Astral Projection

Tweet

Astral projection (or astral travel) is an interpretation of out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of an “astral body” separate from the physical body and capable of travelling outside it.  Astral projection or travel denotes the astral body leaving the physical body to travel in an astral plane. The idea of astral travel is rooted in common worldwide religious accounts of the afterlife^[2] in which the consciousness’ or soul’s journey or “ascent” is described in such terms as “an… out-of body experience, wherein the spiritual traveller leaves the physical body and travels in his/her subtle body (or dreambody or astral body) into ‘higher’ realms.” It is frequently reported in association with dreams, and forms of meditation.^[4][5]

Patients have reported feelings similar to the descriptions of astral projection induced through various hallucinogenic and hypnotic (including self-hypnotic) means. There is no scientific evidence that there is any measurable manifestation of a consciousness or soul which is separate from neural activity, and there is no scientific evidence for the contention that one can consciously leave the body and make observations. Attempts to verify that such has occurred have consistently failed in spite of the variety ofpseudoscientific claims to the contrary.

Western beliefs

According to classical, medieval and renaissance Hermeticism, Neoplatonism, and later Theosophist and Rosicrucian thought, the astral body is an intermediate body of light linking the rational soul to the physical body while the astral plane is an intermediate world of light between Heaven and Earth, composed of the spheres of the planets and stars. These astral spheres were held to be populated by angels, demons and spirits.

The subtle bodies, and their associated planes of existence, form an essential part of the esoteric systems that deal with astral phenomena. In the neo-platonism of Plotinus, for example, the individual is a microcosm(“small world”) of the universe (the macrocosm or “great world”). “The rational soul…is akin to the great Soul of the World” while “the material universe, like the body, is made as a faded image of the Intelligible”. Each succeeding plane of manifestation is causal to the next, a world-view called emanationism; “from the One proceeds Intellect, from Intellect Soul, and from Soul - in its lower phase, or that of Nature - the material universe”.

Often these bodies and their planes of existence are depicted as a series of concentric circles or nested spheres, with a separate body traversing each realm. The idea of the astral figured prominently in the work of the nineteenth-century French occultist Eliphas Levi, whence it was adopted and developed further by Theosophy, and used afterwards by other esoteric movements.

Bible

Some have claimed that the Bible contains mentions of astral projection.

Carrington, Muldoon, Peterson, and Williams claim that the subtle body is attached to the physical body by means of a psychic silver cord.  The final chapter of the Biblical Book of Ecclesiastes is often cited in this respect: “Before the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be shattered at the fountain, or the wheel be broken at the cistern.”  Scherman, however, contends that the context points to this being merely a metaphor, comparing the body to a machine, with the silver cord referring to the spine.

Paul’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians is more generally agreed to refer to the astral planes; “I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago, (whether in the body I know not, or out of the body I know not, God knows) such a one caught up to the third heaven…” This statement gave rise to the Visio Pauli, a tract that offers a vision of heaven and hell, a forerunner of visions attributed to Adomnan and Tnugdalus as well as of Dante‘sDivine Comedy.

Islamic Mysticism

Many sects and offshoots belonging to Islamic mysticism interpret Muhammad’s night ascent—the Isra and Mi’raj—to be an out of body experience through nonphysical environments, unlike the Sunni and Shia Muslims. In view of the references from the Qur’an and Hadith, the Sunni and Shia Muslims reject this saying the Isra and Mi’raj, the night journey – mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith was physical yet spiritual. He was taken to the Masjid Al Aqsa, where he performed prayer leading all previous prophets and then taken to the heavens in a journey. The mystics claim Muhammad was transported to Jerusalem and onward to seven heavens, even though “the apostle’s body remained where it was.”

Ancient Egypt

Similar concepts of soul travel appear in various other religious traditions, for example ancient Egyptian teachings present the soul as having the ability to hover outside the physical body in the ka, or subtle body.

China

Taoist alchemical practice involves creation of an energy body by breathing meditations, drawing energy into a ‘pearl’ that is then “circulated”. “Xiangzi … with a drum as his pillow fell fast asleep, snoring and motionless. His primordial spirit, however, went straight into the banquet room and said, “My lords, here I am again.” … When Tuizhi walked … with the officials to take a look, there really was a Daoist sleeping on the ground and snoring like thunder. Yet inside, in the side room, there was another Daoist beating a fisher drum and singing Daoist songs. The officials all said, “Although there are two different people, their faces and clothes are exactly alike. Clearly he is a divine immortal who can divide his body and appear in several places at once. …” … At that moment, the Daoist in the side room came walking out, and the Daoist sleeping on the ground woke up. The two merged into one.”

