Astral Projection

[Kali Yuga]

Hello taobums. Kali here.

 

Recently I have been fascinated with the possibility of astral projection. It just seems so awesome, the mere possibility of it, being able to change forever one's paradigm regarding the world and what constitutes reality, could happen. You're talking psychic? This is the whole kit-n'kaboodle right here.

 

I have been practicing trying to achieve this phenomena but I have not yet succeeded. Only time will tell.

 

I had almost succeeded months ago when it was not even on my mind - I was laying in bed trying to get to sleep, but I couldn't. Then I thought to myself "wow, wouldn't it be cool if I could leave my body?" because for some strange reason, I could "feel" the outside of my body. I just started to "leave" my body - the spot where my consciousness is concentrated was moving almost to the point outside my body. But I chickened out because I was afraid of what I might experience. Afterwards I found myself near the edge of a nervous breakdown, shivering with my whole body, probably due to the shock.

 

Now I try and practice to achieve this manually but to no avail yet. The only phenomena I have achieved so far is feeling a bit sunk down into the bed - and consciousness saturating on the back of the head and around the cerebellum. It made me feel quite disoriented and I didn't continue - it was the exact same feeling I had before when I was sick with a fever and taking medication. I didn't seem to be in coordination with the body and time felt so slow, yet so fast. I would speak and have the compulsion to speak so fast and yet the sound comes out normal. I wonder if I'd have to get used to that. Kudos to all the occultists who achieve this on a regular basis - it seems to be no ordinary feat. It might take me awhile to achieve this. I seem to have a theory that a true "higher initiation" lies in waiting for me in that plain.

 

I was wondering have any of you experimented in this state of consciousness, or if it had happened to any of you spontaneously. Now please don't go around spewing garbage you made up in your head so you can be another l33t or internet k3wl..

 

My particular purpose of all of this is to explore a completely different dimension in which my higher self exists, and is closer. I am partial to meeting "spirit guides" if such things exist and using the knowledge I can gain there on the astral plain to further my spiritual evolution. But I will at the same time have a skeptical analysis just to keep a level head.

 

I also wonder how this relates to chinese & taoist thought. Is it not true in taoist thought that one has to build an "immortal body" with "shen" in order that will have continued existence in the afterlife? But doesn't this beg the fact if one can leave the body anytime that the immortal body already exists?

 

Many thanks for your joining in.

 

Kali

[TzuJanLi]

Greetings..

 

I understand 'astral projection' differently.. i understand that the physical manifestation is a 'local' phenomenon.. it is where the focus and attention of our conscious awareness is concentrated in order to maintain the physical being.. there is also the 'non-local' (spiritual) element of 'being' and it permeates the Cosmos.. i understand that we don't "leave the body", we simply focus on our non-local existence at any place or time we are capable of accessing.. that capability is expanded through practice and discipline.. Leaving the body implies a 'separation' that i can't validate..

 

Be well..

[Yuen Biao]

I used to have a similar feeling to astral projection when I used to practise Taijiquan forms repeatedly; I would often have the feeling that my consciousness was watching me practise the form from above and in the corner of the room. It was actually very cool and a sign that maybe I was doing things well as I was natural or void.

 

I rarely get that feeling these days as I do not practise 'form' all that much. Maybe I should?

 

Sorry to go off in a tangent. 'Kali' I'd be very careful if I was you.

[TzuJanLi]

Greetings..

 

I am partial to meeting "spirit guides" if such things exist and using the knowledge I can gain there on the astral plain to further my spiritual evolution

If i may suggest, 'spirit guides' might be the product of assigning values based on preference.. that the non-local aspect of our existence can access any portion of the Cosmos, past or present.. information and experiences gained when our awareness is trained on the non-local existence is not from a 'guide', it is a relationship with the 'Source'.. it seems we are too eager to conjure fantasy and create layers of separation between the physical experience and the spiritual experience.. it much more direct and simple than 'guides' and projecting..

 

Be well..

[C T]

Traditionally speaking, AP is not even a practice in itself. It is one of the fruits culminating from years of formally practicing the basic sadhanas of one's chosen path.

 

I may be mistaken, but I do question if AP serves any practical purpose in terms of spiritual evolvement.

 

I would venture so far as to say that it can be a hazardous gamble if one were to dabble without a qualified teacher or guide. There have been stories of people who get 'lost' while attempting to DIY such feat, so i feel somewhat responsible to highlight the possible consequence of such attempt.

