Dreaming Guides

What is Astral Projection?

AP is a self initiated OBE (out-of-body experience), usually associated with the astral planes. During the experience our sense of identity, awareness and point of perception moves outside of our physical body. We are able to turn and see our physical body from the outside. We can see, hear, move and think apparently independently from our physical sense organs. Theres a strong feeling of ‘leaving’ the physical body and being able to move in a new light body. Once we leave the body we can experience this familiar Earth-world as well as an unlimited number of parallel dimensions which feel every bit as real as this one.

Shamans, monks, witches and medicine folk have used meditation, dancing, chanting and/or repetitive drumming to enter trance states in order to expand their awareness beyond the confines of their individual physical body since time immemorial. We call it astral projection, but for many indigenous cultures around the world it is simply a natural part of human existence.

What we call astral projection might seem like a new discovery or a new fad in the world of Western spiritual seekers, but it is truly an ancient art. Studies have shown that astral projection-like states are extremely common across the many diverse cultures known to modern anthropology. They are also featured in the spiritual texts of every major religion.

The Benefits of Astral Projection

More than just a very cool experience, astral projection has huge transformative potential and most people post-experience will notice sustained results in their spiritual wellbeing. There’s an expansion of consciousness that accompanies the astral projection state that is incredibly profound. Similar to a psychedelic experience, we get taken on a ride deep into the Great Mystery of the nature of reality, but because it comes from a clear and sober state of  mind it is far easier to integrate into our waking experience than a drug-induced experience. We are given the gift of an entirely fresh perspective, from a completely magical viewpoint – from beyond the confines of our physical form.

Boundaries of separation dissolve away; astral projection is a numinous experience that leaves us glowing with awe and wonder for this amazing universe in which we live. It returns us to a childlike state of delight, seeing the world through fresh eyes, knowing that there is so much more to be discovered and we are far more connected to the world around us than we ever thought possible. I fully believe that it’s the perfect medicine for these modern times which are rife with feelings disconnection, isolation, alienation, apathy and boredom.     

How to Astral Project

The best tools I have found for astral projection are intention, relaxation and visualisation. Like athletes who meditate and visualise themselves performing and achieving their goals in the physical world, we can use visualisation extremely successfully to achieve our astral projection goals. This visualisation practice is not just about seeing ourselves astral projecting, we want to use our imagination to its full extent to see, hear and most importantly feel ourselves astral projecting.

If we have strongly set our intention to astral project and our physical body is deeply, deeply relaxed, then our meditation & visualisation practice will launch us into the astral realm.

1, Preparation

Before attempting conscious astral projection I recommend to prepare yourself for a beautiful, calm and uplifting experience by doing some grounding work and some protection work. I believe that the astral realm is very safe, however whenever we are encountering the unknown subconscious fears can easily arise. These fears can create an unpleasant experience for us in the astral realm because the astral realm will respond to whatever we are thinking and feeling.

Protection

Ritual is very powerful for our psyche and a ritual that cleanses negative energy, creates a barrier of protection and raises your vibration will ensure a beautiful and uplifting astral journey. Any ritual that feels powerful to you will work. Here are some elements that you might like to include:

• sprinkle salt water around your bed
• smudge the room with sage or mugwort
• place mugwort under your pillow
• spritz the room with your favourite essential oil blend
• whisper or ask silently, “Higher Self and angels please protect me now.”
• whisper or say silently, “Only helping spirits may enter here.”

Grounding

‘Grounding’ means to connect your energy with the energy of the earth. It is really important to ‘ground’ before any astral practice to ensure that we remain calm, balanced and harmonious throughout our journey. We can do this by using our powers of visualisation to imagine and feel our energy body stretching down deep into the earth and connecting into the energy grid of the earth. Once you feel a relaxing, cooling feeling in your body you have been successful. It can help to imagine that you are growing roots like a tree down deep into the cool, moist earth.

Once you have performed your protection ritual and grounded your energy, you are ready to begin your astral projection practice.

