Post by VananLawbreaker on Dec 30, 2008 6:32:55 GMT -5
Astral Projection(AP):
First, what is astral projection? Astral projection is simply the transferring of the consciousness from the physical body to the astral body. We have several 'vehicles' for our consciousness, and the astral body is one of them.
Now, I will outline the progress of how I learned to astral project:
Desire:
First is the desire. I have a friend who experiences the beginning states of astral projection, but has no interest in pursuing it, therefore never goes anywhere. "Why?" she asks. Well, if you don't build the interest and suitable desire, you're more than likely to go nowhere, and that is probably as it should be. We are all on individual paths, and no one can judge the course of another.
Fear:
"Fear is the great barrier to human growth." Robert Monroe, Ultimate Journey. This is why once you've built the desire, relaxed and can concentrate, you need to lose the fear. One of the biggest obstacles is the initial fear of the vibrational stage. There is also the fear that you'll die; fear that you won't come back; fear that your body will be possessed. I have never known of anyone to suffer any of these ailments. In fact, after visiting a particularly gorgeous place, I'll do everything in my power to NOT come back! But to no avail! No matter what you do, you WILL come back (unless of course you have a heart attack in the middle of your sleep). Fear is a reoccurring theme (and/or lesson) that people have to overcome in order to advance in astral projection. You're not alone; everyone, at some time or another, will have to surpass one of the biggest obstacles. This theme, however, applies to all areas of our life, so when you can overcome this one, your whole life will be enriched. I've read a vast array of books, talked with many people on this subject, and I have drawn one conclusion, and that is to face it. You can read until you're blue in the face on how to deal with fear, how to control your emotions, that there's nothing to fear but fear itself, but until you face it head on and overcome it, these will be just words. And even when you face it and think you have learned the lesson, it will take on another shape and another form and reoccur until the lesson is thoroughly worked out. Then you will see it disappear from your life because it is no longer needed. I met my guide once in the astral and he told me that there were seven cycles of life and fear is one of them. We will cycle through these lessons until each one is resolved. What happens in our life is neutral, and it's up to us to view it as positive, negative, spiritual, or mundane.
Concentration:
One of my personal big obstacles! I can relax just fine, but when I try and quiet my mind and focus on one thing, a thought slips in and I'm off on a fantasy. My most successful attempts are when I can clear the mind and use several techniques; either focusing on my third eye, using a particular visualization tool or affirmation. Practice concentration, via meditation, looking at candles, or whatever your preference is. Robert Peterson in "Out of Body Experiences" states that, "The single most important factor in leaving the body is that you focus your consciousness down to a single, focused, barely noticeable thread." Do you ever stop and listen for that "high pitched noise" in your head? Sometimes, if it's really quiet, I can stop and listen for it. Robert Peterson states that if you can hold your concentration on this very noise for three minutes that the vibrations will rush in.
Relaxation:
Countless people have repeatedly stressed this and that's because it's true. If you're upset over a job, spouse, health, finances, or whatever, more than likely this will be what is consuming you, not astral projection. Clear your load if you want to pursue astral projection. We cannot escape work, loved ones, bills or traffic, but we can do a little to minimize the "noise" in our life and this may also include having to make long term decisions. Is your career keeping you from pursuing the higher things? Are you accumulating too much physical goodies via credit which perpetuates the stressful job in order to pay for them and thus keeps you up at night? Is your spouse in tune with you and your goals, or creating disharmony? If we want to project, we eventually have to lead a lifestyle that is conducive to it. We cannot live like monks in a quiet monastery, but we do have choices and we can chose compatible mates, get less stressful jobs, work towards simple lifestyles that allow for freedom and more quiet time.
Here are some things that I have personally implemented myself: knowing when is "enough" in my career. I'm a SQL Server Database Administrator, and people ask me why I don't go into development, well, because it's too stressful and time consuming and not worth the $5-$10 more an hour. I changed my work hours from 7:00-3:00 so I could avoid longer time in traffic (it's rotten here in Seattle). I try and pay my bills off before accumulating more stuff to keep anxiety down. I keep I disagreeociations to meaningful ones (quality vs. quantity type friends) which means only a couple. I develop patience and tolerance towards my loved ones which keeps me from getting unduly upset. I meditate regularly and keep extraneous noises like TV and radio to a minimum. These are just a few examples. It won't happen overnight, but if you work on your goals, you'll get there.
Focus 10: (aka the hypnagogic state-- see Glossary for term definition).