 

Even if you were to formally request a guru or lama to impart the relevant knowledge, i have my doubts that s/he will entertain your request. Of course, with so many self-proclaimed 'teachers' out there today, if you even make a casual search, you will find one or two who will gladly 'teach' you AP - for a fee, naturally. If i were you, i'd be very careful to even consider taking up the offer, however neatly wrapped the package may appear.

 

There is more than enough here, on the physical plane, where one can engage fully with, in a safe and grounded (pun purely incidental) environment, without having to navigate into the 'outer limits', or astral planes. I think its very easy to blast off - its the returning that requires some skilled guidance. I doubt if you will find such here in TTB.

 

Just my thoughts.

Edited November 27, 2009 by CowTao

[sabretooth]

hello Kali,

there is a very good book on astral projection written by J.H.Brennan.

Follow the instruction's and you should be able to master it.

I once found myself projected in the street outside my house I watched a car park up, noted the reg then I came back to my body ,got up and went outside to see if the car was there ,it was.

I noticed that when I was projected I could feel the breeze which I was surprised at.

 

 

 

sabretooth.

[Smile]

I used to have it all the time when I was interested in it. It happened on it's own as a result of practice. It's amusing and sometimes a learning experience. Not sure it will help you in your cultivation... to me it's much better to go for lucid dreaming. This way you can cultivate while sleeping.

[WhiteLionStyle]

Hi Kali,

All the other peeps are giving sound advice, I read the books of Robert Monroe, supposedly one of the best known AP'ers out there. His book "Adventures beyond the body" is a very informative and entertaining read, and in fact I find AP easier when I've been doing lots of reading and feeling out of the subject. Be warned, if you are unprepared for high weirdness it may not be something you want. In the end my AP practice sublimated into a regular lucid dreaming pattern, because direct AP techniques were bringing me face to face with my own demons. I ended up in a kind of "armed robbery in hell" scenario where I was battling evil constantly, and it became really draining. It wasn't until I realised these thing were as much inside me as outside that I began to mellow and have fun. If you meet demons or "evil" entities they find warmth and love much more unbearable than violence and anger. Give them funny hats and funky music to dance to, they really don't like that.

 

I can see the sense in buddhist notions of spiritual purity when dealing with the astral plane, as any emotional vibration will draw you to that emotional plane. Try lucid dreaming techniques first, as AP seems to me to be a high end, high frequency version of this mental state. I'm no expert, but I have been trying for years to make a difference on the astral plane and lucid dreaming is far more organic and empowering, and is pretty much the same technology. Remember to have fun and use LOVE as your basic vibration and you'll be fine.

 

Sabretooth, that was the most striking thing about my first experience, the actual feel of the etheric body out in the world, air and light have very different effects on the subtle body. Electric lights hurt my etheric eyes!

[bindo]

I've had about 200 OBE's.

 

When I was 20 they just started spontaneously. They were interesting to say the least. I knew what was happening because my older brother had several OBE's many years before and I was fascinated by his description of what happened.

 

However, things took a turn for the worse. For five years I had entities attacking me when I went to sleep.

They would grab my astral wrists and try to pull me out of my body. This was terrifying to say the least.

 

The more I resisted, the harder they would pull. This happened so often that, on at least one occasion, I started mouthing off to them. ("You think you can take me? Bring it on!" ) BIG MISTAKE!

 

While they had me by the wrists, pulling me upward, they would then start poking me in the ribs! It was a helpless feeling and at times I felt like I was fighting for my life.

 

If I slept with the light on, nothing would happen. And if I had an OBE during the daytime, there were no problems. Only at night, in the dark.

 

Sometimes I would leave my body and return 4 or 5 times during a nap. Keep in mind, I never tried to have an OBE, but I learned to settle in to that "place" where they were likely to happen. I think meditation helped me move in to that place between awake and sleeping where the OBE's would happen.

 

On several occasions I could sit up and move my astral arms around while noticing that my physical arms were not moving at all. So, this wasn't a dreamlike experience. I was fully aware of what was happening and eventually had some control over how it manifested.

 

Once I saw a rat standing by my closet, and another time a snake came out of my thigh. Sometimes all I could see were stars.

 

All of these attacks happened between the ages of 20 -25. (I'm 45 now) At that young age I had two lives, so to speak. I meditated a lot, and was doing some intense spiritual seeking, but I was also still partying at night. (Not every night, but consistently) Nothing too heavy, but getting high and/or having a couple beers. Being very horny didn't help any either.

