Astral Projection (Part 3)

The time has come for me to finish up with this series of posts. :) If you remember, in the first and second post on this topic, I explained what astral projection is all about, some techniques to achieve it what you can and can't do once you're there.

In an attempt to describe what the astral planes look like, I used the visual images of flying with an airplane and rocket. When we are in our physical bodies, it is like we are walking on the earth. The astral world has several levels and if we try to simplify its plan as much as possible then we could say that a lower and higher astral plane exist. The lower astral would be the equivalent of flying with a plane while the higher astral is, obviously, a higher level and would be like flying in a rocket though outer space. I hope that this is all clear up to now. :)

I dedicated the second post in this series to the lower astral plane which you directly enter when you achieve astral projection, but it is necessary to learn a bit more and gain a bit more experience to get to the higher astral plane. Now let me explain this.

How to Get to the Higher Astral Plane?

I mentioned that there are two factors that influence your stay in the astral world apart from yourselves, and those are your subconscious and your higher consciousness (if we can even put it like this since both of them are an integral part of you). In short, your subconscious is the one who will try to bring you back to lower astral levels and, ultimately, back in your physical body (i.e. back in the physical plane). In order to do this, it will put out bait for you such as mysterious doors which will intrigue you because they aren't where they should be, the ringing of a phone which you will badly want to answer and things like this. All of these signs will be very obvious because your subconscious is too primitive to notice, and let alone create, small differences with which to capture you. You higher consciousness knows that your subconscious doesn't notice details so it leaves you small clues which you have to follow. Why am I mentioning this? Because of the simple reason that it will be these small clues that will lead you to a higher astral level, or better said, onto the higher astral plane.

The point here would be that details will lead you to the higher astral plane! They will attract you attention in one way or another because your higher consciousness knows how you function and knows what you like. So don't worry about this; it will find a way. But remember that these details will stand out, usually because they don't even exist in your physical world or perhaps because they will be somewhere they aren't supposed to be (if you recall, the lower astral plane will usually be a replica of your physical world).

How Do Things on the Higher Astral Plane Work?

Like I said, the lower astral plane is a copy of your physical world (that which usually surrounds you), but the higher astral plane will be something that you have never set eyes on before. This is why it is not recommended to try and reach the higher astral plane until you are completely confident in your abilities and until you gain enough experience on the lower astral plane. You may now be asking yourselves: "How do I gain the necessary experience?". Remember the plan of action I mentioned in the previous post. This plan will be made up of all the goals you want to achieve during that astral projection and the more goals you achieve, the higher your self-confidence will be and the more experience you will have (not much different from normal life, is it?). In time, you will have enough confidence and experience to successfully enter the higher astral world.

But it is important for you to remember that you are a sort of an intruder in the higher astral world (at least until you "make yourself at home"). There are many worlds on the higher astral plane and each one has its own guards, guides and rules. When you are on another's territory, you have to play by their rules. Of course, you won't know the rules the first time you get there. This is why you will have to ask someone to find out.

Your Guide

Some call him the keeper of that particular world and some a guide. A guide exists in every world but just so there are no misunderstandings, I have to emphasize that each world has its own guide. When you reach the higher astral plane, the first thing you have to look for is the guide. You can call upon him the way you would do for any other thing/place in the astral plane - with your thoughts. It is enough to wish for the guide to be there and he will be there. Remember that no complicated invocations or visualizations are needed in the astral worlds because you can control everything with your thoughts. A useful tip would be that every thing/creature you "call upon" in the astral world usually turns up behind you so you will have to turn around to see them. This may seem strange to you so I will explain why. Basically, when you wish for/want something, your unconscious has already started constructing it outside your field of vision. You could have figured out by now that the whole astral phenomenon is based on construction, and for this purpose, ingenuity will be of more use than "book smarts". You will have to be ingenious in order to trick yourself and your mind (which is, in some way, the enemy of the astral world).

Once you have called upon your guide and gotten to know him (never forget to be polite), he/she/it will lead you through that astral world just like a real tourist guide. :) It is important to note that the guide doesn't even have to be human. It can be an animal, a rock, a leaf blown by the wind, a series of signs or something completely abstract. But don't worry, you will know that that something is leading you and all you have to do is trust your instinct.