People say, "I'm relaxed and all, but I still can't leave". It is more than just relaxation. The body must be **asleep** yet the mind awake. I try and catch myself as I'm coming out of sleep in the morning which is an acquired skill, but doable (I can't do this at night because I'm too tired)-- See "My Favorite Technique" under the Weekly Commentary link. You shouldn't be able to feel your body (sort of like going numb). Your sense of hearing and touch will vanish and you will start to see images float across your mind. Don't let yourself slip into a dream, but instead gently hold your concentration and keep deepening the sleep state. If you do this coming out of morning sleep, catch yourself before you fully wake up and gently focus on your third eye. Don't strain, otherwise you wake up. The vibrating should follow.
Separation:
Ok, now the interesting stuff! There is no way to fully prepare a person for astral projection. Practice, desire and trial and error are the best teachers. However, you can at least expect some or all of the following things. For me, one of the first experiences I felt prior to separation was the buzzing. My whole body vibrated!
The first time is always shocking and you'll usually throw yourself out of the state before anything happens, but if you can, just let the vibrations continue. You're so close! I now know that when these vibrations start, I'm well on my way to separation. Usually, when the vibrating starts, I can raise my astral hands, legs and so forth. The last for me to detach is usually my head. I think our heads contain the strongest hold to our physical body. There were many times where my whole body was significantly raised, but my head would just stick. I'm not alone. Albert Taylor wrote in Soul Traveler, "I woke up in the paralysis state and, without my producing, the lower half of my body began to float. Like the hinged lid of a music box, my astral body moved up and my head rotated backward! The soles of my astral feet were pointing straight at the ceiling. I was upside down and facing backward, but my astral head was still connected to my physical head. I hung there upside down staring at the headboard of our bed. I couldn't seem to break free, so I gave up and reconnected."
About bodies:
Eastern esoteric yoga informs us that the human has not only the physical body, but a series of overlapping, multidimensional bodies. These bodies are variously described according to different traditions, but essentially they include the etheric/electromagnetic body (seat of the chakras), the astral/emotional body (the basic formative dimension for emotions as polarized expressions), the mental body (the sphere of abstract knowledge and concrete thinking, the realm of Forms). The last is the causal body (seat of the Soul, the timeless, spiritualized agent behind sequential human incarnations).
Physical
This is pretty self explanatory. The physical body has the lowest vibrations and is attached to the etheric and the astral.
Etheric
The etheric body can leave the physical, but when it does, I don't think it goes any great distance. I think its role is a "life energy" body. When the body goes to sleep, the etheric expands, the chakras open, and we receive energy and restore our depleted supply. This is why it is also referred to as the vitality sheath or health body. When I'm tired and drained, I can lay down for half an hour, enter a trance like state and wake up feeling totally refreshed. This is not the projection of the astral body, but a charging of the etheric. If the etheric projected a great deal, our bodies would feel drained, not refreshed, upon return. When I astral project, my etheric is doing its job of replenishing my body, and when I come back, I am refreshed. The two are independent.
When people experience "duality" aka mind splitting (where the consciousness resides at two locations) I believe one part of the consciousness is in the etheric and another one is in the astral.
There are also a lot of discrepancies on the silver cord. I personally have never seen this cord (but I haven't really looked for it either). Is has been suggested that the cord is related to etheric projection, not astral. If the cord was associated with just astral projection, then we would see it every time we astrally projected.
I remember once leaving my body and out of curiosity I looked back towards my physical body. I saw a body, but it was in a totally different position than my physical! It was the etheric body that I was seeing. In the astral, we see the astral counterparts of the physical, but I think we can also see our etheric shell (this explains why I saw the etheric body, and not the physical).
On several occasions, during meditation, I have been able to see the ceiling through my physical eyelids. This is also not astral projection.
People who are sickly have reported more OBEs. I think this is because the etheric is weak and the astral is able to separate more easily. Both our physical and etheric bodies are magnetic in nature and influence the pull of the astral.
When objects are moved, I think it is more from the influence of the etheric body, rather than the astral which does not share the same vibrations as objects in the physical. The etheric is of a higher vibration than the physical, but lower than the astral.
Astral
The astral body is aligned with the physical and is of a lower vibration when it is attached. To unattach, the frequencies must be raised. The astral body can transcend various levels in the astral plane. It reacts to thoughts and can see the astral counterpart of the physical world. It cannot affect physical objects because they do not share the same vibrations. The astral body can transcend time and space. There is a feeling of separation when consciously projecting from the body. Rushing, vibrating, roaring, crackling and popping (to name a few). When in the astral, our filter is removed and we are able to see, hear and feel more.