India

Similar ideas such as the Lin’ga S’ari-ra are found in ancient Hindu scriptures such as the YogaVashishta-Maharamayana of Valmiki. Modern Indians who have vouched for astral projection include Paramahansa Yogananda who witnessed Swami Pranabananda doing a miracle through a possible astral projection and Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) who practiced it himself.

The Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba described one’s use of astral projection:

In the advancing stages leading to the beginning of the path, the aspirant becomes spiritually prepared for being entrusted with free use of the forces of the inner world of the astral bodies. He may then undertake astral journeys in his astral body, leaving the physical body in sleep or wakefulness. The astral journeys that are taken unconsciously are much less important than those undertaken with full consciousness and as a result of deliberate volition. This implies conscious use of the astral body. Conscious separation of the astral body from the outer vehicle of the gross body has its own value in making the soul feel its distinction from the gross body and in arriving at fuller control of the gross body. One can, at will, put on and take off the external gross body as if it were a cloak, and use the astral body for experiencing the inner world of the astral and for undertaking journeys through it, if and when necessary….The ability to undertake astral journeys therefore involves considerable expansion of one’s scope for experience. It brings opportunities for promoting one’s own spiritual advancement, which begins with the involution of consciousness.

The Yogic tradition is an elaborate system of meditation and astral projection and most other Chino-Tibetan systems are derived therefrom through Buddhist channels. Astral projection is one of the Siddhisconsidered achievable by yoga practitioners through self-disciplined practice.

Japan

In Japanese mythology, an ikiryō (生霊^?) (also read shōryō, seirei, or ikisudama) is a manifestation of the soul of a living person separately from their body. Traditionally, if someone holds a sufficient grudge against another person, it is believed that a part or the whole of their soul can temporarily leave their body and appear before the target of their hate in order to curse or otherwise harm them, similar to an evil eye. Souls are also believed to leave a living body when the body is extremely sick or comatose; such ikiryō are not malevolent.

Inuit

In some Inuit groups, people with special capabilities are said to travel to (mythological) remote places, and report their experiences and things important to their fellows or the entire community; how to stop bad luck in hunting, cure a sick person etc., things unavailable to people with normal capabilities.

Amazon

The yaskomo of the Waiwai is believed to be able to perform a “soul flight” that can serve several functions such as healing, flying to the sky to consult cosmological beings (the moon or the brother of the moon) to get a name for a new-born baby, flying to the cave of peccaries’ mountains to ask the father of peccaries for abundance of game or flying deep down in a river to get the help of other beings.

“Astral” and “etheric”

The expression “astral projection” came to be used in two different ways. For the Golden Dawn and some Theosophists it retained the classical and medieval philosophers’ meaning of journeying to other worlds, heavens, hells, the astrological spheres and other imaginal landscapes, but outside these circles the term was increasingly applied to non-physical travel around the physical world.

Though this usage continues to be widespread, the term, “etheric travel”, used by some later Theosophists, offers a useful distinction. Some experients say they visit different times and/or places: “etheric”, then, is used to represent the sense of being “out of the body” in the physical world, whereas “astral” may connote some alteration in time-perception. Robert Monroe describes the former type of projection as “Locale I” or the “Here-Now”, involving people and places that actually exist: Robert Bruce calls it the “Real Time Zone” (RTZ) and describes it as the non-physical dimension-level closest to the physical. This etheric body is usually, though not always, invisible but is often perceived by the experient as connected to the physical body during separation by a “silver cord”. Some link “falling” dreams with projection.

According to Max Heindel, the etheric “double” serves as a medium between the astral and physical realms. In his system the ether, also called prana, is the “vital force” that empowers the physical forms to change. From his descriptions it can be inferred that, to him, when one views the physical during an out-of-body experience, one is not technically “in” the astral realm at all.

Other experients may describe a domain that has no parallel to any known physical setting. Environments may be populated or unpopulated, artificial, natural or abstract, and the experience may be beatific, horrific or neutral. A common Theosophical belief is that one may access a compendium of mystical knowledge called the Akashic records. In many accounts the experiencer correlates the astral world with the world of dreams. Some even report seeing other dreamers enacting dream scenarios unaware of their wider environment.

