Many of us would love to have expanded state experiences that would occasionally just knock our socks off, provide undeniable confirmation of non-physical reality or help us, as Bob Monroe would say, “…turn beliefs into knowns.” Yearly, millions of people attend workshops, read books, listen to CD’s, go on vision quests, and partake of plant medicines, etc. in an attempt to consciously explore expanded states of awareness. Some are more successful than others, and I think I know a few reasons why.

As a facilitator, workshop designer and author of some 35 meditation recordings, I find myself ‘in the business’ of helping people become more successful in their journeys in exploring consciousness; such as the conscious OBE, non-local healing, demonstrable psychokinesis, remote viewing and communicating with non-physical intelligences.

• Form a clear, positive intention. Setting one’s intention is a choice to align the mind and heart to be or act in a way that supports a desired outcome. Forming a positive intention tells the universe that you are serious about exploring, and sets everything in motion. It creates an energetic map for reality to follow. Take some time to craft carefully what you would like to experience, then write it down, say it, feel it, and repeat it as you enter your exploration session. It’s your game, you are the game player and game designer. Clearly describe to yourself where you want your experience to take you or what you want it to provide for you. Bob Monroe created the famous Gateway Affirmation to use as a preparation tool for exploration. The word affirm means, “to make firm in consciousness.”
   
• Use the power of your imagination. All of us came equipped with imagination as one of the most important human creation skills. When you imagine yourself say, meeting your guide for the first time, here’s what you are actually doing: by visualizing, feeling, sensing whatever you might imagine your guide to be like, you are creating a comfort level within yourself for the experience to happen.  Your brain changes as well. Neuroscience has shown that the same parts of the brain light up when we are imagining experiencing something as it does when we are actually experiencing something with our physical senses. Just by pre-imagining an experience, you become very comfortable with it even before it shows up for you. And staying calm and relaxed is key in all of this work. You can help to create a new reality experience for yourself when you imagine that the reality exists. Your imagination can become a real bridge between worlds.

And staying calm and relaxed is key in all of this work. You can help to create a new reality experience for yourself when you imagine that the reality exists. Your imagination can become a real bridge between worlds.

• Activate and control your inner energy. Energy and consciousness are not separate, and as a multi-dimensional, vibrational, intelligent being, using all aspects of your consciousness system is important. Inner energy is sometimes referred to as chi, life force, or bio-energy, and can be recognized in our emotions, vitality levels, mental states, manifestations and relationships Learning to raise or modulate your inner energy, (or vibrations) can facilitate easier exits in classical OBE’s, make thoughts and desires manifest faster, enable you to shift physical health conditions and draw similar matching frequency experiences into your life. Learning about chakras, inner energy channels, states of being, grounding energy and opening up the human energy field (aura) can be very beneficial in consciousness exploration.

• Train yourself to access beneficial brainwave states. It has been shown that different brainwave states can allow easier access to a variety of different functions in consciousness exploration. Although they do not guarantee one will achieve any extraordinary experiences, they do help open doors of perception. There are five basic frequency states: Beta, Alpha, Theta, Delta and Gamma. Each is measured in Hz (or cycles per second) and each has its own characteristics that represent a unique state of consciousness. I can say here that lower brainwave states such as Alpha and Theta are used often by explorers. One of the best tools I know of is Monroe Sound Science binaural beat audio technology for training yourself at home or in a workshop setting to experience these deeper states for yourself.
   
• Keep your heart open. Learning ways to open your heart and access the guiding wisdom and support that exists there is one of the surest ways to access meaningful consciousness experiences. In the traditional chakra system, the heart chakra is the portal to higher dimensions of self. It is centered between the three lower, physical chakras and the three upper, spiritual chakras. Heart energy has its very own intuitive wisdom that will lead the way into purposeful, relevant and transformative experiences. Just before you do any exploration sessions, take some time to place your hands over your heart area, take some deep centering breaths and recall a time, an event or person or pet that you liked being with. Just feel how much love is there, and this will quickly bring you into an open-hearted state of being.
   
• Let go, trust and surrender into the unknown. After you have done your preparation work it is time to stop ‘trying’ and shift into ‘allowing’. You’ve launched your intentions, raised your personal vibrations, and opened your heart. You’ve done the footwork and the last piece is to trust that some higher part of your awareness got the ticket and is preparing whatever is best for your higher good and the good of all. Moving into the unknown creates a spaciousness for us; the unknown is where mystery and possibilities exist. There is little evolution for our consciousness when we experience predictable events over and over. Letting go opens up our energy and consciousness so that we can receive the gifts that await us.

I have to admit though, years ago I myself wasn’t very adept or confident as an explorer. In fact, I dubbed myself the ‘consciousness dud of the universe.’ All of the cool experiences seemed to happen to other people, while I just stared into blackness for what seemed like an eternity. No contact, no floating out of my body, and definitely no exciting visuals. Over time that changed by acquiring some basic explorer skills, which I’d like to teach you in my EnergyBody program. They might possibly help improve the quality of your consciousness explorations, making them more real, interactive and transformative. 

Join me for my 5-day/6-night all-inclusive Energy Body program at the Monroe Institute.

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