Maintaining refers to techniques that allow a practitioner to prolong the Phase experience and to remain in the Phase for as long as possible.
The Phase world has its own rules. People are often worried that they will not be able to come back from the Phase, but in reality quite the opposite is true. The usual Phase experience, without proper maintaining techniques, will last only a few seconds. The real challenge is to prolong it.
The maintaining techniques help to prevent waking up, falling asleep and false awakenings while in the Phase.
To prevent waking up, a practitioner needs to do constant or on-demand sensory amplification (refer to Deepening for more details). Maintaining constant body vibrations while in the Phase is also very effective. Some people keep counting or singing for the same reason.
To prevent falling asleep while in the Phase, the practitioner should always keep this possibility in mind. The practitioner should periodically do awareness checks and ask themselves the question: “Am I dreaming?” One should always remain an observer and never get involved in spontaneous Phase events.
Sometimes the practitioner wakes up in what they think is a reality but they are still in the Phase. In this case, a reality check is needed. The easiest way to do this is to hyper-focus on any of the surrounding objects. The Phase world does not like too much concentration and the object will start to melt, change color, etc. There are other reality check methods, such as flying up or breathing through a pinched nose, but they may not work if the Phase is too deep.
In general, the practitioner should always have and diligently follow a plan of action, be constantly active while in the Phase, and attempt the Phase re-entry every time they get kicked out. Following these rules will lead to long and effective Phase experiences.
Based on The Phase. A Practical Guidebook. by Michael Raduga.