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The following was taken directly from the book Journeys Out of
the Body, by Robert A. Monroe.
THE SEPARATION PROCESS
After you have achieved the state of vibration and some control
of your stage of relaxation, one additional factor must be
considered. It is probable that you have already obtained it,
since it is ordinarily a product of the previous exercises.
However, it should be emphasized.
This factor is thought control. In the state of
vibration, you are apparently subject to every thought, both
willful and involuntary, that crosses your mind. Thus you must
be as close to "no thought" or "single thought" (concentration)
as possible. If one stray idea passes through your mind, you
respond instantly, and sometimes in an undesirable manner. I
suspect that one is never completely free of such misdirection.
At least I have not been, which may account for the many
inexplicable trips to places and people I do not know. They seem
to be triggered by thoughts or ideas I didn't realize I had,
below the conscious level. The only approach is to do the best
you can.
With this in mind, the first practices of disassociating
the Second from the physical body should be limited in time and
action. What follows is designed basically as a familiarization
and orientation technique which should permit an approach to
disassociation without fear or concern.
Release of extremities. This serves to acquaint you with
the sensation of the Second Body without full commitment. After
relaxation and creation of the vibration state, work with either
your right or left hand and arm, one at a time. This is
important, as it will be your first affirmation of the reality of
the Second. With one hand, reach for any object – floor, wall,
door, or whatever – that you remember as being beyond the reach
of your physical arm. Reach for that object. Make the reaching
process neither upward nor downward, but out in the direction
your arm is pointing. Reach as if you were stretching your arm,
not raising or lowering it. A variation is simply to reach out
with the hand and arm in the same manner with no special object
in mind. Often this method is better, as you then have no
preconceived idea of what you will "feel."
When you reach out in this fashion and feel nothing, push
your hand a little farther. Keep pushing gently, as if
stretching you arm, until your hand encounters some material
object. If the vibration pattern is in effect, it will work, and
your hand will eventually feel or touch something. When it does,
examine with your sense of touch the physical details of the
object. Feel for any cracks, grooves, or unusual details which
you will later be able to identify. At this point, nothing will
seem unusual. Your sensory mechanisms will tell you that you are
touching the object with your physical hand.
Here, then, is your first test. After acquainting
yourself with the object with your outstretched hand, straighten
out your hand and push against the object with your fingertips.
You will encounter resistance at first. Push a little harder,
and gently overcome the resistance you feel. At this point, your
hand will seem to go right through the object. Keep pushing
until your hand is completely through the object and meets some
other physical object. Identify the second object by touch.
Then carefully withdraw your hand, back through the first object,
and slowly back to normal, so that it feels as if it is where it
"belongs."
With this, decrease the vibrations. The best way to do
this is slowly to attempt to move the physical body. Think of
the physical body, and open your physical eyes. Bring back your
physical senses, deliberately.
Once the vibrations have faded away completely, lie still
for a few minutes for full and complete return. Then get up and
make a notation of the object which you "felt," locating it
relative to the position of your hand and arm when you were lying
down. Note the details of both the first and second objects
which you felt. Having done this, compare your description with
the actual first object. Make special note of small details
which you could not have seen from a distance. Physically feel
the object to compare it with what you felt under the vibrations.
Examine the second object in the same manner. You may
not have been consciously aware of its presence or position prior
to the experiment. This too is important. Test the line of
direction from the place where your physical hand lay, through
the first object and up to the second. Is it a straight line?
Check your results. Was the first object you touched
physically located at a distance it would have been absolutely
impossible to reach without physical movement? Did the details
of the object – especially the minute details – coincide with the
notes you have made? Make the same comparison for the second
object.
If your answers are affirmative, you have had your first
success. If the facts do not check out, try again another day.
Almost without qualification, if you have produced the
vibrational state, you can perform this exercise.
You can also practice the following quite easily. After
producing the vibrational state, lying on your back, arms either
at your sides or on your chest, gently lift your arms without
looking at them and touch your fingers together. Do this quite
casually, abstractly, and remember the sensory results. Once you
have clasped your hands above your chest, look at them first with
your closed eyes. If you have moved easily enough, you will see
both physical and non-physical arms. Your physical arms will be
at rest at your side or upon your chest. The sensory impressions
will be with the non-physical arms and hands above your physical
body. You should test this phenomenon as many times as you wish,
however you desire. Prove to yourself that you are moving not
your physical arms, but something else. Do it by whatever means
are necessary to give you full assurance of this reality.
It is important always to return your non-physical arms
to full conjunction with their physical counterparts before
"shutting off" the vibration state. Although there may be no
severe aftereffect if this is not done, I think it best not to
find out in the early stages.
Disassociation technique. The simplest method to use in
separating from the physical is the "lift-out" procedure. The
intent here it not to travel to far-off places, but to get
acquainted with the sensation in your own room, with familiar
surroundings. The reason for this is that the first true
experience will then be examined and explored with identifiable
points of reference.
In order to assist in this orientation, it is better that
these first complete disassociation exercises be conducted during
daylight. Test for yourself your needs in regard to the amount
of light in the room. Avoid using an electric light if possible.
To establish the condition, achieve the vibrational
state, and maintain complete control of your thought processes.
You are going to stay only in the confines of your familiar room.
