Ready To Leave Your Body Behind?

Astral travel is an out-of-body experience

Let’s look at a kind of out-of-body experience (OBE). It’s also called ‘astral travel’, referring to an ‘astral body’ that is separate from the physical body and capable of traveling outside it. When the physical mind is asleep, the subconscious takes over, and this is when you do your astral projection.

If you ever wake up in the middle of the night with a jolt, this is your astral body returning to the physical. The initial experience of being without a body can be frightening. It is natural to assume that you are dead and for panic to set in. But once your initial fears are overcome, astral travel will become perfectly natural.

Remember: When your physical body sleeps and the astral body leaves, the physical body just rests. So no harm can come to you through astral travel if you do it consciously. Warning : It can be dangerous if practised when you are on drugs or alcohol.

The best way to practise astral travel is to be physically awake. You must learn how to use your mind to project your astral body. When you’re out of the body, you are not bound by time or distance. But you have to learn to control yourself, so you’ll go where you wanted to go.  Since you’re controlling yourself with your thoughts, think of any place and you’ll be there.

To start with, lie down on a comfortable, flat surface or hard mattress. You need to be quite alone, without any distractions so make sure no one can intrude. Also, that every part of you is comfortable — without anything sticking into your body. Don’t cross your legs or your limbs may develop numbness after some time.

Close your eyes, breathe slowly and deeply and focus or concentrate on a point about five to six feet in front of you. Imagine a light shape roughly resembling your physical body rising up from within you. WILL yourself to think that YOU — the astral you — are watching your body some six feet away.

You may get the feeling that you’re in a huge big balloon, pushing and pushing but nothing seems to be happening. Yet suddenly, you will burst through.

With practice you will experience a slight, almost electric shock and be able to see your body lying with eyes closed some six feet away. Don’t panic or get alarmed. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. And fear will make you bounce back into your physical body.

Don’t bother to look at your physical body too long. Let yourself float about the room. Leave your room, move around the house and gradually move out into the street.

You may not achieve astral travel at the first or even subsequent attempts. But it will happen. Think positive and be confident you can do this, because as soon as doubt clouds your mind, you won’t be able to do it.

And don’t be disappointed if you cannot achieve astral travel every day. The success rate could be only 10%, even if you practise it every day.  Every session has its benefits though, since it would be an immensely relaxing session in itself.

Share your experiences with me by emailing graymatter@hindustantimes.com with the subject line, ‘Astral Travel’

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Thought for the Week

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — 
I took the one less traveled by, 
and that has made all the difference”
Robert Frost (1874-1963)
American Poet
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First published in Gray Matter - The Hindustan Times