34. Fear and Astral Noises

Fear - produced by unexpected or heavy exit sensations, by unexplainable astral noises and voices, or simply by exposure to the out-of-body environment - represents a significant barrier to OBE. Fear is a natural barrier that shields unready projectors from exposure to the out-of-body environment until they are able to cope. This especially applies to novice projectors who, although they may be keen, have a more delicate emotional disposition than they realize.

Fear stops nervous and unsure projectors cold, as any good fail-safe mechanism should, until they are mentally resilient enough to cope with the pressures and strains involved with out-of-body operations. An important aspect of learning how to project is to progressively overcome all related fears. As each level of fear is overcome, the projector conquers a significant natural barrier.

Facing and overcoming each type and level of fear as it appears prepares and conditions the projector for more extensive out-of-body operations - one step at a time.
 

The Many Colors of Fear
Fear related to the projection exit is a natural gut reaction caused by unusual and often extreme sensations, events, and situations. It causes would-be projectors to abort their exits time and time again, usually right on the brink of their very first, long-sought conscious-exit projection. However, most projection-related fears are born of simple ignorance. Knowledge replaces fear by making the unknown and unexpected the known and expected.

The feelings that can be generated by heavy exit sensations, if not fully prepared for, can cause needless terror and panic. Bad projection experiences, if left unexamined and uncounseled, can psychologically condition projectors against future OBEs. This can significantly increase difficulty levels during future attempts, much as a tender tooth will make you flinch as you go to brush it from remembered pain, even long after it has healed. The physical body/mind remembers pain and unpleasant experiences, and quickly establishes conditioned responses to avoid any recurrences in the future.

Many people have come to me with this problem, although most were thoroughly warned of what they might expect, after reading my on-line (Internet) tutorials. In the majority of cases, projectors were forced to abort their first successful exit simply because they were unprepared for the enormity of the resulting sensations. Please do not think I am exaggerating here. This is a major issue for all new projectors! I would spare you surprises and give you fair warning in advance, thereby fully preparing you for what you might have to face.

You may face no heavy exit sensations at all, or none you cannot easily deal with. Some first-projection exits are quite gentle affairs. Some people just seem to pop or buzz out of their bodies with no problem.

However, be warned that these lucky people are in a fairly small minority.
 

Heavy Exit Sensations
The presence of the awake mind during the separation phase of projection, even though the full-trance state has been achieved, causes major energetic conflicts between the physical/etheric body and its projecting double.

This is especially true for novice projectors, whose energy bodies have not had time to develop and allow for the conscious-exit projection mechanism. Unwary projectors are usually completely unprepared for the visceral enormity of the final stages of the exit. They are usually blown away by a massive sensory overload. Many people honestly and sincerely believe they are dying, which panics them into aborting the exit in any way they can.

Exit sensations are always much heavier during the first few conscious exits. However, they progressively ease during repeated attempts, as the projection mechanism begins energetically adapting and developing. This makes early projection attempts, even failed ones, something of a two-edged sword. They force the energetic development of the projection mechanism and the energy body, thereby making future projection easier. But, they can also cause intimidating stresses and strains that may create a psychological flinch response if not handled carefully, thereby making projection more difficult during future conscious-exit attempts.

Understanding the mechanics and dynamics of the projection process helps overcome a great many projection exit problems. "Forewarned is forearmed". I intend to make aspiring new projectors fully aware of just what they might have to face. Hopefully, this hands-on knowledge will help them maintain control so they don't totally freak out and blow their first conscious-exit OBE. The positive psychological conditioning generated by a first successful conscious-exit projection, even an ultrashort one, is extremely important. There is nothing like success to empower the learning of any difficult skill.

Because of the above, I advise against attempting a partial conscious exit, "just to see what it feels like", before committing to a full exit. A partial exit attempt will always generate much heavier than usual energetic conflicts and sensations, which can be heavier and longer lasting than with a full-blown conscious exit. A bad experience can condition and deter projectors against future exit attempts. Negative conditioning can increase not only the exit difficulty, but also the severity, of future exit sensations. Do... or do not! Project... or do not project! No in-betweens are advised.

The faster you get through the exit phase of a projection, the sooner heavy exit sensations cease. When you are ready to try for a full exit, just do it and be ready to put everything you have behind it. Commit yourself, psych yourself up, and be ready to go through with the exit bravely, come what may. This attitude will also give you a much higher chance of succeeding with your first conscious-exit attempt.

Be prepared for a fairly rough time during your first exit. Be prepared to weather an inner earthquake of unbelievable magnitude. I want you to be ready to handle this storm calmly and stoically if it does happen to you - and calmly is an absolute must! Be prepared to tough out the exit come what may, calmly and intelligently, knowing that it cannot hurt you and will very soon end. Heavy exit sensations can last anything from ten seconds to five minutes, depending on the speed and difficulty of the exit. However, these will always be milder, and end far sooner, if the exit phase is kept short. If you stay calm, balanced, and under control, the exit will become smoother much more quickly. Heavy exit sensations end the moment separation is complete.

