From: mknip@niksula.hut.fi (Mats Anders Knip)
Subject: Is separation EASY ???
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
Distribution: alt.out-of-body
Date: 12 Oct 92 18:08:56


 One thing that just HAS to be mentioned here is the fact that
most people who write to this conference seem to take the OOBE-
phenomenon as something as natural as eating or sleeping. Almost
every message you see that gives hints or advice on how to achive
an OOBE seem to take it for granted that anybody can experience
an OOBE just by practising for some time. This is obviously not
the case.

 Most questions being asked and answered here can be found in almost
any book on OOBE, but one thing that should really be considered
is the fact that the ability to separate from your body at will
must (IMHO) be regarded as a gift. I don't think that anybody who wants
to can experience a separation at will - at least not when he is trying
the hardest. Maybe it will come to him spontaniously in a couple
of months, even a couple of years, but don't really expect anything
to happen during the first dozen of attempts. I'm just so fed up with
stories that go like "...so since I've heard so much about the phenomena
I decided to try it myself. I lay down comfortably, and after a couple
of minutes I felt a slight vibration in my toes...".
 There is no way I can belive that a person who has never ever experienced
anything like a separation before would succeed the first time he tries
it! Maybe a small percentage of the population are born that lucky, but
hardly everybody. I take my self as a good example on the latter.

 I first heard about OOBE from a friend of mine a couple of years ago.
He had been practising with Monroe's Discovery series, and the way he
described it it seemed like something too good to be true. Why hadn't I
heard about that before??? I started doing the exercises the way my friend
had told me to, fully assured that I WOULD experience an OOBE in a matter
of days. Everybody said so! Still - I did not.

 My friend told me that for some people it takes time. It might take a
couple of months, maybe even a year, but progressively you WILL get better
and better, and finally the big day will come. Just don't give up! And I
didn't. After having read Monroes books I was so sure that anybody could
do it if he just tried hard enough, and maybe I tried too hard. I never
really got the experience I was looking for. It's been a couple of years
since I gave up my serious attempts, but I've been coming back to the
exercises every now and then, without results. The best thing I managed
was the "body asleep mind awake" state that Monroe describes - which
was, in fact, a very amusing thing in it self, but since my expectations
were put so high it didn't really feel that great. After some time I
started to wonder whether Monroe himself was nothing but a Fraud, and
that it was all just another great-way-of-making-money-on-stupid-people.

However - I don't want to put anybody down. Remember that these are my
very own impressions and nobody elses  . I'm quite sure there is
an astral body, and I also do belive that some people can leave their
physical body - maybe even at will, but don't expect too much of your
own attempts. Since most people who write in this conference have
probably had OOBEs themselves you easily get the picture that everybody
can do this. Just remember that this conference is read by thousands
of people who are probably just as interested in the phenomena as
you, but who haven't actually experienced any more than you either.

I am still very fascinated by the subject, and I guess I'm still hoping
for that one big adventure to happen, but I'm not really counting on
it anymore. I wish those of you who have recently begun practising all
the best, but if nothing happens - don't be disappointed. Maybe some
day...

Anybody with more experience of the discovery tapes, please share your
views to the public. Almost everything I've heard came from the Institute
itself, and no matter how good they say their intentions are I just can't
believe every word a company says about their own product.

Flames and all kinds of destructive ideas on what I've just said are
welcome to the usual places.


					mknip@niksula.hut.fi















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