Introduction to the Phase - Part 1

Phase Evolution on YouTube

You may ask at this point, "what is this Phase that you speak of and why the heck would someone devote an entire blog to it?". "The Phase" is a term I believe was originally used by Robert Monroe, but more frequently used by Michael Raduga, a Russian author, teacher, and Phase practitioner. It is really more of a category than a noun.  Think of it as a grouping of dis-associative experiences. Anytime we talk about lucid dreaming, astral projection, out of body experiences (OBEs), near death experiences (NDEs), we are talking about one of the many facets of the Phase.

Now, to answer your second hypothetical question, "why should you care?".  That one is easy. Because it is mind blowing.  Because it is incredible.  Because it is the closest thing I have found to magic in this world and the child in me can barely contain the shivers of excitement that still give me goosebumps every time I think back on the moments I have spent in these states.  These are experiences so profound that a single accidental experience has lead this writer to devoting thousands of hours researching, meditating, practicing, and even to spending a week at the Monroe Institute (a center for the exploration of consciousness), all in an attempt to develop the skill set required to enter this state on command or at the very least, to make visits more frequent.

This all started for me a couple of years ago.  In January of 2014, January 3rd to be exact,  I came across the term "Astral Projection".  I had never heard of Astral Projection and all it took was a quick trip to YouTube to decide that this was undeniably a load of absolute nonsense. I had recently escaped 30 years of brainwashing in a fundamentalist religion and that sort of thing tends to leave a bad taste in your mouth for anything that cannot be seen or scientifically proven. I was so determined to expose this phenomenon for the obvious B.S. that it was that I decided to try it out for myself. I found some basic instructions, laid down that night knowing it would be like any other night and fully expecting to have a good laugh in the morning followed by a well deserved "I told you so".

Needless to say, since I am here, two years later, still obsessing over this topic, there was no "I told you so" the following morning. That night, during the process of trying to induce the described state, I was hit in the lower back by what felt like an electric cattle prod. While my body shook uncontrollably, the voltage spread, and a pulsating static in my ears built to a roar comparable to that of a jet engine. I heard an audible voice clearly through the deafening noise.  It was a male voice.  It said, "if you don't get out now, you won't get another chance".  Instinctively I sat up and the world was quiet. The violent, almost painful electrocution was over. I was in my room, but it was different.  Everything had a gentle ambient glow of purple light radiating from it.  I was awake, but I couldn't be awake.  I was fully conscious, fully aware, but at the same time I knew had to be locked in some sort of hallucination or incredibly vivid dream.

That first experience didn't last long, but the impact it had on me was permanent and profound.  I didn't sleep the rest of that night. I laid there, awake, staring at the ceiling, going over and over in my head what I had just experienced. I had discovered something incredible.  I had experienced something that somehow had eluded my attention in over 30 years on this planet. I didn't know what it was, but I did know two things.  I had to learn everything I could about it and I had to do it again.

That my friends is the Phase.