Traveling. Alan Guiden

here is a basic ‘visualization’ that relaxes your body in bed yet keeps you focused and alert, which improves your chances of traveling out of your body:

      A. You’re at the top of a ladder. Stop reading, I don’t want you to fall. Badabing. You’re at the top of a long ladder.

      B. Step down the ladder.

      C. As you venture down your ladder, think about how relaxed and alert you’re becoming. You’re so relaxed, moving down and down. Step by step, relaxing deeply as you move further and further. You’re alert and relaxing. When you reach the bottom you know that you’ll be completely relaxed and alert. Down and down you go. No rush, as you go down and down your ladder to relaxation and alertness. You’re at the bottom. You’re comfortably relaxed and alert.

      To further advance your visualization towards getting out of your body, include a traveling plan. See in your thoughts what you’d like to do or accomplish while you’re traveling out of your body. Desire to be someplace close-by and see yourself go there. There’s your living room with the comfortable chair and the television. The popcorn and precious ale call to you from the coffee table with a handbook balancing out that uneven leg. You see yourself sit up in your bed. You move to the doorway. You go down the hall. You sneak up on the cat, as if you can. You enter your living room. You move to the comfortable chair. It is then that you realize you can’t eat popcorn or drink ale while nonphysical.

      Visualization relaxes you and keeps you alert. Visualization is the route you take in your thoughts so you know where you’re going. Visualization moves your focus away from your bedroom and allows your physical to toddle off to Snoreland. Then it’s off you go to the living room just as you planned.

      In addition to being an excellent way to get nonphysical, visualization will push annoying busy-thoughts away like a big friendly something or other that you might conjure up in your twisted mind.

      TAKE A VACATION

      You’re on a raft in the middle of a soothing lake, floating under a clear blue sky. An ant swims by. He waves at you to attract your attention. He shouts from the water, “Hey dopey, stop thinking about ants! Try relaxing a bit,” he says, “Think about how relaxing this lake is. Why, I don’t think you could find a nicer, quieter or more relaxing lake than you have right here, by golly,” the long-winded ant proclaims. The ant then grabs your bag of sandwiches from the raft and paddles quickly away using two carrot sticks as oars. Before long you hear the ant shout from across the lake, “Stoppppppp thinkinggggg aboutttttt antsssssss!”

      Nothing relaxes you more than someplace relaxing. I wonder where you like to relax so that I can get in on your action. Your shower relaxes you, I bet. But I’m not going in there. How about your chair in the living room? That looks pretty relaxing. I could enjoy some serious relaxation there. And your hammock looks relaxing. I’ll get in that and swing around for a relaxing hour. Do you like relaxing at the beach? I could borrow your lawn chair and your sunbrella and be very relaxed. Yes indeed. Comfortably lounging on a nice warm day down by the beach. The waves rolling in and out, the gulls calling from above the surf. A light breeze wafts the fresh ocean air. You are so relaxed. So relaxed in your special place. Oops, did I say you? I meant me. It’s me here at your beach using your lawn chair and sunbrella and sipping your icy cold drink. Did I mention that I took your drink? Well, it’s too late now, so get over it. But while I have you here in your special place, that can be any amazing place you have ever been or can imagine, let me tell you this. You can use your handy visualization to relax yourself into a place just like this beach.

      While thinking of a pleasing place, you remain alert by observing the small details of what makes that place perfect for you. You run your hand through the sand, you hear the gulls singing, some klutz trips over your beach towel. You focus on these pleasing details while your physical moves to snooze. Then, when you consciously reach the awake/asleep line, you may either nonphysically visit a beach or have an alternate plan ready for a travel elsewhere or with a different agenda.

      SKIP THIS PART

      I hate to bring this up, so just go right on past this chapter and don’t feel guilty. Move on ahead. There’s nothing you need to read here. Well, you had your chance. You could always do some light exercise before bedtime to tucker out your physical and sharpen your alertness. Of course, if you get lots of exercise in your daily routine this is not as important. But if you sit in your chair all day, as I am doing now, you could probably benefit from actual movement. On a doctor’s okay, you could get up, move around, hop on one foot, dance the mambo, do aerobics, or just twiddle your thumbs. Doing an active bit of this or that prior to your relaxation method du jour will improve your chances of consciously reaching the awake/asleep line and traveling.

      Once your body is worked a bit, get back into bed. Take a shower first if you wouldn’t mind. Move into your relaxation method while staying alert. You’ll find that your physical slides more quickly and easily towards sleep, so be ready to put your traveling plan into action when you’re near the line. More on that is coming up but first get me a cup of coffee. No, wait. I just remembered the other thing I hated to bring up.

      BETTER MAKE IT DECAF

      Here are some things we like to drink and eat: coffee and caffeinated tea and sodas and chocolaty candy bars and cookies. And here are some things that can really screw up a good relaxation method if consumed too close to your traveling attempt: coffee and caffeinated tea and sodas and chocolaty candy bars and cookies. Simply stated, as I’m the simpleton stating it, if you enjoy these goodies too late in the day a travel’s less likely, so hip hip hooray! As you can see I’m hopped-up on coffee. Don’t let this happen to you when you’re trying to travel.

      The other side of being too jumpy is being too relaxed due to over-consumption of alcohol or something else fun. Did I say fun? I meant terribly fun. No, I meant terrible and not fun at all. That’s what I meant. The simpleton rule is don’t do an overabundance of anything prior to your travel attempts. Your goal is to be relaxed but alert and in control for your visit to the awake/asleep line.

      SOME PEOPLE ARE ABOVE AVERAGE BUT YOU’RE NOT

      As I’ve mentioned here and there, but mostly there, I’m an average guy with an unusual talent. Traveling is just something I learned how to do. I doubt that I have any particular extra this or that, but mostly that, allowing me to travel more than you.