Projections involving the brow and crown centers, where projectors perceive themselves as leaving their body through their head, are generally accompanied by fairly gentle exit sensations. On that note, according to my research, a far higher percentage of women than men can expect to experience head-or brow-type exits. However, the majority of projectors should expect strong activity in their heart centers.

Heavy exit sensations will not be experienced by everyone. Nor will they happen during every type of projection. It is far better to expect them, though, than to be caught unprepared, as happens so often to so many new projectors.

To illustrate heavy exit sensations, here is a very early experience of mine. I was teaching myself conscious-exit projection and going through the same exit problems and frustrations many of you may now be experiencing. This illustrates the strongest exit sensations, I think, that any new projector could be expected to face.

I have been projecting since a very early age, three or four years old, but all my early projections were spontaneous and involved no real technique or conscious effort. Later, when I became interested in OBE, I had to start at the very beginning. I had to develop all the necessary skills like deep physical relaxation, concentration, and trance. I then had to learn the conscious exit, just as many of you are learning now. I knew it was possible, having vivid memories of many childhood OBEs, but that did not make the learning process any easier or shorter.

I had tried many times to project before this, but so far with only one successful exit. (But that experience was so unusual that I cannot reasonably use it here as a fair example.) I had been lying in bed for more than an hour, relaxing my physical body and trying to induce the trance state. I finally felt the heaviness of trance spread through my body, then started raising energy and stimulating my primary energy centers. I was using a fairly obtuse visualization technique here, which was all I knew at this time.

I worked on each of my primary centers until I felt some sign of activity in them, then started using my new projection technique. I shifted my point of awareness out and tried to feel as if I were floating above my physical body. I worked hard on being aware of how the room changed and felt from that position, and of staying aware of where my physical body was from this new perspective, which was extremely difficult and required a lot of concentration.

I held my mind clear, and strained to hold my point of whole-body awareness fixed above my physical body. A bone-deep tickling sensation spread through my body, and a kind of localized dizziness started in my stomach and chest. My heart, or rather my heart center, began fluttering noticeably; this sensation grew steadily stronger. The bone-deep tickling, dizzy sensation soon began surging and droning through my body in waves, also growing steadily stronger. This was especially strong in my stomach and chest. It soon grew into a much heavier type of whole-body vibrational droning wave. I started to feel a steadily increasing pressure all over my body. This was particularly strong around my head.

The dizziness felt like a spinning or falling sensation. This quickly intensified and it soon felt as if I were caught up in some kind of insane amusement park ride. These were major weird and incredibly strong sensations. In the back of my mind, I began to wonder if I might be dying, but was also thrilled by the sensory enormity of it all and of the likelihood of OBE success. I gritted my mental teeth, determined not to let this get the better of me as it had on previous attempts, and to go through with it come what may.

Strange noises faded in and out around me, like the sounds of furniture being dragged and thrown roughly and loudly about on wooden floors. I also heard the muttering of voices and occasional laughter.

I ignored all this, knowing (hoping) they were just astral noises like I had read and heard of before. Incredible colors, shapes, patterns of light, and images floated across my vision behind my closed eyes. The bone-deep buzzing, droning waves and dizziness increased, accompanied by an even heavier falling sensation, as if I were continually falling backward from a great height. This falling sensation made me feel quite nauseous.

The pressure around my head increased painfully, as if I had an overtight leather belt wrapped around it and an invisible sadist were slowly tightening it.

By this time, my heart felt like it was close to jumping out of my chest. My body felt incredibly heavy and tight with pressure. In the back of my mind, I wondered again if I might actually be dying. The vibrations, pressure, racing heart, and falling sensations all increased until I thought I would either scream or pass out - they were so very, very strong. Loud noises thundered and crashed in the room around me, now sounding like heavy chains were being noisily dragged over corrugated iron sheeting near my bed. I ignored everything and stayed focused on keeping myself relaxed and focused on what I was doing, holding my point of whole-body awareness out in front of me.

Steeling my mind, I strained to maintain control. I could now see details of the room around me through my closed eyelids, as if my eyes had opened. My whole body surged with massive, droning waves of vibrations and surging energy movement. My heart center raced like a lawnmower engine and my head felt as if it were going to be crushed under the painful pressure. Vibrations literally roared throughout my body and my heart center raced impossibly faster and faster, feeling as if my actual heart were racing.

Suddenly, everything changed and I felt myself separating from my physical body. I began rising upward, buzzing out of a storm of major uncomfortable body sensations. Rising faster and smoother now, I finally buzzed free of my body. The really heavy sensations stopped the moment I achieved separation. They changed to an intense whole-body buzzing as the projection reflex buzzed me out of my body. The whole-body buzzing stopped as I came to rest near the foot of my bed. I was out of my body and free at last!

