Astral Projection

Astral projection (or astral travel) is an out-of-body experience achieved either awake or via lucid dreaming or deep meditation. People who say they experience astral projection often say that their spirit or astral body has left their physical body and moves in another dimension known as the spirit world or astral plane. The concept of astral projection has been around and practiced for thousands of years, dating back to ancient China. It is currently often associated with the New Age movement.

Psychics often say that the subconscious (or dreaming) mind contains the spirit or astral body, resulting in falling dreams or waking up with a falling sensation or sudden jerk. Most dreams are not remembered by the conscious mind, making the experience of astral projection a subject of subjectivity. Believers in astral projection point out, though, that most ghost sightings often define the ghost as a lucid or transparent apparition walking the earth.

It is unclear whether every physical object has an 'astral' counterpart, or if a spirit literally uses incarnation into a physical body and this is what results in astral projections, or if the phenomena is something else entirely. Astral projection also touches on life itself and what happens after physical death.

There are two general schools of thought on the nature of astral projection. These can broadly be defined as the mystical model and the phasing model.

The Phasing Model, which was defined by Robert Monroe, holds the belief that it is impossible to actually leave your body in the truest sense of the word, and that the astral planes and the physical world are merely points on the long spectrum of consciousness. When a person projects, they actually "phase" into another area of consciousness and the locales it contains. This can be likened to tuning a radio to another station. One of the initial signposts representing a phase shift away from physical reality has been labeled the state of focus 10 (mind awake/body asleep). This viewpoint can be seen as a logical progression of the philosophy that external reality is actually an internally created state

The Mystical Model includes a large variety of belief systems and astral maps, but they are tied together by their belief that astral projection takes place outside of the actual physical body. In this model, a more subtle energy body is believed to carry the consciousness outside of the physical body. In their book Projection of the Astral Body, Carrington and Muldoon detail how consciousness is transferred into a secondary "energy" body (the etheric body) to allow travel into the astral planes. This idea is also described by other authors such as Robert Peterson in his book Out of Body Experiences: How to have them and what to expect (chapters 5, 17, 22), and Robert Bruce in his book Astral Dynamics (pages 31-33, 404-410, 538). Bruce expanded on this idea in his book Astral Dynamics, stating that higher planes of existence are reached through the progressive projection of subtler energy bodies from previous projected bodies (pages 33-42). The subtle body is attached to the physical body by means of an energetic connection which usually takes the appearance of a silver cord 'plugging' into the chakra system like an umbilical cord. Robert Peterson describes this in chapter 13 of his book Out of Body Experiences, Robert Bruce in his book Astral Dynamics (pages 27, 52-53, 84, 397-403,544) and by Carrington and Muldoon in their book Projection of the Astral Body.

5 Myths from Astral Project 

Myth 1 : Astral Projection is very rare.

Truth : Astral Projection is a very common phenomenon indeed. 6% to 14% of the world's population has experienced a conscious Out of body experience at least once. This means around 32 million in the United States alone!

Myth 2: Astral Projection is always spontaneous. You cannot learn it.

Truth: Rubbish! You can learn to Astral Project. There are loads of techniques that teach you how to have an OOBE (Out Of Body Experience). Since every individual is different, no single technique is best for everybody. You have to find out which method is best for you. Just like anything in life, you have to practice and get good at it.

Myth 3: Not everyone can learn to Astral Project. It is only for a selected few.

Truth: Lies! Anyone can Astral Project, but it requires some practice and open-mindedness. Just like you learn to walk, drive a car or play World Of Warcraft, Astral Projection is a skill you need to learn.

Myth 4: Only adults can Astral Project because they are more matured.

Truth: Don't believe it! Age is never a factor for Astral Projection. It's a fact that children can Astral Project more than adults. The reason is that children are innocent and they believe everything is doable, so they achieve Astral Projection more easily. Adults don't believe everything easily. The sooner we can be open-minded and start accepting Astral Projection as real, the easier it will be to Project. But age, in itself, is never a roadblock for Projection. The only obstacle is your level of belief. 

Myth 5 : Astral Projection is unsafe.