After you have gotten to know that world and its rules, you will be able to travel alone, but nobody can forbid you to call upon the guide for help at any time if you get "lost". :)

Moving Around on the Higher Astral Plane

The methods are basically the same as on the lower astral plane but they sometimes have different affects. Some of them are:

• Teleportation (do not try this until you've achieved astral projection several times because it does take a bit of experience). This is done by imagining your destination and keeping the image in your mind for 5-10 seconds while keeping your eyes closed. During this time, you will feel like you are moving (as if the wind is carrying you), but don't let that distract you. The next time you open you eyes, you will find yourself in the place you imagined. Once you are on the higher astral plane, teleportation can only lead you onto higher and higher levels (whereas if you try to teleport on the lower astral plane, this would just return you to your physical body....that's the main difference!). Also, an exception can happen once in a hundred times (figuratively speaking). To elaborate, it may occur that your higher consciousness chooses to take you some place of its choice to give you a certain message and it will take advantage of that moment of teleportation to do so. So, instead of ending up where you wanted to, you will end up where your higher consciousness wanted you to be. But this is no reason to be worried because, as you may remember, your higher consciousness doesn't want to do you any harm. Just relax and go with the flow, give yourself over to it and let it guide you.
• Translocation (it is different from teleportation in the fact that it is random, while teleportation is intentional). You can achieve this by looking at your hands and keeping your gaze there for a while. They will look differently than what they look like in the physical world, but that is less important now. What is important is that when you move your gaze from them, you will be in another random place. This can be done on all levels of the astral plane. But this method can also be quite tricky, but you will learn from experience. The trick is to know exactly when to remove your gaze from your hands because if you look at them for a short period of time, you will achieve nothing. Then again, if you look at them too long, you will just return to your physical body. But like I said, it will come with experience.
• Using doors (it seems obvious but I have to mention it). You can use this method even while walking around the astral plane. They can take you to another room or a completely different place. They can also take you to other worlds. This can be achieved by drawing the symbol of that world on the door/over it/on the door knob etc. This falls under the category of the higher astral plane so let's talk about that some more now.

Entering Other Worlds

I already mentioned that there are many worlds on the astral plane, but which ones exactly? Well there are countless worlds there, but I would like to mention a few which are worth visiting and which are, in a way, universal.

• Elemental worlds - each element (water, fire, earth and air) has its own world on the astral plane. Each of these worlds has its own guardian/guide towards which you should behave as with any other guide. But, the world of fire will only introduce you to fire, as will the world of water only introduce you to water. These worlds are worth visiting because they will enable you to become closer to the elements which may be of great use to you in the physical world, for example when working with the elements and elementals during rituals.
• Tarot card worlds - you know that there are many cards in the tarot deck and for those that have become serious about practicing Tarot, this may be an excellent what to connect with the cards and visit the world that lies beyond the 2D picture on the card. This is a long-term process, but it is worth it in the end. You will have the chance to meet the characters on the cards (this would actually be the polite thing to do and, while you're there, abide by their rules) and in time, you will be able to explore these worlds by yourself.
• Zodiac worlds - you know which ones they are so there's no need to elaborate here. In these worlds, you will have the opportunity to explore the stars, see how each sign functions etc.

But how exactly do you enter all these worlds?

The simplest way would be to use a door. Since you control everything in the higher astral planes (with a bit of help from your higher consciousness), you can simply wish for a door, and it will appear behind you (just as most things do there). It is necessary to know some symbols which are associated with the world you want to enter and do draw that symbol somewhere on the door (on it, over it, on the door knob etc.). Once you go through that door, you will be in that specific world. I would like to mention another trick that could be useful. This technique may be complicated for you in the beginning because it goes against logic i.e. your reason won't be able to accept it. You can solve this problem by feeling the knob and walking backwards through the door after you have drawn the symbol. Only when you have passed through the door backwards and turned back to the front will you find yourself in a completely new environment.

There are many symbols for the elements, so it's best if you use the ones you are most familiar with or those which you find the most attractive or perhaps the a special symbol that represents that element only to you. It is only important that you know what that symbol means. :) Each zodiac sign has its own universal symbol which is usually left unchanged. Tarot cards, on the other hand, are more complicated.