The astral environment may also be divided into levels or sub-planes by theorists, but there are many different views in various traditions concerning the overall structure of the astral planes: they may include heavens and hells and other after-death spheres, transcendent environments or other less-easily characterized states.

Notable practitioners

Emanuel Swedenborg was one of the first practitioners to write extensively about the out-of-body experience, in his Spiritual Diary (1747–65). French philosopher and novelist Honoré de Balzac‘s fictional work “Louis Lambert” suggests he may have had some astral or out-of-body experience.

There are many twentieth century publications on astral projection, although only a few authors remain widely cited. These include Robert Monroe,  Oliver Fox, Sylvan Muldoon and Hereward Carrington, and Yram.

Robert Monroe‘s accounts of journeys to other realms (1971–1994) popularized the term “OBE” and were translated into a large number of languages. Though his books themselves only placed secondary importance on descriptions of method, Monroe also founded an institute dedicated to research, exploration and non-profit dissemination of auditory technology for assisting others in achieving projection and related altered states of consciousness.

Robert Bruce, William Buhlman, and Albert Taylor have discussed their theories and findings on the syndicated show Coast to Coast AM several times. Michael Crichton gives lengthy and detailed explanations and experience of astral projection in his non-fiction book Travels.

The soul’s ability to leave the body at will or while sleeping and visit the various planes of heaven is also known as “soul travel”. The practice is taught in Surat Shabd Yoga, where the experience is achieved mostly by meditation techniques and mantra repetition. All Sant Mat Gurus widely spoke about this kind of out of body experience, such as Kirpal Singh.

Eckankar describes Soul Travel broadly as movement of the true, spiritual self (Soul) closer to the heart of God. While the contemplative may perceive the experience as travel, Soul itself is said not to move but to “come into an agreement with fixed states and conditions that already exist in some world of time and space”.^[54] American Harold Klemp, the current Spiritual Leader of Eckankar practices and teaches Soul Travel, as did his predecessors, through contemplative techniques known as the Spiritual Exercises of ECK (Divine Spirit).

In occult traditions, practices range from inducing trance states to the mental construction of a second body, called the Body of Light in Aleister Crowley‘s writings, through visualization and controlled breathing, followed by the transfer of consciousness to the secondary body by a mental act of will.

Scientific reception

There is no scientific evidence that astral projection as an objective phenomenon exists, and pseudoscientific claims to that effect are not accepted as reliable scientific evidence in the relevant fields of study.

Robert Todd Carroll writes that the main evidence to support claims of astral travel is anecdotal and comes “in the form of testimonials of those who claim to have experienced being out of their bodies when they may have been out of their minds.” Subjects in parapsychological experiments have attempted to project their astral bodies to distant rooms and see what was happening. However, such experiments have produced negative results.

According to Bob Bruce of the Queensland Skeptics Association, astral projection is “just imagining”, or “a dream state”. Although there is rigorous mathematical support for parallel universes, Bruce writes that the existence of an astral plane is contrary to the limits of science. “We know how many possibilities there are for dimensions and we know what the dimensions do. None of it correlates with things like astral projection.” Bruce attributes astral experiences such as “meetings” alleged by practitioners to confirmation bias and coincidences.

The psychologist Donovan Rawcliffe has written that astral projection can be explained by delusion, hallucination and vivid dreams.

Arthur W. Wiggins, writing in Quantum Leaps in the Wrong Direction: Where Real Science Ends…and Pseudoscience Begins, said that purported evidence of the ability to astral travel great distances and give descriptions of places visited is predominantly anecdotal. In 1978, Ingo Swann provided a test of his alleged ability to astral travel to Jupiter and observe details of the planet. Actual findings and information were later compared to Swann’s claimed observations. According to an evaluation by James Randi, Swann’s accuracy was “unconvincing and unimpressive” with an overall score of 37 percent. Wiggins considers astral travel an illusion, and looks to neuroanatomy, human belief, imagination and prior knowledge to provide prosaic explanations for those claiming to experience it.

How-to Astral Projection: Beginners

Start in the morning. Rather than practicing astral projection at night, right before you go to sleep, start in the early morning hours when you’re still drowsy. Some say that it’s easier to reach the necessary state of relaxation and heightened awareness around dawn.

Create the right atmosphere. Astral projection requires a state of deep relaxation, so it should be performed in a part of your home where you’re completely comfortable. Lie on your bed or sofa and relax your mind and body.

