Principles Of Astral Projection

Tarun Pradhaan

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Astral Projection is an experience involving non-physical realms. It gives us a glimpse of what lies beyond our limited perspective as humans. It enables a journey into the vastness we call the Universal Mind. We will enlist some basic principles of this practice and will note some do's and don'ts.

### Experiencing the Universal Mind

For someone on the path of knowledge it becomes necessary to experience the Universal Mind directly in order to establish its existence. However, it is not really necessary, except if you are of the explorer kind. One can progress without much experience of it.

You can establish the truth of the Universal Mind via logical deduction. Direct experience makes it much more firm. It can be argued that in the realm of mind, you can experience almost anything, and hence you can dream up an Universal Mind out of thin air and start deluding yourself. But then, we can delude ourselves by simply believing that there is nothing more to experience except this limited world, body and mind. The only way is - experiment and try to come up with truths based on your own experience. Doesn't matter what kind of experience it is, if it satisfies your own criteria of truth, it becomes established as truth.

But we being the all knowing consciousness, how is it even possible that we as humans do not have any knowledge or experience of the Universal Mind? The answer is - ignorance. We, as limited humans with a limited mind have set up barriers around our minds that stop us from reaching beyond a tiny area of the Universal Mind. This area is our personal mind, that's all we can access. The senses, and the body limits us to a tiny experience of the physical structures in the Universal Mind. We can augment the senses via instruments and see more, but its still very limited. Whatever the instruments show, is again filtered via bare senses. The barriers appear as ignorance, inability to see beyond, beliefs and close mindedness. They are just metaphysical structures, just like any other in the mind.

So the key is to surpass the barriers around our mind, or to break them. You do not need to totally destroy them, because then it becomes very difficult to function normally as humans. The barriers are for some good reason, they enable this limited separated experience of being a person. Those who are not ready or untrained may go crazy or invite undesired stuff into their personal space in the mind. So don't wipe the barriers out in one blow, initially, you need to open only a small window. Rest should be a natural evolution - you merging with the Universal Mind. Which is happening anyway, without your knowing.

There are three ways to approach the Universal Mind:

1. **Logic** : You have already established the fact that there is Change or impermanence. We stand on this direct observation. Starting from the simplest Change there can be, we quickly see that Change creates patterns and processes, processes self-organize to form metaphysical structures - the evolving patterns or minds. And when the structures reach enough complexity that they can interact with other structures, they become senses and a physical world is born when perceived via senses. A mental world is born when perceived via mind itself. Soon we end up with objects, world, body and mind.

Now knowing that there cannot be any limit to the number of structures, patterns and processes, nor is there any limit on what types of structures can be there, it can be concluded that there can be almost an infinite amount of these structures. So there can be countless minds, bodies, worlds and universes of a huge variety, and when taken together constitutes a mega structure, which is none other than the Universal Mind.

Once you reach this conclusion, try to falsify it or deny it, refute it, and if it stands, it is your truth.

2. **Ordinary experiences** : Day-to-day ordinary experiences are all you need to establish the truth of the Universal Mind. An experience as simple as lifting your coffee mug and taking a sip from it establishes the Universal Mind beyond any doubt. When you observe carefully, this action (and all actions) start in mental realm (as intention or thought), then this mental act jumps into the physical world, and the action is then perceived as physical action. How is that even possible? What gets transferred across the gap of the mental and physical to effect this action? Well, you won't find anything, and so the obvious conclusion would be that thoughts, intentions, bodily actions, bodies and physical objects all are founded on one "stratum" and they belong to only one category of structures - metaphysical. And hence, your mind, other minds, all bodies and physical universe, everything is one huge structure and is continuous without any gaps.

Our minds divide experiences into physical or mental (non-physical) depending on whether their knowledge happens via the route of senses or not. In reality, the physical and non-physical stuff is just one kind. We can as well call it - metaphysical. Just extend this to whole universe and other bodies and minds, and you will find that everything is metaphysical in nature - a happening in consciousness, a change.

3. **Extraordinary experiences** : They take us even closer to the Universal Mind. These are experiences that cannot be explained using everyday beliefs and theories. There can be three kinds of such experiences -

3.1 **Everyday extraordinary experiences** : For example, little events of telepathy, precognition, empathy, apparitions, synchronicities and so on provide us with a glimpse of the Universal Mind and its interconnectedness. Everyone has a story of something unexplainable that they experienced, which left them wondering. However, people do not pay much attention to these, as they are often subjective and leave no evidence for others. So you need to gain your own experience of the everyday extraordinary kind, or search your life experiences for any such occurrences. These are limited, and happen by chance, when because of some unknown reasons, the barriers around the mind are surpassed for a moment, giving you a tiny glimpse of the Universal Mind.