I could see the room around me clearly even though it was fairly dark, with only a little moonlight filtering through the blinds into my room. It was very quiet; there was no sign of any cause for the strange noises and voices I'd heard on the way out of my body. I felt marvelous and full of energy, exhilarated by my success but strangely calm inside. A little nervously, I floated around the semidark room, getting my sea legs.

I wondered what might be lurking in the shadows or waiting for me in the dark night outside. Probably nothing, but I am by nature fairly cautious. While this was basically similar to the many spontaneous projections I'd had as a child, it was also strangely different. It felt much more powerful and real. I willed myself into motion and floated away from my body and out through the wall.

Outside, the moonlight cast eerie moving shadows through the windswept trees onto the cold, damp pavement. I floated out onto the road and skimmed along it. I could feel and smell and taste the dew-laden night air intensely. The world around me felt very solid and real.

Picking up a little speed, I swooped into the air, flapping my arms and skimming through the tree-tops, just clearing them as I circled my home. I hovered a while, then it all came back to me, all the OBE skills I'd learned and used as a child. I spun around a few times, taking everything in before letting myself float gently down through the branches of an ancient pine tree. I could smell and feel and taste the leaves and all the bitter-dry tastes of sap and living wood and bark as I floated through the twisted trunk to the ground.

Flushed with success, but for some reason feeling a little anxious, I floated back to my house and waiting body. I had no idea why I felt so anxious, especially after all the time I'd spent fearlessly out of body as a child. Maybe it was just because it was dark and creepy out here in the dead of night.

I returned to my room, entering through the roof and moving down to my body. As I got closer I felt something almost like gravity pulling me toward it. As I reentered, I felt a tingling, buzzing, whole-body rush. I felt myself being sucked upward through my stomach and chest - but I felt this from my physical body's perspective, as if something were entering me. My eyes opened and I came wide awake... immensely pleased with my new success. Next time I vowed I'd stay out longer and do some exploring!

Later, over a respectable snack of cheese-and-pickle sandwiches and a jug of ice-cold milk, I began filling out the second entry in my new OBE journal.
 

Excitement and Anxiety
Excitement and anxiety, combined with the flush of imminent success, can generate an adrenaline-type body rush that can ruin an exit attempt in moments. This may appear to have similarities with the torso energetic surge, dealt with earlier, but has a quite different cause.

A combination of trepidation, anxiety, and sheer excitement causes a surge of adrenaline through the physical body. This instantly breaks the delicately balanced state required for projection, usually just as the projection reflex starts to cut in and the projector suddenly realizes he or she is about to have a fully conscious OBE.

A great many projectors have problems with this. They work hard and do everything right and then, just as the vibrations start and the projection reflex starts to kick in, it happens again. Suddenly, they realize what is about to happen and get overexcited, thereby losing focus and control over the experience. As quickly as it began it stops right there, leaving them wide awake and cursing themselves, knowing it was their fault.

Many people have the impression that once they manage to trigger the projection reflex and are about to exit their body, they have succeeded. They think they can just sit back and enjoy the experience from there on in. This is definitely not the case... so be warned. The requirements for holding a deeply relaxed physical body and a clear, focused mind do not suddenly end the moment a projector starts to exit the body. It is necessary to continue holding the delicately balanced state at all times, not only before and all through the exit, but for the entire projection. Any surge of excitement or strong emotion can abort a projection before, during, or after the exit.

Uncontrollable excitement during the exit shows a lack of mental and emotional control in any would-be projector. This also has, apart from the above, the potential to cause a great many problems in the out-of-body environment. This is another aspect of the natural barrier that fear forms, which like all natural barriers has a certain fail-safe beauty to it. These safeguard unready projectors (no matter how keen) from exposure to the sensitive out-of-body environment where emotions are not quite so private, internal, and harmless.

An overly excitable projector could easily run into trouble during a projection through a simple lack of self-control. The out-of-body environment is fluid and easily affected by thought and imagination, most especially by those of the subconscious mind. A slight tingle of fear, caused perhaps by a glimpse of something imagined moving among the shadows, combined with a slight fear of the dark, could easily escalate into a major fear episode. This could result in trauma and negative psychological conditioning against further OBEs.

There is another, more subtle, aspect to consider, concerning the mind-split effect. Often a projection can be successful but the physical/etheric mind is so excited by the exit sensations that strong memories form in the physical brain. In this case, awareness remains firmly centered in the physical/etheric body. This can make it difficult for the projected double to download its shadow memories into accessible levels of the physical brain during reintegration. The projection side of an experience can thus be lost. This can be a major problem with new projectors who have little experience with shadow memory recall.

