Astral Projection: the basics.

[SeaAndSky]

Hi Mere,


It's good to hear from you again. I haven't got much experience in fully conscious AP, but I think I may be out and about when I'm asleep sometimes, though I don't remember anything clearly. However, there is something that tells me that we know many things instinctively in that state, like that impulse that sends us instantaneously back into our bodies if we're frightened. (This shouldn't be a surprise when you consider that it is not only this life when we have done this, but many other PLs as well).


I think I also have some vague memories of that in-between dream and waking cognition state happening when I was OB. However, to really answer your question, you'll probably need to wait for one of the pros. But from my POV, this definitely sounds like an experience mixing a dream sequence together with an AP.


Cordially,


S&S

 

[Mere Dreamer]

In contrast, my best friend and I are noticing that we are more and more frequently sharing dreams.


At first it was merely highlighted elements backed by a similar theme, as if someone had handed us both an outline of events and props for a movie and she had interpreted it on a zombie theme, and I had interpreted it as sci-fi mind control, with each of us playing out the role of the main character without encountering each other.


Recently, we shared an entire scene (fighting something coming up a mountain in a fog), characters (the two of us and our defending dragon), and action (she directs the dragon as it flies off into the fog). After which she went on to dream and remember an entire episode, while I did not.


I'm not entirely sure if this is through the astral or some other means of connection. The memory itself is very dreamlike. Maybe you could add your perspective, Eowyn?


I rarely actively lucid dream, even though I often do "watch myself" dreaming instead of experiencing it directly. What was unusual is that we dreamed together on the same night.


S&S, wherever you go in the astral, I assume you bring yourself with you. For me, that is my anchor of safety and the "garden to explore" so to speak. In a way my primary "guide" is the part of myself that isn't entirely submerged in physicality and the experience of living, but aware of and connected to the complete consciousness. It seems probable that the more stable, aware, and integrated you are as a person, the less danger you will find on the other side.

 

[Mere Dreamer]

there is something that tells me that we know many things instinctively in that state, like that impulse that sends us instantaneously back into our bodies if we're frightened. (This shouldn't be a surprise when you consider that it is not only this life when we have done this, but many other PLs as well).

I saw this after my second post, and I wanted to respond on this point. I think that it wasn't actually my ex in the dream (in spirit) but rather my fear of him made visible, if that makes sense. So, yes. I knew him instinctively, but it may have been because I was generating him, too.


As Eowyn mentioned, the astral will reflect your dreams and thoughts back at you. I think that's what was going on in this case. It was not a normal dream, even from the beginning.


Now, I'd adjust in a moment if I ever learned he had dreamed of coming and watching me in my sleep, but I'll never know and it's not worth worrying over.


I think it's very good to know that we have an instinctive escape mechanism open to us when we get out of our depth. Good point on the lifetimes of experience we must have accumulated.

 

[Eowyn]

The attack was amazingly sudden and my response completely instinctual--which is part of the reason why I believe your comment about our ability to avoid harm during AP. The ability and speed with which one can return to the body and avoid danger seems to be a cure-all for most unpleasant situations.

I don't know if I'd call it instinct, but certainly it's an automatic response of our "astral body" (or whatever you want to call it). Fear is one of the triggers that make you return instantly, that's the reason it's completely false you can get "lost" in the astral. The connection with your physical body is always there, unless you're dead. With or without fear, you only have to think of it and you're back.

The sexual aspect of the experience was interesting for a variety of reasons. I had read about this type of thing in Monroe, but I can guarantee that Monroe was not on my mind at all at the time. I felt like I was doing something I had done many times before, though it was completely at odds with my rather shy (and still) mostly adolescent "waking" self at the time. Also, we have had a long debate on this board over whether the "soul" that reincarnates has an innate gender. I don't think that my experience proves anything on that one way or the other, but I definitely think that we continue to possess gender related desires in (at least) the lower Astral.

Of course, in the astral we're still "us", we are not our "pure selves" (as John would say), we're still attached to our current personality and our current body. Our lower instincts like the sexual ones are also with us, that's why they say you have to get rid of all those desires before exploring the astral. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, I guess it's just how things work in the astral. All you are, you take it with you to the astral, and that includes subconscious issues you might not be aware of.


For me, the astral body is not exactly the soul. My opinion is that the soul has no gender, though it may be influenced by previous experiences as one sex or the other. The astral body is different though, it's just another part of our human nature and it dies when we die. You can give any appearance you like to your astral body (when you have a bit of experience), but obviously you will choose one similar to your physical body, if you want to be recognized.

