Well hullo ld4all, here’s my first post in eons. Nice to see you guys haven’t turned to dust and the forum is functioning like normal.
So every single time I’ve had an OBE (LDs and OBEs are quite rare for me anyhoo), I have this problem where it’s a tremendous effort to move my limbs. My OBEs usually don’t start from any sort of conscious SP. I just kind of wake up to them from dreams, or they branch off other NDs.
It’s a weird sensation. I think, ‘ballin’, an OBE,’ and then I try to walk around. But there’s a lag there, and I feel like the signals from my brain aren’t being transferred to my muscles fast enough, and it’s really draggish and it takes a lot of effort to move. It got a tad better as time progressed in my last OBE. I end up taking support on walls, railings etc.
im trying to find other experinces as well… i always reach OBE through SP… i used to float slowly out my window and just look at the beautiful vivid grass… now i just float straight upwards and usually wake up when i hit the ceiling…and yes it is like laggish sometimes and sometimes very real i guess do to vividness i dunno. but a week ago i had OBE floated to the ceiling and couldnt move limbs at all!! i felt as if i was in SP . but deep deep SP… the deepest of my life… and that has not even been closed to explained because im having trouble finding answers like you lol
It sounds like you are not used to the type of movement that occurs in the conscious dreaming/OBE state. Your “muscles” don’t work in your dream body. Movement is entirely mental. Usually all it takes is to will movement in a direction, and your “essence” will follow your thought. It may be helpful to think of your “body” as not solid, but more of a gas or a conscious cloud. In my OBEs, I am always floating, passing through solid objects, flying rapidly through the atmosphere, or even sinking into the earth if I feel like it. Last night, I wanted to revisit the West, all I did was think, “west”, and *whoosh! Off I went, flying. Another time I simply willed, “Take me to where my heart needs to be.” I couldn’t see anything even when I asked for vision, but I floated horizontally for a relatively long time until heard a doorbell and some dogs barking… Sometimes travel can be mysterious. You may not be able to see; I have this problem frequently of no vision, only tactile, sound, and movement sensations. Once you have had many OBEs, you can definitely tell when you are having one, though, regardless of the details. My advice is to keep practicing as much as you can! Try using mantras combined with WILD techniques, converting lucid dreams into OBEs, or specific techniques for OBEs such as visualize climbing out of your body via a rope while falling asleep. The more waking attention you devote to OBE practice, the more you will experience them. Eventually, your subconscious will become aware of them as they occur naturally. And of course, the more comfortable you become in that state, the more you will get used to moving with your higher mind and not just your physical brain. Make sense? Good luck!!
One more thing that sounds like you could try: body energy awareness exercises. Robert Bruce developed a type of body awareness that stimulates your subtle energy, the same “stuff” that comes out of you when you experience an OBE. The lagging sensation you describe could come from having low energy projections. By learning to stimulate your subtle energy, you can build stronger sensations and stronger amounts of subtle energy, which also helps you be able to sense vibrations and pre-OBE exit sensations. It should feel like tingling or soft buzzing at first wherever you focus your attention. Start with just your toes and feet, both inside and out, then work your way up gradually to larger portions of your body. You can imagine brushes tickling your feet, sponges moving through them, and fabric wrapping around them. Next you would work up to the legs, and so on until you are able to bounce energy in waves through your entire body. Takes a lot of patience, but it’s a great practice for general meditation as well as enhancing dreaming and OBEs.
Ya it sounds like your trying too hard. Movement isnt the same when having an OBE. You just have to will yourself to move and you should. If your really having problems just take things slow. The jerkiness tho? It’s hard to figure out brain stuff like that, and believe me Im no phD…
Also, research chakras and how to open them. Try chakra balance and clearing excercises, this should help you a lot, even with the jerkiness. It’s crazy how connected the body is, and how the subconscious mind works.
Work one hand free. Then, using it as a knife, slide that hand along your body, cutting the webs/fibres that keep you bound until you are free. Disagree on the “mental movement” thing – you should be able to run around like you normally would.
I’ve had similar experiences. Usually when this happens to me my first instinct reaction is to “rebel” against the lack of ability to motion, or move, and struggle with forcing more movement.
I’ve always found little to be gained from this. I can’t explain why, but it always seems that the more energy emitted into the action, an equal force is represented that inhibits said action.
Currently, when I am presented with these experiences, my method is to stop. Instead of leaning on the wall and struggling to reach forward, just simply lean on the wall. Or, if one step is hard to make, just simply sit down, and collect myself.
I mean it’s an OBE, you’re there, might as well take in the scenery?