The solution to all these above problems is to stay calm, focused, and relaxed. Keep a firm grip on emotions before, during, and after the exit and throughout the whole course of the projection. If projectors can ignore heavy exit sensations and overcome fear, anxiety, and excitement during the exit, they can also refuse to feel these after the exit.

They can jump up and down and celebrate and release all their emotions once they return to their physical body! They can, in fact, use this emotional release to empower shadow memories, and make them literally more memorable during the reentry phase. It is therefore permissible, even advisable, to mentally jump up and down and shout out success - only during the reentry phase. This will help overwrite existing physical/etheric body memories for the same time period, and will cement shadow memories into the physical brain for easy recall.

Once projectors have successfully passed through the conscious-exit barrier, managed to maintain self-control, and have returned for controlled reentry, they have passed an important test.

They are now ready to begin learning how to operate in the out-of-body environment and to travel and explore farther afield.
 

The Unknown and the Darkness
Fear of the unknown out-of-body environment is another natural barrier all new projectors face. This is an experientially unknown environment. It is quite natural to feel some measure of trepidation, even a little healthy fear. New projectors may have read many stories about what this is like, but they have never truly experienced it for themselves.

Many children are afraid of the dark. Their parents tell them there's nothing to be scared of. They open the wardrobe doors and prove there is nothing lurking there or under the bed. After all that, children still fear the unknown and all-encompassing darkness and demand a nightlight. This is natural caution turned into fear by imagination, simply because they cannot see in the dark and hence don't know what's really there.

This is very much like what can happen in the back of new projectors' minds, fed by imagination, when they first get out of body. The unknown qualities and changed aspects of the once-familiar environment, plus the rumors, horror stories, and movies can scare them witless. This can easily break their nerve and ruin their focus, time and time again ruining otherwise successful projections, driving them back into the perceived safety of their physical bodies. Some courage is definitely required during an OBE, especially when sojourning into the real-time environment at night. These fears must be quashed before they can take root and start interfering with the OBE.

Always remember that the sensitive out-of-body environment is greatly affected by emotion, and like attracts like in a big way. If fear is allowed to grow, then a more fearful or even sinister aspect can be added to the out-of-body environment, manifested around projectors by the creative ability of their own subconscious mind.

Even if deep inside some genuine fear is felt, it is strongly advisable not to allow it to surface in the conscious mind. Be positive and brave and act as if you are totally fearless. Face the unknown out-of-body environment bravely! If you cannot do this, you really should not be projecting. Always remember that nothing can hurt you while you are out of your body. The projected double is an energetic being and therefore virtually invulnerable. It can swim in molten lava or fly through the middle of a supernova without getting a scratch.

Cultivate becoming a calm and dispassionate observer at all times, fearless in mind and spirit, and you will soon become unafraid of the out-of-body environment. This attitude will help you progressively overcome any genuine fears you may have, even little ones, through the accumulation of personal out-of-body experience.

This turns the unknown into the known and familiar, which progressively reduces fear levels.
 

Mind-Split-Generated Fear
In the real-time zone, especially, fear can cause compounding and tangible feelings of presence, dread, and mindless terror to be generated and compounded between the physical/etheric body and its projected double. This is an emotional energetic interaction related to waking paralysis and astral feedback. It is not caused by an independent source.

This feedback will progressively intensify and compound if nothing is done about it. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the feedback, especially if the projector is operating close to the physical body in the real-time zone. This effect pretty much disappears if you put some distance between yourself and your physical body. Leave the house and keep on moving until the feeling subsides.

Mental focus and control, plus a calm and dispassionate observer attitude, stop emotional feedback from starting and reduce the likelihood of other potentially negative problems manifesting.
 

Primal Gut Reaction
Probably the most difficult type of fear for any new projector to overcome is the primal gut reaction caused by energies generated by the physical/etheric body during the projection process.

During the conscious exit, or the spontaneous exit in which the projector becomes aware during the exit, the body and mind of the projector experience strong, full-body sensations caused by energies normally only generated during the sleep state. The presence of waking consciousness magnifies these energetic sensations greatly; the conscious mind has no experience with these energies and therefore has nothing to fall back on as it tries to get used to them. Projectors experience a fearful gut reaction, a strong sense of wrongness and great danger all around.

I believe this is caused by the primal fight or flight response. Projectors sense danger, but as no source of danger is apparent, they intuitively sense flight as being the only option for survival. This primal survival instinct floods the projector's mind with overpowering primal fear.

Most new projectors will have to deal with some level of primal fear during early OBEs. This fear progressively eases as they gain experience, but some level of fear is usually always present. This fear forms a strong natural barrier to OBE.

Your ability to master your fears and plow through this barrier shows you have passed a significant test and are ready for OBE.
 