Mental
The mental body is where remote viewing happens. When you achieve bi-location during remote viewing, there is no feeling of separation as with astral projection. There is also no visual distortion as there sometimes is with astral projection (depending on where you are at on the astral plane). My first "projection" was a mental one. I went straight from the physical to the mental body which explains why there were no vibrations. I just involuntarily "popped" out and was several blocks away. I also think the mental body is often independent of our physical one. Unlike astral projection, when I separate, I detach from the body and travel accordingly. In the mental, you just show up somewhere and have done nothing to travel there. The mental body does not contain the thought "junk" of the astral. You may be able to see partial thoughts formed in the astral (as in a partially built ship), but not in the mental. When I wake up in the mental, I am usually nowhere near my body and have no sensation of a body of any kind. I once "woke up" in the mental and I had no way to determine where I was. It was pitch black, I had no ears, no eyes, no body. It was a void that I remained in until a sudden return to the physical. It was a pure state of 'being'.
The mental body also transcends time and space. Advanced remote viewers, using their mental body, communicate telepathically.
Causal
The causal body is where past life memories are stored. This plane is one up from the astral. When we die, we enter the astral and eventually experience a second death (the astral body diminishes) and we enter the causal plane where we then remember our past lives and can then make decisions for our next.
Extra Information:
I'm always curious about how the physical body, especially the brain, behaves during projection, conscious or otherwise. As I've mentioned on my site, it appears the following occurs during a projection:
- Pulse and heart rate drop (this is also present in spontaneous projections when laughing gas is used)
- Body temperature is lowest (thus reducing heat which causes energy resulting in magnetism which keeps us in)
- Brain signals become slow and long which reduce electricity in the brain
- Breathing is slower which sends less oxygen to the brain. You might think the brain, compared to the body, doesn't account for much blood circulation, but because of the high energy demand of the brain, oxygen delivery and blood flow to this organ is quite large. Although the brain's weight is only 2% of the body's, its oxygen consumption rate is 20% of the body's, and blood flow 15%.
We could probably deduce that the brain is the last to separate from the physical because most of our energy is generated there through electricity in the form of nerve impulses called "action potentials". This also means if we want a conscious projection, we must quell activity in the head through control of breathing and body/brain interaction. I don't say "thought processes" because I think as long as we're not sending signals to our body such as "I'm hungry, I'm cold, I'm afraid" we can still "think" and induce the hypnagogic state. I used to believe that "thinking" itself was a hindrance, but most of us fall asleep with thoughts on our mind. As long as it's not accompanied with worry or our thoughts are not excessive, we should be okay. We also think continually in the astral and this doesn't noticeably bring us back to our physical shells, unless the body itself is calling for us.
So where's the trigger? When does consciousness shift from the physical plane to the subtle? Is it more easily reproducible?
This led me to further investigations into the brain, and primarily, the frontal lobes. This is where 90% of our brain is untapped to conscious use. What activities do the frontal lobes perform that we know of? Laughter, listening to music and our emotions to name a few. These fall into the higher cognitive functions of the mind. The back part of the brain, sometimes called the "reptilian" portion is responsible for our survival instincts.
This led me to a fascinating article by Neil Slade from Dormant Brain Lab. They claim, through years of medical research, that the "amygdala" (pronounced ah-MIG-doll-uh) is located in the frontal lobes and can be voluntarily "clicked forward" to automatically trigger emotional highs, nirvana, bliss, and yes..... astral projection!
Neil Slade does what he calls "Brain Travel" by clicking his amygdala forward. He states, "it is an elementary thing to switch on the remote/astral travel components of your brain, which reside primarily in the frontal lobes. Both Eric and I have been doing this for decades, myself having learned this skill at the age of 18 from a master of meditation."
Neil states that during sleep, our reptilian brain ego function is at its lowest point of control which allows our frontal lobes to take over. This happens during REM sleep (and this is also what I said under my sleep article; that we shouldn't mimic sleep, but REM sleep!) He also states that "during sleep, our brain's electrochemical currents are allowed free access to the frontal lobes- precisely because our amygdala are clicked forward out of reptilian self-preservation circuits".
Now you might think, "who is this Neil guy?" Although his writing is very humorous and flashy (he states that humor is a sign of frontal lobe activity, hence of a "higher" nature) he's got the credentials.