 

I can only guess that this combination of things opened me up to these attacks. They became less frequent for a few years and I stopped partying, and gained some control over my sexual energy.

 

As my spiritual practice deepened, the OBE's started to come back, but it was completely different. They became pleasant, and would often happen while I was performing Japa, and many times there were intense energetic "openings" (?) in the heart center, third eye, or top of the head. Other times it was as if I was hooked up to a power generator and it was pumping energy into my body. I could even hear it.

 

I should also mention that I was a vegetarian from age 20 - 34 and that is when the great majority of the OBE's occurred. I also noticed that when I would wake up in the morning with strong morning wood, but continued to lay there, I would often have an OBE.

 

So, what's the moral of the story? Get your mind right. Don't try to force an OBE. Let them happen naturally and spontaneously as a result of your spiritual practice and you may be rewarded with a beautiful, liberating experience.

 

If you live a good, relatively clean life, and your mind is Godward, there is nothing to fear. Surrender.

 

Being able to "fly" super fast and then stopping on a dime, just by using the mind, is kinda cool too.

 

Sometimes, after an OBE, I would drift off to sleep and would have some very intense dreams, sometimes very spiritually uplifting and meaningful.

 

So, that's my OBE story. Have fun!

[Taoist81]

Traditionally speaking, AP is not even a practice in itself. It is one of the fruits culminating from years of formally practicing the basic sadhanas of one's chosen path.

 

I may be mistaken, but I do question if AP serves any practical purpose in terms of spiritual evolvement.

....

 

This depends greatly on what "tradition" you are speaking of. In the A.'.A.'., the first Grade of the Outer Order is mostly occupied with the "mastery" of the Astral Plane. The basic text for this is a book called Liber O that recommends using what basically amounts to visualization to induce Astral Projection. Mind you, this is not the OBE that many talk about, but it is a practice (necessary for progression) that allows the visiting of other "realms". In the A.'.A.'. one must learn to utilize this ability in order to visit specific "willed" "locations". It allows the immersion of oneself in various elements, signs, aspects of consciousness etc.. Not to say there is no danger, only that if one properly guards oneself, eg. a banishing ritual, it is relatively safe and important, at least in this tradition, to development.

[C T]

This depends greatly on what "tradition" you are speaking of. In the A.'.A.'., the first Grade of the Outer Order is mostly occupied with the "mastery" of the Astral Plane. The basic text for this is a book called Liber O that recommends using what basically amounts to visualization to induce Astral Projection. Mind you, this is not the OBE that many talk about, but it is a practice (necessary for progression) that allows the visiting of other "realms". In the A.'.A.'. one must learn to utilize this ability in order to visit specific "willed" "locations". It allows the immersion of oneself in various elements, signs, aspects of consciousness etc.. Not to say there is no danger, only that if one properly guards oneself, eg. a banishing ritual, it is relatively safe and important, at least in this tradition, to development.

I am not familiar with this AA tradition Taoist81. I was referring to the main schools of Buddhism - should have made that clear. Apologies.

 

Being brought up in a country that's steeped in occult and paranormal activities, i have seen people "immersing" themselves in various fringe practices, outside of the major faiths, without proper guidance, only to find themselves stranded in No Man's Land. They then have to seek helpful intervention from monks and priests from recognized temples and mosques to re-align their astral bodies, and in some cases, this could take months, if not years.

 

Most of these daring seekers would have with them all kinds of protective mantras and amulets (fu), and still they fall into the abyss. So it wasn't a pretty sight. If they had first approached the priests and monks to ask for guidance with respect of said practice, they would be turned away with a firm but kind 'No'. Since they won't get any initiations from the monks and priests, these guys would seek out adepts of the Left Hand paths, like occultists and bomohs, to obtain shaky initiations and protective amulets and what not, and thru sheer folly and lack of common sense, find themselves in all kinds of trouble.

 

I am saddened when i realize how gullible and naive some Westerners are with regards to attempts to tap into unseen powers and forces outside of the physical world, just armed with info garnered from the net, or from books. It just seems so foolish to think that its harmless and 'fun', and part of the spiritual quest - well, its not. There are so many layers of these unseen forces - some are benevolent, while most others could well be malevolent (disguised otherwise), and to neglect the proper advice of authentic gurus and teachers against exposing oneself to these forces without proper grounding would be quite insane.

 

Hence i am so cautious when i hear of someone keen to 'explore' the 'outer limits', and you can well understand where i am coming from. I have friends who have been practicing seriously for 10 to 15 years, and they still would not venture into these fringe cultivations. When asked why, they would simply say its not fundamental to liberation, in their opinion.