Dweller on the Threshold
The infamous dweller on the threshold type of experience, plus astral noises and voices, are probably the most well-known manifestations faced by some new projectors. The dweller phenomenon is, I believe, another aspect of the natural barrier that fear creates. This must be faced and dealt with bravely before new projectors affected by this problem can operate freely out of their bodies.

The dweller type of manifestation, while well known, is definitely not a universal OBE-related problem that everyone has to face. Far from it. My research shows that a dweller-type manifestation will trouble less than one in twenty new projectors, and then only during their first few OBEs. Astral noises and voices, however, will intermittently bother most new projectors.

Please do not expect this to happen when you first get out of your body. Worrying about this could easily cause your own subconscious mind to manifest it. I think this is what happens in most cases, considering the sensitive out-of-body environment and the effect that fear can have on it. The dweller can happen in a great many variations, but is usually a combination or variation of the following: Immediately after exit, you find a shadowy, menacing humanoid shape, usually all featureless black with burning red eyes.

It may just stand there motionless, or it may take a few steps forward and make threatening gestures. It may be silent or may breathe heavily and loudly. It may snarl, growl, giggle, or laugh. It may even speak and order you back into your body, often by name. It may threaten you with doom and gloom if you continue with your projection. The classic dweller monster never attacks or harms a projector. I have not had a single report of a dweller so much as touching a projector. It is an illusion. It should be confronted and ordered away, or totally ignored, or both.

My best advice is to be brave, march right up to it, glare at it, and as loudly as you can order it to (#*&) off! Then, turn around and leave the area, totally ignoring it from then on. It will not be there waiting for you on your return.

I have given here what may appear to be some fairly extreme examples of the dweller type of experience. These examples are pretty standard, though, and are not exaggerated in the slightest. I much prefer to prepare new projectors for what they might have to face, rather than to play all this down and have them taken by surprise in the middle of the exit. The dweller on the threshold is a bully! Like all bullies, when bravely confronted, the wind is taken from its sails, and it either runs or is reduced to harmless ranting and raving.

Logic suggests that if the dweller were indeed a genuine threat capable of causing actual harm, it would not just stand and threaten. It would attack immediately, making use of the element of surprise and of the fearful state of the projector. Dwellers would most certainly not consistently warn and scare projectors back into their bodies before the exit with astral noises and voices, not if they were genuinely interested in harming them, or if they were capable of doing so. All this indicates that they are probably afraid of projectors and have no real power with which they could harm them.

I believe that some dweller types of experiences can be considered manifestations of a projector's own subconscious fears. At other times, interfering low-order astral wildlife appear to be responsible, possibly attracted by the projector's own fears and by the energetic vibrations these produce and broadcast before and during early projections.

I have not come across any evidence or experience, mine or anyone else's, to support the idea that the dweller is any type of personal watcher or guardian angel of projection. I have never experienced any type of being that fits this bill. The watcher being or guardian idea, I think, stems from the widespread belief that the physical body is left empty and vulnerable during projection.

I have never faced a true dweller type of experience. My mother, though, had dweller experiences during her first few conscious-exit projections, many years ago when I was still in my teens. Being a spiritualist, my mother actively ignored these beings when they appeared, and kept repeating the Twenty-third Psalm until they left her alone, as she had been instructed to do by her church.

For her, the dweller manifestation appeared as many small, ugly, monkey-sized beings that growled and sniggered and clutched at her as she was leaving her body. When this happened she repeated her prayer and actively ignored them while continuing along her way, soon leaving the area and the elementals far behind.

They were not there when she returned to her body some time later.

I have heard the same story from many other spiritualists and found they were all in some way instructed that this was to be considered normal. They were told to expect these elementals to be there when they first got out of body. This brings me to consider that psychological conditioning may be partly responsible here, and that the dweller will sometimes manifest as a form the projector either consciously or subconsciously expects.

The projected double is an extremely powerful being, even if a projector does not know this and has no idea how to use its defensive or offensive capabilities. The projected double of a living human being, with all its enormous resources, is definitely not to be trifled with. Negative entities can sense this potential and are naturally wary of all projectors and most especially of strong real-time projectors.

I think the above provides some very real clues as to why these negative types go to all this trouble to inhibit novice projectors in the first place. I think that any new projector about to consciously project into the real-time zone causes negative entities in the local area to panic. They then do everything in their power to stop them from projecting, simply because they fear the potential consequences.

I consider all elemental and dweller-type manifestations to be illusions. The sources of these illusions may vary, but if generated by an independent source there must, logic suggests, be a reason for it. In the case of negative entities, everything points to this being a widespread push against projectors that appears to have been going on for a very long time. Knowing this, I suggest that all new projectors do not give these negative types the pleasure. A little competition is said to be healthy, and every new projector let loose in the real-time zone adds one more potential soldier to the ranks of the good guys.

Always keep in mind, no matter what happens during a projection, that projectors never leave their physical body empty and exposed during any type of OBE. The physical body always safely contains the original copy of mind and memory. The physical/etheric body is never, ever, left empty, exposed, unguarded, or vulnerable.