Here's a bit of background on Neil:
"Neil Slade attended Metropolitan State College, the University of Colorado, and the University of Denver, and graduated Magna cum laude in 1978. He was assistant to Brain and Behavior Researcher T.D.A. Lingo, Ph.B, B.Sci. M.A., for 11 years at Colorado's Dormant Brain Research and Development Laboratory, established by director Lingo in 1957. Since December 1997, Neil has been a regular guest on the internationally broadcast Art Bell Coast to Coast radio program. This included a record 4 appearances in one month with an estimated audience of 15-20 million listeners for each interview and live audience question and answer session. Neil has recorded and released 8 albums of original music, and has written and published three books on learning, creativity, and the brain."
And his credential go on!
The amygdala is not something he made up or was coined by Dormant Brain Lab. The amygdala can be easily referenced in any medical brain material. It was first established in the scientific community by brain researchers Jose Delgado of Yale University, James Olds and Peter Milner of the Montreal Neurological Institute, and Dr. Robert Heath of Tulane University Medical School.
So here we are. We know the brain creates energy, that during REM sleep that energy is reduced, and that electrochemical currents switch from the reptilian "survival" mode to the "highly cognitive" frontal lobes. So the switch, it seems, is pointing the amygdala from back to front. Neil offers insight on his webpage for clicking your amygdala forward at will, but I also invested the $20 dollars and bought one of his books. I'll let you know how it goes...
For those interested, here is his link:
Other people's astral adventures:
A reader just asked me if I've ever seen dragons, mermaids, faeries, unicorns or other fantasy creatures, and if so, what were they like.
All right! I'm coming out of the closet on this one! I've seen gnomes on the subtle planes! I withheld this bit of info for fear of being labeled a pure nut, but there's a side to this story that puts it into the credible department. Now, while I've seen gnomes, I have not seen any of the others listed above, however, I imagine some may exist. Who knows, maybe some myths were started because someone "dreamed" them (a disguised projection) and thought it would make for an interesting story.
Here is the fascinating tale of how I saw these gnomes. I decided to do some remote viewing for the lottery numbers one afternoon. I did my usual set-up of going to bed, getting comfortable, and then started the process of moving from beta to theta. About 40 or so minutes into it, I felt I had reached the theta state (body totally asleep, hypnagogic imagery starting to form). This is when I started to probe for the lottery numbers. As my third eye opened up, what I got instead were two little gnomes! They both looked male and had the proverbial appearance of gnomes (dressed in rustic clothing, very earthy surroundings, etc.) What was rather odd is that one of them was drinking out of a tea cup! As the one gnome sipped his tea, he said to me (in an accent that sounded a bit Irish), "Look at the lottery for seven days and it will be like looking at paper." Now, while this tale sounds ridiculous, and you are probably rolling your eyes, I did exactly what the gnome told me to do. For the next seven days I went to Safeway and asked to see the lottery numbers. On the seventh day, an amazing thing happened.
It was a weekend morning and I decided to use my "My Favorite Technique" to do a projection. This basically requires sleeping in to the point of becoming excessively groggy. When I reached that point, I was able to induce the vibrations and exit my body. I of course went to search for the lottery numbers, thinking I had to "go someplace." Well, one projection was futile, and after awhile I came back. But for some reason my body remained in an optimal state and I was able to leave over and over. On the seventh exit I grew frustrated and demanded to see the lottery numbers (hence the source for my Will article.) And as I pushed out the force of my will, up popped the daily lottery numbers, as clear as the gnome said it would be. Of course the rest is written down under my lottery article.
So I do believe I really did see gnomes. But why they chose to appear to me and help me, I do not know. I can only say one thing, and that is that I've had a very strong attachment to earth and her creatures since I can recall. Even in my dreams I have drawn "other realm" tarot cards depicting a nature goddess. So perhaps there is some affinity even with her subtle realm creatures (nature is nature).
There are creatures that we cannot see that are literally "out of this world." I'm quite sure many of these exists and have varying degrees of personality, as we do.
Places to visit in the astral world:
1.)Temple of Meridia(holy place)
2.) There are also psi schools that you can join in the astral world.
3.) Interstella travels(be careful with this)
4.) Lower realms( full of spirits and demons that you would not want to see-cautious!)
5.) You can also create a portal and enter an imaginary world... Harry potter etc.
I will be covering details about these places in future lessons.
Astral project(Techniques):
There are several techniques to astral project. I can classify them as either conscious techniques or subconscious techniques. To astral project although your body should be ready to AP, your mind should not be thinking about APing. So obviously when using conscious techniques it is harder to AP as it is equally hard to stop thinking about APing. However, in a way conscious techniques are better than subconscious technques because it is hard to get into the right mind state when using the subconscious techniques. This especially holds true for Lucid dream technique.