I also thought the communication with my sister was intriguing. It seems like we may be even more "awake" in some respects when we are sound asleep in the physical.

This type of encounters are not uncommon either, especially in children. Did she remember something when she woke up? Recently someone who is beginning to AP told me he had a very similar experience: he got out of his body, went to her daughter's bedroom to check she was right, and then went out to the street. At the following morning she told him she had dreamed of a very tall man dressed in red, "half-good half-bad" who had gone to her bed and scolded her for something. It's very likely she was in the astral too (as we all do when we sleep), she saw him, but her brain interpreted it in a different way and of course she thought it had been just a dream.

 

[Eowyn]

The bits of catch-up reading I have been doing of late tend to indicate that the Astral is mostly a miasmic mix of Belief Zones and total confusion--which is almost to be expected when perceived reality is so subject to being molded by the beliefs/desires of individuals or groups. Frankly, I feel like I'm mostly interested in staying very close to the physical and enjoying the sights or, alternatively, bypassing the messy in-between and getting to something higher and better than the Astral. I doubt my ability to do the latter at my current stage of growth. In terms of the staying close to the physical, most of the things I have read seem to indicate that is not as "easy" as it might seem either. So, for the time being . . . .

I wouldn't say your current "stage of growth", but just your current stage of "training". Like I said it's not a matter of how "spiritual" you are, or a matter of having psychic powers. We all can do it. We all do it, only we don't remember. You don't have to learn how to AP, you have to learn to be conscious of it. And yes, it takes a lot of training and effort, and you're right it can be very confusing until you learn how to control it. Most people just forget about it because if you really want to be aware of the astral you have to sacrifice certain things in your real life, otherwise you're too tired to even try.

I think I may want to do this, but what I really want is a goal: a reason to do it more than just dong it, a place to go that fills me with wonder and that I will want to return to again and again.
Can you tell me about a place or some places like this? Something you think is wonderful. I'd like to envision them and seek them. It would give me a reason to take another chance at this, and I'd really like that.

I think I don't have enough experience to advise you on this, as my own attempts to go somewhere of my choice have been fruitless so far (excepting one night I thought of the Moon and I ended up somewhere that resembled it, though I'm not sure where I really was cover face). However, one thing in the astral is that the possibilities are endless. Where would you want to go? Is there a place on Earth (or out of Earth) you'd like to visit? Then concentrate on it every time you try AP. They say it's better to visualize a real place in your mind before going to sleep, and then your mind will remember when you wake up in the astral and you'll go there. You can also create your own place once in the astral, but for doing that you have to be much in control, and I'm afraid we both are too far from that point.

 

[Eowyn]

Recently, we shared an entire scene (fighting something coming up a mountain in a fog), characters (the two of us and our defending dragon), and action (she directs the dragon as it flies off into the fog). After which she went on to dream and remember an entire episode, while I did not.
I'm not entirely sure if this is through the astral or some other means of connection. The memory itself is very dreamlike. Maybe you could add your perspective, Eowyn?


I rarely actively lucid dream, even though I often do "watch myself" dreaming instead of experiencing it directly. What was unusual is that we dreamed together on the same night.

Mere Dreamer: this sounds like "semi-lucid" AP, and your friend seems to be a bit more lucid than you. Many people call this lucid dreaming and they get surprised when some people refer to shared dreams. They don't identify this with astral projection because they have a wrong view of what astral projection really is. When you share a dream with someone is because you two were together in the astral (of course, I'm not saying every time you dream of someone it's because you really met them in the astral, there have to be validations from both parts and common elements in the dream). As these experiences are subjective and your brains filter and interpret the information in a different way when you wake up, there can be different versions of the same dream, and one may remember more or less than the other, as it's your case. It would be great if you try to be more lucid of these encounters, using the techniques to consciously astral project. Then you'd probably be more in control, as your friend apparently does.


Usually, until this happens, we experience only brief moments of awareness inside a "dream". That is, maybe you "wake up" in the astral and are very lucid, but seconds later you lose consciousness and you go back to normal dreaming, everything fades away again.