If you want to enter the world of a specific tarot card, you can do this in several ways. You can imagine the card as the actual door, or the card being stuck onto the door. Another method is leaving that card next to you before you enter the astral plane. When you "wake up" in the lower astral world (i.e. when you astral body falls off your bed), all you have to do is find the card where you left it in the physical world by feeling around. You can then take it around with you wherever you go. If you are even more experienced (like my friend is who explained and improved all these techniques), then you can go straight from the lower astral plane to the tarot card world by placing the card on the floor and jumping into it. This way, you will directly enter the higher astral plane.

Another note. :) It is very useful to put many entrances/portals in your apartment, or rather its copy in the lower astral plane just in case of emergency. It is also a good idea to have a bag in the physical world with the symbols of all the worlds you may want to visit (including a set of runes, a tarot card set etc.). So instead of remembering all those symbols, all you have to do in the lower astral realm is walk to the bag, take out the symbol you need and jump in it as you would with the tarot cards. :)

Other Things You Can Do

You don't have to only travel from world to world! You can try many more things in the astral planes, such as:

• Try to fly (even though it is recommended to avoid this as much as possible because you loose your sense of touch in the air and, as I said, this sense is your primary one in the astral world)
• Try to invoke your higher self (you will have to discover this for yourselves)
• Heal ailments (this is done by actually filling yourself with energy in the astral realms which also happens to keep you there longer. You can do this in several ways: by looking at the sun which is, by the way, very hard to find; by spinning around yourself; by doing the exercise of the vibrating Middle Pillar which I will explain soon enough etc.)
• Read a book (just out of fun. You won't suddenly be enlightened, but it is very interesting to see the differences from reading in the physical world. It is much more difficult because of the connection of the right and left hemisphere of the brain that happens in the astral world, but it can be done. But this is usually done in your astral temple)

Creating Your Astral Temple

I have already mentioned this astral temple without actually telling you what it is. Well, you know what a temple is. From this, you can easily conclude what an astral temple is - a temple in the astral world.

But what is its purpose? You could say that it is some sort of a refuge. It can be like your living room, or it can serve a religious purpose, be there for your do to magic in (yes, you can do magic in the astral world too and it is even more intense than in the physical world!) etc. Regarding doing rituals in your astral temple, I have to mention that they are strongest when done there and then their effects simply come down into the physical world where they carry out their influence. Actually, rituals were practically created to be done in the astral world.

What is your temple appropriate for? For starters, an astral temple is a great place to have because you can "escape" from your subconscious there. Remember that you astral temple is like a home and your subconscious like a burglar. It will want to enter, but if you secure it well enough, if you lock the door when you go out (and also enter it), activate some sort of alarm or put guards at the entrances, then it simply won't be able to get in.

But how do you build an astral temple? You are your own boss in the higher astral realm so you decide how everything gets done. If you want it to magically be built by itself, that's how it will be done. If you imagine it being built by laborers, or perhaps little gnomes then it will be built like that. It's all up to you. It can be built out of any material at all, it can have unimaginable proportions and be made up of forms that don't even exist in the physical world. It can also have any floor plan that you want. Just don't forget to guard it well and even additionally secure it after the builders have finished doing her work. You can do this by building a simple fence, or digging a ditch, building a bridge, using a security code on the door, putting in energetic protection, "employing" guards (strong men, powerful Amazon women, sphinxes, lions or whatever!). Everything is possible! But perhaps the best way to build it is in your thoughts (thought is the only real building material for this!). When you're awake, draw its floor plan, blueprints (even if they aren't professionally drawn), think about what it could look like etc. All of this will make it stronger and better the building.

You can also have a bedroom in your astral temple in which you can fall asleep and go even deeper into the astral world, charge your energy this way and then wake up in your astral temple ready for a new day in the astral world. This will extend your time in the astral world, which is sometimes of great importance (for example, when you're doing a ritual or other works there). This kind of sleep brings you face to face with the most hidden parts of your being. It is recommended that this bedroom be connected to the "living room" with a small, barely visible tunnel that just slightly drops downwards. All of this effects your consciousness and makes time flow slower. You can have a special room for rituals, your own library, a swimming pool filled with pure energy which you can bathe in to gain more energy (which, again, will extend your stay in the astral world). There are just some ideas, but I'm sure you'll be able to think of even more.