• It’s easier to perform astral projection alone than it is with someone else in the room. If you usually sleep with a partner, choose a room other than the bedroom to practice astral projection.
• Draw the shades or curtains and rid the room of distracting noises. Any type of interruption could disrupt the state of relaxation you need to achieve.

Lie down and relax. Position yourself on your back in your chosen room. Close your eyes and try to clear your mind of distracting thoughts. Concentrate on your body and how it feels. The goal is to achieve a state of complete mind and body relaxation.

• Flex your muscles and then loosen them. Start with your toes and work your way up your body, gradually making your way to your head. Make sure every muscle is completely relaxed when you are through.
• Breathe deeply and exhale completely. Don’t hold tension in your chest and shoulders, just relax.
• Focus your mind on your breathing. Don’t get carried away with thoughts of outside worries, and don’t get preoccupied yet with the idea of your soul projecting from your body. Just let yourself sink into relaxation.

Reach a hypnotic state. This hypnotic state is normally known as the hypnagogicstate. Let your body and mind approach sleep, but don’t completely lose consciousness. Being at the edge of wakefulness and sleep, a hypnotic state, is necessary for astral projection to occur. Reach this state using the following method:

• Keeping your eyes closed, let your mind wander to a part of your body, such as your hand, foot or a single toe.
• Focus on the body part until you can visualize it perfectly, even with your eyes closed. Continue focusing until all other thoughts fall away.
• Use your mind to flex your body part, but do not physically move it. Visualize your toes curling and uncurling, or your fingers clenching and unclenching, until it seems as though they are physically moving.
• • Broaden your focus to the rest of your body. Move your legs, your arms, and your head using only your mind. Keep your focus steady until you’re able to move your whole body in your mind alone.

Enter a state of vibration. Many report feeling vibrations, which come in waves at different frequencies, as the soul prepares to leave the body. Don’t be afraid of the vibrations, since the presence of fear might cause you to leave your meditative state; instead, succumb to the vibrations as your soul prepares to leave your body.

Use your mind to move your soul from your body. Imagine in your mind the room in which you are lying. Move your body in your mind to stand up. Look around yourself. Get up off the bed and walk across the room, then turn around and look at your body on the bed.

• Your OBE is successful if you feel as though you are gazing upon your body from across the room, and that your conscious self is now separate from your body.
• It takes a lot of practice to get to this point. If you have trouble completely lifting your soul from your body, try lifting just a hand or a leg at first. Keep practicing until you’re able to move across the room.

Return to your body. Your soul always remains connected to your body with an invisible force, sometimes referred to as a “silver cord.” Let the force guide your soul back to your body. Reenter your body. Move your fingers and toes - physically, not just in your mind - and let yourself regain full consciousness.

Confirm that you are projecting your soul from your body. Once you have mastered the act of projecting your soul from your body in the same room, you will want to confirm that you were indeed in two separate planes.

• Next time you practice astral projection, don’t turn around to look at your body. Instead, leave the room and walk into another room in the house.
• Examine an object in the other room, something that you had never noticed before in the physical sense. Make a mental note of its color, shape and size, paying attention to as many details as possible.
• • Return to your body. Physically go into the room you previously projected yourself into. Walk to the article you examined during the astral travel. Can you confirm the details you noted when you explored the object with your mind?

Explore further. During subsequent astral projection sessions, go to locations that are less and less familiar to you. Each time, note details that you had never noticed before. After each session, physically verify the details. After a few trips, you will be experienced enough to travel to locations that are completely unfamiliar with the confidence that you have actually performed astral projection.

Return to your body. Some say that astral projection is dangerous, especially when one gets enough practice to explore unfamiliar places. Before you astral project it is nice to imagine yourself bathed in a glowing, white light. Imagine it as a cloud around you, this will protect you from other thought forms. There is so much to get into, but know that no harm will come to you unless you think it will. The thrill of having an OBE keeps some people out of their bodies for long periods of time, which is said to weaken the silver cord. Be sure to stay aware of your body back at home while your soul is projected elsewhere.

• The silver cord can never be broken, but it is said that your soul can be delayed from reentering your body if you spend too much energy outside of it.
• Some say that demons can inhabit the body while the soul is being projected. If you fear this may happen, protect your body by blessing the room with a prayer before you perform projection.
• Your soul can also interact with other astral projections. Try it with a friend who has practiced as much as you have. Some say astral sex is mind blowing. However, remember to always return to your body.

Here are some Binaural Beats & Isochronic Tones to help you practice: