Astral Projection (Part 2)

In the first post on astral projection, I explained what astral projection actually is, what happens in the brain during dreams (which are necessary in order to achieve astral projection) and also described some techniques which can be used to achieve it. I announced two more posts on the same topic in which I plan to explain what can be done on the astral planes, but also give some useful tips and warnings. :)

This is the first of the two announced posts in which I will be dealing with the lower astral plane (I'll deal with the higher one in the next post).

In order to explain what I mean by "lower" astral, I ask you to imagine yourself in an airplane. You are just taking off and you are observing everything getting smaller and smaller; first the houses, then the cities and soon enough, you can't tell where something begins and where it ends. The moment when you ascend the clouds, your perspective changes completely! You lost all contact with the earth since you can't even see it anymore because of all the white hills surrounding you. That is the equivalent of the lower astral plane. An equivalent of the higher astral plane would be you taking off in a rocket into space where all the rules change and where no earthly rules exist. But more on this in the next post. :)

I would now like to get down to business, so let us continue where we left off in the previous post. If you remember, I explained how to achieve astral projection. The last thing I mentioned is that, after you reach the height of the "vibration" period, you have to abruptly turn onto your side (of course, not physically, but you have to imagine it, or even better...you have to FEEL yourself turning onto your side so you can achieve this with your astral body instead of your physical body). If you do this correctly, you will feel your astral body fall onto the floor!

What Do I Do Once I'm on the Astral Plane?

Your astral body, or rather you (in one way or another) will now be on the floor. It is important to mention that the astral body doesn't depend on sight, but rather the sense of touch. This is why you will find yourself in complete darkness (at least that's how it usually is in most cases, but that doesn't mean it has to be this way for you), and the only way for you to create an image of where you are is by feeling everything around you. By doing this, you will slowly find out where you are and you will also move away from your physical body (and this is preferable because the farther away from your physical body you are, the clearer and more intensive your astral image is). Remember that you must always do something in the astral world, even if it's only walking around in circles our looking around idly. If you concentrate on something too long, then your astral image becomes unclear until you slip out of the astral world and return to the physical reality. Therefore, concentration is the enemy of the astral plane! Or more precisely, concentrating on the space around you is your enemy, whereas concentrating on a certain goal or your plan of action is necessary for improvement.

To make things easier for yourself, it is recommended that you make a plan of action. You will have this plan in your head while you are in the astral world (even though it may be hard to remember it sometimes) and it will help you to avoid getting to that point when you ask yourself: "What should I do now?". Because the moment you ask yourself that and you stop doing something, your concentration slips and you return to your physical body.

You can add several things to your plan of action from the very start:

1. Look at your reflection in the mirror
2. Teleport yourself (for starters, try somewhere nearby like outside your bedroom or out onto the street, but never teleport yourself into a closed space with now doors or into any kind of basement)
3. Fly (yes, you can do that in the astral world too! But remember that your astral body isn't your physical body. It doesn't even have to resemble you and you also don't have muscles in the literal sense of the word. This is why you will have to use your will to fly and not your muscles)
4. Meet someone/something (that is not deceased, but more on this later)
5. Teleport yourself further away (by this I mean stay on Earth; do not go into outer space)
6. Meet your angel/guide (this is a very difficult thing to achieve so I'll save this for the last post)

There are several ways to check if you really are on the astral plane. One great way is to shut your mouth and nose and try to breathe. You will find that it is possible even though it's biologically impossible (remember that physical laws don't rule in the astral world). Also, you can try to turn on any light in the astral world (I mean by using a light switch on the wall or something like this) but you will see that lights don't work there.

Tricks: How to Stay in the Astral Plane As Long As Possible

Something that is very likely to happen the first time your enter the astral world is that you will be excited or bewildered. It is possible that you will return to your physical body because of all this excitement, but don't worry. That will sort itself out in time. It will also be quite difficult to stay in the astral world for a longer period of time in the beginning but there are a few tricks that could help you with this.

It is natural that your brain will want to return you to your physical body because this whole experience is new and "frightening", but you can control this. I already mentioned that your main sense in the astral world is the sense of touch. If you notice that your image of the astral plane is somehow fading or becoming blurry or in any other way unclear, just start feeling everything around yourself (or even yourself) and this will make the image clearer. There is another trick which is actually an exception. I also said that concentration is your enemy so if you concentrate on your hand for a few seconds the image will start to blur, but if you divert your gaze from it at the right moment (when it seems to get deformed/melt), then the image will be clear again.