I would like to mention a few more things regarding your astral temple. Firstly, don't ever turn off the lights in your temple! Lack of light enables your subconscious (the burglar) to break into the temple and get your back into your physical body (this is actually the only way in which it can break into your temple). Secondly, always have an emergency exit with some sort of secret passage that leads you to another place. This can also come handy (you never know).

Also, it is recommended that you picture the door of your astral temple even before you start building it. You will have to remember the exact appearance and feeling of your door knob as well as the way in which you can enter (be it a security code, a special way of knocking, speaking special words, doing some actions etc.). This is important because it will enable you, at least when you are experienced enough, to enter straight into your astral temple from the lower astral plane; remember the time when your astral body has just fallen onto the floor. You have to start feeling around yourself at this point in time to find out where you are. The trick here is that you will be able to feel the door to you astral temple (or the door knob) if you imagine it well enough. If you recognize this door as that specific door, all you have to do is open in the appropriate way and just enter.

That would be about it regarding your astral temple. :)

How to Return Back to Your Physical Body?

The methods are practically the same as in the lower astral world. I'll still say a few words on this topic, although you can find a more detailed answer in the second post in this series.

• 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. This is different from teleportation because when you simply close your eyes, you don't have a certain destination in mind but when you teleport and close your eyes you have to imagine exactly where you want to go.
• Squinting - it achieves the same effect as closing your eyes but less sudden.
• 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).

Final Notes on the Higher Astral Plane

The same goes as for the lower astral plane: don't enter closed spaces (be they mobile or immobile), don't try to achieve astral projection two days in a row (at least in the beginning), pay attention to details etc. But there are a few notes that I would like to single out. I mentioned most of them throughout the text, but a summary tends to be very useful.

• To enter the higher astral plane, look for details in the lower astral plane.
• Don't forget to follow the rules of the world you are in and be polite.
• It is advisable to have a plan of action when going to the higher astral world!!! (despite the fact that you're in the higher astral world, a lack of animation and too much concentration can still bring you back to the physical world)
• Guides (as all other entities in the higher astral) are very powerful. It is useless to try to run from them (and thus any other entity there), although there will be no need for this since they won't want to harm you. But you will feel a sense of awe towards them because they simply impress you.
• You can lose energy here too, so your image may become unclear. You can solve this problem the same way you would on the lower astral plane (follow the advice given in the second post on this topic).

Notes on Your Astral Temple:

• The lights must ALWAYS be turned on in your temple (it doesn't matter if they're electric, simple wax-candles or even torches, just keep them turned on!)
• Secure your temple well and, if possible, try to hide it a bit (camouflage it or in any other way adapt it to its surroundings).
• Don't let anyone know how to enter your astral temple (no-bo-dy!). This is a place reserved for you and you alone.

When Even Enter the Astral Plane?

I am assuming that you started reading this series of posts because you wanted to achieve astral projection, although some of you may not have this intention. Maybe it was only curiosity for you? Whichever the reason may be, I feel obliged to explain why you would even want to achieve this and what you can even get out of it all expect the experiences and a bit of fun. This is a very important question so I have left the answering to my friend, Dušan Trajković who, along with a couple other people, tried all this out, thought a lot of it up and taught it to many people all over the world. Here's what his answer to this question is. :)

"Andy Warhol said that each one of us has their own fifteen minutes of fame. Maybe we could say that this is an overall nice and different way for us to use these fifteen minutes. We live believing that our time lasts, that it has passed or that it will pass and, accordingly, we measure our spiritual improvement in time (how long we have been engaged in a certain practice) instead of the quality of even one night's experiences. Simple calculation leads us to shocking information that we spend a third of our lives sleeping and even a smaller part of this dreaming. According to this, a thirty-year old has only experiences twenty years of their life. If we add these unconscious periods to our life span, then why not add those nine months we spent in the uterus (which, by the way, modern psychologists claim to be of great importance to our lives)? Therefore, the difference in the spiritual work of a novice and a master lies in how we use that unconscious part of our lives which is the same for us all and, unfortunately, quite often left unnoticed. Without the achievement of experiences such as those of astral projection, all systems of eastern and western esoteric thought are nothing more than fairy tales. Dare to reach for success. Moreover, dare to use the means you have."