Think of getting lighter, of floating upward, of how nice it
would be to float upward. Be sure to think how nice it would be,
as the subjective associated thought is most important. You want
to do this because it is something you will respond to
emotionally; you react even before the act, in anticipation. If
you continue to hold only these thoughts, you will disassociate
and float gently upward from your physical. You may not achieve
it the first time, or the second. But quite surely, if you have
achieved the preceding exercises, you will achieve it.
A second method is the "rotation" technique, which has
been mentioned elsewhere. Under the same prescribed conditions,
slowly try to turn over, just as if you were turning over in bed
to be more comfortable. Make no attempt to help yourself rotate
with either arms or legs. Start turning by twisting the top of
your body, your head and shoulders, first. By all means move
slowly, exerting gently but firm pressure. If you do not, you
may become loose and actually spin like a log rolling in water
before you can alter the pressure. Such action is disconcerting
only because you may lose all orientation and be forced to find
your way back carefully in rotation juncture.
The ease with which you begin to turn, with no friction
or sense of weight, will inform you that you have begun to
succeed in disassociating. As this happens, turn slowly until
you feel that you have moved 180 degrees (i.e., face to face with
your physical body). It is uncanny how you will recognize this
position. this 180 degrees about face is merely two 90 degree
turns, and without orientation, it is easy to sense.
Once you are in the 180 degree position, stop the
rotation by merely thinking of doing so. Without hesitation,
think of floating upward, backing up away from the physical body.
Again, if you have reached the vibrational state successfully,
this method will surely bring results.
Of the two separation techniques, the first should be
tried before the second. Then, after both have been examined and
tested, the one that seems easiest to you should be utilized.
Local experiments and familiarization. Once you have
succeeded in the separation process, it is most important for
your own objective continuity that you remain in complete
control. The only possible way to do this seems to be by staying
close to the physical in the early stages. Whatever you may feel
emotionally, keep in close proximity to the physical. This
admonition is made not because of any known danger, but so that
you will maintain a step-by-step familiarity and thus perceive
for yourself exactly what is taking place. Wild, uncontrolled
trips at this stage may well produce uncomfortable situations and
conditions that will force you to relearn much of what you have
already achieved. The process of mental acclamation will be
different from any you have ever consciously experienced. The
gradual adaptation will greatly enhance your peace of mind and
confidence.
At this point, the principal exercise is to return. Keep
your separation distance no more than three feet away, hovering
over the physical. Do not make any attempt at this time to move
laterally or farther "up." How do you know how far aware you
are? Again, this is something you sense. Your vision now is
zero. You have conditioned yourself not to open your eyes, and
let them remain closed for the moment. Stay close to the
physical. The mental concept of this will keep you in proper
range.
For the next three or four exercises, do nothing but
practice getting "out" and returning to the physical. To return
under these conditions, merely "think" yourself back into the
physical, and you will return. If you have used the first method
of separation, the reintegration is relatively simple. When you
are back in exact alignment, you will be able to move any portion
of the physical body and reactivate any or all of your physical
senses. Each time you return, open your physical eyes and
physically sit up so that you know you are completely "back
together." This is to ensure orientation, to instill confidence
that you can return at will, and most important, to assure
yourself of continued contact with the material world in which
you now belong. Whatever you believe, this reassurance is most
necessary.
If you have applied the rotation method, move slowly back
toward the physical, again by thinking of it, and when you feel
you have made complete contact, start your rotation back 180
degrees to conjunction with the physical. It seems to make no
difference whether you continue the circle of rotation or reverse
and turn back in a motion opposite to that which helped you
release.
In both techniques, there seems to be a slight,
click-like jerk when you are again in conjunction with the
physical. An exact description of this sensation is quite
difficult, but you will recognize it. Always wait a few moments
before sitting up after you have returned, primarily to avoid any
possible uneasiness. Give yourself some time to readjust to the
physical environment. The physical act of sitting up provides
evidence of continuity in a demonstrable form; you will know
that you can consciously, willfully act in a physical movement
interspersed with experiments in the non-physical environment and
retain conscious awareness throughout the process.
You will have completed the cycle when you are able to
separate, return to the physical, sit up and note the time, go
back to the separation process, and return to the the physical a
second time, all without loss of conscious continuity. The
notation of the clock reading will help in this.
The next step in familiarization is to separate to a
slightly farther distance, applying the same procedures. Any
distance up to ten feet will do. Always keep mental
concentration on a single purpose without stray though patterns,
especially in these extended exercises. After you have become
accustomed to the feeling of being more "apart," mentally tell
yourself that you can see. Do not think of the act of opening
your eyes, as this may well transmit you to the physical and
diminish the vibrational state. Instead, think of seeing, that
you can see – and you will see. There will be no sensation of
eye opening. The blackness will just disappear suddenly. At
first, your seeing may be dim, as if in half-light, indistinct or
myopic. It is not known at present why this is so, but with use,
your vision will become more sharp.
The first sight of your physical body lying below you
should not be unnerving if you have applied the previous
exercises. After you are satisfied that it is "you" lying there,
visually examine the room from the perspective of your position.
Mentally move slightly in one direction or another, slowly and
never violently. Move your arms and legs to reassure yourself of
your mobility. Roll around and cavort in the new element if you
wish, always staying within the prescribed range of the physical.