First, what is astral projection? Astral projection is simply the transferring of the consciousness from the physical body to the astral body. We have several 'vehicles' for our consciousness, and the astral body is one of them.
Now, I will outline the progress of how I learned to astral project:
Desire:
First is the desire. I have a friend who experiences the beginning states of astral projection, but has no interest in pursuing it, therefore never goes anywhere. "Why?" she asks. Well, if you don't build the interest and suitable desire, you're more than likely to go nowhere, and that is probably as it should be. We are all on individual paths, and no one can judge the course of another.
Fear:
"Fear is the great barrier to human growth." Robert Monroe, Ultimate Journey. This is why once you've built the desire, relaxed and can concentrate, you need to lose the fear. One of the biggest obstacles is the initial fear of the vibrational stage. There is also the fear that you'll die; fear that you won't come back; fear that your body will be possessed. I have never known of anyone to suffer any of these ailments. In fact, after visiting a particularly gorgeous place, I'll do everything in my power to NOT come back! But to no avail! No matter what you do, you WILL come back (unless of course you have a heart attack in the middle of your sleep). Fear is a reoccurring theme (and/or lesson) that people have to overcome in order to advance in astral projection. You're not alone; everyone, at some time or another, will have to surpass one of the biggest obstacles. This theme, however, applies to all areas of our life, so when you can overcome this one, your whole life will be enriched. I've read a vast array of books, talked with many people on this subject, and I have drawn one conclusion, and that is to face it. You can read until you're blue in the face on how to deal with fear, how to control your emotions, that there's nothing to fear but fear itself, but until you face it head on and overcome it, these will be just words. And even when you face it and think you have learned the lesson, it will take on another shape and another form and reoccur until the lesson is thoroughly worked out. Then you will see it disappear from your life because it is no longer needed. I met my guide once in the astral and he told me that there were seven cycles of life and fear is one of them. We will cycle through these lessons until each one is resolved. What happens in our life is neutral, and it's up to us to view it as positive, negative, spiritual, or mundane.
Concentration:
One of my personal big obstacles! I can relax just fine, but when I try and quiet my mind and focus on one thing, a thought slips in and I'm off on a fantasy. My most successful attempts are when I can clear the mind and use several techniques; either focusing on my third eye, using a particular visualization tool or affirmation. Practice concentration, via meditation, looking at candles, or whatever your preference is. Robert Peterson in "Out of Body Experiences" states that, "The single most important factor in leaving the body is that you focus your consciousness down to a single, focused, barely noticeable thread." Do you ever stop and listen for that "high pitched noise" in your head? Sometimes, if it's really quiet, I can stop and listen for it. Robert Peterson states that if you can hold your concentration on this very noise for three minutes that the vibrations will rush in.
Relaxation:
Countless people have repeatedly stressed this and that's because it's true. If you're upset over a job, spouse, health, finances, or whatever, more than likely this will be what is consuming you, not astral projection. Clear your load if you want to pursue astral projection. We cannot escape work, loved ones, bills or traffic, but we can do a little to minimize the "noise" in our life and this may also include having to make long term decisions. Is your career keeping you from pursuing the higher things? Are you accumulating too much physical goodies via credit which perpetuates the stressful job in order to pay for them and thus keeps you up at night? Is your spouse in tune with you and your goals, or creating disharmony? If we want to project, we eventually have to lead a lifestyle that is conducive to it. We cannot live like monks in a quiet monastery, but we do have choices and we can chose compatible mates, get less stressful jobs, work towards simple lifestyles that allow for freedom and more quiet time.
Here are some things that I have personally implemented myself: knowing when is "enough" in my career. I'm a SQL Server Database Administrator, and people ask me why I don't go into development, well, because it's too stressful and time consuming and not worth the $5-$10 more an hour. I changed my work hours from 7:00-3:00 so I could avoid longer time in traffic (it's rotten here in Seattle). I try and pay my bills off before accumulating more stuff to keep anxiety down. I keep I disagreeociations to meaningful ones (quality vs. quantity type friends) which means only a couple. I develop patience and tolerance towards my loved ones which keeps me from getting unduly upset. I meditate regularly and keep extraneous noises like TV and radio to a minimum. These are just a few examples. It won't happen overnight, but if you work on your goals, you'll get there.
Focus 10: (aka the hypnagogic state-- see Glossary for term definition).
