The Black Hole of Cygnus X-1

The Black Hole of Cygnus X-1

By Bob Peterson

"In the constellation of Cygnus, there lurks a mysterious, invisible force: the black hole of Cygnus X-1...
Six stars of the Northern Cross
In mourning for their sister's loss
In a final flash of glory
Nevermore to grace the night..." (Rush, Cygnus X-1)

Updated 12 August 2024: Rush lyrics fixed below as per suggestion from Aubrey Bryant (Thanks, Aubrey!).

Today I'm going to share a completely unconventional OBE technique, and I hope you enjoy it.

Ordinarily when I induce an out-of-body experience, I do not use music, hemi-sync, or even binaural beats. I use total silence. (My OBE trance is very different from my normal meditation). In fact, in some of my early notes from the 1980s, I say don't even listen to music the day before your OBE attempts.

However, as an additional exercise I do sometimes meditate to longer trance-like songs, like "Echoes" by Pink Floyd or "Awaken" by Yes. While the music plays, I like to do energy bouncing, not too different from some of Robert Bruce's exercises.

I've only gotten "the vibrations" listening to two songs. The first is Close to the Edge by Yes. The second is Cygnus X-1 by Rush. For this article, I want to focus on the Rush song.

First, let me explain a bit about the song. Cygnus X-1 is the story of a man flying in a space ship (The "Rocinante," which I assume is named after Don Quixote's horse). He is headed toward the black hole of Cygnus X-1. He is driven by curiosity: What is the black hole? What will happen when he gets there? As he nears his deadly goal, he starts to wonder about what will happen. The lyrics say:

"Through the void, to be destroyed,
or is there something more?
Atomized at the core,
or through the astral door--to soar?"

If I just listen to the song, I don't get the vibrations. It's not as simple as just. Here's what to do:

1. Put on headphones. (This is important)
2. Start the song.
3. Close your eyes and visualize yourself floating in space, weightless.
4. About one minute in, as the bells in the song chime, let yourself drift into a slight trance.
5. Pay attention to the bass track. As the bass line bounces repeatedly from high to low, imagine a ball of energy at the bottom of both feet.
6. As the music bounces up, I imagine the ball of energy quickly whoosh to the top of your head (crown chakra).
7. Imagine the energy whooshes up and down with the pitch of the music.
8. As the music picks up tempo, around 5:50, imagine yourself accelerating faster and faster through space, toward the black hole.
9. Around 7:15, imagine yourself drifting through space at high speed, with stars rushing by you.
10. At 8:10, the pitch of the bass guitar bounces in a repeated pattern:
    Down-Up
    Down-Down-Down-Down-Down-Up
    Down-Down-Down-Up
    On every down, imagine the energy shoots down to your feet. On every up, imagine the energy shoots up to your crown chakra. This is very much in rapid succession.
11. At 8:37, the pitch of the music takes the energy to some mid-way points in your body, in rapid succession:
    Heart chakra, Crown charka, Tan Tien (just below the belly button), Feet, repeat.

Listen to the song several times to learn it before trying to synchronize your energy to its shifts in beat. This is progressive rock, so don't be surprised or shocked at abrupt changes in pitch or tempo. And remember to keep it fun.

If you feel a tingling or vibration, try to hold your mind blank and let yourself surrender to the feeling while the music plays in the background.

You can listen to the song on youtube at this link: Cygnus X-1.

I was doing this "bouncing non-physical energy" exercise way back in the early 1980s, but it's not too different from a more modern technique called "VELO" taught by the IAC (International Academy of Consciousness). If you want more information about "VELO", here is a good video from IAC instructor and OBE author Luis Minero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxwm6sQ2P_w

Bob Peterson
May 24, 2016