Sight and memory while out of body?

[Energize]

Hi Folks,
I haven't had an AP yet, but soon I'll be trying the 90 day course.
Started to read Mastering Astral Projection [correction: Astral Dynamics]. Not far into it, but I already want to ask questions.

A couple of things surprised me. One, is I got the impression that your vision can be limited while out of body - blurry or fuzzy or murky. The other is that the shorter the time spent out of body, the easier to remember it. Conversely, longer OBE's are much more difficult to remember?

As I mentioned, I'm not very far into the book yet, so this may be clarified further in. But I couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment about these aspects. I had hoped that the experience could be clear and that remembering wouldn't be such a big hurdle.

Is it just because I'm not far enough into the book yet that I'm getting these impressions? And I was reading rather hurriedly during a busy day, so I might not have fully comprehended it.

When I imagine having an OBE, I hope for clear vision, clear thought and reasoning, and the ability to remember the whole thing...to really experience it fully, and bring it back to waking consciousness. I've previously read about the possibility of having discussions with mentors, to see amazing sights and visit exotic places. But not much good, if it's like wearing a sock over your head and being heavily doped with sleeping pills.

Can anyone offer clarifications and reassurance about these aspects? Do any of you have clear vision while out of body? Can any of you clearly remember lengthy trips?

Thanks!

[CFTraveler]

Hi Energize.
It depends on the type of projection you get, where your brainstate is, how your energy levels are, but I can give you a rough sketch or guideline.
When you have an RTZ OBE (etheric projection), if you exit awake, you may or may not have vision problems. This is because you are not seeing with physical eyes- your energy body is your organ of perception. Kind of like radar. So when you exit, you are getting a 3d interpretation of the energetic environment as it interacts with your energy body.
If you are awake and aware, you may get a picture of what things look like, unless you're too close to your body, and your mind is still trying to 'see' with your eyes, which are closed. This is resolved by getting away from your body, in which case your perceptual point will be in your expanded/projected body, and you will then 'see'.
In an astral projection, you get a more clear view of the environment than in an OBE to the RTZ, because the nature of the astral has more 'mind' in it, so to speak. There is not so much competition with your body's perceptual bias, because it's an experience more 'removed' from the physical. More like dreaming.
However, the thing about the short OBE is, that if you stay 'out' long enough, your perceptual body will shift into the astral, which in turn can start losing lucidity, and turn into a dream- and when that happens you can go to sleep, and once you go into a deep dreaming state the chances of your remembering your projection go down- just like when you wake up from a dream (usually in rem) you usually remember the dream you had at the last part of the sleep cycle just before waking, and not the previous ones.
So if you make a deliberate reentry after a short OBE, and write down keywords, you have more chances of remembering it later.
There are other factors involved but these are the main ones that I can think of now.

[Energize]

Thanks for the insightful information CFTraveler.

In your experience, do you remember much? Do you sometimes have extended journeys that you remember clearly?
I've been hoping to eventually use OBE's as a tool to better understand myself and the greater reality.
I'm concerned that if it is difficult to recall the experience, it won't be of much use in this regard if I can't bring back what I've learned into physical consciousness.

[CFTraveler]

I am privileged in that I remember everything, but then again, I have a freaky memory in 'regular' life. I can only remember twice in my life in which I actually blacked out, that is, lost track of a sense of being, and that is when I was having surgery. So it doesn't count.
You can read my journal in the Journals forum, you can see when I started keeping one, and how I had long expeirences in which I lost 'pools' or chunks of info in between multiple exits- I think it can give you an idea of what kind of information you can expect. Even though I am practically average in the projection department, I don't remember every single projection (or write it down, the mods know this) there are others that are more successful than I in that dept, so I think a look at my journal can give you an idea of what to expect when you get good at getting out.
I consider this to have been (and is still) a learning experience, since I learn as much about myself as about anything else, and one I enjoy immensely, when I have them.

[Energize]

I've just read further into Astral Dynamics (by the way, I incorrectly called it Mastering Astral Projection in my first post - oops).
Robert suggests using affirmations and other techniques to assist with shadow memory recall.

Has anyone had success with remembering lengthy or complex projections? I'd like to hear about it. Particularly what techniques people use to do so, like CFTraveller's deliberate re-entry and writing down keywords described earlier.

EDIT: I just saw your post above CFTraveller, thanks again. I'll see if I can hunt down the journal.

[Energize]

Also, it's very reassuring to hear that you enjoy the experiences so much. Quite a number of people (on this forum and some others I had a poke around), talk about negative experiences they have had. Good to be aware of all aspects I'm sure, but I am definitely seeking this path to experience the positives.

[CFTraveler]

Well, if you're looking at the PSD or PSNA forums of course you're going to read about negative experiences- but most of the time people have them regardless of projection experience, so even though negative experiences are part and parcel of development, since you're bringing conscious awareness of what goes on in your subconscious, and experiencing it in objectified form, I think that this division of themes makes it seem that it's more prevalent than it is.
Boy, that was long winded of me.