People say, "I'm relaxed and all, but I still can't leave". It is more than just relaxation. The body must be **asleep** yet the mind awake. I try and catch myself as I'm coming out of sleep in the morning which is an acquired skill, but doable (I can't do this at night because I'm too tired)-- See "My Favorite Technique" under the Weekly Commentary link. You shouldn't be able to feel your body (sort of like going numb). Your sense of hearing and touch will vanish and you will start to see images float across your mind. Don't let yourself slip into a dream, but instead gently hold your concentration and keep deepening the sleep state. If you do this coming out of morning sleep, catch yourself before you fully wake up and gently focus on your third eye. Don't strain, otherwise you wake up. The vibrating should follow.
Separation:
Ok, now the interesting stuff! There is no way to fully prepare a person for astral projection. Practice, desire and trial and error are the best teachers. However, you can at least expect some or all of the following things. For me, one of the first experiences I felt prior to separation was the buzzing. My whole body vibrated!
The first time is always shocking and you'll usually throw yourself out of the state before anything happens, but if you can, just let the vibrations continue. You're so close! I now know that when these vibrations start, I'm well on my way to separation. Usually, when the vibrating starts, I can raise my astral hands, legs and so forth. The last for me to detach is usually my head. I think our heads contain the strongest hold to our physical body. There were many times where my whole body was significantly raised, but my head would just stick. I'm not alone. Albert Taylor wrote in Soul Traveler, "I woke up in the paralysis state and, without my producing, the lower half of my body began to float. Like the hinged lid of a music box, my astral body moved up and my head rotated backward! The soles of my astral feet were pointing straight at the ceiling. I was upside down and facing backward, but my astral head was still connected to my physical head. I hung there upside down staring at the headboard of our bed. I couldn't seem to break free, so I gave up and reconnected."
About bodies:
Eastern esoteric yoga informs us that the human has not only the physical body, but a series of overlapping, multidimensional bodies. These bodies are variously described according to different traditions, but essentially they include the etheric/electromagnetic body (seat of the chakras), the astral/emotional body (the basic formative dimension for emotions as polarized expressions), the mental body (the sphere of abstract knowledge and concrete thinking, the realm of Forms). The last is the causal body (seat of the Soul, the timeless, spiritualized agent behind sequential human incarnations).
Physical
This is pretty self explanatory. The physical body has the lowest vibrations and is attached to the etheric and the astral.
Etheric
The etheric body can leave the physical, but when it does, I don't think it goes any great distance. I think its role is a "life energy" body. When the body goes to sleep, the etheric expands, the chakras open, and we receive energy and restore our depleted supply. This is why it is also referred to as the vitality sheath or health body. When I'm tired and drained, I can lay down for half an hour, enter a trance like state and wake up feeling totally refreshed. This is not the projection of the astral body, but a charging of the etheric. If the etheric projected a great deal, our bodies would feel drained, not refreshed, upon return. When I astral project, my etheric is doing its job of replenishing my body, and when I come back, I am refreshed. The two are independent.
When people experience "duality" aka mind splitting (where the consciousness resides at two locations) I believe one part of the consciousness is in the etheric and another one is in the astral.
There are also a lot of discrepancies on the silver cord. I personally have never seen this cord (but I haven't really looked for it either). Is has been suggested that the cord is related to etheric projection, not astral. If the cord was associated with just astral projection, then we would see it every time we astrally projected.
I remember once leaving my body and out of curiosity I looked back towards my physical body. I saw a body, but it was in a totally different position than my physical! It was the etheric body that I was seeing. In the astral, we see the astral counterparts of the physical, but I think we can also see our etheric shell (this explains why I saw the etheric body, and not the physical).
On several occasions, during meditation, I have been able to see the ceiling through my physical eyelids. This is also not astral projection.
People who are sickly have reported more OBEs. I think this is because the etheric is weak and the astral is able to separate more easily. Both our physical and etheric bodies are magnetic in nature and influence the pull of the astral.
When objects are moved, I think it is more from the influence of the etheric body, rather than the astral which does not share the same vibrations as objects in the physical. The etheric is of a higher vibration than the physical, but lower than the astral.
Astral
The astral body is aligned with the physical and is of a lower vibration when it is attached. To unattach, the frequencies must be raised. The astral body can transcend various levels in the astral plane. It reacts to thoughts and can see the astral counterpart of the physical world. It cannot affect physical objects because they do not share the same vibrations. The astral body can transcend time and space. There is a feeling of separation when consciously projecting from the body. Rushing, vibrating, roaring, crackling and popping (to name a few). When in the astral, our filter is removed and we are able to see, hear and feel more.