Truth : Astral Projection is a natural experience reported in every culture and society of the world. It is safe for most people. But anyone who has acute psychological problems should avoid it. 

Astral Projection Techniques

There are numerous ways of achieving etheric / astral projection, and there are many books on the subject. Here I will only describe the most common and / or the most useful methods that I have come across. Different people will find different methods more suited to themselves, so it's simply a case of experimenting until you find the one that works best for you.One  thing that is consistant throughout all the projection techniques,is that the energy you have in your body can effect the ability to project, the lenth of time spent 'out of the body', and the frequency which can be reached.

The methods :

The Rope Technique:

This technique was developed by Robert Bruce. I have included it because I find it to be one of the easiest techniques around. The speed at which it works is also surprising. Also this method does not require the ability to visualise .This projection method will give you an etheric projection. The duration of this projection, in real time, will depend on the level of chakra development and energy flow you have attained.As with all the technique described, a deep level of relaxation is required.

Getting the feel of the Rope

Pin a length of ribbon, string or rope to the ceiling above you. Have it hanging within arms reach so you can easily reach up and touch it. Reach out and touch it frequently, until you are used to where it is in your mind. This ribbon is only a tactile aide. By being able to reach out and touch the ribbon, you used to the spatial coordinates of where the invisible, imaginary ROPE is. This grows both in your mind and hence as a thought form, making it easier to imagine yourself reaching out and climbing the ROPE with your imaginary HANDS.

Note:You do NOT have to actually visualize, or see, the ROPE at any time, just know where it is supposed to be. This method uses NO visualization at all.Reaching out and pulling on this invisible, imaginary ROPE with your imaginary HANDS shifts the bodily awareness induced point of consciousness, out of the body, with a strong natural action that puts direct pressure on one point of the etheric body

The Technique

1.Do a relaxation exercise thoroughly, until you are completely settled. This should only take a few minutes, don't overdo it.

2. Reach out with your imaginary HANDS and pull yourself, hand over hand, up the strong, invisible, imaginary ROPE hanging above you. Try and imagine the feel of a strong, thick, coarse rope in your HANDS. Don't try and visualise this ROPE! I want you to imagine you are reaching out and climbing this ROPE in the pitch dark, so you can't see it at all, you just know where it is and can imagine the feel of it. Visualisation wastes valuable mental energy that can be better put to use exerting direct pressure on your etheric body.You will feel a slight dizzy sensation inside you as you do this, specifically in your upper torso. This is caused by exerting dynamic pressure on the etheric body. The dizzy sensation comes from the etheric body loosening. This feeling of vertigo will intensify the more you pull on the rope.

Very Important Note (1): This dizzy feeling and any feelings of pressure or vertigo, etc, caused by your mental action of pulling on the ROPE MUST be carefully noted by you. Learn the EXACT mental action you are doing to cause this vertigo. You will have to train your mental climbing action to cause this feeling. So, the first few times you try this ROPE method, concentrate on finding the right mental action to do this. Once you learn what it is you are doing to cause this, and can recreate it at will, you are really starting to get somewhere.

Very Important Note (2): IGNORE *ALL* SENSATION YOU FEEL DURING PROJECTION or it will distract you, break your concentration, and ruin your chances for projection. Concentrate on the single act of climbing your ROPE to the TOTAL exclusion of everything else. Put everything you have into this one action, but don't tense up, it must be all mental.

3. Keep climbing, hand over hand, ever upwards, and you will feel the heavy sensation come over you. The pressure you are exerting on your etheric body will force you into the trance state. Ignore this when it happens and concentrate on what you are doing.

4. Keep climbing and you will feel your chakras open in response to the pressure, don't stop.

5. Next you will feel the vibrations start, your whole body will seem to be vibrating and you will feel paralysed. Concentrate, single minded, on climbing your rope,don't stop.

6. Next you will feel yourself coming free of your body. You will buzz slightly as you feel yourself coming out of your body. You will exit your body in the direction of your imaginary rope and will be hovering above your body. You're free at last!