3.2 **Brute force** : Drugs (Entheogens), severe trauma, illnesses, near death experiences, occult practices etc. fall under this kind. These substances/events break the barriers surrounding our little human minds and can provide us with extraordinary glimpses of the Universal Mind. Only thing is that these are risky, temporary and not under our control. These can be destructive and can cause irreversible destruction of barriers, causing havoc in ordinary life.

3.3 **Elegant methods** : There are technique and methods that exists in order to gain a direct knowledge of the Universal Mind, so that you don't need to depend on the chance happenings of odd events or don't need to risk breaking your mind beyond repairs. Astral Projection, meditation, lucid dreaming, remote viewing etc fall into this kind. If you see them closely, they are all just Astral Projection involving slightly different states of the mind. So we are now ready to discuss this method in detail.

### What is Astral Projection?

It is an experience. Mind gets knowledge of, and perceives areas of the Universal Mind in a direct and straightforward way, which is as obvious as perception in ordinary waking state. It is often wrongly called an "out of body" experience, and this phrase has stuck. We know now that both body and the mind are just structures in the consciousness, so nothing really goes out of the body. Body and mind are in the consciousness, consciousness is not in the body or in mind. All we do is detach from this limited experience of body and mind and become free to experience vastness of the Universal Mind. So its a simple shift of the focus from this habitual focusing on a single sensory world and human ego or mind.

### How to Astral Project?

It is very simple, just withdraw your attention from everyday sensory world and everyday mental chatter and tendencies. Once you do that you will be free to roam in the vast territories of the Universal Mind within minutes.

We are naturally gifted to do that, and we do that every night when we fall asleep, we withdraw from sensory world, senses shut down, we even forget who we are, we lose identity, and we are freed from this worldly existence. So Astral Projection is as natural as falling asleep. All we need to do is fall asleep but keep our mind and memory awake and functioning.

So if its like falling asleep, why doesn't everyone experience the Universal Mind every night?
For most of us, the mind totally shuts down in deep sleep and hence not much is experienced, and memory also shuts down, so whatever little is experienced is not retained at all. Why does that happen? Because of habit, and because no one tells us that the mind can remain awake and functioning while senses and body is shut down naturally. So habit, ignorance and beliefs prevent us from going into the far reaches of the Universal Mind. These are nothing but more barriers.

So how to withdraw our attention from the senses?
Its best to take advantage of natural tendencies of the body/senses to shut down. There are many-many techniques to do that, but I will describe here only one, which is the essential technique, you can adapt it for your purpose, personalize it or make it more sophisticated.

So you go to sleep as usual, but wake up a little early. For example if you sleep for 8 hours, wake up after 5 hours of sleep, use alarm or anything. Now the body is very relaxed and so is the mind, plus you are not in a hurry to get up and start your daily routine. Stay awake for half an hour, without engaging in any activities that can make you tense or over excited. Now go back to the bed and start shutting down the senses one by one.

Since the body is already relaxed and you are not eating or hunting for food etc, the senses of touch, smell and taste will be gone in no time. Just ignore the sensation of lying in bed, its easy if you are not uncomfortable and most of the body is supported, and there is no extreme pressure on any part. You will still see and hear. To get rid of hearing, ensure that there are no noises around you, no TV or music or babies. You can still hear things which you cannot avoid, like traffic, rain, people etc. So one way is to set up a slightly noisy fan or use soft ear plugs. But the best way is to shift your attention on any imagined sound, like a mantra, or an imaginary bell, or just focus on the ringing sound in your head, it always there, even in complete silence.

The last sense to go is that of vision. Closing the eyes fixes the seeing, easy if its dark or dim light. You will still see the blackness behind the eyelids and eyes will move nervously in order to see anything they can in this darkness. So slowly and gently let go of it by imagining something, like a light, a scene from somewhere, a face, anything at all. This shifts you into mental realm entirely.