The Problem of Your Subconscious

Even though you are in the astral world, remember that your physical body still exists and that you are still connected to it. Therefore, your brain still plays an important role in this whole story, as do your consciousness and your subconscious. The name for your subconscious in the astral world is "the shadow". It will be your biggest barrier on the astral plane because you won't be able to run away from it since your brain knows what you are going to do even before you do it. All of your fears, desires and secrets are hidden in your subconscious. In short, your subconscious is the one who creates the lower astral plane; sort of like a matrix. It is always one step ahead of you so you have to be cautious. It won't literally harm you (don't worry), but it will try to return you to your physical body by any means possible because that is your "natural state". Better said, the shadow is selfish and wants you all to itself; it doesn't want you exploring the astral plane or travelling or to even be conscious of anything while you're there. But you could say that it only wants all the best for you in its own, strange way.

Here's an example so you can understand what I'm trying to say.

Imagine that by feeling around, you discovered that you are in your apartment (or rather its replica in the astral world). You see a door that isn't where it's supposed to be (i.e. which aren't where they usually are in your apartment) and you head towards them. Your subconscious put that door there and it knows that you are going to head for it even before you do so. You will be fascinated by that door and go through it. They will lead you deeper and deeper into a new illusion which is created by your subconscious and not yourself. Therefore, you won't be in control; your subconscious will. And remember that it will try to return you to your physical body (and in an unpleasant way). This is called the effect of Alice in Wonderland. 

For your subconscious, you are like a prisoner that has escaped from prison and it just has to catch you! You, of course, know that you aren't a prisoner and you don't want or deserve to be in prison. This is simply a case of different interests which will cause minor difficulties for you along the way. The problem with this prison is that you have to know someone who has previously gotten away with escaping from it, but that "person" doesn't exist. The only way for you succeed is by tricking the guards and getting out unnoticed. The prison is just so well-guarded that there's no point in trying to avoid the surveillance, but rather outsmart it.

Also, it is necessary to doubt everything. By this, I don't mean that you have to doubt the existence of something but its authenticity (especially that of details). Search for things that are different from the way they are in your physical reality. That is where the key lies. This difference will either be a trap created by your subconscious, or a creation of your own which will lead you on to the higher astral plane (in a very positive sense). I will explain throughout the post how to differentiate one from the other.

Travelling in the Astral World

You will surely want to travel in the astral world. Of course you can simply walk around, which is exactly what you will do in the beginning, but the following methods are more fun, as well as more practical, for most people:

• Teleportation (don't try this until you have been on the astral plane several times because you will still need some skill to achieve this). It is achieved by imagining a destination and keeping it in your head for 5-10 seconds while keeping your eyes closed. During this time, you will feel like your are moving (like wind is carrying your to that place), but don't let this distract you. The next time you open your eyes, you will find yourself in the place you imagined.
• Translocation (it is different from teleportation because it is random, while teleportation is intentional). It is achieved by looking at your hand and holding your gaze on it for a while. It will look different that it does in the physical world, but that isn't important now. What is important, though, is that, when you move your gaze from it, you will be in another random place.
• Using doors (it seems obvious enough, but I have to emphasize it). You can use this method even at the very beginning while you are still walking around the astral world. These doors can lead you into another room, or to another completely different place. They can also lead you to other worlds (this is achieved by drawing a symbol of that world on the door/above the door/on the door knob). This falls under the category of the higher astral plane so I'll leave that for the next post.

I have to mention one more important thing regarding travelling in the astral world.

When you find yourself in it for the first time, you will probably be in your apartment/house. Your goal will firstly be to leave this building. When you head out, do not use the elevator! Basically, any sort of descending motion as sudden as this (or basically any descending that isn't done using the stairs) is forbidden unless you want to pass through a few uncomfortable experiences. Let me explain. Your subconscious has control over the "lower" parts of the astral world which you will enter by using elevators and other similar enclosed spaces. These "lower levels" are actually a trance (the depth of it depends on how close it is to the astral plane). In other words, while you are in a closed space that is moving (actually, it isn't moving but it will seem this way to you), your subconscious is busy creating a whole new world around that space/object where you will have to play according to its rules. It's practically creating a new prison for you since you escaped from the previous one. The point of this whole story would be: do not to into enclosed spaces (that have no doors) and to not descend anywhere!!!

Your Higher Consciousness - Your Friend

Just as your subconscious will try to make things difficult for you in the astral world, your higher consciousness will be there to protect you and contradict your subconscious.

You will have to learn to differentiate the signals it leaves your from those of your subconscious. Your subconscious will leave large traps for you such as the aforementioned misplaced doors or perhaps the ringing of a telephone (don't answer phones in the astral world) and try to use such things as bate. Your higher consciousness will leave very small details for you to notice (for example, a switch that usually isn't there, or a camera or any other sort of emphasized small object) which will then lead you to the higher astral plane. Remember, the higher and higher you go regarding astral planes, the less influence your subconscious will have. :) Therefore, pay attention to details! The subconscious is primitive and will notice only large changes in its creation (i.e. the dream/astral plane). This is why your higher consciousness will always choose small enough details which your subconscious won't be able to notice, but they will be big enough for you to notice. Then again, your intuition will be able to tell you a lot in the astral world, since gut feelings to exist even there. So, if you feel uncomfortable somewhere, simply leave that place.