 

[John Tat]

It is my opinion you must have a strong connection to your pure self to benefit from the Astral. Because of this connection I believe I understand the Astral is not an amusement park where you go to amuse yourself. Lucid dreams is the amusement park. The Astral is a very serious place to visit


My pure self wants to be educated. We go to the Astral to be educated which in the Astral is very different to wanting to learn


Don't mess with the Astral allow it to be what it is

 

[SeaAndSky]

Hi Mere,


Your experience reminds me a bit of the "Anubis" thread. I guess this is because what is happening on both threads involves dreams and visions, though yours is shared and Muse3Owls was not. Generally speaking, the distinction between dreams and visions tends to be that one is a sleeping phenomenon and the other is a waking phenomenon. On the physical, dreams are one thing and visions are another. And, while dreams are very common, people who have visions are very rare. They are considered very far from the norm and have to be careful they don't end up being committed to a mental institution. That does not mean that what they experience is not important or meaningful, just that one always needs to be careful who they talk to about such things--bad things can happen a115.gif.


OTOH, from the little bit I have been told and/or experienced, both appear to be equally common and/or to mix together freely in the Astral. If fully awake in the Astral, we may have "visions" of our own creation or created and projected into our awareness by others. Unlike the physical, there is no clear division between the two, and state of consciousness can slide between waking and sleeping/dreaming and visions (and everything in between) in a way, by all reports, that makes it sometimes very difficult to know which is happening at any particular point in time (except perhaps by hindsight).


This is all a long way around to saying that I believe what you have reported is very possible and agree with Eowyn's interpretation. (The latter is not particularly difficult since I believe she knows a lot more about this type of thing than I do :thumbsup.


Cordially,


S&S


PS--I'm having fun with smilies today! It must be the weather--I'm very glad to see Spring arrive.

 

[Mere Dreamer]

Generally speaking, the distinction between dreams and visions tends to be that one is a sleeping phenomenon and the other is a waking phenomenon. On the physical, dreams are one thing and visions are another. And, while dreams are very common, people who have visions are very rare. They are considered very far from the norm and have to be careful they don't end up being committed to a mental institution. That does not mean that what they experience is not important or meaningful, just that one always needs to be careful who they talk to about such things--bad things can happen

S&S, I don't think visions are as abnormal as you imply. The experiences I shared in the Anubis thread were waking "visions" so to speak. I frequently have them, only I usually refer to them as "dreams" for the sake of getting past the blank stare associated with "vision". OMG Here I usually use the term "meditation" since they don't jump at me out of the blue, but wait for me to become silent and aware.


I assume others face the same dilemma with communicating their experiences. It's safer to call it a dream, so a dream it must be (at least in company). locked1


I can usually tell the difference between a "vision dream" and a dream that is sorting impressions of this or past lives. Generally the characters that show up are much more powerful, real (?) or ... hmm ... grounded. (I'm pretty sure usually I remember most of the details in them, too.) There isn't much difference in meditation/waking visions, only when I'm awake I tend to ask more questions.


I've always enjoyed smilies. Usually I restrain myself, but I took the chance to play in response. a115.gif

 

[SeaAndSky]

Hi Mere,


I would never denigrate "visions" per se. As you know from some of our original interchanges, I am definitely a Bible person, and the Bible is full of visions. In fact, the "language" of dream and vision (in the form of imagery and symbol) is found throughout the Bible (where much of it takes the form of and is typically referred to as "apocalyptic" language). Unfortunately, it causes a lot of confusion to the unwary and (quite frankly) the under-informed. So, I'm big on visions, though with the caveat that visions--like beings--can be good or bad (in terms of both accuracy and intended result). They have to be judged by their source and, when that can't be determined, their fruits. My only other caveat is that you have to be careful who you talk to about these things, but I think you already knew that.


BTW--except for the "voice" in my heart I recently referred to on another thread (which I would consider to be in the same, or close to the same category as a vision), I can only recall one other experience which I would think of being a waking state manifestation of this type--though it might be considered to be a paranormal sighting instead. It was when I was around 9-10, and was more than a little frightening to me. I prefer dreams, and have received a good deal of information and guidance from them, though I have to admit that I am only recently becoming willing to change my course because of them (after trying to make things "come out right" when my dreams seemed to be showing me quite different outcomes). It has taken me a long time to arrive at the wisdom of the ancients and become willing to accept and act on warnings from my dreams.


Cordially,


S&S


PS--I think there is something to be learned from in all of our dreams, but the ones I am referring to above come to me with special "impact"--I refer to them as wake-me-up dreams, because that is generally what they do.

 

[SeaAndSky]

Shucks! I forgot to add the little wizard face smilie a115.gif after my last sentence--I wanted to add some humor to the idea of dreams with "prophetic" portent to lighten the mood a bit.

 

[hydrolad]

That "Buzzing Noise" Again!!!


