failing the exit.

Everything goes fine up to the moment when separation should occur: they feel a falling or floating sensation, then nothing happens... zilch. The whole experience ends right there. All the projection-related sensations vanish. This usually leaves them blurry, heavy, and sometimes even partially paralyzed - though no more so than a good level of trance will.

Most people are so tired and disappointed by their seemingly failed projection attempt that they just roll over and go to sleep. They believe they have simply failed... once again. (Does this sound familiar?) But in most cases like this, the projection itself has been a complete success.

Falling asleep is the very last thing you should do after the projected double has made its exit. A light sleep does not cause too many problems, as long as the projected double does not stay out for too long. A deep sleep, however, causes plenty of problems. The projected double should always plan to reenter before its physical/etheric body falls into a deep sleep.

Once the physical/etheric mind falls into a deep sleep, the projected double may not be able to reenter its physical body at that time. A deeply sleeping physical/etheric body is, at the very least, unable to respond to the energetic sensations caused by its returning projected double. If it does not recognize the symptoms of reentry and reintegration, it cannot help in recapturing shadow memories. It may wake up suddenly after reintegration, but it may not be able to recall any projection memories - usually not.

The energetic sensations caused by the returning projected double are very distinct and noticeable, if you know what they are and are awake enough to feel them. These are extremely important. They can be used with great effect to capture shadow memories at the precise moment of reintegration, when they are strongest. An awake or only very lightly sleeping physical/etheric mind allows for much easier and more reliable shadow memory downloading during the tricky reintegration phase at the end of a projection.

The projected double cannot reenter its physical/etheric body unless this is partially awake, or only very lightly asleep and easily awakened, to allow full reintegration and a successful shadow memory download. If the physical/etheric body and mind have fallen into a deep sleep, the projected double may be held outside the bounds of the physical/etheric body until it wakes up and causes reintegration to occur through the act of waking.

Just as a partially sleeping or tranced physical body and mind are required for projection to occur, so a body and mind at least partially waking are required for reintegration to occur. On top of this, if the projected double stays out of its body for too long it will at some point lose control and begin to fall asleep itself. When the physical body finally wakes up, there may be - if anything - only a vague blur remaining of any projection memories, often mixed up with fragments of dreams.

Ignorance of the mind-split, projection, and shadow memory recall is the major cause of projection memory failure. If the mind-split effect is properly taken into account, however, it can be made to work for projectors, not against them.

Out-of-body projection, in itself, is reasonably easy to learn. Most people can learn to project with a minimum of training and fuss. Very few, however, remember their projections, although they will most likely succeed during many early attempts. Working with or around the mind-split, to recapture shadow memories, is the key to successful OBE. In most cases, it is not the projector's projection technique or abilities that cause projection failures, but the mind-split phenomenon itself.

Successful projectors may doubt my theories on the mind-split and its wide-ranging affects on all aspects of OBE, because they have always experienced a single continuance of memory during OBE - the few they remember, that is. They remember consciously exiting their body with their memory continuing to record in a single and apparently unbroken stream.

This gives them the vivid impression that they have actually left their physical body behind (and they have, in one sense) but does not prove they have left it completely empty.

They might say: "Hey man, I remembered my entire projection and my whole mind came with me, pal! I got out and traveled and did some really neat things, then got back into my body and remembered it all, as simple as that, just like any normal memory". But, I ask you this, does it really happen quite as simply as all this? Do poor skill, poor natural ability, and poor projection technique really account for the extremely high failure rate associated with conscious-exit projection? I don't think so.

It is more logical to consider that when an entire projection is remembered from exit to reentry, memory has simply continued recording in an apparently unbroken stream throughout the entire projection, from start to finish.

The projectors are unaware that the shadow memories have simply overwritten the physical/etheric body's memories for that time period. The mind-split still occurred, but was completely unnoticed. This provides a single memory, apparently unbroken, of a projection from the time of separation to reentry - one single memory stream for a single time period.

In this case, they have simply lost the physical side of the experience, rather than losing the projection side.
 