Good night, sleep tight! I wish you all a nice trip! ;)

Until next time. Yours, 

Witch's Cat

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

Astral Projection (Part 1)

Both last year and this year, a seminar lasting one day was held in the town I live in (Split, Croatia) on the topic of astral projection. The lecturer came here from Serbia in order to hold it and usually travels all over the world to share his knowledge with people eager to achieve astral projection and, in doing so, find out new things about themselves. We got on pretty well and when we were having a coffee together one day, I asked him if I could write a post summarizing his technique of achieving astral projection and I was lucky enough to receive his blessings. 

Therefore, what I will be writing here is simply what he taught me. :)

In a previous post entitled "Can Science Confirm Occult Beliefs?", I mentioned astral projection a few times and also talked about the possibility of alternative realities. In this post, I will try to pay a bit more attention to precisely this.

What Is Astral Projection?

Many people will compare astral projection to lucid dreaming, but there are a few main differences. Lucid dreams usually happen in between 3 and 5 a.m. and we usually enter them unintentionally. We can only control them for a short while during which we are aware that we are dreaming but, after this period passes, we continue to be unaware that we are dreaming. Either this, or we wake up. Astral projection is, in contrast, intentional i.e. we enter it willingly (and always using a settled method), but it does achieve a similar effect to lucid dreaming.

The reason why many people doubt the ability to achieve astral projection is because it would be proof of a reality outside of the physical one we know, and this is incomprehensible to a lot of people. But I don't expect you to just take my word for this, so I would like to tell you a bit about the whole chemical side of this process.

What Happens in Our Brain While We Are Asleep?

Graphs of sympathetic nerve activity while we are awake and asleep

Two hormones are important in this whole story: serotonin (the "hormone of happiness" which we excrete while we are awake) and melatonin (which we excrete when we are sleepy/asleep and which enables visions and astral projection). I will say a bit more about them soon enough, but I would first like to say something about the way in which our nerves function while we sleep. Take notice of our brain activity on the attached graphs. When we are awake, our brain is in the beta (β) frequency. As we slowly start to fall asleep (stages 2, 3 and 4), our brain is less and less active. We would expect our brain activity to be at its lowest in the REM phase of sleep (Rapid Eye Movement phase, the deepest phase of sleep), but the exact opposite happens! Our brain then goes into the alpha (α) frequency and our brain activity goes sky high and the frequencies grow stronger with it.

Brain activity during normal sleep (left)
and during the REM phase (right)

But why is our brain activity higher during the REM phase? It is because we excrete the most melatonin during this period and, as I have said, melatonin is the "sleeping hormone".

More on the REM Phase

Most people think that we go through only one REM phase every night, but there are actually several of them. That is to say, when we fall asleep, we don't dream at all during the first hour and a half because our body is still busy excreting melatonin which will, in larger quantities, later enable us to enter these REM phases. 

If you have a look at the two graphs above (and I am sorry about the bad quality of the second graph), you will notice the distance between these REM phases during one night's sleep, which normally lasts about eight hours. I recommend you look at the first graph while I explain this, although the second can serve as a good comparison at the end. So, in the first graph, you can see that the REM phase is actually the closest to the "awake" phase and that stages 1, 2, 3 and 4 indicate sleep. Our first REM phase (of four) happens after we have been asleep for about an hour and a half and lasts only for about 5-7 minutes. Each REM phase after this one lasts a bit longer because of the rise of melatonin. The second REM phase will thus last twice as long as the first one, the third slightly longer than this and the fourth (and usually the last) will last for about 30 minutes (and often longer). This is why this last REM phase should be used to achieve astral projection. Remember that it usually happens after about 6-7 hours of sleep.