The biggest "Tip Off" or sign that I'm about to have a "Projection" or a trip away from my body, is a subtle "Buzzing Noise" heard while still conscious, just before I would normally drop off to sleep.


If I fight sleep and continue to "Focus" on that buzzing noise, then a projection will take place while I am still conscious, and where Two of my most memorable projections took place, and were very important projections because they were validated later on.


One involved my Two Nephews, but could not be further proved because of their young ages, but the oldest Nephew (a Toddler) called out my name and pointed to the front door during the projection and back at my house, my then Pet, a Parrot also provided some validation in his own way.


The other one was more validating because the target was older and more vocal, in fact he started the conversation the next day by asking if I was the guy who visited him last night and while I was projecting the night before, while we were talking, I fell asleep on his waterbed while admiring his new dresser.


The next day, I went to see his Dad, who was a good friend and co-worker, and the Boy, who was about Eight (8), said to me "Come upstairs, I want to show you my new dresser", I presume to get us out of his Father's earshot, because once we were upstairs, he looked at me with a matter of fact look and said "You were the guy who visited me last night, weren't you???"


The only thing strange was, the whole time, I was fast asleep, in MY own bed, in MY own home, whereas about 15 miles away, this Boy was carrying on a conversation with me about his new dresser in HIS Bedroom, in HIS home and we both remembered it, and the Boy thought nothing of it.


When I later told his Dad what had transpired, he looked at me as if to say "So???" as if this type of situation happened all the time, and I'm sure it did, but this situation was the strongest validation for me that I had ever encountered (that I could remember).


Sorry again for such a long post, sometimes I really get going on one of my favorite topic's.

 

[Eowyn]

Hey, hydrolad, those were amazing experiences (and not long at all), I always love hearing of these! :thumbsup:

 

[Mere Dreamer]

I came across this interesting write up on out of body or astral experiences. http://qr.ae/dkOWz


Some quotes:

The first problem is that all the words we use to describe "this other side" don't describe it at all and are very confusing and misleading. We like black and white, very clear definition when reality is actually the opposite: only shades of grey in constant motion. When you think you finally grasp one thing, it just shifts on you and opens up a new world you never thought or dreamed of.

consciousness is NOT a consequence of any biological function. In fact consciousness is the base of everything and physical matter is simply "consciousness making itself physical".

If you do not intentionally focus on something, the piece of consciousness you are at a given time (always shifting and changing) has a tendency to self attract to similar "pieces" of itself (similar to body of water with similar temperature, a series of waves, or various ocean currents). For example, I "visited" worlds where people live together according to some earthly belief systems: after "dying" some individual consciousnesses (who do not know they can focus/control themselves - BTW, many of them don't even realize they are "dead") clump together in some alternate reality based on their common belief systems:

 

[Eowyn]

Good link, Mere Dreamer. I agree with 90% of what he says (I'm still reluctant to believe "all is now", but that's me). I especially like this:

- you have been, you are and you will always be. You are ONLY consciousness, your physical bodies and worlds will die (consciousness moving on, flowing into its next state or re-birth), disappear and change but you will always be: nothing can remove you.
- there is no God as we, humans, define them


- there is no final judgement, YOU are the judge and jury, YOU are in charge, YOU are responsible and YOU make all decisions.

I don't have his experience, but I'm convinced, from what I've observed, that this following paragraph is 100% true. Things like ghosts or other paranormal phenomena related to the astral (I'd say the majority of them fall into this category) stop being so complicated or scary when you understand this:

For example, I "visited" worlds where people live together according to some earthly belief systems: after "dying" some individual consciousnesses (who do not know they can focus/control themselves - BTW, many of them don't even realize they are "dead") clump together in some alternate reality based on their common belief systems: you find them in whatever they really believed in: religious hells, borring religious heavens, "crazy/bizarre" worlds... (They are just "stuck" there until their piece of consciousness starts shifting/doubting(?) and finally moving into other states/worlds. They can also simply hang around into whatever their strongest belief/emotions were "gripping" them before they passed. (I found my grandmother caught in her suffering: she - her consciousness - had "created" the bedroom where she died and she was simply "stuck" there on her bed, suffering. No shred of awareness she had died 15 year before!!!)

