Astral Projection

What happens to the wide-eyed observer when the window between reality and unreality breaks and the glass begins to fly?

~Author unknown

The science of astral projection has fascinated me for years. You may know it as the out of body experience (OBE) or near death experience (NDE). Whatever you call it, they all share one common feature: to transfer your awareness outside of your physical body.

As this science experiment from University College London proves, the question is not whether we can transfer our awareness out of body. The question is: where is it going?

The participants in the UCL study were sent a few feet across the room. But when astral travelers talk about flying through alternate dimensions... visiting friends on the other side of the planet... and conversing with non-human entities from different vibrational planes... you have to wonder: what's really going on during astral projection?

Ernest Hemingway: Near Death Experience

The Out of Body Experience

Studies reveal 1 in 10 people have had an out of body experience at some time in their lives.

OBEs can occur spontaneously (beyond your control) or deliberately (with special induction techniques). They have been reported in sick people during surgery, and in completely healthy individuals during the night.

Here are some common causes of out of body experiences:

Trauma - such as a car accident, or during surgery. People call these near death experiences or NDEs. One famous NDE account comes from Ernest Hemingway, the American novelist. While writing a fictional story he drew on his real life experience of being hit by shrapnel during World War I.

Lucid Dreaming - can trigger an out of body experience too. Some say they are one and the same thing; others dispute this! Try practicing WILD (Wake Initiated Lucid Dreaming) yourself and see what happens. Do you step out of body into a dreamworld - or an astral plane?

Psychedelic Drugs - can create a heightened sense of awareness and alter your perception of reality. This can induce an OBE and hallucinations that seem like astral projection. The altered perception of reality is compared to lucid dreaming.

Sleep Paralysis - is a state described as "mind awake, body asleep" and occurs on the brink of conscious awareness. People who practice astral projection pass through sleep paralysis just before traveling out of body. It can occur naturally when you are in a lighter sleep due to stress or illness.

Meditation - entering trance states and using specific visualizations can train your awareness in how to leave your body. Below is a popular technique for how to astral project using meditation. This method for astral projection uses mental imagery to float, climb, sink or roll out of body.

How To Astral Project

It's possible that we all engage in astral projection every night when we sleep. After phasing through sleep paralysis, our astral bodies separate and explore the astral world - also known as the dreamworld.

Thus, lucid dreaming is simply gaining awareness of the astral world. One argument for this is the sudden jolt that you feel when you straddle the border of wakefulness and sleep. This is thought to be the spirit body snapping back into the physical body at the last moment.

If you agree with this theory, you will have no mental barriers holding you back from experiencing astral travel consciously. And that's the key - because you won't have an OBE if you are subconsciously resisting it.

However, you don't have to buy into the concept of a spirit world. Just know that it is possible to shift your awareness outside of your body.

How To Perform Astral Projection Through Visualization

Step 1 - Relax Your Mind and Body

As with meditation, sit or lie down in a comfortable position. I find it easier to lose awareness of my physical body by lying down. However, this also makes it easier to fall asleep, so find your own threshold.

Make sure the room is quiet and there are no distractions. You absolutely must be able to shut off from the outside world and not be startled by anything... including voices, phones and footsteps.

To guarantee an out of body experience, use binaural beats (like the MP3 on the right). In as little as 10 minutes, they reduce your inner brainwave frequency into a relaxed theta state. You will lose all sensation and be able to shift your consciousness out of body. If you follow the instructions, this works every time.

Out of Body Experience MP3

(Click Image)
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Take some deep breaths and clear your mind. Forget about all your worries and just focus on your breathing. Each time you breath in, visualize beautiful golden energy entering your lungs. On breathing out, relax your body even more and imaging all the tension draining away.

Step 2 - Entering Altered States of Awareness

Relax your forehead; allow the skin to go slack. Then feel your whole scalp releasing any tension. Imagine this warm flow of soothing energy running down your face and neck. Allow each muscle group down your body to soften until you reach the tips of your toes.

By now you should be extremely relaxed and unable to feel most of your body. Shift your awareness away from your body. By that, I mean: don't focus or think about your physical body at all. Gaze at the darkness of your closed eyelids and keep your mind empty.

When your body is completely relaxed, you will fall asleep consciously. This is actually easier than it sounds. You can expect to hear a rather loud vibrating or humming noise in your head. This may startle you after being so calm and relaxed but just ignore it. Astral travelers interpret this as the noise made by the chakras as they open. Chakras are the energy centres of the body. It is normal for them to open up at night and create a flow of energy between the physical and spirit bodies.