In order for there to be a larger chance of the astral projection succeeding, it is recommended that the period of this last REM phase coincides with the sunrise because sunlight (or basically any light) causes the production of serotonin which causes us to wake up. Now this is where the actual chemistry happens. That is, the melatonin, which your brain is full of by the last REM phase, causes you to be sleepy, but the serotonin is contradicting it and trying to wake you up (serotonin starts being excreted as soon as light falls on your eyelids). If we wake up during this period, we are usually drunk with sleep, distraught, confused etc. By using the right combination of these two neurotransmitters in the right time, we can enable ourselves to realize when we are dreaming i.e. achieve that "awake while sleeping" stage.

I hope that I succeeded in explaining how all this functions, and now, I would like to give you a few suggestions which you could take into consideration before going to sleep.

Before You Go to Sleep...

1. Be tired! (when you go to sleep tired, you usually fall asleep faster and everything follows the timetable shown in above graphs, but if you go to sleep rested then it may take you up to an hour to fall asleep and then the whole plan goes to waste because you wake up when you aren't supposed to)
2. Make sure the room is dark or put on a sleeping mask (remember that light causes the production of serotonin which wakes you up, and you don't want that to happen in the wrong time)
3. Don't eat or drink about an hour before you go to bed (physical needs such as needing to empty your bladder are stronger than sleep and they will wake you up, and your goal is to have an uninterrupted sleep so the REM phases will go as planned)
4. Don't do any work before going to sleep (by "work", I mean rituals, meditations and such. The best you can do is go to sleep naturally and relaxed and not think about astral projection. Oh, and don't try any conscious methods of entering the astral plane because all of this uses up your energy and concentration)
5. Set your alarm at 6 hours and 15-20 minutes after you go to bed (6 fours for the actual sleeping and the 15-20 minutes for the time it will take you to fall asleep...or however much time it takes you to fall asleep usually)

Methods of Achieving Astral Projection

Astral Projection can be achieved directly (which I will be talking about here) or indirectly (as in the example of lucid dreams which are achieved by mixing up dreams and reality by, for example, asking ourselves "Is this a dream?" throughout the whole day in order to make ourselves ask that same question when we are asleep). But this isn't important now. My topic will be two direct techniques of achieving astral projection.

The First Method

Let us say that you go to bed at midnight. You have to sleep up to about 6-7 o'clock in the morning (I usually set my alarm closer to six so that I am back in bed by 7) depending on how long it takes you to fall asleep. You should set your alarm to 6.15 a.m. (so if you fell asleep at midnight, that would be 6 hours of sleep and the 15 minutes it took you to fall asleep). Once your alarm goes off, you should get out of bed quickly (you don't have to jump out of bed, but don't continue to lay there dozing). Start by doing everything you would normally do when you get up; wash your face, go on your computer...do anything as long as it keeps you entertained and awakens you. The only thing you shouldn't do is eat or drink and I recommend you empty your bladder so that doesn't interrupt you later. Be awake like that for about 15-30 minutes (you can experiment with this in time since some people need more and some less time to wake up completely, but the best think to do is go to sleep once you feel that sweet need to curl back up under the sheets). This is the time when your brain is resetting itself (it reacts as if a new day is beginning and starts to excrete serotonin). What you have to do after this is fool your brain and go back to bed. When you do this, the serotonin, which has just begun to be produced, will have to fight against the melatonin which there is still plenty of since you woke up when its quantity was at its highest (basically, in stead of being in your last REM phase, you are awake). This imbalance of neurotransmitters confuses the brain and it doesn't know which "reality" to turn on anymore (the "awake" reality, or the "sleep" reality). But, when you go back to bed after those 15-30 minutes of being awake, you are actually continuing right where you left off (on the last REM phase). Therefore, you will go straight to dream mode in stead of waiting those 90 minutes for the first REM phase to occur.

You will now fall asleep again and when you wake up naturally (i.e. without any alarms), you have to stay as still as possible; don't open your eyes or move your limbs etc. not depending on what position you woke up in. By doing this, you will fool your brain into thinking that you are still asleep since, after all, you aren't moving. Stay still like this for a while and you will feel like a light shudder is going through you, or you will feel a slight feeling of pins and needles or even like a bass is in your ears. You must not give up now because this is the time when your brain will try to check if you really are asleep or awake; something will suddenly start to itch and will irritate you (do not scratch yourself!), you will hear strange sounds or someone calling your name (don't move of open your eyes...this is just your brain trying to make you react to something and thus confirm that you are awake). You will often hear about the shadow phenomenon (shadowy figures appearing and causing paranoia). I repeat, these are all tricks of your brain which is fighting against your astral body going out. Your brain wants to keep your astral body inside you by all means and wake you up in order to achieve this since it is scared and finds this to be a strange and new experience. This period is called the vibration period (marked by a blue arrow in the diagram above). This is the time when your astral body struggles to get out of your physical body and you brain is in between frequencies (this will help you to reach astral projection).