 

[cloud potato]

hello


it has been a while


am i to scared and angry to successfully astral project?


last night around 4:00AM my body began to go into what felt like sleep paralysis


i remember feeling good at this point, it was a feeling i welcome because it means i'm being given an opportunity


so i open up and let it come


the honing in comes faster now


i kind of like how it takes over


but at this point, just past the weird ringing in of the ears i began to pick up on some chatter


i hear a gentleman say the words sphere's, energy and communication


like he's speaking to someone else


i get a feeling i'm the one being made an example of


as if my recognition interrupted something the person speaking says, "can you hear me?"


i remember very clearly saying yes i can hear you


at this point my vulnerability becomes to much. i feel exposed and when the person speaking from earlier tells me to calm down i remember getting angry and making the attempt to yell no and try to force myself awake.


*sigh*


this has been an ongoing thing in my life and i don't understand why i just can't get past this point....


also, do you think this was just a dream or... ?

 

[Eowyn]

this has been an ongoing thing in my life and i don't understand why i just can't get past this point....
also, do you think this was just a dream or... ?

Hi, cloud potato. No, this wasn't just a dream, that's clear to me. Those are the typical features of astral projection: sleep paralysis, the ringing in your ears, the voice from another being. The fact you find easier to hone in tells me you're getting more accustomed to the process, so you're starting to do it more naturally. That's normal.


Why can't you get past this point? I'd say you have to control your emotions more. Any emotion can have power over you, so you lose your concentration and quickly return to your body. I've heard of other people with the same issue. That's why the practice of meditation is so good to try astral projection afterwards. You must control your mind. Real Buddhists know a lot about this.


You also say you feel exposed. So it sounds you are still afraid. You don't have to be afraid, ever, as that gives the power to the other beings in the astral, whatever their intentions. That doesn't mean you have to be aggressive either. You just have to be alert, calm and in control, so that you can discern.


You also say you try to force yourself awake. That tells me you're too concerned about "being out" and the body you've left behind. You must forget about it, be confident you don't need it, it will keep breathing on its own and you'll be back as soon as you want. If you think of your body just a second, you're going to be back even when returning is not your intention.


Hope this helps.

 

[TheGagagirl1234]

Interesting! I've experienced some of the symptoms that you describe (vibrations, ringing in the ears) while half awake and half asleep. But I've never had an OBE while awake. I think I had an OBE some weeks ago. I woke up from a dream (at least I think so because I opened my eyes) and I was floating close to the ceiling. I thought it was weird and got scared and then I immediately was in bed again. I didn't feel like I was sinking, though. There was also a very bright light but it disappered when I awoke in my bed. I've never had an OBE before so I don't think it was a dream.


Sorry for my grammar, English isn't my first language.

 

[Eowyn]

But I've never had an OBE while awake.

Of course not, no one can have an OBE (a real one) while awake.


There's a lot of confusion with this though, as words limit us. Sometimes our mind is awake but our body is not, that's what happens with experiences like the one you describe... and yes, that was an OBE, not a dream. You think you are "awake", and you are, but your mind not your body. Though the normal process is you wake up when you're already "in" your body (every night, every time we sleep, our soul "disconnects" from the body), sometimes you wake up before, and then you can find yourself floating. Sleep paralysis is related to this too.

 

[cloud potato]

two nights ago i had a very successful out of body experience.


it took me 3 or 4 attempts back to back in order to leave my body completely.


usually when it happens, it starts with me raising my arm out from my physical body and slowly making an attempt to get up.


this time it started with my(astral body?) sitting up in bed. i was half way out from the get-go


usually i am very dizzy and find it hard to move when i am out of body.


this time i was able to levitate from room to room. i was standing upright and gliding just above the floor!! (think of the way magneto from xmen moves around )


thank you eowyn for the feedback. i definitely need to learn how to control my emotions more... i have a lot of deep seeded anger and sorrow in the subconscious(i think)


also... when i glided out of the beedroom and into the living room i recognized my cats. i couldn't recognize them as clearly as i do when awake. they were more shadowy or hazy. one of my cats had a white diamond shaped light coming from her eye and i think she may have noticed me. the other didn't seem to notice or just didn't care lol.


finally i remember wanting to see if i could push myself through the door that leads out to my patio outside. i think i was successful but everything ended after this point.


it was one of the best out of body's i can recall having in a long time... assuming it wasn't a lucid dream of any sort

 

[Eowyn]

Wow, that's great!

also... when i glided out of the beedroom and into the living room i recognized my cats. i couldn't recognize them as clearly as i do when awake. they were more shadowy or hazy. one of my cats had a white diamond shaped light coming from her eye and i think she may have noticed me. the other didn't seem to notice or just didn't care lol.

I love this! I once had a very similar experience, my cat was at the foot of the bed and I tried to look at her straight in the eye, and I think she knew it was me. But sometimes I still think it was all my imagination.