 

I am pretty old-school, so i'd be inclined to take the advice of these friends of mine, and pass the word on.

 

All the best.

[Ya Mu]

...

I am saddened when i realize how gullible and naive some Westerners are with regards to attempts to tap into unseen powers and forces outside of the physical world, just armed with info garnered from the net, or from books. It just seems so foolish to think that its harmless and 'fun', and part of the spiritual quest - well, its not. There are so many layers of these unseen forces - some are benevolent, while most others could well be malevolent (disguised otherwise), and to neglect the proper advice of authentic gurus and teachers against exposing oneself to these forces without proper grounding would be quite insane.

...

 

You make a good point.

 

My perspective on this subject.

 

The astral level is the level of non-sense composed of thought forms, dream constructs, and disembodied liars. Why in the world would anyone wish to be caught up in this?

 

What we are, the reality of what we are, is multidimensional beings; i.e., we simultaneously operate in many dimensions.

 

The whole thing boils down to raising your energy body vibrational rate through cultivation. When we do (assuming we are actually practicing a method that works), we gain more access to "remembering" (put in "" because the brain will often mis-interpret these experiences because the experience itself is beyond mind limitations) what is happening and a certain amount of control of our dreamtime experiences. But we have them whether we remember or not. Many of the purposeful practices do not account the need of raising the energy body vibrational rate and leave people playing around in the non-sense area of the astral. Can't imagine anyone thinks this is good. There ARE Higher Levels and they are for YOU because YOU are an inherent part of them! I&I&I&I are a part of the whole.

[TianhuaQigong]

 

I also wonder how this relates to chinese & taoist thought. Is it not true in taoist thought that one has to build an "immortal body" with "shen" in order that will have continued existence in the afterlife? But doesn't this beg the fact if one can leave the body anytime that the immortal body already exists?

 

Many thanks for your joining in.

 

Kali

 

 

In Taoist, the final goal is to became a "Shen Xian" "Xian" has three level, "ren, human" "Di earth" and "tian heaven " . Taoist find a path by improving body, Qigong and moral to reach "Tian Xian(or Jin Xian)" , "The path" has a important step is "Astral Projection", also Called " chu shen" . (soul out of body). there are two kind of soul: "Yin Shen" "yang Shen". only "yang shen" are usable. "Yin Shen" still be able to discover a lot of thing, that our regular people can not see or understand. and in some way "yin shen" can change to "yang shen"

 

your experience is "Yin Shen" . I can not tell it is good or not. a good thing, go further you can know this world, but there are some risk, in that world maybe there are fighting too...... you should have a master to protect you, the master are not those people teach you Qigong. and you need a way to make a connection with your master and let him help you when you need . "lao zi" is a good master. my master is a good one. or maybe Jesus. you need find one have a connection with you. and able to teach you in "that world" . you can even go MARS without a rocket . better way then NSA ,,,hahaa. about 1000s years ago, in written book by Taoist "Lu Dongbin" he said "the moon do not omit light out." can you image how could he know that?

 

"Chu yang shen" are after "Microcosmic orbit" Macrocosmic orbit" "zhongmei" "Tai xi" " xing guang" in Tao Qigong, means maybe ten years prepare to reach that step, no need for everyone, now , it could happen in 2 or 3 years. with a guide by a good master. also people are different .

Edited November 30, 2009 by TianhuaQigong

[Birch]

I was going to say!

 

I was interested in AP around the age of 11-13. Can't remember age exactly nor why I was into it - I think a book sparked my interest. Much like a world travel book did or a cookbook did. I remember the instructions (in the book of fiction) were to make sure you always had a line/cord to climb back into your body with, otherwise the risk was that something (one) could come and take your body instead of you

 

Which I wonder about. How about if a much smarter and sexier and more loving person than me came along and took my place?

[TianhuaQigong]

I was going to say!

 

I was interested in AP around the age of 11-13. Can't remember age exactly nor why I was into it - I think a book sparked my interest. Much like a world travel book did or a cookbook did. I remember the instructions (in the book of fiction) were to make sure you always had a line/cord to climb back into your body with, otherwise the risk was that something (one) could come and take your body instead of you

 

Which I wonder about. How about if a much smarter and sexier and more loving person than me came along and took my place?

 

yeah, anytime, when the "other you" come out, you just say to yourself "back now", it will come back right way.