William Buhlman OBE Intensive at TMI
by Bob Peterson
Kathy and I just returned from a week-long class at The Monroe Institute (TMI) called "Out-of-Body Experience (OBE) Intensive" taught by William (Bill) Buhlman, author of Adventures Beyond the Body and others. I wanted to share my experiences so people would know what to expect from the class.
My spiritual quest began in 1979 when I read Robert Monroe's book, Journeys Out of the Body. I was thrilled when he started The Monroe Institute to study consciousness beyond the physical and thought about taking TMI classes, but never did. First, they were expensive; for that much money I could (and did!) go to much more exotic places. Second, traditional TMI classes were always about "Focus Levels" and they stated up-front: Don't expect to achieve an OBE, because that's not what they're trying to achieve. Third, I eventually developed my own OBE techniques without TMI, so I didn't need them.
Fast-forward to 2012. I found out that Buhlman had started teaching an OBE Intensive class at TMI. It sounded fun, but it still seemed like an unnecessary expense. Plus, my wife Kathy had no interest in OBE at the time and I didn't want to sit around alone in a classroom full of strangers without her. Besides, as a fellow OBE author, I didn't want to step on Bill's toes or butt in on his business.
Then Kathy and I spent the winter of 2014 in Austin, Texas, where we made a great bunch of OBE-oriented friends. One of those friends, Mike, told us he was going to the OBE Intensive class in July. Kathy suggested we both join him. She didn't have to say it twice: we called the Monroe Institute right away. Sadly, the July class was already full. I was bummed.
When I told Mike the bad news, he countered with good news: a friend of his had reserved a place at the class, but now had to back out. If I played my cards right, I could take his place in the class. When I called TMI to make the switch, they told me they were able to fit both Kathy and I into the class. I don't believe in luck, fate or coincidences; I believe in synchronicity, so this all seemed well-planned by a higher power. Somehow it all just magically fell into place.
On Friday, July 11, a TMI representative picked us up at the airport in Charlottesville Virginia and drove us to the TMI campus on Roberts Mountain. As soon as I walked in the door, a man with a sparkle in his eye approached me and said, "Tell me something. Do you believe in coincidences?" I said, "Well, actually, no I don't. I believe our higher selves plan our lives very carefully." The man said, "I signed up for this class three months ago." He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and showed me the proof. Then he turned the paper over and showed me his signature. My jaw dropped. It was Ian, a long-time friend and supporter of my books for many years. To protect his privacy, he never posted photos of himself, so I never knew what he looked like. Now suddenly, we met face-to-face at TMI. All I could say was "Wow!" That higher power really pulled some strings!
We were given a short tour of the facility and shown to our room, which included our two CHEC units: individual enclosed beds where we did all our OBE exercises.
We only had to follow a few rules, such as: No alcohol, be respectful, and reduce our technology as much as possible. I checked my email occasionally, my facebook rarely, and I didn't even carry my cell phone. I only used my laptop to keep a journal of what we did. I'm a music lover, so giving up my music was definitely a hardship, but I think it helped.
There were 24 people in the class, from all backgrounds and walks of life, from the shy to the boisterous, from the mystic to the geek. There was a real sense of camaraderie and adventure. By the end of the class, many of us became good friends, because we had the common bond of OBEs, which is--let's face it--weird by most people's standards.
Our schedule was...well...OBE intensive: wake up at 7:00am, optional yoga at 7:20am, breakfast at 8:00am. Starting at 9:00am, we alternated between dialogue and OBE exercises. Sometimes Bill's assistant, Patty, would also lead us through energy exercises, chakra tuning, stretching and so forth. Lunch was at 1:00pm, followed by a two-hour lunch break. Then we resumed our dialogue and exercises at 4:00pm. Dinner was at 6:30pm, and after that, we were back at it. We usually didn't quit until 10:30pm. We often did OBE meditation seven or eight times a day. After that, many people chatted and shared experiences, but I just went back to my room to write in my journal.
The dialogue consisted of three parts: First, Bill would ask the participants to share what they had experienced during the previous exercise. Second, he and Patty would answer questions and talk about different aspects of OBE. Lastly, Bill would explain the next exercise and we'd be given 5 to 10 minutes to get back to our CHEC units to make the next attempt. Every CHEC unit has a "ready" switch to signal when the participants were ready for the exercise, which were often done under headphones.
The talks were great, and included a wide variety of OBE-related topics: psychic protection, planes of existence, astral and etheric bodies, death, lucid dreaming, Shamans, drugs (like DMT and galantamine), religion and the afterlife and, of course, OBE tips and techniques. I was in 100% agreement with Bill, and his experience meshed perfectly with mine.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes from Bill's talks:
"There's not a man-made belief that isn't flawed."
"Try to stay calm when all hell breaks loose." (i.e. when the vibrations come, etc.)
"Personal responsibility is about energy responsibility." (Both in OBE and in waking life).
