Post by GateKeeper on Aug 24, 2012 0:04:10 GMT
Just what exactly is astral projection? Well, we can get very academic and erudite about
this, and we will do this to some extent below. But for now, for starters, what we want to do is lay
out a definition of astral projection that is practical. There are numerous ways we can view and
define astral projection, but the most central point is that it is an experience, a special type of
experience. No matter how you look at it, astral projection is an altered state of
consciousness.
So, what is an altered state of consciousness? Well, it is a state of consciousness that is
NOT our normal waking state of consciousness.
There is one altered state with which we are all very, very familiar and that is the dreams
we experience when we sleep at night. Dreaming itself is an altered state of consciousness. And,
as we will see as we progress, dreaming and astral projection are very closely related states of
consciousness.
Now, astral projection goes under a variety of names. Some other names for the astral
projection experience are the following: 1. lucid dreaming, and 2. out-of-body experiences
(OOBEs). Some people will debate that astral projections, lucid dreams and OOBEs are different
things. We will discuss these distinctions below. However, I want to stress that such distinctions
amount to splitting hairs, and are not that important. For our purposes, I will use these 3 terms
interchangeably. That is, whether I say "astral projection", "lucid dream" or "OOBE", I am
referring to the same thing. Actually, I will probably use OOBE a lot since it is the easiest to type.
What is really important is not what we call the experience, but LEARNING FOR YOURSELF
HOW TO ACHIEVE THIS EXPERIENCE. And everything I will stress here is geared to this
all important end.
So, for the sake of gearing all this to helping you actually have an OOBE, there are two
main things we will focus on: theory and practice. You need to understand both. Either alone is
useless. Theory by itself is just empty talk. Practice without theory just leads to confusion, and in
the case of OOBEs, it can lead to real psychological danger as well. By themselves, OOBEs are
NOT dangerous. However, if you don't know what you are doing, they can be. So, you need the
theory to understand what is going on, and you need the practice to put the theory into action.
So, in this course, we will cover both: theory and practice. However, as you will see, I personally
8
lean much more towards the practical, and this is what I will stress throughout. We will pay lip
service to theory, but again, theory is useless without putting action behind the ideas.
Finally, I want to say this: I will attempt in these lessons to make the information I provide
as self-contained as I can. That is, I want to really try to provide a comprehensive overview of
OOBEs and really give you your money's worth. However, there is just a tremendous amount of
information related to OOBEs. For example, some related topics are the following: human
psychology, dreams, occultism, religion, mysticism and science. I hope, that after reading these
notes, you will get some idea that all of these topics are related to OOBEs. I am providing an
annotated bibliography of books that I feel provide useful study. And I really encourage everyone
to look through this bibliography and to actually read some of the books listed there. The more
you know about OOBEs, the better. That's all there is to it!
www.explorations-in-consciousness.com/do_obe.pdf
this, and we will do this to some extent below. But for now, for starters, what we want to do is lay
out a definition of astral projection that is practical. There are numerous ways we can view and
define astral projection, but the most central point is that it is an experience, a special type of
experience. No matter how you look at it, astral projection is an altered state of
consciousness.
So, what is an altered state of consciousness? Well, it is a state of consciousness that is
NOT our normal waking state of consciousness.
There is one altered state with which we are all very, very familiar and that is the dreams
we experience when we sleep at night. Dreaming itself is an altered state of consciousness. And,
as we will see as we progress, dreaming and astral projection are very closely related states of
consciousness.
Now, astral projection goes under a variety of names. Some other names for the astral
projection experience are the following: 1. lucid dreaming, and 2. out-of-body experiences
(OOBEs). Some people will debate that astral projections, lucid dreams and OOBEs are different
things. We will discuss these distinctions below. However, I want to stress that such distinctions
amount to splitting hairs, and are not that important. For our purposes, I will use these 3 terms
interchangeably. That is, whether I say "astral projection", "lucid dream" or "OOBE", I am
referring to the same thing. Actually, I will probably use OOBE a lot since it is the easiest to type.
What is really important is not what we call the experience, but LEARNING FOR YOURSELF
HOW TO ACHIEVE THIS EXPERIENCE. And everything I will stress here is geared to this
all important end.
So, for the sake of gearing all this to helping you actually have an OOBE, there are two
main things we will focus on: theory and practice. You need to understand both. Either alone is
useless. Theory by itself is just empty talk. Practice without theory just leads to confusion, and in
the case of OOBEs, it can lead to real psychological danger as well. By themselves, OOBEs are
NOT dangerous. However, if you don't know what you are doing, they can be. So, you need the
theory to understand what is going on, and you need the practice to put the theory into action.
So, in this course, we will cover both: theory and practice. However, as you will see, I personally
8
lean much more towards the practical, and this is what I will stress throughout. We will pay lip
service to theory, but again, theory is useless without putting action behind the ideas.
Finally, I want to say this: I will attempt in these lessons to make the information I provide
as self-contained as I can. That is, I want to really try to provide a comprehensive overview of
OOBEs and really give you your money's worth. However, there is just a tremendous amount of
information related to OOBEs. For example, some related topics are the following: human
psychology, dreams, occultism, religion, mysticism and science. I hope, that after reading these
notes, you will get some idea that all of these topics are related to OOBEs. I am providing an
annotated bibliography of books that I feel provide useful study. And I really encourage everyone
to look through this bibliography and to actually read some of the books listed there. The more
you know about OOBEs, the better. That's all there is to it!
www.explorations-in-consciousness.com/do_obe.pdf