No. 1. Boris Pronyakin. Copywriter. Kiev, Ukraine

I woke up in the "correct" state. I immediately felt vibrations, and before I had time to time to think about anything, I was knocked out of my body by a strong kick. I started falling. I had no vision, the floor was gone. Like a nose-diving airplane, I was in a free-fall. I kept dropping faster and faster. I started to feel that I was losing control. The only thing I could do was increase the speed with which I fell, all of the ways that occurred to me to try maintain the phase that I attempted at that moment only lowered my degree of awareness. Touching did not do anything for me, as I was just an unembodied spirit in a complete vacuum. Vision was also missing. I started to panic due to the imminent foul. But the acceleration of the fall did not help either, and I was flying and waiting for the moment when I would be thrown out into the dream world. And I dropped like this until I fell asleep.

Questions: Did Boris describe a direct or indirect technique? What could he have done if no spontaneous separation had occurred? How could Boris have more correctly used deepening techniques? Why wasn't Boris thrown into a phase episode? Why did he fall asleep?

Answers and Comments: An indirect technique was employed. If spontaneous separation had not occurred, Boris could have tried to separate on his own. If an attempt to separate had failed, it would be necessary to implement indirect techniques by intensifying the vibrations, and then try once again to separate. In order to deepen and, meanwhile, reach a destination while falling, Boris should have applied translocation techniques and, upon reaching a location, continued to deepen by means of sensory amplification. For example, he could have applied the technique of translocation by teleportation with his eyes closed or simply tried to catch sight of his hands through the darkness, which also would have induced an exit.

Boris also did not pay any attention to the roar in his ears. It could have been used for the technique of listening in, which would have helped him to deepen and maintain. The lack of a set aim to land somewhere resulted in his endless fall, though it does not always happen this way. Boris fell asleep due to his passivity and also because he forgot that falling asleep was a possibility, though he did remember about the possibility of an inadvertent return to reality (a foul).

No. 2. Alexei Bakharev. Engineer. Sochi, Russia

This was the first time that I managed to become conscious while dreaming. Before falling asleep, I concentrated on the darkness before my eyes and tried to remain consciousness as long as I could. All of a sudden, I dreamt that I was levitating to the ceiling, which resulted in my becoming conscious that I was dreaming. My phantom body responded poorly to attempts to control it, and simply hovered beneath the ceiling. There were two people sitting on the floor below. They were looking in my direction, but it seemed that they did not see me. At this point I woke up and felt some sort of tingling and itching in my legs.

Questions: What factors led to the entry into the phase through dream consciousness? What needed to be done while hovering about beneath the ceiling? Why did the foul happen so fast? What should have been done immediately after returning to the body?

Answers and Comments: Dream consciousness occurred due to the Alexei's intent to concentrate on the space before his eyes and his desire to remain conscious for as long as possible. The process of becoming conscious was caused by the sensation of flying while dreaming. Flying almost always becomes an anchor for dream consciousness. Immediately after the phase occurred, Alexei should have started deepening. Instead, he simply hovered about and observed. While all the movements may have been difficult to perform, they should have nevertheless still been done very actively. As a result, lightness and a deepening of the phase would have ensued. His inadvertent exit from the phase happened due to passivity, failure to deepen, and non-compliance with the rules for maintaining the phase. Even upon returning to his body, Alexei should have tried to separate again.

No. 3. Dmitry Markov. Radio Mechanic. Moscow, Russia

My first time was the most terrible event in my life. I had never experienced such terror. It happened in December, 1990. I was falling asleep in my bed at home. Suddenly, I heard someone enter my room, but I did not pay attention to the "intruder". Then, two female hands grabbed me from behind, and while pressing my belly, started to lift my body up. I distinctly felt thin fingers with long nails on my belly, but was completely paralyzed and absolutely unable move any part of my body or put up any kind of resistance. I felt my body go through the ceiling, but then was pulled still higher and higher.

I got scared that this could be death. I was afraid not so much of death as of the unknown. All of this happened so swiftly that I found myself unprepared for such a crossover. I started to pray. I asked God to help me free myself and go back. I panicked. I can't say how many seconds my forced levitation lasted or how high I was lifted above my house, but the moment came when I instantly returned to my bed.

Questions: Was this entry into the phase deliberate? What kind of technique led to the phase? What is the name for the complete immobilization that Dmitry encountered? What should he have done in order to start moving? Why did his body easily go through the ceiling? Why was he able to stop this terrible experience by praying? What could he have done immediately upon returning to his body?

Answers and Comments: This phase experience was spontaneous and falls under the category of direct techniques since there was no significant lapse into sleep. The whole experience was accompanied by sleep paralysis, which is why it was difficult for Dmitry to do anything. In order to move in this type of situation, it would have been necessary to intensify the phase state by using an indirect technique or redouble efforts to move.p

Dmitry's body went through the ceiling without any difficulty because there was no vision and the phase itself had not been deepened, otherwise this would not have happened so easily. Praying and appealing to God helped in this case because praying facilitated a relaxation of perceptions and an intention to go back to reality: two factors which are crucial during emergency return techniques. Upon returning to his body, he could have still tried to separate again, though this would have been easier said than done due to the fear associated with the first experience.