Mental
The mental body is where remote viewing happens. When you achieve bi-location during remote viewing, there is no feeling of separation as with astral projection. There is also no visual distortion as there sometimes is with astral projection (depending on where you are at on the astral plane). My first "projection" was a mental one. I went straight from the physical to the mental body which explains why there were no vibrations. I just involuntarily "popped" out and was several blocks away. I also think the mental body is often independent of our physical one. Unlike astral projection, when I separate, I detach from the body and travel accordingly. In the mental, you just show up somewhere and have done nothing to travel there. The mental body does not contain the thought "junk" of the astral. You may be able to see partial thoughts formed in the astral (as in a partially built ship), but not in the mental. When I wake up in the mental, I am usually nowhere near my body and have no sensation of a body of any kind. I once "woke up" in the mental and I had no way to determine where I was. It was pitch black, I had no ears, no eyes, no body. It was a void that I remained in until a sudden return to the physical. It was a pure state of 'being'.
The mental body also transcends time and space. Advanced remote viewers, using their mental body, communicate telepathically.
Causal
The causal body is where past life memories are stored. This plane is one up from the astral. When we die, we enter the astral and eventually experience a second death (the astral body diminishes) and we enter the causal plane where we then remember our past lives and can then make decisions for our next.
Extra Information:
I'm always curious about how the physical body, especially the brain, behaves during projection, conscious or otherwise. As I've mentioned on my site, it appears the following occurs during a projection:
- Pulse and heart rate drop (this is also present in spontaneous projections when laughing gas is used)
- Body temperature is lowest (thus reducing heat which causes energy resulting in magnetism which keeps us in)
- Brain signals become slow and long which reduce electricity in the brain
- Breathing is slower which sends less oxygen to the brain. You might think the brain, compared to the body, doesn't account for much blood circulation, but because of the high energy demand of the brain, oxygen delivery and blood flow to this organ is quite large. Although the brain's weight is only 2% of the body's, its oxygen consumption rate is 20% of the body's, and blood flow 15%.
We could probably deduce that the brain is the last to separate from the physical because most of our energy is generated there through electricity in the form of nerve impulses called "action potentials". This also means if we want a conscious projection, we must quell activity in the head through control of breathing and body/brain interaction. I don't say "thought processes" because I think as long as we're not sending signals to our body such as "I'm hungry, I'm cold, I'm afraid" we can still "think" and induce the hypnagogic state. I used to believe that "thinking" itself was a hindrance, but most of us fall asleep with thoughts on our mind. As long as it's not accompanied with worry or our thoughts are not excessive, we should be okay. We also think continually in the astral and this doesn't noticeably bring us back to our physical shells, unless the body itself is calling for us.
So where's the trigger? When does consciousness shift from the physical plane to the subtle? Is it more easily reproducible?
This led me to further investigations into the brain, and primarily, the frontal lobes. This is where 90% of our brain is untapped to conscious use. What activities do the frontal lobes perform that we know of? Laughter, listening to music and our emotions to name a few. These fall into the higher cognitive functions of the mind. The back part of the brain, sometimes called the "reptilian" portion is responsible for our survival instincts.
This led me to a fascinating article by Neil Slade from Dormant Brain Lab. They claim, through years of medical research, that the "amygdala" (pronounced ah-MIG-doll-uh) is located in the frontal lobes and can be voluntarily "clicked forward" to automatically trigger emotional highs, nirvana, bliss, and yes..... astral projection!
Neil Slade does what he calls "Brain Travel" by clicking his amygdala forward. He states, "it is an elementary thing to switch on the remote/astral travel components of your brain, which reside primarily in the frontal lobes. Both Eric and I have been doing this for decades, myself having learned this skill at the age of 18 from a master of meditation."
Neil states that during sleep, our reptilian brain ego function is at its lowest point of control which allows our frontal lobes to take over. This happens during REM sleep (and this is also what I said under my sleep article; that we shouldn't mimic sleep, but REM sleep!) He also states that "during sleep, our brain's electrochemical currents are allowed free access to the frontal lobes- precisely because our amygdala are clicked forward out of reptilian self-preservation circuits".
Now you might think, "who is this Neil guy?" Although his writing is very humorous and flashy (he states that humor is a sign of frontal lobe activity, hence of a "higher" nature) he's got the credentials.