Note: Do *NOT* allow yourself to break concentration when the vibrations start. They are a natural effect caused by energy coursing through all the hundreds of major and minor chakras in your body. If you do find yourself being distracted by this, spend more time doing  concentration exercises  until you overcome this problem.

Good Luck...

The Lift / Roll Out Technique :

This is probably the most popular projection technique around. This will also give an etheric projection. This projection method will give you an etheric projection. The duration of this projection, in real time, will depend on the level of chakra development  and energy flow you have attained.

As with all the techniques described, a deep level of relaxationis required.Once you have reached a very deep level of relaxation (trance state), you must then use your powers of visualisation .Simply imagine yourself floating upwards out of your body. Tell yourself all the time how nice it is to do this, how pleasant, how great it would be to be floating out of the body. Continue to image this floating feeling.

It often helps to to imagine an aid or accessory to this floating process. For instance, you may imagine hundreds of small birds all flying up and pulling their own little pieces of string which are all attached to your non-physical body. All the time they are pulling you gently out of the physical body. You can use any adaptation to this - what ever helps you imagine that you are floating up.

As you imagine this you will feel the vibrations beginning - ignore them totally. Simply continue to imagine yourself floating upwards. After a relatively short while you will feel yourself come free of the physical body. This is often quite a sudden sensation as the non-physical body breaks free of the physical body. The only analogy I can think of as to describe this feeling would be how a 'glob' in a lava lamp would feel like - it's been trying to go up for a while and the pressure has been gradually getting greater, and then suddenly it breaks away and floats gently up and away. You will then find yourself outside your physical body. A common variation on this technique is the roll out method.

This is very similar, except that instead of imagining that you are floating upward, imagine that you are rolling sideways out of your body. Feel yourself gently rocking from side to side. Very slowly at first, but gradually building the momentum until eventually you will reach that critical point where you will actually break free from, and actually roll out of, your physical body

The Anchor Technique:

This is another popular technique, which produces an etheric projection. The basis of this method is to focus on an anchor point outside of the physical body. There are two basic variations to this technique - the fixed anchor, and the moving anchor. As with all the techniques described, a deep level of relaxation is required .

Once you have reached a very deep level of relaxation (trance state), you must then use your powers of visualisation .

The Fixed Anchor

Although not mentioned as frequently as the moving anchor technique, I find this the easier if the two methods.

After reaching the trance state, focus on a point outside of the physical body(e.g. at the end of the bed). You can either simply focus on a point in space, or you can (and I find this much easier) imagine an object at that point (it usually helps if it is a familiar object - I always imagine a tobacco tin).

Once you can clearly see the focus point in your minds eye, 'feel' how solid it is. Try pushing it around with your mind, try pulling it, or moving it. The focus point should be totally solid and entirely 'fixed' where it is. No amount of mental manipulation should be able to move it.

Once the focus point is totally fixed, imagine reaching out with your arms and grabbing hold of the focus point (object). Remember, this WILL NOT MOVE. Now, try pulling the object towards you, gently at first, and then harder and harder. Gradually as you pull you will feel yourself moving towards the focus point (instead of vice versa). Finally you will find yourself at the focus point outside your physical body - Presto, you've done it.

The Moving Anchor

After reaching the trance state,imagine an object about 6 feet in front of your eyes (assuming that you are lying down). Once again, make this a familiar object. Now, feel this object pulling at you (like a magnet). Once you can see the object clearly in your minds eye, and feel the pull of the object on you, begin to move the object slowly towards you. Just a small amount at first (perhaps 6" to a foot), as the object moves towards you feel the pull getting stronger. Now move it back again (the pull gets weaker as you do). Now repeat the process 5 or 6 times moving the object closer each time and feeling the pull becoming stronger and stronger as the object comes closer. Once you are comfortable with the movement of the object, begin the process again, only this time the movement of the object should be a fluid motion, and as the object moves to and fro it should be like a wave. You should also feel this wave on yourself as the pull gets stronger and weaker and stronger again. Finally, as the object virtually reaches you, the strength of the pulling force, combined with the wave like motion will simply pull you right out of your physical body - Wahay, you've done it again.