Having an OBE does not expose you in any way, shape, or form, to any kind of interference you would not otherwise be vulnerable to during your normal waking and sleeping states.
 

Astral noises and Other Things That Go Bump in the Plight
Astral noises may be heard during the exit, with scary voices and things going bump in the night, like chains dragging, sinister giggling and muttering, evil laughter, and nasty growling and snarling.

These intimidating sounds are a type of audio illusion; they have no substance and are therefore no threat. They are a big distraction, though, and must be totally ignored before and during the exit. Astral noises are quite common during the exit, but always cease the moment the exit is complete. It is much more common for new projectors to hear astral noises and voices than for more seasoned projectors. I rarely hear them these days, but used to hear them regularly during my early years of conscious projection, about every fifth projection.

Strange noises are often heard as a prelude to OBE, usually right on the verge of the exit, conscious or spontaneous, just as the projection reflex is about to kick in and buzz the projector out of body. Be ready to deal with these when they happen. This may appear to contradict what I said earlier, but I have found astral noises so prevalent that their likelihood does not seem to be affected by suggestion. A great many people who have approached me with astral noise problems had never previously heard about astral noises.

They did not expect them, but they happened anyway.

I have already mentioned some of the scarier types of astral noises, but think they deserve more thorough mention. The types of noises vary enormously. They can be very loud and incredibly real. You may hear bells ringing, sirens wailing, heavy chains dragging and rattling across corrugated iron sheeting, the sounds of someone smashing their way into your house with sledge-hammer blows, the sound of many people talking noisily, racing engine noises, chain saws, knocking and banging on your bedroom door, even the sounds of children playing and laughing or crying or pleading for help.

You may hear your name being called loudly and clearly, sometimes by a voice you know well. This voice will usually report some kind of an emergency in your house, or simply demand you get up as there is something important you need to attend to right there and then.

They are so real you may decide (if not prepared) to abort your projection and find out just what the heck is going on in your house.

"What timing", you'll think, "just when I am right on the verge of my very first OBE".

These noises will usually appear to be from fairly close by, often from just outside your window or bedroom door, or even from inside your room. You may think your locality has gone completely nuts and decided to do some late-night road repairs just outside your door, withjackhammers and chain saws going full bore; they can be that loud and that real.

I have been tricked out of the conscious exit many, many times, especially during my first few years of conscious-exit projection.
 

Astral Voices
A loud and aggressive astral voice may order you (often by name) to stop what you are doing and return to your body immediately, or face a terrible doom. The dialogue and timing of this voice(s) will vary greatly from experience to experience, but the main thrust will always be the same: to intimidate you into aborting your projection.

You may also hear a voice talking to another voice about you, loudly discussing and criticizing you for your stupidity for trying to leave the body, intimating strongly that this is a very dangerous thing to do, or that this is a very dangerous time for it. "Look at him! Doesn't he know anything? What the hell is he up to now? Look at what he's doing... oh no... how stupid can he be!" Et cetera.

This onslaught of negative input causes projectors to begin seriously doubting themselves. They begin to worry that they might indeed be doing something foolish or dangerous. But these distracting and intimidating voices never harm projectors and should be totally ignored.

Once the exit has been made, these voices will stop immediately and no cause for them will ever be found.
 

Two Possible Causes for Astral Noises
I believe there are two possible causes for astral noises:

• Accidental: It is possible that natural sounds and voices are picked up by the heightened senses of the projecting double, as it tunes into parts of the local real-time or astral environment during the prelude to the exit. The random nature of these noises suggests they may only be heard when there is activity in the local real-time or astral area to cause them. The state of your energy body, specifically your active configuration of primary centers at the time of projection, may also play a part. It is possible that some projectors sporadically develop a type of clairaudience, the ability to hear into the real-time zone and astral dimension and to hear spirit voices and sounds, as well as the voices of other projectors. Where simple astral noises and voices are heard, and the projector is neither directly nor indirectly referred to, this is the most likely scenario.
   

• Deliberate: Another possibility is that some astral noises are deliberately produced and telepathically aimed at projectors by low-order astral wildlife. These noises appear to be a very cleverly designed audio illusion, a sneaky distraction designed to worry or trick a projector into aborting an imminent exit. This trickery and deceit is well in theme with the whole apparent purpose of elemental and dweller-type manifestations.

If this is indeed the real source of astral noises, then they are simply an audio scare alternative to the more visual dweller-type manifestations. Where the projector is addressed or called by name, or indirectly referred to in any other way, this is the most likely scenario.
 

Dealing with Astral Noises
Any and all astral noises must be totally ignored during the exit stage of an OBE. These harmless sound effects will distract and disrupt your balance and keep you from projecting if you pay any attention to them. This is especially so when it comes to being pestered or called by someone inside your own house. No matter what you hear and no matter what is said, totally ignore it!