Stay here till it is stable and you do not flicker back and forth between physical and mental. Avoid unnecessary thoughts, desires and impulses (easier said than done, but can be accomplished via little practice and it needs to last for only a few minutes). Now make an intention to experience something in the Universal Mind - a place, a world, a person, beings etc. and wait till your experience materializes. You are in Astral realm now.

That's it! Not really difficult, but can take some practice depending on your natural gifts and how trained your mind is. Repeat it everyday, and it becomes easier and reliable soon. Initially you may just fall asleep as usual, or you may drift into a dream, or you may wake up completely into this familiar world, unable to even lie down peacefully again. However, a strong intention to project and perseverance helps, a strong interest and curiosity is a must, and these qualities are found in a good seeker.

There are some signs and indications that happen when you are on your way into Astral, and you can use them to check your status. The first sign is, of course, you will lose all sensation of a body, it feels like floating or flying. That can explain why many people instantly assume they are "out" and floating. The mind can actually create a scene of your body floating in air above your bed, and it can be very realistic, its Astral after all. Another sign is that you may hear a loud bang, bells, cymbals, people shouting, your name being called and such aural sensations. They don't make much sense, but you will know you are about to project, when you hear them. Another common sensation is that of bodily vibrations. They can be like a mild earthquake, swinging or can be like you are on a vibrating massage table. Again, it simply means you are very near the projection, and as soon as you are "out", they stop. Yet another experience prior to projecting is that of sleep paralysis, which is a good sign, it means your body is now asleep, but the mind is completely awake and alert.

The key is to not to get overwhelmed by such odd sensations, and to remain calm and relaxed. You will learn to ignore them anyway with practice, they are mildly inconvenient and are like an airplane shaking during take off, of which you become accustomed to if you fly frequently. The key is to remain awake, alert and aware, but calm, peaceful and curious. Just let it happen. Awareness is the key. Do any mental act to remain completely aware, but not too alarmed to ruin your relaxation. Once you are past pre-projection phenomena, you need to make an intent to experience something, so plan in advance. It can be as simple as your own house or garden. Start simple. There is no limit to what you can experience once you master this ability.

### What will you find there?

You will get a direct experience of the Universal Mind, not whole of it, but parts of it, tiny parts. But that experience will be convincing, it will establish the truth of the Universal Mind for you. Apart from that it is fun, so many worlds, some like ordinary waking world, and some as magical and mysterious as a fairy tale. Amazing things and beings, from evil and mindless creatures to highly evolved and intelligent minds. It can become a learning ground, it can become an exploration.

You will soon find that the Universal Mind is not a uniform, solid and predictable thing. It has layers, and layers has sub-layers, it is highly organized at some places, while totally chaotic at others. Many areas are vast, silent and barren, many are densely populated and are buzzing with activity. You will witness the creative powers of the mind, you can create anything in some areas, while nothing will be allowed in others, such as those in a consensus world, much like our own physical world.

You will find that no matter where you go, you are the same person, same mind and same consciousness. The only thing that is changing is the worlds and bodies, and perhaps senses. You will find an extreme amount of freedom, so much so that you may not want to return back here, but the return will be mostly unavoidable and spontaneous, fortunately or unfortunately.

### Do's

Get rid of bodily needs, people or distractions etc. If you practice in early morning, they will be minimal anyway, but if you are always surrounded by activity or crowd, its best to find a secluded place. Remember that you will need a very focused and peaceful mind in order to remain stable in this experience, and this can be achieved more easily if your waking hours are stress free and relaxed. A seeker has probably already done that by minimizing his activities and giving up a crazy modern lifestyle.

Prioritize your practice. If it is something that you take up when there is nothing else to do, then expect failure. Mind has a tendency to not to cooperate when it perceives it as not important. For a seeker, this pursuit of direct experiences is the most important act, everything else is unimportant.

Retain the experiences. Writing them down helps. Discuss them with other practitioners and students and teachers of Astral Projection. Use this knowledge in everyday life. This gives hints to the mind that its most important for you, and it starts breaking the barriers on its own.

Its best to know as much as you can by direct experiences in the normal waking state. Use Self-Enquiry, introspection, contemplation, meditation, listen to teachers and read texts, useful books. Once you are on a solid foundation, and once you know who you are and what this Universal Mind is, you are more than ready to experience it directly. It will be a piece of cake. Path of knowledge puts you exactly in such a spot.

Treat everyone you encounter anywhere with respect and compassion, just like you do it here. They are just minds, like we are. Even if you think they are your own creation, they need to be treated as if they are separate beings. This is a general rule. Avoid negative types, just like you do it here.

