Astral Projection Techniques
by Dan McClure
First some terms. There are many types of "projections" going by
different names the ones I use are:
MENTAL PROJECTION - Where the practitioner projects just his
Consciousness to some other place, beyond the physical body. It's
similar to a day dream only much stronger. You see a mental picture,
like watching a movie, but there are no senses per se, taste, feel,
hearing, smell etc.
ASTRAL PROJECTION - This is where the Consciousness & the Astral body
separate together from the physical body. The practitioner has use
of all fives senses plus those used by the Astral body. You may have
a sense of flying or floating. Vivid dreams are often natural AP
during sleep. It's perfectly safe. Nothing can enter the physical
body while on an Astral projection as only you have the exact key.
At any sign of danger the Astral body is "reeled in" rather quickly.
ETHERIC PROJECTION - This is where the Consciousness, the Astral body
& the etheric body separate together from the physical body. The
ectoplasm of the Etheric body can been seen other. The physical body
is reduced to a state of near catalepsy during the projection and
must be protected from sudden shock or disturbance as there is a
rare occurrence of physical death.
BILOCATION - This is where the Consciousness, the Astral body, the
Etheric body & the Physical body are in TWO different places at the
same time. This is only to be used by advanced Magi and then rarely.
It involves time & place distortion with a host of other things.
Mental projection is by far the easiest. Just focus the
consciousness anywhere the will directs.
Astral Projection requires a little more. There are as many techniques &
systems as there are people. Here are some guide lines & methods;
METHOD 1
In a quiet place sit in a straight backed chair, up against a wall
or on the floor with spine erect. Relax, get comfortable. Inhale &
exhale slowly a couple of times. DO NOT FALL ASLEEP!! Use 2/4 breath
to start, that is; empty your lungs, easily, then inhale to a mental
count of four
Astral sight doesn't depend on the physical eyes. The reason it is
listed last on the list is practical. Sometimes for novices the act
of opening the eyes in the Astral body triggers a reflex of opening
the eyes in the physical body, without the other senses to anchor it
the consciousness shifts back to the physical body and you lose the
AP. Don't worry about your Astral sight at the very start. Work first on
being sure of shifting the consciousness. That is the first step to
success. The rest of the senses MUST follow. If you have to break it
down even further, work on hearing, smell, touch or Small Astral body
movements one at a time first. Then work on sight.
METHOD 2
Start a mental projection and will your Astral body along.
METHOD 3
Imagine that your Astral body is separating from your physical body
out the head chakra. You will sense a rapid vibration with a rising
or floating sensation. Let it happen. Don't block it. When complete
check your five senses in the described order.
Using the Astral body requires only that you mentally shift gears
into it, no matter what method you use. Astral projection takes
patience, practice & persistence. Several things govern how
quickly you can gain mastery:
- noises & distractions
- how relaxed you are
- breathing technique
- how well focused you are
- achieving the mental imagery necessary
- transfer of consciousness
- practice
"Astral Projection" is not one experience but a complicated amalgam
of many types and levels of experience. AP experiences can be very
sharp and clear, foggy and dreamlike, intense, mild, convincing, and
confusing all at once. The common modern view of AP is that is has
three (or four) basic forms; Mental, Astral, Etheric, (and rarely
Bilocation). However, my experience is that there are hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of variations of typical "astral travel"
experiences and that breaking them up into a few categories is more
convenient than accurate.
Two of the most common reasons for not achieving a clear AP are foggy
imagery & problems with shifting Consciousness to the Astral body.
First the image in the ball of light must be clear & fixed. You must
have a clear mental image of the Astral body to begin with. Second,
the Consciousness must be fully shifted or transferred from the
physical to the Astral body!! It shouldn't be shuttling between the
two. It's a very common problem. But you can't drive two cars at the
same time! This may show up as poor Astral
vision or partial or full loss of Astral senses. Sort of like poor
TV reception with static & snow. robably because of uneasiness
about the unknown. Relax!! Your physical body will be just fine,
really! Remember you can't swim hanging on to the side of the
pool!!!! Let go!!! Trust me.
The single most important factors shaping the nature of the AP
experience are practice & "Instructions" for the "voyage" given by
very deep areas of the subconscious mind, "co-ordinates", if you
will, that the projecting "Selfhood Program" uses for guidance in
this journey through all the possible universes. These
"co-ordinates" can be suggested to the one pointed or focused mind
through ritual, meditation, visualization, and many other
techniques.
Without training, and developing the strength of the "psychic muscles",
most people aren't able to give adequate co-ordinates to the focused
mind. They are in the position, one might say, of being able to turn
their psychic computers on, but they are not yet able to load in a
program that takes advantage of the computers powers. The thing just
sits there and hums blindly. They have some interesting thoughts or
twists of perception while they do their practices, but don't usually
make the shift.
The "trick" of astral projection lies in the TRANSFER OF YOUR POINT OF
AWARENESS...awareness, selfhood; "the observing I". It is "like" a
vortex, an 'atom' of consciousness, which "rides" the physical body. It
is not the Ego, not the "higher self"; it is more like a natural force,
or quality, in the way that "weight" is a quality of gravity.
One of the keys is focus & intensity. You should become oblivious to
everything except transferring your point of awareness, complete &
undivided attention, focus or consciousness. Use your other senses
as a check list, in the order described. Anxiety or fear of the
unknown often causes problems...like swimming or riding a bike,
RELAX. You won't fall or drown! If you tense up, it won't happen.
This is a natural, easy process. Don't push or force, focus & guide.
When trying to ascertain if you have a true Mental or Astral project
check to see if the contrary is true. If the scene you are in is one
of a friend reading a book, imagine him ironing or doing dishes. If
the scene changes immediately to him doing dishes or ironing, it not
a true Mental or Astral projection.
If progress or success is occasional or uneven then check the list
above and eliminate the cause of the problem.
Try these techniques every day or night for three months. Record all
experiences, in detail, in a journal to study later. Stick to the
schedule(three months), patience, practice & persistence are the key.
For futher reading I would suggest;
"The Art & Practice of Astral Projection" by Ophiel
"Journeys out of the Body" by Robert A. Monroe AP etc.
"The Astral Projection Workbook" by J. H. Brennan good AP book with
exercises.
"The Lewellyn Practical Guide to Astral Projection" by Melita
Denning and Osborne Phillips ISBN 0-87542-181-4.
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