2, Setting Intention

Setting a clear intention is vitally important for welcoming astral projection into our experience. Our minds are vast, and the physical world only appears solid and stable to us because we are filtering out many other layers of information. Setting the intention that astral projection is very important to us will help our mind to allow astral projection through the filters and into our awareness.

Using the power of intention will help our mind to remain aware of astral projection when it happens and also allow us to remember it afterwards. Its hard to believe but many astral projections are forgotten, because often the events will usually not get written into our short-term memory at all. Clearly setting our intention to allow astral projection into our experience will encourage our mind include these experiences in the memory bank of our waking consciousness.

Setting intention is as easy as confidently repeating to yourself, either silently or out loud, something like the following:

• “I will astral project tonight.”
• “Astral projection is very important to me.”
• “The more I practice, the better I become at astral projection.”
• “Astral projection is easy, natural and safe.”
• “I easily leave my physical body and I can return whenever wish.”
• “My physical body is completely safe to sleep and rest peacefully while I astral project.”
• “I am ready to embrace my astral abilities and to learn more about my true self, for the good of all.”

3, Relaxation

For successful astral projection our physical body needs to be so relaxed that it is pretty much asleep. The mind, however, needs to remain aware while the body transitions into sleep. This is easier said than done. Positioning your body in a way that is comfortable enough for it to fall asleep but uncomfortable enough to keep your mind awake is the key.

Finding the right position for your body will depend upon your individual needs – it might be lying on your back, lying on your side or even sitting in a chair. Whichever position allows you to linger longest in the hypnagogic zone between awake and asleep is the right position for you.

Performing a body scan, tensing and releasing the muscles of your whole body, is a good way to relax your body quickly. Then, counting down from 20 to 1 while imagining yourself sinking downwards and becoming more relaxed with every count will help your body to reach the levels of relaxation needed to astral project.

4, Visualisation / Exit Techniques

Once our physical body is deeply relaxed and our mind is clear of outside thoughts, we can begin our visualisation practice to initiate our astral projection. You may be familiar with the exit technique called the Rope Technique, in which you imagine pulling yourself upwards on a rope, hand over hand, until you actually climb out of your physical body. If you are someone who loves rope-climbing then I recommend this visualisation for you

But in fact, any repetitive visualisation of physical action will have the same effect – it may be swimming, or swinging, or trampolining, or ice skating, or any other flowing and rhythmic action. The important thing is that when we imagine/visualise using our physical body with only our mind, we are actually activating and energising our astral body. So choose whatever motion is most natural and enjoyable for you. I call it astral aerobics.

As long as we are imagining this feeling as clearly and realistically as we can, and as long as we hold our undivided attention on this feeling as our body drifts in and out of sleep, the visualisation will be enough to transfer our awareness into our astral body and the motion will be enough to move us up and out of our physical body.

We want our astral body to become so activated and energised by our visualisation that our awareness is lured into choosing it as its vehicle of consciousness. So use your imagination to its full extent, creating a new body and a new environment for your mind to slip easily into.

Some of the most common visualisations are:

• imagining yourself floating upwards or sinking downwards.
• imagining yourself climbing a rope, ladder or a staircase.
• imagining yourself rolling side to side.
• imagining yourself bouncing off the walls of your room.
• imagining the feeling of a familiar object in your hand.
• imagining yourself walking around your house or another familiar place.

~ What to Expect ~

As you relax and focus your complete attention on your visualisation practice, you will feel yourself becoming heavier and heavier and more and more relaxed as you enter into a state of deep meditation. You may feel yourself drifting in and out of sleep and this is beneficial for activating the REM state that will help to launch your astral projection. Whatever happens just stay relaxed and focussed on your chosen visualisation.

Although it will be different for everyone, conscious astral projection is usually accompanied by some very bizarre sensations as you approach the separation stage.