Mixed Projection/Dream Memories
Understanding and taking into account the mind-split takes us a long way toward explaining a great many projection and dream memory problems. Logically, of two or more memory sets for a single time period, the strongest parts will form the dominant memory set. These will form the final wrinkle in the physical brain, so to speak, replacing weaker ones. If there are strong elements in each memory set, only fragments of the strongest parts may be retained.

Counting the basic reflected copies created by the mind-split effect:

1. dream mind

2. etheric mind

3. real-time mind

4. astral mind, we have the potential for three distinct mind-splits to occur between these copies: one internal and two external

This list does not include anything above the astral body.

Please note that the awake physical body/mind becomes the etheric body/mind before any mind-splits occur. So the physical body/mind is not counted as a separate entity in the list below.

This is because when the physical body/mind is in the awake state, all reflected copies are fully integrated and contained within it - i.e., they don't exist in this state.

[Time lines (memory streams) are shown below as ——>———>]

————————————>——————————————>

1. Dream mind (reflected copy). First unbroken memory stream recording.
 

Mind-Split #1 - Internal Split

————————————>——————————————>

2. Etheric mind (master copy). Second unbroken memory stream recording.
 

Mind-Split #2 - External Split

————————————>——————————————>

3. Real-time mind (reflected copy). Third unbroken memory stream recording.
 

Mind-Split #3 - External Split

————————————>——————————————>

 

4. Astral mind (reflected copy). Fourth unbroken memory stream recording.

The above shows four completely separate memory streams being simultaneously recorded for a single time period during an OBE. These are recorded by four identical copies of the same mind, each existing independently on a different dimensional level.

The bottom line here is that the physical brain's final memory for any single time span during an OBE (that final wrinkle) can come from more than one source. Any or all of these four reflected aspects of the same mind can contribute to this final memory.

An important point to keep in mind is that the etheric body/mind is so closely enmeshed with the physical brain that it has much less trouble storing its memories therein. This, in itself, can cause shadow memory recall problems. During the trance state, for example, the center of thinking consciousness shifts into the etheric body, thus allowing the physical body to fall sleep.

However, if the etheric mind stays awake in the trance state, it is capable of recording a single unbroken memory stream directly into the physical brain's storage mechanism.

Etheric body/mind memories recorded during the trance state continue in a single unbroken memory stream. These memories are recorded directly into the physical brain, which, therefore, may not allow the projected double to interfere with previously recorded memories. This would involve overwriting previously recorded and stored memories (real memories) with another memory set for that same time period. This may be unacceptable to the physical brain's memory storage mechanism.

If projection occurs during the trance state, and the etheric mind stays fully awake for some time after the exit, reentry is crucial and must be handled intelligently to capture and download the projected double's delicate shadow memories into accessible levels of the brain during reintegration.

But projection memories are generally easier to recapture from a tranced or semitranced state than if the physical/etheric minds are allowed to enter the deep sleep state.
 

Higher-Level Mind-Splits
My experience indicates that higher subtle bodies, operating above the astral level, may undergo similar mind-split processes, and have similar properties, as their lower counterparts.

These, however, operate at vastly higher and more abstract levels of consciousness. I do not mean to deliberately complicate matters here (I think I've done enough of that already), but as I am fond of saying,

"The further away you get from the physical universe, dimensionally speaking, the more bizarre and complicated everything all too soon becomes".

This shows, I think, the enormous difficulties inherent to projecting into dimensional levels above the astral planes, and of remembering this after the fact.

It goes a long way toward explaining why projections into the mental and higher dimensions are virtually unheard of. And, let's not forget that we are also dealing with multiple copies of the subconscious mind, and multiple altered states of consciousness.

I think there is enough to deal with just studying the lowest levels of the mind-split and of its effects on OBE and shadow memory storage. The higher levels can be disregarded for now. Anything above the astral planes is pretty much out of the reach of the majority of projectors anyway.

Problems of reintegration and shadow memory recall appear mostly to concern the first two mind-splits. These undoubtedly cause similar problems with higher levels of projection. All projection memories, no matter at what level they were gained, must eventually be downloaded into the physical brain in the same way, in order to form a memory at the base level of consciousness.

The complications raised by breaking down the entire mind-split effect from start to finish are staggering.

While it is certainly something to ponder, it is definitely headache material and not entirely relevant to normal levels of projection.

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