Checkerboard Tunnel

[dreaming90]

I think Fred said in his book that energy sensations are related to reduction of sensory input. RB mentions loud sounds feeling like blows to the solar plexus in deep trance, so it's not a stretch to say that other usually ignored perceptions, such as blood flow through the veins, would manifest as vibrations.

I personally thought the chapter on the transition process was excellent, a big step forwards to understanding the nuts and bolts behind the OBE experience.

EDIT: Oh wait Ashes, you are Fred. Thanks for the excellent book, by the way.

[Ashes]

EDIT: Oh wait Ashes, you are Fred. Thanks for the excellent book, by the way.

Yes, that's me. Glad you found it of value for your own travels.

Nice transition btw, in your OP.

[CFTraveler]

Now I have to catch up on Bentov's work- just as an aside, the heart explanation is interesting, (I can see how the whooshing of sounds can be explained that way) but I tend to think of the vibes as something more, erm, seizury. Maybe, I'll have to do more homework before I formulate an opinion.
And Fred, I better not quote you wrong from now on! *turns around fast*

[Ashes]

Now I have to catch up on Bentov's work- just as an aside, the heart explanation is interesting, (I can see how the whooshing of sounds can be explained that way) but I tend to think of the vibes as something more, erm, seizury. Maybe, I'll have to do more homework before I formulate an opinion.
And Fred, I better not quote you wrong from now on! *turns around fast*

Hye CF!

Whooshing...and especially very smooth transitions characterized by a "clouding effect"...tend to occur with little attention directed anywhere.

It's a nice way of doing it, if you can keep your mind fairly blank, and a pretty direct representation of the process of sensory reduction underway. It's not really somatosensory, not visual, nor auditory, because attention is maintained in a very detached manner.

This is probably what Monroe eventually came to experience as he progressed.

But otherwise, with attention directed to the physical body during the transition, vibrations can come in a lot of different frequencies.

The slower ones tend to be more seizure-like, while the upper range can extent all the way up into feelings of heat and cold. Very fast vibrations don't feel like vibrations anymore.

The same goes for energy sensations of an auditory nature, which occurs when attention is more around the headspace, which might sound like drums at a low frequency, but becomes humming, or a single tone or screech at a higher frequency.

According to Bentov, it can range from anywhere in between 7Hz and 12k Hz.

It's mostly a function of how the brain and skull interacts with the pressure pulses from the heart, as well your own psychological state and attentional focus.

In short, huge variation, despite an otherwise stable heart beat as the source.

For the same reason, I think, NDEs, atleast those characterized by massive heart failure, are not usually accompanied by vibrations or these types of transition phenomena.

Not to worry about quotes. I'll keep an eye on you

Fred

[Sinera]

For the same reason, I think, NDEs, atleast those characterized by massive heart failure, are not usually accompanied by vibrations or these types of transition phenomena.

I don't know if they were cardiac in origin, but I read some accounts or statistics that mention vibrations and/or roaring sounds, sensations as one element of the exit/OBE during NDEs. I think I remember R. Moody enlisting this phenomenon as one repeated element in NDEs.

What does your theory say then about the heavy sensations such as heavy peristaltic snake/kundalini-like waves going through the interior (not outside which is more the case with vibrations) of the body (spine), or similar sensations felt/experienced during a presumed "etheric body" projection?
I had this twice that's why I am asking. So the heart initiates it? This could of course be true. Is it the heart chakra that has to do with it (I visualised its energy once, so it might be quite active in my case)?

Are you also referring to the Heart Math Institute's work also? It is surely interesting and it would support your hypothesis, as the heart seems to emit the strongest electromagnetical field of the body.



http://www.heartmath.org/

Also, recently I had checked on a new medical device developed and now tested by practicioners within the fringe research area of the "Human Body Field". (I am considering working with this device myself, whenever I will be ready as alternative health practicioner, 2013-14-or later... ).

At this bookmarked timemark the doctor giving the introduction to operating the device seems to state exactly what you say, too: It's the heart that collects information, also from nervous system and brain, reacts / acts on an 'energetic' level and also sends out pulses and info for itself, also through the veins, it is a kind of interactive communication with the whole body (or body field).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tPmAfA8LCU#t=6m45s

It's fascinating. We still don't know a lot about our heart, do we?

[Ashes]

Hi Volgerle,

Yes, I think typical Kundalini sensations are something that deserves further looking into. I think it is part of the many different pathways pressure pulses can to travel through the body, including more unusual routes.

It still originates the heart I believe, as does the sensation of an impossibly fast heart beat, which many interpret as being the heart chakra.

Like I said earlier, there are all sort of interesting links you can make with eastern and mystical approaches.

In my experimentations, which I describe in detail in the book, I found the waves and pressure pulses tend to travel up the spine initially, originating in the back from the heart area, and from there they very quickly spread out across the torso. So even if it's not typical Kundalini, the spine seems to be a very popular route, possibly transduced by bone initially before spreading out.

There also seem to be several different entry points across the body, where sensations can easily move from a more exterior position to the inside. It is likely not just blood veins through which pressure pulses travel, but bone and some soft tissues as well.

My first OBE for example, which many would call Kundalini rising, the sensations moved towards the interior pretty late in the process near the throat area. Only then I got the snake feeling. So I think there are many variations within Kundalini rising as well.

I never heard of the heart Math institute. I'll have a look.

There is for sure a lot we don't yet know. NDEs deserve further looking into as well in comparison to OBEs. But having the right questions is a big step forward I think.

Part of why this area is moving so slowly, is because it takes such a long time to become proficient at studying it effectively from a first person perspective. It was a lot of work once I really got into it.

To make these observations for example, requires hovering near the borderline of sleep for a prolonged time, being able to move back in forth within the transition itself, as well as hold perfectly still within it, all while making analytical assessments at the same time. And because every observation raises another question, it requires many sessions.

Even then, it is still easy to go wrong in your conclusions, so nothing I say is written in stone, just yet.

But I do believe it is the most coherent and consistent explanation there is at this point in time.

Thanks for the interest!

Fred

[dreaming90]

I just wanted to throw in another experience I had yesterday morning.

I was in that state where I could close my eyes and easily slip into the dream state. I slipped in and out in hopes of getting some solid sleep, but found that I couldn't really stay in. The dreams were becoming somewhat less vivid and more like very powerful daydreams. I decided to try and "find" the checkerboard tunnel again and attempt another visual transition, as this seemed the perfect time to do it.

I began noticing the blackness behind my eyelids while simultaneously "looking" for the gray circle that had morphed into the tunnel. After a few seconds of this I experienced a very interesting sensation-- I was looking at *something.* It was not a hypnagogic image or anything really definable, it was just a sense of *something.* The best way I can describe it is that part of the blackness was no longer the blackness behind my eyes, but a blackness that was independent of me.

And of course, my eyes instantly snapped open.