 

[fireflydancing]

Eowyn, I've read the thread with great interest. Thank you very much for the best instruction I've ever read. Very clear.

I have a question. Is there a name for the experience of diving into the astral worlds, without loosing the awareness of being in your body? I am most familiar with this. I just 'split' and part of me goes on the journey, my fysical body can walk around (but not to be disturbed by loud noises and so on).

 

[Eowyn]

Hi, fireflydancing.

Be careful, as there's a lot of confusion out there about what astral projection is. A real out-of-body experience (OBE) or astral projection (AP) is when your body is ASLEEP or UNCONSCIOUS (for instance in NDE's, when in addition to a OBE, your life is seriously in danger), and you move with your astral body into the astral plane. If you can "dive into astral worlds" while your body is walking, as you describe, this is not a OBE. It can be another type of phenomenon, like for example mental projection or remote viewing. Possibly, any type of mental communication with our spiritual guides or ghosts while in the waking or meditative states are similar phenomena. It looks like you're a high sensitive person and I have no doubt you have this ability, but many people tend to mistake one type of experience for the other.

One thing that most people is not aware of, is that we ALL, while in the waking state, are constantly receiving information from the "higher planes" or whatever you want to call it, due to a shift in our consciousness that occurs in miliseconds or shorter periods of time (if interested in knowing more, take a look at the Double Time Theory by Garnier-Malet, which I think it's being misinterpreted sometimes, but I think it's quite valid). In other words, our consciousness is constantly "expanding" and "contracting", though usually we are totally unaware this is happening. There are some exceptions: in my opinion this is the origin of déjà vus, other premonitory phenomena, and of course the reason why we can be aware of these other planes while we're still in our physical body.

 

[fireflydancing]

Thank you for your reply, Eowyn.
The things I experience are similar to the stories of astral travelers, it's just I don't leave the body completly, I just split. So I guess some part of me leaves, but not all.

 

[Eowyn]

I just hope they are serious astral travelers, there's a lot of "fanciful" astral travelers who will tell you a normal dream is the same as astral traveling, or that "encountering" or talking to other people in your dreams is an astral travel. There are so few astral travelers who are really in control, know what they are doing, and are far from the common, nonsensical beliefs about AP, that you can count them with the fingers of one hand, and anyway, most of them won't talk. I think the world "astral" is wrongly used as a synonym to many things that have nothing to do with conscious OBE's, and that's why many sensible people don't even want to hear about astral projection. As I often say, it's time to move on and start linking the scientific knowledge with this kind of spiritual experiences, but hey, you'd better sit comfortably, it's going to take a while to destroy all the myths that have been created since we started to walk the Earth.

 

[fireflydancing]

Hi Eowyn,
thank you for your reply. I took my time before responding to you, because I needed some time to think it all over, but now I know it is not possible for me to have a clear overview for the moment.
I have never bothered about giving a correct name to my experiences. In the beginning I just called them 'meditations', for lack of proper naming. And even these 'meditations' were diverse in nature.
About some type of travels I will not easily speak, because I consider them shamanic in some sort of way.
I don't mind talking about other meditative travels. I even had a friend who shared the experience. We could recognise each other, do things together, and later on verify our shared experiences. That was fun.
I also have experience with the sudden flashes of being somewhere in a split second, and than being able to look and walk around. Everything greyish, and having a purple-ish body, and the other person as well. But I'm still in my body (well, that's what I always asume).
I also have experience of quick flashes during the day, flashes of a nano second, being somewhere else, back and forth several times, but ten times quicker than the blink of the eye. This doesn't happen often, but sometimes it does, and gives me confusion, because the feeling is sooo real. It's somewhere in Canada or the north of the US. I am really there for some repeated split seconds, and it doesn't affect me functioning in my 'real' body.
And,
I am sure I have a lot of astral dreams. In these dreams there are no stories, no other players in the dream. I am always travelling, always on the move, or I am inside huge communal buildings. Sometimes persons come to tell me things, but most of the time I am alone, minding my own business walking around. Once there was a lady in such a dream, who was shocked to see me, and grabbed me by the arm as in a reflex. This felt awful ( but not painful), I woke up, and the rest of the day I could still feel the grip of her hand on my arm. I guess she also thought she was alone in that world, ha, ha.
The same thing also happened once during a combined meditation with that friend. I saw her, she saw me, and suddenly she decided to cheer me up and she (stupid, we know now) decided to give me 'energy' and placed her hands on both sides of my heart. That part I don't recall in my memory, but I woke from that meditation very cruely, with a painful shock, and real pain in my heart.

