I was reading some of Franks old posts, looking for more information on his \”Mental Rundown\” method and I came across this post (post #43 on page 3) which gave a much more detailed recount of what a mental rundown is and how to craft your own to suit yourself.
I\’ve had a number of PM\’s asking similar questions about my comments regarding the mental-rundown given on the monster-thread as being a kind of primer which kick-starts the natural Phasing process.
The questions relate to how you integrate the two and kick-start the process; how can you tell when the process has been kick-started, and what to do then, etc. So I thought I’d post a reply here as it pertains to the thread title.
What is the purpose of creating a mental rundown?
The rundown acts as a kind of mental primer which gets you in the mood and increases your anticipation and expectation levels (very important). The rundown is not what causes you to Phase to the Astral. Phasing is a natural process which comes about under certain mental conditions which I expand on later in this essay. It also gives a person practice in focusing their attention away from the physical body into the expanse of their mind. In other words, what you are basically doing is imagining you are Phasing to the Astral.
What shall I try, and for how long, and how often?
The mental-rundown exercise should be performed preferably at least once each day at around the same time. It does not really matter what kind of mental rundown you use. Simply do whatever feels right for you. Someone posted fairly recently they tried to work out their own but gave up and used the example I gave with a few changes here and there. Others have created their own from scratch. Like I say, it truly does not matter.
You don’t actually need the Wave-1 CD either – you can formulate a mental rundown to some relaxing music, or create something using Brainwave Generator, or use whatever suits you. All I would advise is for you to create something of around 30 to 45 minutes duration which you are basically happy with then stick with it. In other words, don’t make it too short, or too long, and no chopping and changing.
Okay, I’ve formulated a mental rundown so what next?
Once you have learnt your mental rundown you are ready to use it as a mental primer. First you go through it. Then simply remove the earphones (if you are using a CD or tape) and try Phasing for real.
In cases where you perhaps haven’t got all that much time to spare, what I would suggest is you create a short version of your rundown. Say, around half the duration. Then, every other time, listen to the short version after which you try for real. Once you get more competent then perhaps switch to the short version each morning. Or maybe try a regime of rundown one day and try it for real with no rundown the next. Again, it truly is a case of whatever suits each individual.
What do you mean by “Phasing for real?”
When you come to Phase for-real, you switch from perceiving metal imagery you are imagining as part of your rundown, i.e. where you are imagining you are Phasing to the Astral, to perceiving images that are being created as part of the normal Phasing process. In other words, you are not imagining anything, you are doing it!
After going through my rundown I try it for real and nothing happens, why?
Chances are, your physical-body is distracting you by capturing your attention.
One of the benefits of formulating a mental-rundown to some kind of audio recording, is it takes your mind off both the physical body and the Physical environment. Plus, you know exactly what imagery to perceive as it is you who is imagining it. Without these two mental props it can feel like you are right back at square one.
Main things you should avoid when trying for-real
Thinking about day-to-day Physical-realm matters.
Any kind of thinking about anything to do with the Physical-realm tends to put a *big* spoke in the works. In other words, you can’t really hope to kick-start the Phasing process if one part of you is thinking of your dental appointment next day; or whether you’ll get that pay-rise you requested; or your birthday next week, etc., etc.
To deal with this what you should do, right at the start of your practice, is imagine a large box and place all your Physical-realm concerns in that box. Then lock it securely and walk away. When you finish your mental-rundown, unlock the box and take them out again. This method is suggested by Monroe on the Wave-1 CD. It may sound a bit weird but it works!
Any kind of internally verbalised thought (even if it is to do with Phasing!).
What I mean here, is you need to switch your inner-thinking so it is working exclusively in a visual way. Speed-reading aside, when we read to ourselves we have this inner voice which reads the words. This voice is probably what you are listening to within your own mind, right now as you read this.
Also, when we think to ourselves in an everyday sense we tend to use this same inner voice. Like, you may think, “Hmm, I’ve got 30 minutes before I meet my next client, so I’ll go and fill the car with petrol and pick-up something to eat on the way back.” Thinking that way uses that same inner-voice… which must be silent.
Then you quietly and passively observe what happens next.
When I say “quietly” I mean observe without having that inner-voice comment on anything you may perceive.
When I say “passively” I mean avoid reacting in any way to anything you may perceive.
Both the above I realise are a tad tricky to do. The good news is it all comes good with practice. At first, what will probably happen is you might perceive some kind of vague, fleeting image. At which point your inner-voice will chirp-up saying, “What was that?” or it might make some other comment. Perhaps it may comment in recognition that you are making progress.
Problem is, as it does so, it tends to send you a step back each time. Unfortunately, you can get caught in a self-defeating loop: where you take one step forward, your inner voice recognises you just took a step forward and comments to that effect, and the act of it doing so takes you one step back to where you were before.
Or you might perceive something and react to it. You might get startled, or fearful, or such like. What used to happen to me all the time (which was most frustrating) is I’d perceive some image in mind and, the moment I did so, my physical eyes would try and snatch a glance at whatever it was. This, of course, zapped me right back to C1 each time.
Okay, so you are in a state where you are quietly and passively observing. Don’t worry if nothing comes about. Simply curtail the session after your normal time and try again next session. Hopefully, what will soon happen is you will begin to perceive what may seem like fairly weird, totally abstract mental imagery.
Say you perceive some fleeting kind of something or other. Chances are you’ll wonder if what you think you may have perceived is what you should be starting to perceive. Then you’ll realise your inner voice has just made a comment. But the realisation of that was yet another comment. By which time you’ll probably be right back where you started.
The key is to simply roll along with this mental imagery, without your inner voice commenting on it, or having your physical body reacting to it. This is the beginning of Phasing. You don’t need any particular “technique” in order to project. You just need to set it going. Once the process gets underway everything happens more or less automatically.
If you can just quietly and passively observe the process you will end up within the Astral as awake and alert as you normally are while within the Physical.
Yours,
Frank
Actually, that ENTIRE thread has a bunch of gems. I suggest reading all 6 pages of it. There are a few posts there by Bruce Moen as well.