Astral projection is also known as an out-of-body experience and it is an event that can occur to a great many people at various times. These events will commonly occur during a major trauma although many people report having experienced such events through their own sheer willpower.
It would be this will power manifestation that would be the most commonly known form of astral projection. A number of people have claimed to have had out of body experiences while others make claims about being able to directly perform such astral projection powers. While the basics of these techniques are the same, the power levels can differ from person to person. Of course, there are those that question the validity of such claims.
For centuries, there have been people who have experienced the phenomenon of out of body experiences. Some of them have experienced them during sleep and ignored it, believing that what they saw was a dream. However, most out-of-body experiences are experienced during major trauma such as surgeries.
There have been many accounts of out-of-body experiences occurring during the unfortunate instance of near-death situations. In all of these cases of out-of-body experiences, the individual that has gone through the experience will state he/she was able to see and hear everything that occurred in the room at the time. Such individuals have the ability to describe events that may have occurred while in this state and otherwise would not have realized what had occurred.
Out-of-body experiences also seem to occur as a result of the use of psychedelic, or dissociative, drugs. However, there have been some techniques to induce an out-of-body experience developed. One example is the use of visualization during a relaxed, or meditative, state. There have been studies, recently, that show that similar experiences to out-of-body experiences are able to be induced by directly stimulating the brain, as well.
Probably the most common type of out-of-body experience is dubbed an astral projection. During astral projection, a person may be able to leave the bodies and visit other places on earth. The individual may even be able to explore astral planes or even higher planes of human existence.
The renaissance Neoplatonist and Rosicrucian philosophy, as well as many other philosophies, state that an astral body in body created by light and links the “rational soul” and the physical body as an intermediate. It also states that the astral plane is a world created of the same light and exists between Heaven and Earth and is made of the spheres of stars and planets, which are believed to be home to angels, demons, and spirits.
According to the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, the human soul possesses the ability to hover or float in a world outside the human body in what is commonly referred to the “Ka” which is also known as the subtle body. (Another name of this is the astral body) In most belief systems in astral projection, the astral body holds a connection with a silver cord of psychic energy to the physical body.
The classical Chinese Taoists took part in an alchemical practice that centered on creating a body of energy via the employment of breathing meditations, pulling energy into an internal section dubbed a “pearl” and then circulating the mysterious pearl through the body to create a powerful base of energy.
While an out-of-body experience occurs, many individuals have noted that they willed themselves to leave their physical body. Other people have made reports that they discovered themselves venturing out of their bodies as if they were being pulled. Then, there are others that stated that they did not realize they exited their bodies until long after they were already out of it. Many people even stated that they wished to get out of bed and when they sought to venture to their door, they found out they could not touch the door. Upon realizing this, they looked towards their bed and saw their physical body lying down.
Neurologists commonly try to explain such events as being due to a mismatch of the visual and tactile signals of the brain. A great many out-of-body experiences will occur during the time that exists in between the REM sleep and the actual time prior to waking. During the great many instances of out-of-body experiences, the subject will venture into a state known as sleep paralysis. During this time that exists in between being sleep and awake, sleep paralysis can continue onwards as dream imagery intermingles with input deriving from the senses.
However, a great many scientific studies in the field of astral projection and out-of-body experiences have been undertaken over the years. There are many studies showing that out of body experiences do really happen. There are several top research facilities found in many different countries, including the Monroe Institute in Virginia, as well as the Projectarium at the International Academy of Consciousness in Portugal and the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience in Switzerland.