"What is your state of consciousness? That's the only thing that matters. We must take total control. Drop looking to the external for negativity. Each of us is creating our own lessons."
"You've got to get out of your head." (In other words, you can't over-analyze it. You've got to leave that head-space. It's better to feel than to think. I call it being passive.)Of course, Bill emphasized his signature techniques for gaining clarity and lucidity: "Clarity Now!" or "Awareness Now!" He talked about the importance of being forceful and using "Now" in your request. He also suggested some great experiments like "Higher Self Now!" He also had countless amusing stories and creative ideas, like "Balance my karma now!"
Bill had us do a wide variety of OBE exercises; it was a very good sampling. As much as I'd love one recipe that can induce an OBE in everybody, it doesn't work that way. Different people respond to different things. An exercise that works for one person is often incompatible with someone else. For example, I'm highly resistant to hypnosis, so those methods don't help me. Because every exercise was different, there wasn't enough time or consistency to produce many OBEs at the facility. The idea was for everyone to try a sampling so everyone learns what works for them. Then, upon returning home, they practice it for 30 days to develop their OBE skill.
Some of the exercises were more visual (e.g. visualization techniques), some auditory (e.g. binaural beats), and some more tactile (e.g. to induce rocking or floating sensations). Some exercises included TMI's hemi-sync technology and some didn't. Some had binaural beats and some didn't. Some had hypnotic induction and some didn't. We also tried a relatively new technology developed at TMI called SAM (Spacial Angle Modulation). Some of the early exercises included setting intentions. We would visualize carving our intent into a block of granite, such as "Now I have a conscious OBE."
We also did a lot of what I think of as bonus exercises. For example, everyone received a cheap reminder-bracelet that says, "Am I Dreaming?" to reinforce lucidity through our habits. Also, in the middle of the night, hemi-sync played lightly on speakers in our CHEC units and every twenty minutes, it would make a "ping" sound, which might trigger lucidity in some people.
But that's not all. Every day, in the early morning hours, Bill would come on the speakers and wake us up in an attempt to perform "Wake Back To Bed" (WBTB) exercises. It was never a rude awakening. It was just a simple, "Please begin your OBE exercise now" but you'd never know when he'd wake you. Sometimes he did it twice in the same night, which made a lot of people tired the next morning. I remember one particular morning after Bill had woken us up twice. I slung my feet off the bed of my CHEC unit and held my head in my hands, trying to gather my wits. When Kathy poked her head out, she saw me and said, "Oh my God. Are you okay? What's wrong?" I told her, "I'm just tired. I keep saying, 'Coffee Now!' but it's not working!"
Don't get me wrong: It wasn't all hard work. It was also lots of fun. We spent lots of time listening to Bill's OBE stories and world view. He and I are so much alike, it's scary. Many times we all (including Bill) laughed so hard our sides began to ache. He often playfully bantered with some of the staff and also the Canadians in the class.
The facility is all-inclusive, which means they provide all the food and drinks. The food was good (not fabulous), offering choices for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike. It wasn't new-age hummus and tofu. That's not Bill's style. It was tacos, pizza and baked fish, vegetables and salads. Breakfasts were often big, complete with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and veggie-sausage, juices, and all.
There were enough bathrooms and showers for everyone. One of the bathrooms was out of order and they put up a sign on the door that read "OBE: Out of Bathroom Experience (Thank you for your patience)."
At the end of the class, we were all given handouts, a certificate of course completion, and three CDs with different exercises and/or sounds to help us maintain the momentum we had gained.
Here's a picture of Kathy, Mike, Me, Bill and Patty, near the crystal:
Now you're probably wondering: Did I have an OBE using the exercises? It depends on your criteria. Many times I got very close to an OBE state; I got onto that "balance-beam of consciousness", only to fall off. Several other times I felt my consciousness shift a good two inches one direction or another. Another time, I felt my awareness expand until it was about six feet (two meters) wide. One time it seemed like my astral arms became detached from my physical arms, but not the rest of me. There was also an exercise in which my awareness was literally sucked forward about six feet out, then I was zapped back into my body. I managed to do this at least four times during the exercise. So yes, I consider these all a success, even though none of them came close to rivaling the more involved OBEs from my first two books.
But what about a beginner? Did an newbie like Kathy have an OBE? During one of the rolling techniques, she actually rolled astrally away from her body and felt a falling sensation. It may not be much, but it's a start, especially for someone who's just starting on her OBE journey.
I highly recommend this class for anyone interested in developing OBE skills, but you better not wait too long: these classes fill up nearly a year in advance. The problem is, Bill has a contract with TMI to teach a certain number of these classes, and that contract is running out. I suppose he might renew his contract when it expires, but let's face it: Bill is at retirement age now, and due to his throat cancer, his voice doesn't have the lasting- power it once had. You can't just assume the class will be taught next year, because you never know.
July 23, 2014