So, I do not know how to call these experiences, Eowyn. Untill now I have always thought that every time I am in different levels of the 'astral world', because of lack of knowledge. I cannot leave my body fully and deliberately, but with my mind I can go far, even leave the Earth. I can meet people, exchange energies (also positive incidents) with them etc.

 

[Eowyn]

Like I said, there is a lot of confusion about the nomenclature. I already told you the key: ASLEEP/UNCONSCIOUS BODY = OBE/ASTRAL TRAVEL. If your body is not asleep or unconscious, it's another thing. Can they be similar experiences? Yes, why not. If you share an experience with someone else, is an astral travel? Not necessarily. If the other person doesn't remember, you can never know if the person was real or just an image you created or was created by some other "creature" (yes, these "images" can talk and seem to have intelligence, just like in normal dreams). Shared dreams are OBE's? Well, probably, especially if you could validate it with the other person and/or validate there were events happening in the physical world too that you could see while in your astral body (there are cases, like those we find in NDE's accounts). Here the difference might be in the level of lucidity of each person, and in each experience, as sometimes you are more lucid than others. Every time you are asleep or dreaming, you're out of your body, but that doesn't mean you're always conscious of it, and when I say astral travel or OBE I'm always referring to conscious OBE's. A lucid dream keeps being a dream. This means that in a lucid dream probably the fantasy part is still too large to say you were having a conscious OBE. Here is when a lot of controversy comes, because many lucid dreamers believe a lucid dream is the same as astral travel/OBE, and it's not, because in this latter you are much more lucid, and so what you perceive can be very different.

If you say that "with your mind you can go far", well, that's a great psychic ability, and probably you're doing mental projection, and it seems you also have some telepathic abilities. There are lots of people who can communicate with ghosts, because they hear their voices in their heads, or because they can see them. Does this mean they are astral traveling? No, rather the ghosts are "earth traveling", you see what I mean? Astral and earthly planes are just very close dimensions, and depending on the spot, sometimes they kind of intermingle (probably related to electromagnetic fields and the such). That you can somehow perceive the astral world with your physical senses like psychics are supposed to be able to do, doesn't mean that you actually leave your physical body to travel in the astral, like you do when you sleep, dream or astral travel consciously. Why not? Well, it's obvious, because if you leave your body, your body can't properly function as it does in the waking state. That's why most OBE's usually occur spontaneously when the person has fainted or their life is in danger... or you're asleep and suddenly your consciousness "wakes up" before returning to your body.

I know, it's complicated, but I'm sure that if everyone practiced the techniques just for a month and learn to leave the body at night being totally conscious, they would note the difference. It's not the first time this happens to me, don't worry. Sleep paralysis is just another tough one, for instance, you can easily have endless discussions when in reality it's really simple. The experiences and the feelings are so different that normal language seems to be useless to make myself understood. I have no problems when I talk with people who had real OBE's though.

 

[Eowyn]

I also have experience with the sudden flashes of being somewhere in a split second, and than being able to look and walk around. Everything greyish, and having a purple-ish body, and the other person as well. But I'm still in my body (well, that's what I always asume).

Yes, people assume too many things, that's clear. This does seem to be an astral travel (if your physical body was asleep of course). Are you still in your body? Of course you are, if not you would be dead! When I say you leave your body in an OBE, I don't mean you leave it completely. There is always a connection with your physical body. In fact, as soon as you think about it, you'll be back in a milisecond, unless you have a lot of mental control to keep being in the astral (contrary to what many people think, that you can get lost in the astral, one of the biggest myths about it). I also say that saying "out-of-body" is not accurate at all. I'd put it in more scientific terms: what really happens is that our consciousness expands, in different degrees depending if we are awake or asleep. The physical body is a prison for our soul, especially when you have to be conscious and controlling your body consciously (that means, LIVING). While awake, you still are expanding your consciousness back and forth, only the information you get from the higher planes usually remains in the subconscious (this is what the Garnier-Malet's Double Time Theory says, it's not mine). It seems you are able to retain a lot of this information, much more than common people. But, when you're asleep or unconscious, and you leave the automatic systems of the body to control the basic functions, then your consciousness can expand even more. It's then when we dream, astral travel, sometimes the dead communicate with us (like they do when they appear in our dreams shortly after their death to say "I am fine"), and probably meet other souls, etc., but all this rarely becomes conscious when we awake. So, when we want to have a conscious OBE, you don't have to learn to "leave" your body, you do that naturally every night. You have to learn to become conscious during all the process, including the ability to remember everything once you're back in your physical body.

