Trouble recalling OBEs

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chiasmox
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There seems to be the common consensus that one can always fully recall their astral projections. That's not what I experienced, though, at least so far. And yes, I know I'm not actually only lucid dreaming.
Is remembering a skill one has to develop? Does everyone here recall their OBEs in detail every time?


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Lewk
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chiasmox wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 5:00 pm There seems to be the common consensus that one can always fully recall their astral projections. That's not what I experienced, though, at least so far. And yes, I know I'm not actually only lucid dreaming.
Is remembering a skill one has to develop? Does everyone here recall their OBEs in detail every time?
I don't really know it all but I do have some thoughts.

No, I think there is a school of thought that it's hard to remember what happens on the astral. (I suppose to some extent that overlaps intentional OBEs and is the same for dreams.)

I suppose it may also depend on what method's used.

If someone catches up with sleep before an OBE / astral travel and is awake and conscious during it, I can't see why it shouldn't be possible to recall a lot of what happened. Memories will fade with time, just like with any experience. Recall of some real world experiences fades within seconds or minutes. So light trance - a form of deep relaxation - while remaining fully conscious should result in good recall.

But, if someone uses a method that involves more or less falling asleep, or they can't help falling asleep. I think that's when loss of recall will be at its worst. We do go deep during sleep and can go deep during lucid dreaming or astral journeys. When we're a somewhat passive participant is when I'd expect the memory to fade more quickly than when we consciously control or participate in what happens.

...it seems to me, anyway.


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chiasmox
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Lewk wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:23 am I don't really know it all but I do have some thoughts.

No, I think there is a school of thought that it's hard to remember what happens on the astral. (I suppose to some extent that overlaps intentional OBEs and is the same for dreams.)

I suppose it may also depend on what method's used.

If someone catches up with sleep before an OBE / astral travel and is awake and conscious during it, I can't see why it shouldn't be possible to recall a lot of what happened. Memories will fade with time, just like with any experience. Recall of some real world experiences fades within seconds or minutes. So light trance - a form of deep relaxation - while remaining fully conscious should result in good recall.
Okay, I think I see where this is going... and I think you might be hitting gold here, Lewk. All my OBEs so far have never happened when I was conscious and intentionally projecting. Only one time was I able to go from a lucid dream into the astral, and I do somewhat recall that experience the most. But damned be me-- dialogues are very hard to remember in detail.

Lewk wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:23 am When we're a somewhat passive participant is when I'd expect the memory to fade more quickly than when we consciously control or participate in what happens.
Passive? Well, two times my companions pulled me from a dream into the astral, and things are especially blurry in that case. I assume this is the answer then. When I am there, though, I am fully conscious and not at all asleep anymore, so to speak.


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Have you ever read Robert Bruce's astral projection book? In Astral Dynamics he talks about failed recall and its bc of what he calls the mind-split effect:
The mind-split is the single biggest cause of OBE failure, but is virtually unknown for what it is. The mind-split leaves no trace or memory of what went wrong if a projection fails. Time and again it will turn successful OBEs into seemingly failed attempts. This thwarts the natural learning process, as it does not allow projectors to learn from their failures and thus improve upon their efforts. Because of all this, people tend to concentrate the majority of their efforts on projection techniques, searching for just the right quick fix to launch them out of their bodies. Projection technique, while important, is not the be-all-and-end-all for successful projection. There is a definite knack to remembering an OBE, which can only begin to be learned when the mind-split is properly taken into account.
Here is a snippet from the book were he gives a way to work around shadow memories;
Shadow Memory

Shadow memory is my term for all memories not gained during normal waking consciousness by the physical body — memories gained through OBE, including lucid dreams and dream experiences. Shadow memories are downloaded into the physical brain after an OBE, and appear to exist in inaccessible levels of memory. Full waking consciousness completely overrides and hides shadow memories, making them extremely difficult to access and thus remember under normal circumstances. A very light trance or near-daydreaming state encourages shadow memories to surface inside the conscious mind where they can become real memories. During this relaxed state, the conscious mind tends to wander through events, ideas, fantasies, and memories, which causes associations to be made with fragments of shadow memories. Associations trigger the upsurge of shadow memories into conscious levels of the mind. The first few minutes of each day, just after waking, are when most people recall shadow memories. This is thus the ideal state and time from which to practice shadow memory recall exercises, using leading trigger phrases to cause associations.
The book is quite long, but very informative, I totally recommend it.


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chiasmox
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The shadow memory thing does sound relatable... Thanks a lot! I should probably get into more literature in that regard.


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Robert Bruce's Astral Dynamics is a good book on the topic!


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