Is it possible that our minds can travel outside of our bodies? This article looks at astral travel and out of body experiences. We look at the facts around what an OBE is and then go on to some simple techniques related to having an out of body experience, for those that wish to try astral travel themselves.
What is an Out of Body Experience?
An Out of Body Experience is described as a sensation of being outside one’s body, typically of floating and being able to observe oneself from a distance. Also known as “Spirit Walking”, “Astral Projection” or “Soul Travel”.
These experiences can be induced by a number of factors, including brain injury or tumor, drugs and meditation. Scientists describe an OBE as a hallucination that is caused by psychological or neurological factors.
Often those that have experienced out of body events, speak of a silver chord that ties the mind/soul to the physical body. There does not seem to be any kind of limitation on how far this chord can go.
There are also claims that even the Bible gives mention to astral projection - most notably apostle Paul who had this to say (2 Corinthians 12:1–4
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise.
Interesting short video on Astral Projection
How to have an Out of Body Experience
The most common method of bringing on an OBE is by meditation and there are three main parts to an out of body journey. It is important to become familiar with each part, so that when you try this yourself you have some idea of what to expect.
1./ Your mind leaving your physical body
Jerry Gross - who holds classes teaching people to Astral travel, says a good preparation is to start remembering your dreams. Keep a pen and paper by your bed and write them down as soon as you wake up. (We can normally remember part of our dreams when we first wake up, however the memory quickly slips away). Once you start being more aware of your dreams you are one step closer to controlling your mind while your physical body is sleeping.
To free up your astral mind you need to relax your physical body through meditation or similar. Once you are relaxed enough for your astral body to leave the physical body you are ready for lift off.
Some projectors talk of a tingling feeling accompanied by a high pitched sound in their heads as their conscious prepares to separate from the unconscious. They then try to “roll out” of their body, or sit up and move out that way. This can be difficult as first.
2./ Staying lucid while you are travelling beyond your body
Your practice staying lucid whilst dreaming will help you stay lucid when you are having an out of body experience. Its a good idea to have in mind where exactly you want to go, so that you are not drifting around aimlessly.
Erin Pavlina has a lot of handy tips about staying safe while out in the astral plane.
Some say that if the silver chord connected back to your physical body is severed you will die, others don’t agree with that, however the fact is no one can prove that either way.
3./ Returning to your physical self
From everything we have researched getting back to your physical self is the least of your problems and happens very easily. Don’t worry you are not going to get stranded or lost, at the first sign of trouble you will zip back into your body.
Astral Travel - Further Reading
You might want to check out this article on Conscious Life News - The Art of Astral Travel.
Some information from this article was sourced from Wikipedia