Fun is ok, but do ask for learning experiences, make it a part of your path. This way you kill two birds with one stone. Fun gets old, but knowledge lasts.

Be very curious, open minded and critical of all experiences. They appear extraordinary, but are to be treated like everyday ordinary experiences. You are Astral Projecting right now, in this world, with this body and its senses. The only difference is - this projection of yours is more solid and habitual compared to other experiences the mind is capable of.

### Don'ts

Do not attempt it if you are not well, tense, stressed, sad or depressed. It will fail most likely. Most importantly, do not attempt it if you have not already purified your mind and the body. If you have strong Egoic tendencies like fear, anger, lust, destructive tendencies, hate, stupidity, phobias or other psychoses, you will regret doing it, if by some remote chance you manage to force such an experience at all. Given the vast creative power of the mind, and tendency of the mind to get connected to stuff and places that are similar to its own makeup, you will most definitely end up in a negative place. You may attract unwanted attention from negative beings. Like attracts like. This can worsen your normal waking life.

Do not force it using substances, mind altering stuff or brute force brain hacking. You may cause irreversible damage to your body-mind. This physical experience is the most important one now, so never mess with it. Go for good old elegant ways, have patience. A good seeker has already cultivated that, and is so now ready for extraordinary experiences, but ordinary people usually don't have these qualities and are often full of negativity. So best to take up a path first and cultivate proper mental states.

Do not become slave of rituals, simplify the technique, it need not be too fancy or far out there. The less dependent you are on stuff and techniques to gain experiences of the Universal Mind, the better you become.

Do not cause harm, damage stuff or be violent, it drops back pretty quickly on your own head. Astral provides instant feedback for your actions, so you learn fast, but probably too fast if you desperately need a lesson. You may end up damaging your own core structures thinking they are imaginary or belong to someone else, and this will quickly show up in physical, ruining your current life, and perhaps many lives. If you cause harm at the deeper levels of mind, it has deeper consequences.

Do not trust anyone or anything, use the same level of caution you use in physical. If an entity has six hands, wings and a snake skin, it does not automatically become wise and loving. Extraordinary things are not in your experience, they are all strangers you know nothing about. However, you may recognize good entities easily, they will not manipulate you, force you or lure you. It is wise to simply exchange knowledge or information and return. Once here, you can use proper criteria and experiments to evaluate the knowledge you gained in Astral. It hardly matters where it comes from, knowledge needs to be very certain, it must satisfy the criteria of truth, no matter what.

Do not get used by entities or try to use them for your benefits, perhaps you won't like the consequences. Do not worship or enslave the first thing you see there. Usually these experiences are fleeting, so not everyone manages to do anything there at all, but some have latent talents, and can do extraordinary things there, and they need to be very careful, especially. But just like in physical, do not do it if you don't know what you are doing.

Do not teach the techniques to those who are uninitiated. Those who are too closed, have firm beliefs, are feeble minded or are unhealthy, they will most likely get negative experiences. And that means a majority of us humans. Only a handful of humans are ready, however all of us have potential, and it bears fruits sooner or later, so no hurry to push everyone to get such experiences. If you think someone can be ready, just drop hints and see their reaction. If they are open and curious, initiate them, but only if you have already gained enough experience of the Universal Mind yourself.

So am I not indiscriminately sharing this information with everyone, ready or not ready? Yes, I am. It is too valuable to be kept hidden or to be discouraged entirely. Anyhow, all kinds of techniques of Astral Projection are already out there. There are tons of books, websites etc. There is some chance that people who are not ready will read this and try it out, but Astral Projection is inherently safe, it fails for those who are not ready, or they do not go too far. It is just sleep, with mind remaining awake. What can be more simple. So the don'ts do sound very scary but I mention them just in case. I'm not expecting anyone but only hardcore seekers to read this blog. Anyhow, Astral Projection is a common knowledge these days, and it was all covered up and was pushed into the occult realm in past probably to protect people from its abuse, but it was never totally hidden. Spontaneous projections are very common and they undermine all efforts to keep it a secret.

I have an intuition that the coming age is that of enlightenment and such practices are going to be very common, so much so that they will be taught in schools. It may become our second nature to commune with far away areas of the Universal Mind. Not only that, less barriers in the mind means that the human race will be changed beyond recognition. The implications of such abilities becoming mainstream are really huge.