Except by going to the higher astral plane, another way to get further away from your subconscious is by leaving the building you found yourself in after "waking up" in the astral plane. You can leave it by simply walking out (remember to use the stairs and simply make sure that you are in control of where you are going and not some machine like an elevator!). The other way for you to do this is by teleporting yourself out, so let's discuss this a bit more. :)

Teleportation

This can be an excellent method of moving around the astral plane because you will never be able to stay long there (approximately 5 minutes) so you will want to save time. Actually, you will stay as long as you have sufficient energy and a plan of action. Therefore, you have to use the time you have there fully and not waste time just walking around. Teleportation is a much faster way of getting around. :) So here are a few techniques of doing this:

• Imagine the place you want to go, while doing so, keep your eyes closed for 5-10 seconds and open them.
• Spin around your axis with arms stretched to your sides (like a helicopter) once again imagining the place you want to be.
• Stick your head into the earth like an ostrich would do (yes, it may seem silly and funny but id really does work...just don't forget you get your head out later).
• Fly towards the sky and let yourself fall back to the ground (once you return back to the "earth", you will find yourself in the place you imagined).

To me, the best method seems the first one because you have the most control over where you go and I prefer to have control over my surroundings if possible.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Don't try to teleport yourself straight away. If you try to teleport in the lower astral plane (which we are talking about here), you will go straight back to your physical body (just as would happen if you were to look at your hands too long). Firstly, you should reach the higher astral plane (your goal is to GO HIGHER I.E. TO HIGHER ASTRAL PLANES). You will go there by following the clues your higher consciousness leaves for you.

How to Return Back to Your Physical Body

Even though this will happen to you spontaneously in the beginning because of lack of energy or because you concentrated on something for too long, had nothing left to do etc., it is important to know some methods which you can use to willfully go back to the physical world.

Don't listen to those stories which say that you can "get stuck on the astral plane". This is what makes a lot of people worried about the inability to return back to their bodies but this just can't happen. You will return to your physical body sooner or later be it spontaneously or intentionally. Some ways by which you can return to your body intentionally are:

• Closing your eyes - remember that you don't really have a physical body on the astral plane and, ultimately, no eyelids so this will create that physical bridge that is needed for you to return.
• Squinting - it achieves the same effect as closing your eyes but less sudden.
• Teleporting - I already mentioned that you will return to your physical body if you try teleporting on the lower astral plane (even though doing this on the higher astral plane will only lead you higher and higher).
• Looking up - when your eyes roll backwards a bit, it reminds us of that spinning motion that we did to achieve the vibration stage so this literally takes us back into our previous state (the physical one).
• Pinching yourself or rolling your head - these are very physical actions which will also create that necessary bridge to the physical world.
• Concentrating on something - this is the simplest method. If you focus too long on something, then the image around you starts melting and you find yourself in your physical body again. A good example is looking at your hands (which I mentioned before). If you look at your hands in the astral world, they will start to melt after a while and if you don't look away, you will return back to your physical body (but if you do look away quickly, then you will find yourself on a higher astral plane).

Remember that you can always return to your physical body if there are any problems (e.g. if your subconscious takes control, which you don't want because it can create very unpleasant situations for you in an attempt to scare you back into your body). In that kind of situation, it's easiest to just concentrate on something but if that doesn't work, then spinning around yourself will (this wall cause random translocation) and if even that doesn't work, then sticking your head in the ground will.

To Revise: What to Avoid in the Astral World

• Closed spaces (although you can get out of them by trying to walk through any wall backwards!!!)
• Moving spaces (elevators, airplanes, submarines etc.)
• Trying to achieve astral projection two nights/days in a row (at least in the beginning) because this could cause an imbalance in your sleeping clock and REM phases
• Apparent differences from the physical world (remember that these kinds of big differences are usually made by your subconscious)

These would be the main comments I had to make, but you will probably emphasize some more things for yourselves depending on what you think is most important. :) 

Before I finish, I would just like to say that there really is no harm to be done by achieving astral projection. Nobody has ever got stuck there or died there. The only "danger" is of you returning to your physical body earlier than planned (and even if this happens, you can just try spinning backwards to try and achieve the vibrations and return to the astral world...that is, if you have enough energy for this). This can only do you harm by making your sleeping patterns (and, consequently, REM phases) a bit disrupted, which would result in your being a bit tired. This is also why it isn't recommended to go into the astral world two days in a row because this time would replace your last REM phase during which you get the most sleep (because it lasts the longest).

Don't forget to write down your plan of action as well as your experiences after your astral voyage because that will all come in handy for future trips. Learn from your mistakes. :)

I wish you the best of luck with achieving astral projection! :D and I'm eager to hear your experiences. :)

Until next time. Yours,

Witch's Cat