 

[fireflydancing]

Thank you once again, Eowyn, for all your time and effort to answer me.
I guess I have to become aware of mental projection. A quick look at Wiki learned that this can be done in a meditative state, and I saw something about the mental body as well.

I did leave my body twice several years ago. It was when I had decided to start 'classical' meditation. I woke up at 4 AM, did some meditation, and than went back to bed. And than... bang... I left my body with a great force like a projectile being fired(45 degrees up), stopped suddenly, and I hung in complete blackness. I realised what had happened and... bang back in the body. A few seconds later I got fired again, straight up (I guess about 50 cm), than the body turned itself upside down, and I went face forward back through my body and my bed and floor, untill I stopped again. Everything was black. I could hear my son opening his bedroom door, heard his footsteps in the hallway, and I myself hung somewhere in the neighbours appartment I guess. The noises were loud and anoying, like I was in a huge clockwork, and I heard the wheels turning, I heard thick chains making sound, scratching of stones... So I wanted back to my body.
I didn't like this experience at all. I never did this classical meditation again. and I was not really sure I would like to experience that firering force again, because it happened without my will. I prefer more subtle ways.

Some weeks ago I read your instruction about astral projection, and I talked about it with a close friend. She said to my surprise: I can do that too. I asked her why she had never said that before, but to her it is so normal, she doesn't even think about it as special. Every night she leaves her body consciously, doesn't go anywhere, she just hoovers about 50 cm above her body and than tells herself to fall asleep. I asked her if she can move around. She did as a little girl, but than her mother had told her that it was dangerous, and from that moment she never wandered around anymore, and stayed close to her physical body every night.
It took only little persuasion from my side (wicked me!!) to ask her to visit me next time. She did, could tell what happened in the house, could describe the interior of my bedroom. She also offered to help me leave my body... lol.
Well, she tried and she was convinced on forehand that she would be able to do that. But it didn't work out. She later told me she tried hard, pulling my astral hands untill she thought she had succeeded, but in fact not. Me, I did't see her, didn't notice her, but I did notice a presence that radiated a great feeling of safety. I joked inside of my head that if it was her, I wanted her to be my spirit guide for ever, such a safe feeling. (and afterwards she did tell me she was standing next to my right shoulder, just where I felt this cloud of safeness. And one moment I felt lifted completely, about 10 or 20 cm, but nothing more.

So she just recently started to explore the astral worlds, but she is not sure about all the things that happen to her. She knows she is out of her body. Her visits to me we can verify, but she can also switch to places she cannot verify, or even to a fantasyworld: her own novel. She can step into her own created 'reality' and talk with the characters she created herself. They live their own life, and when asked, give their (unpredicted) opinions.
I told her not to worry about this being astral projection or being fantasy, but to enjoy it fully. It must be a writers dream to visit your own created world just on command.

 

[Eowyn]

YEAH! Those are real OBE's, and great experiences, thanks for sharing! Some people have the ability like your friend, they are just naturally more conscious, and they find it easier to control. The rest of us have to train hard to achieve the same results, and even so it's very difficult, as you have to be very focused, and have a lot of energy at nights. You described it so well, when your friend says she just remains 50 cm above her body (you can also stay "inside" your body, but disconnected as well, like it seems she found you when tried to pull you out of your body). That's how we all sleep, believe it or not, the thing is we don't notice. Just the other day, my boyfriend (who never has this type of experiences) told me: "Hey, last night I was nearly falling asleep, when suddenly I noticed I had started going up, as if floating, and thought 'Wow, what am I going?' and then I was back in my body again". Yes, that happens every night, want it or not, only we nearly always lose consciousness before.

So she just recently started to explore the astral worlds, but she is not sure about all the things that happen to her. She knows she is out of her body. Her visits to me we can verify, but she can also switch to places she cannot verify, or even to a fantasy world: her own novel. She can step into her own created 'reality' and talk with the characters she created herself. They live their own life, and when asked, give their (unpredicted) opinions.

Exactly. That's all characteristic of astral travel. You can remain closer to "earthly planes", like when she comes and visits you. But then, depending on your state of vibration (me thinks) you can tune in many other different planes, and they look more like fantasy worlds, and yes, you can create your own fantasies as well. And you must be cautious because other souls can take advantage of you. That's why it's important to remain in control and always wonder if what you see or what they're telling you is real.