You may also feel the onset of sleep paralysis. However, most people don't even notice this since their awareness is well away from their body at this point. Again, ignore it. Enjoy the sensation of floating with no physical body to worry about. You only need your spirit body for astral travel. The sleep paralysis will wear off naturally as you wake up.

Step 3 - Leave Your Physical Body

After a few seconds of vibrations you should be able to leave your body and begin astral projection. There are several ways to do this:

Float out - by visualizing that your viewpoint has risen a few feet into the air. Imagine the ceiling is now that much closer. Your conscious awareness will quickly follow you.

Swing out - by visualizing the viewpoint you would have on a swing. Start small but form longer arcs as you gain momentum.

Sink out - by imagining your awareness slowly dropping through the bed. Get ready to see what the inside of your mattress looks like!

Roll out - with the perception that comes with a forward roll.

Teleport out - yep, I did say teleport. Simply visualize your awareness in another room, or on the rooftop. Your consciousness will jump there.

As you leave your body, you will feel the sensation of movement again. This is the movement of your spirit body - remember that your physical body is lying completely still in bed!

The next thing you can expect is to gain your astral vision. It may begin with unusual lights and colors but will quickly develop into the astral realm - overlaying your physical surroundings.

Step 4 - Explore The Astral World

Once you have left your physical body, you can astral travel as you wish. You can float, fly, move through walls, and teleport instantly to anywhere you can imagine. Like lucid dreaming, you can manipulate the astral realm through the power of thought.

You can also meet other entities - including deceased loved ones, fellow astral travelers, and non-humans. Some of them will be friendly, while others may be menacing or downright rude. None of them can harm you. If you feel scared, just teleport away instantly or imagine yourself in a big protective bubble. Like lucid dreaming, it's all mind over matter!

Step 5 - Return To Your Body

You will usually be pulled back to your physical body automatically. This will happen if you inadvertently look at it or think about it, or if your physical body starts to wake up. To deliberately re-enter your body, simply think about it or imaging lying back in bed inside it. It is impossible to get stuck outside of your physical body.

***Learn how to trick your body into falling asleep for lucid dreams and out of body experiences. Download this detailed instructional video.***

The Astral Dimension

What is astral projection like? To learn more, I recommend reading a fascinating book called Journeys out of the Body by Dr Robert Monroe. This is an excellent introduction to the out of body experience and makes for an illuminating read. Monroe wrote two sequels to this book, which go into vast detail of OBEs. But his first will always be a classic.

For another perspective, check out Treatise on Astral Projection by Robert Bruce, viewable for free online. He wrote that the astral world is the closest dimension to our physical world. It overlays and permeates the world like a huge mind net, capturing all thoughts.

In the astral plane, thoughts are more powerful than anything else. Astral matter is very sensitive to thoughts and can be molded into any form. These creations can emulate reality perfectly.

Bruce believes that to create dreams, our unconscious mind tunes into the astral dimension to solve problems and communicate with the conscious brain. Complex thoughts are projected onto the astral realm, where they become solid. In a way, it is like a movie projector (the subconscious mind) lighting up a movie screen (the astral plane).

Bruce has many more interesting takes on this alternate reality - including how astral travelers have even more than 360-degree vision! (You and I have 220-degree vision in the real world.) He also details other methods for how to induce an out of body experience.

Don't believe in the astral world? Think it may be a dream or surreal hallucination? Experiment for yourself! I assure you there is something going on when we reach a deep enough meditative state.

Lucid Dreaming vs Astral Projection

What is the difference between lucid dreaming and astral projection? Some people - including some astral travelers themselves - say they are the same thing. Others say they are completely separate; the astral world overlays the dreamworld just like it overlays the physical world.

From my understanding, the two alternate realities have similarities (they are both controlled by thought) and differences (people say the astral world is real). So I am keen to know:

Does the astral realm stop existing when I stop observing it?
Does the lucid dream world disappear when I'm not in it?
Do either of these realms abide by the laws of cause and effect?
Are they purely creations of my own mind?
Do they really exist, somewhere beyond the physical universe?

Here is an experiment you can try for yourself. Next time you are lucid dreaming, climb into your dream bed and visualize yourself floating out of body. It will be much easier than practicing astral projection in real life. Observe your new surroundings - are you in the astral world? Or are you just dreaming of being in the astral world? What is the difference?

Practicing how to astral travel in a lucid dream can help you achieve an out of body experience in real life. In doing so, you can recreate the exact circumstances of an OBE and discover what it feels like to transfer your awareness out of body. Lucid dreaming is useful for many things!

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