Here's a bit of background on Neil:
"Neil Slade attended Metropolitan State College, the University of Colorado, and the University of Denver, and graduated Magna cum laude in 1978. He was assistant to Brain and Behavior Researcher T.D.A. Lingo, Ph.B, B.Sci. M.A., for 11 years at Colorado's Dormant Brain Research and Development Laboratory, established by director Lingo in 1957. Since December 1997, Neil has been a regular guest on the internationally broadcast Art Bell Coast to Coast radio program. This included a record 4 appearances in one month with an estimated audience of 15-20 million listeners for each interview and live audience question and answer session. Neil has recorded and released 8 albums of original music, and has written and published three books on learning, creativity, and the brain."
And his credential go on!
The amygdala is not something he made up or was coined by Dormant Brain Lab. The amygdala can be easily referenced in any medical brain material. It was first established in the scientific community by brain researchers Jose Delgado of Yale University, James Olds and Peter Milner of the Montreal Neurological Institute, and Dr. Robert Heath of Tulane University Medical School.
So here we are. We know the brain creates energy, that during REM sleep that energy is reduced, and that electrochemical currents switch from the reptilian "survival" mode to the "highly cognitive" frontal lobes. So the switch, it seems, is pointing the amygdala from back to front. Neil offers insight on his webpage for clicking your amygdala forward at will, but I also invested the $20 dollars and bought one of his books. I'll let you know how it goes...
For those interested, here is his link:
Other people's astral adventures:
A reader just asked me if I've ever seen dragons, mermaids, faeries, unicorns or other fantasy creatures, and if so, what were they like.
All right! I'm coming out of the closet on this one! I've seen gnomes on the subtle planes! I withheld this bit of info for fear of being labeled a pure nut, but there's a side to this story that puts it into the credible department. Now, while I've seen gnomes, I have not seen any of the others listed above, however, I imagine some may exist. Who knows, maybe some myths were started because someone "dreamed" them (a disguised projection) and thought it would make for an interesting story.
Here is the fascinating tale of how I saw these gnomes. I decided to do some remote viewing for the lottery numbers one afternoon. I did my usual set-up of going to bed, getting comfortable, and then started the process of moving from beta to theta. About 40 or so minutes into it, I felt I had reached the theta state (body totally asleep, hypnagogic imagery starting to form). This is when I started to probe for the lottery numbers. As my third eye opened up, what I got instead were two little gnomes! They both looked male and had the proverbial appearance of gnomes (dressed in rustic clothing, very earthy surroundings, etc.) What was rather odd is that one of them was drinking out of a tea cup! As the one gnome sipped his tea, he said to me (in an accent that sounded a bit Irish), "Look at the lottery for seven days and it will be like looking at paper." Now, while this tale sounds ridiculous, and you are probably rolling your eyes, I did exactly what the gnome told me to do. For the next seven days I went to Safeway and asked to see the lottery numbers. On the seventh day, an amazing thing happened.
It was a weekend morning and I decided to use my "My Favorite Technique" to do a projection. This basically requires sleeping in to the point of becoming excessively groggy. When I reached that point, I was able to induce the vibrations and exit my body. I of course went to search for the lottery numbers, thinking I had to "go someplace." Well, one projection was futile, and after awhile I came back. But for some reason my body remained in an optimal state and I was able to leave over and over. On the seventh exit I grew frustrated and demanded to see the lottery numbers (hence the source for my Will article.) And as I pushed out the force of my will, up popped the daily lottery numbers, as clear as the gnome said it would be. Of course the rest is written down under my lottery article.
So I do believe I really did see gnomes. But why they chose to appear to me and help me, I do not know. I can only say one thing, and that is that I've had a very strong attachment to earth and her creatures since I can recall. Even in my dreams I have drawn "other realm" tarot cards depicting a nature goddess. So perhaps there is some affinity even with her subtle realm creatures (nature is nature).
There are creatures that we cannot see that are literally "out of this world." I'm quite sure many of these exists and have varying degrees of personality, as we do.
Places to visit in the astral world:
1.)Temple of Meridia(holy place)
2.) There are also psi schools that you can join in the astral world.
3.) Interstella travels(be careful with this)
4.) Lower realms( full of spirits and demons that you would not want to see-cautious!)
5.) You can also create a portal and enter an imaginary world... Harry potter etc.
I will be covering details about these places in future lessons.
Astral project(Techniques):
There are several techniques to astral project. I can classify them as either conscious techniques or subconscious techniques. To astral project although your body should be ready to AP, your mind should not be thinking about APing. So obviously when using conscious techniques it is harder to AP as it is equally hard to stop thinking about APing. However, in a way conscious techniques are better than subconscious technques because it is hard to get into the right mind state when using the subconscious techniques. This especially holds true for Lucid dream technique.