Some of the most common sensations are:

• rapid heartbeat
• vibrations
• bright lights
• roaring noises
• strange voices
• feeling like you are being pushed or pulled by someone or something
• feeling like your body is being blasted by a strong wind
• feeling like you are floating upwards

If you have a smooth exit the first time you are one of the lucky ones. For most of us the sensations are so strong that they are overwhelming and we will abort mission and wake ourselves up. There is usually a barrier of fear to overcome. The more relaxed and calm we are, the smoother our transition into the astral realm will be. If you do get scared and ‘bail out’ don’t worry you are certainly not the first one to do so! Just remind yourself that you are completely safe and keep practising. The good news is that if you are experiencing any of the above feelings then you are very, very close to astral projecting.

Once you have managed to remain relaxed and focussed through the separation process, you will find yourself floating just above your physical body. You may have to use some force to actually move away from your physical body, and your astral body will respond much like your physical body to your request to move in any direction. This is where people use ‘exit techniques’ such as rolling over, standing up, pulling yourself out of bed or floating upwards. It takes practice to recognise when we have actually separated from the physical body and it is safe to attempt to move. If in doubt, try moving just one arm or leg downwards through the bed. If you can’t move through the bed then it is your physical limb and not your astral, so remain in your deep meditation and return to your relaxation and visualisation practice until you feel ready to try again.

You will probably feel a smooth, sliding motion as you move, as if you are a floating ball of consciousness. Your astral body is highly energised and you will feel its flowing, swirling energy surrounding you. Often the astral realm itself glows with a faint blue light. Everyone’s experience of the astral body and the astral realm is slightly different.

The first time you experience yourself outside of your physical body, keep it short and after looking around, wake yourself up quickly to keep the memory fresh in your mind. Just thinking about returning to your physical body is usually enough to return instantly. Many astral projections are forgotten and lost because we do not consciously wake ourselves up while we are still lucid, instead we wander off on a long astral adventure and eventually slip into a dream and unfortunately forget it all by the time we wake up. So its best to keep early projections short to avoid losing the memories all together.

A memory of an astral projection is extremely precious as it means that our astral abilities are filtering into our waking consciousness. Be sure to write down all of the details of your astral adventures in your dream journal so that the memories don’t slip away.

Now congratulate yourself! The experience of astral projection takes time and discipline as does any spiritual practice, but the whole journey of being on the ‘astral projection path’ is completely exhilarating and an amazing gift to our expansion and evolution. Once your astral journey is launched and you have achieved astral flight, there is no limit to where it can take you next.

~ Guided Astral Journeys ~

Listening to the Guided Astral Journeys that I create is, I believe, a very easy and effective way to practice for and achieve astral projection. These guided journeys are relaxing and enjoyable and will guide you into the astral realm through powerful combinations of intention setting, visualisation and deep relaxation, accompanied by theta/delta wave isochronic tones and binaural beats. With over 10 million views on Youtube, they have helped thousands of people to experience the astral realms.

To practice these Guided Astral Journeys simply lie down in a private and quiet space, making sure you are warm and comfortable, and listen in headphones. You can download the audio files here or listen for free on YouTube. 

You will be guided through exercises to activate your visualisation skills, energise your astral body and set your intention to astral project. The Guided Journey is unlikely to be a magic pill for astral projection the very first time you listen …although it can be so be prepared 🙂 However, every time you listen you will be practising skills that will enhance your astral abilities and you will feel different aspects of your astral body being activated each time. Your dream recall and dream lucidity will naturally increase. Your waking world will begin to feel more ‘dream like’ as if the universe is talking to you through signs, responding to your wishes and desires. You will become more aware of yourself as an energy being and your powers of manifestation will expand. With regular practice and dedication it is highly likely that you will experience conscious astral projection within a few months.

I’m excited because together we will be preparing for some of the most memorable, most mind blowing and most life changing experiences you may ever have. Although it does take a lot of practice to get there, as it is considered an advanced skill by masters of yoga and meditation, I have gathered the practises and created a method to now fast track the journey. And most importantly the journey itself will be one of immense self discovery and expansion as we deepen our skills of meditation and focus, cleanse our chakras, get into the groove of our energy bodies and gain deep insights and wisdom from the visions, dreams and altered states of awareness we have along the way.

Welcome to the magical path of Dreaming…

Art by Rob Gonsalves