The chances of any real emergency happening right at that particular moment, when you are on the threshold of an OBE exit, is remote in the extreme. Think about it. If there were a real emergency, someone in your house would surely enter your room and wake you up. They would physically shake you awake if you were really and truly urgently needed. On top of this, if someone were actually banging on your door, the real noise from this would instantly shock you out of the trance state.

Friends and family members also will not usually just stand on the other side of a closed door, pounding and shouting through it, especially late at night or in the early hours of the morning. If you continue with your projection, you can go and check to see if there is a real emergency in your house, as your projected double. If anything is really happening and you are truly needed, you can then simply return to your body, reenter it, and deal with the situation moments later.

I have projected countless times while ignoring astral noises and voices. Everything is always dead quiet when I finally get out of my body. There is never anything there waiting for me that could have caused all the earlier noise and kafuffle. This shows that astral noises and voices are not directly related to the more visual elemental and dweller-type scare manifestations. Just because you hear astral noises and voices, it does not mean any kind of visual scare manifestation will follow this if you continue with the exit.

I have been caught out by astral noises many times over the years. It is absolutely infuriating!

I've learned to ignore most astral noises when they happen, but they still catch me out occasionally; they can be that convincing.
 

Clutching Hands and Other Annoyances
Before or during the exit, you may feel cold and clammy hands grabbing and clutching at your body. You may even see fleeting images of monstrous faces leering and snarling at you. You may hear these shadowy beings apparently scuttling about the room. These hands never hurt projectors; they can only scare them. They are a type of sensory illusion and should be ignored.

No cause for them will ever be apparent once the exit is completed.

Before or during the exit, you may feel, see, or hear an annoyance; a small animal, often a dog or a cat, may jump onto your bed and start washing your face, or start scratching and snarling, or annoying and distracting you in some other way. A variation is a friend or relative coming into the room, or trying to get into the room. This person promptly begins distracting or annoying you in some way: demanding you get up immediately or entering the room and touching or even tickling you.

This is an illusion, and should be ignored, as hard as this might be at the time.
 

OBE Hitchhikers
A rare type of OBE problem that affects approximately one in two hundred projectors at some time in their life - a real-time or low-astral problem - is an OBE hitchhiker, which can happen to seasoned projectors as well as novices. After the exit, you become aware that some being is holding on to you from behind. You often see a pair of arms encircling and holding on to you. This being may be silent or may speak and make threats or threatening sounds. It will often answer if spoken to. You may feel you are being carried around by it, or you may feel you are carrying it yourself.

If it answers at all, this being will usually give short, cryptic, negative, or nonsense replies, which may or may not contain threats. It may even state it is there to help you in some way-do not believe this. You will usually be able to turn around and see your hitchhiker. You will often see a rough-looking male face with glaring eyes. When looked at, it may abuse you loudly or scare you in some other way. Alternatively, it may do and say nothing at all. It may even appear to be asleep or unconscious when looked at.

In case you are concerned about missing a chance of beneficial spirit contact: a simple way to test a spirit (to tell a good spirit from a bad spirit) is to politely but firmly ask it to leave and return another time when called on. A good spirit will understand and leave immediately, and will return another time when called on. A bad spirit will either point-blank refuse or will make up some excuse, e.g., that they know what's best for you.

The consensus among projectors is that these hitchhikers are attracted to fear. They are most likely to appear at times when projectors become fearful or anxious during an OBE. In some cases, you have only to think of the hitchhiker briefly and it will appear. The wisest preventative measure is to control fear and not think about the hitchhiker in any way, not even for a moment. Drive all thoughts of it out of mind and focus on the OBE at all times.

Providing you are courageous enough, a good way of dealing with this situation is to bravely confront or attack it. Do not listen to it no matter what it says. Demand it leave immediately and threaten dire consequences if it does not obey. If this does not work, create a baseball bat or other weapon of choice and use it to beat the manifestation until it leaves. The created weapon should be held firmly in mind so it does not melt away while being used. This procedure should be repeated during any future OBEs if it reappears. Chapter 35, "Astral Self-Defense", provides details on the creation and use of astral weaponry.

If the above does not work, or if you are too timid for a confrontation, or if the manifestation repeats, denying its existence will sometimes work, although this generally takes longer. Totally ignore it and deny its existence. Actively disbelieve in it and unmake it with creative ability. Imagine and see its arms fading away and feel the rest of it fading out of existence behind you. An alternative is to make it burst into flames with creative ability and try to burn it away.

Shape-shifting can also be used and the shape of the projector changed to unhorse or better deal with the manifestation. Small is usually more effective than big here, but both should be tried. If you can hold the shape of a bee or wasp, you will often lose the hitchhiker in the process. The use of any level of creative ability is often enough to drive off a hitchhiker, as this seems to intimidate astral wildlife.

