Ballabene's OBE and Astral Pages
How to Overcome Fear in OBE States |
|
In the last time e-mails very often were dominated by fear questions. This may cause a wrong sight of OBEing. Most of the persons who had fear problems did not have any OBE and for that reason did not know how to discern OBEs from vivid dreams, near-sleep states (hypnagogic states) and nightmares. Respectively nightmares are typically for such mistakes, because nightmares include awareness of sleep paralysis, but in this case in a semi-awake state, so that vivid dream visions are set in action by the upcoming fear. People then feel some presence of ghosts or demons and because they are close to a daylike consciousness they are convinced that all what they are aware is real. I recommend to observe the hypnagogic pre-sleep states in order to get a feeling and understanding for the haluzinatory character of such dream filmlets, though in the hypnagogic state the filmlets are less emotional and for that reason less dramatic. |
The most frequent sources of OBE fears
Fear of the unknown
Very often OBE beginners have fear because of the unknown. The best
receipt is to get used by constant trials and increasing practice by little
experimenting steps. Further your fear of the unknown can be counteracted
by reading OBE literature and OBE experiences as much as possible.
OBE letter 374
I have been fighting my OBE's for about 7 years now (I am 25), I never ask
for this. I sometimes experience paralysis, extreme fear and horrid visions.
I have taught myself to wake from them, but throughout the night I fear going
back to sleep. I want to learn how to control this experience and feel at
ease with this now--seeing that they apparently are not going to stop. I
don't know what to do! currently, I awaken in my sleep and am aware of
everything and everybody. I try to speak and scream for help, but no one can
hear me. then a tingling feeling, where I can begin to feel my body leaving,
that is when I attempt to stop it. I jerk myself awake. once awake I am
scared, tired, confused and always still tingling. the tingling continues
for at least 25 min.
Please help.
- Kristin
Start reading the article about sleep paralysis OBE-paralysis
After you have informed yourself (perhaps by reading some letters as well), you should know that you have encountered a quite natural situation, at least you should accept it intellectually, though it is understandable that the fear which is engraved subconsciously may not be controlled as easy. For that reason you may do following imagination:
Take a comfortable seat, relax and imagine the state of paralysis. If fear arises, let the fear come and observe what is happening - nothing is happening, your fear is just a feeling, nothing more. Observe this feeling for some minutes.
Then imagine how different imaginations might arise, caused by the fear. Observe these imaginations and register that they only are imaginations and nothing more.
In this way dissolve all shells of origins of fear.
The fear to lose the physical body
Very often beginners report that they are afraid to loose contact with
their physical body and as a consequence to get loss of their physical
body. Intellectual knowledge that such coincidences never have been reported
does not count to them at the moment when they feel lost alone in the situation.
In this case I am of opinion that the best receipt to counter that kind
of fear is to get used to the situation by experiencing the OBE starting
point more often. By the way, it's curious - this fear is mostly felt when starting but is not existent when travelling.
Most of the persons who start their OBE experiences have read or heard something about OBE-dangers. Certainly in such "information" never was spoken about OBE because the sources have been of hidden character like statements in fairy tales or stories. One old superstition is the believe that when the soul leaves the body, the body is endangered: the silvercord could be cut, the soul can't find back the way etc. You must know, in former times they thought crazy people are persons whose soul has left the body and is kept back by demons or is living behind the moon or what ever. Being crazy at these times was a soul problem and not a brain problem as today in medical field.
If you have your first experiences of leaving the physical body, you certainly have existential, instinctive fears of losing your "uncontrolled" body. This kind of fear is or was common to all the OBE experimentators including myself, but vanishes by the time.
The most eminent fear of mine was that anyone
would shake my body and the silvercord would break. In the meantime I know
that the silvercord never can break, because it is not of material character
and therefore can't be damaged. The source of this kind of fear I had,
was a story concerning two witches, who were travelling. One of these witches
was shaken by the farmer, who was the boss and the witch was so shocked
that she died. It was a sage some hundred years old. May be something like
that once had happened, but it then would have been total different circumstances:
it was usual for witches to use poisonous herbs or fruits to force their
travel.
Sources
of fear hidden in the subconscious
A further source of uncontrolled fear might be found in former horror
trips. Your subconscious might remember this and alarm you, whenever you
approach to a similar state. In this case it could be helpful to approach
to a more positive adjustment of your subconsciousness by applying visions
in the hypnagogic state ("half asleep state") - visions of landscapes,
of colored light etc. You even can counteract such engraved old impressions
by calming meditative imagination of lovely landscapes or other imagination
of calming content.
These above mentioned techniques have autosuggestive qualities because of the very relaxed or even "half asleep" state. That's the reason why these techniques can influence as good your subconsciousness. What makes such suggestions working ?:
Ghost
intruders
Hypnagogic ghost impressions
OBE Letter 350
When hearing voices you are in a dreamlike state - the hypnagogic state. The spirits are not
real but self-made by means of your imagination and your subconscious. Because your
body is in a dreamlike state any sensory impression, as you can have them in dreams, may
occur, but now in opposite to common dreams you now are consciously and thus being
frightened. Push the voices away as if they were objects in your inner world and don't
mention.
Real ghost visitors
Doors can not be locked for astral beings - therefore every room is public, such as if you would be outside on street. In common life you are not used to have a sudden look at a strange person being present in your living room for instance, you would be afraid - as me too. However, for astral sight the situation has changed, - but you are still used to the laws of the physical plane - that makes you confused and afraid. But altogether it is a fact of habit.
Further don't be afraid of spirits! Spirits on astral plane, which you may meet, are spirits as you yourself, - regard moving with a subtle body or looking with "astral eyes" makes you a spirit for yourself. Concerning other spirits around you, they are of human origin and as it is usual for humans there are good hearted or they are bad people. They are for nothing more powerful than you are, perhaps they are more convenient to the plane. If they are bad minded perhaps they try to impress you by being tricky - but that's all they can do.
Don't deceive yourself; if you do not see them this does not mean that they are not around you.
To bann them
away? It is similar as if you would not like to see people on street and
if you would try to forbid them to use the street - you have no right
for that. The spirits live in an other dimension
where forces and emotions are more important than the surrounding like your living room - thus
they are not entering your privat sphere, if they are in your living room
- they just happen to be there by chance, because a force or something
like that had attracted them.
How to overcome this kind of fear?
Try to be brave hearted and get used to the situation (by trials, by
reading OBE books). If you stay calm nothing can be harmful to you.
Fear based on sleep paralysis
To a great part sleep paralysis is explained in OBE-paralysis.
Here some additional aspects:
Of course the fact of paralysis in its own is terrifying, if you are not used to. Some times, however, breathing is hindered too, which is an additional source of fear.
OBE Letters 409 "I rolled over, but then noticed I still had the paralysis from the dream. I still had the trouble breathing also. I tried to yell, but couldn't. I struggled to open my eyes and find my door, but everything I could see was like in a disc."
General hints how to handle fear
Text taken of:
TEN RULES FOR COPING WITH PANIC
Alfred Ballabene, Vienna, Austria, Europe, 2000