This vibration period doesn't mean that you have entered the astral plain, though, but you are very close. The only thing left to do is separate the astral body from the physical body and there you have it! This is done by visualizing (imagining) spinning backwards, and the stronger the better. Basically any sort of spinning should do the trick, but turning backwards has proven the best method for most people. This spinning will enhance the vibrations you are going through. But the vibrations have to become practically unbearable! And even when they become unbearable, hang on a bit longer!!! If you're having trouble increasing the vibrations, you can try imagining your hands (or rather your forearms) vibrating up and down (in the beginning, imagine lifting them only slightly from your bed and slowly, but start going faster and faster and imagine lifting them higher and higher in time). This will strengthen the vibrations and, when you are ready, imagine yourself suddenly rolling onto your side! This turn mustn't be the usual turn you do when getting out of bed; in stead, try to "escape" to your side. By doing this so suddenly, you will already be in the astral plane before your brain has had the chance to get what has just happened. :)

You will feel as if you have fallen to the ground, the vibrations will suddenly stop and you (or rather your astral body) will be in the astral plane!

You can try this method in the afternoon at about 2-4 o'clock after you have just woken up from your afternoon nap. Again, wake up naturally, don't open your eyes or move and just wait for the vibrations to start. But, if you plan to do this in the afternoon, it's best if you wake up an hour earlier that morning so you can be as tired as possible by the afternoon. This way, you will fall directly into a REM phase (i.e. the astral plane) when you go to sleep.

The Second Method

This method is very similar to the first one. You will also have to sleep for about 6 hours, be awake for 15-30 minutes but in stead of going back to bed at this point, you will just go lay down in your bed. Stay still but do not fall asleep! You can lie down in any pose in which you normally can't fall asleep or make it harder for yourself to fall asleep by staying in a less natural pose (e.g. by putting your hand above your head). Stay focused on not falling asleep because this can be quite hard to achieve. You will reach the vibration stage soon enough and, when it does, just follow the steps explained in the first method (imagine spinning backwards, vibrating your hands to achieve stronger vibrations and to achieve astral projection, imagine yourself suddenly turning onto your side).

This method is a bit harder to succeed in, but nobody can stop you from trying it out.

NOTES:

• If you don't enter the vibration phase after 20 minutes of trying, you probably won't enter them that time.
• If you don't achieve astral projection after 5 minutes of being in the vibration stage then you probably won't achieve it that night.
• It is necessary to experiment with the time spans that work with you best, but once you find out what they are, then stick to them. If you are among those who sleep less (i.e. less than 8 hours a night), the ideal time to wake up (the time not including the time it takes you to fall asleep) would be earlier than what is stated in these methods. For example, I sleep 6-7 hours per night so I turn my alarm on at 5 a.m.
• Never try to achieve astral projection two nights in a row (it is necessary to rest in between).
• When imagining spinning backwards, do not give up! Spin energetically, decisefully, aggressively and suddenly and you should be able to achieve astral projection with no difficulty at all.

In my next post, I will write about what to do once you are in the astral plane. :) Lately, many practitioners and lecturers have been mentioning similar techniques, but the real importance of astral projection is what you do in the astral plane and how to move about it. Actually, this technique was developed by people from various countries who didn't even know each other and then discovered that they all have the same methods regardless of each other. This gave them the self-confidence they needed and proved that this wasn't just a personal phenomenon as they may have believed up to that point. It was a universal phenomenon which has a lot to do with the human brain, or possibly much more than just that.

I will talk more about this later since there is just too much material to stuff into one post. I hope that two more posts will be enough to explain everything. :) 

Until then, I wish you all the best of luck with your attempts! :D Yours,

Witch's Cat