Passing slowly through walls and other solid objects can also help. Look at this as scraping off the hitchhiker onto the wall as it is penetrated. Another idea is to project into the nearest church or house of worship. As this type of manifestation is a real-time or low-astral problem, projecting directly into higher levels of the astral planes will lose the hitchhiker in the dimensional shift.

If all these methods fail, I advise that you seek out the services of a good practicing shaman (see bibliography).

I have referred projectors with this type of problem to shamans many times, and the results have always been positive.
 

Overcoming Fear
Fear is a natural defense mechanism. True bravery is the ability to control fear while continuing to function in a reasonably normal fashion. Bravery is not the ability to feel no fear at all.

One of the greatest causes of out-of-body fear is the tendency most projectors have to project late at night before sleeping. An OBE can definitely be a bit on the creepy side during the dead of night. But some people find themselves surrounded during an OBE with at least enough light to see by, even on the darkest of nights. This light, generally localized to the projector's immediate area, is called astral light, and is generated by the projector's subconscious mind. It can usually be brightened simply by willing it to brighten.

The out-of-body environment is sensitive to the mind of a projector. Feel the light brightening and will it to happen. Look for this brightening and expect the area around you to brighten. See the shadows fading and everything becoming clearer and more distinct. The area around you will soon become much brighter; this brightness will follow you wherever you go. Expect it to follow you and it will. Everything will then be much less gloomy and intimidating.

The simplest and most effective way to reduce fear is to project during daylight hours. Instead of taking an afternoon power nap, you could have an afternoon OBE. You'll get the same amount of rest, but will have a great deal more fun. There is nothing at all creepy about projecting in daylight, and there is a great deal more to do and see during daylight hours.

If you do not have the opportunity to project in daylight hours, I suggest an immediate shift into the astral planes shortly after the exit. The astral planes are very interesting places to be and are generally well lit. There is nothing at all creepy about the astral planes; often you will find yourself in full sunlight once you arrive there.

Some type or level of fear usually will continue to plague new projectors until their self-control is better suited to OBE. In time, repeated exposure to the out-of-body environment removes its unknown qualities, causing fear levels to drop significantly. Out-of-body endurance and functionality will also steadily improve as personal experience is gained. This gives projectors progressively more and more freedom.

There is nothing wrong with having some fear when you project. Fear is healthy and forces you to be cautious.

A little fear and caution will keep you alive and kicking much longer than foolhardy bravery will. As long as you can control your fear and don't let it consume you, it will serve you well. I still feel a little trepidation and anxiety whenever I leave my body. I never really know what I'll find each time I go out. I will probably always feel this healthy respect, even though I have projected countless times and can control myself extremely well.

I know what to do and what to expect, but when it comes right down to it there is always a little anxiety at the back of my mind. This is especially so with an exit in the dead of night, when the real-time world is always a little on the creepy side. Control yourself and be as brave as you can and just do your level best, no matter how scared you really feel inside.

No one can do any better than that, my friends.
 

Religion and OBE
Many people worry that they are violating some religious law if they project out of their bodies. They worry there might be a line of text in the Bible or some other holy book that forbids it, and that they might thus be doing something detrimental to their soul. As far as I am aware, there are no direct warnings given in the Bible or any other holy book, anywhere, which clearly prohibit or warn against projection.

I do not intend to get into a religious debate over this. I am sure that many good people in the world would delight in correcting me on this matter, and cite biblical text that could be construed into meaning projection and OBE are bad things. But religious opinion against OBE comes not from personal experience and an investigation of the evidence, but from what I believe to be unrelated textual interpretations. This type of argument is therefore best considered as being uninformed conjecture.

Everyone in the world projects in some way or other whenever they sleep. There are no exceptions to this rule. This includes all the people who decry the practice of projection on religious grounds. The vast majority of people simply do not remember it, or as sleep projectors have nothing to really remember apart from an occasional dream.

There is nothing occult or mysterious about OBE. It is a completely natural function. And, as everyone does this unconsciously anyway, what logical reasoning could there possibly be showing this perfectly natural activity should not also be done consciously?

I sincerely apologize if I have upset anyone here. No offense is intended. I believe our Creator designed and made us exactly as we are, with a bioenergetic body that naturally generates the energies required to project during sleep. We are all inherently capable, with a little practice, of deliberately stimulating the generation of these same energies.

And, we can also learn how to simulate the natural sleep state by entering the trance state (body asleep + mind awake) so we can leave our bodies consciously. If we were not all meant to have the ability to function out of body, then why were we all born with the innate ability to do just that? Did God make a mistake when God gave us, one and all, our bioenergetic and pure-energetic aspects, along with our inherent projection capabilities? I do not happen to think so.

I believe God is perfect, as are all God's creations, and that God is incapable of error.

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