When we dream, we have out-of-body experiences on the astral plane. Conscious astral projection involves getting into a meditative state, moving your astral body out of your physical body, and traveling around on the astral plane.
Astral Body
Between you as spirit and your physical body there is an intermediate body known as your astral body. It is lighter and more changeable than your physical body. But the astral body has more shape and density than pure spirit. Your astral body may often be recognizable as your human form, but it can also change appearance, shift shapes, and do fun things like moving through walls.
Astral Plane
The world between the physical and spiritual world is known as the astral plane, or the astral. While it is commonly referred to in the singular as the astral plane, there are actually many different levels of the astral, or astral planes. We move through these astral planes in our dreams.
Astral Travel
The astral world is much more fluid than the physical world. Astral travel is not bound by the limitations of time and space. You can visit different dimensions and travel to past or future experiences on the astral. For many people, it is also easier to connect with deceased loved ones on the astral.
Astral planes vary from the ordinary, to the phantasmagorical, to the divine. Defying easy definition, the astral planes intersect with both physical reality and the symbolic realms of the dream world. Astral travel can take you to dimensions beyond your imagination.
Astral Dream Experiences
Your astral body plays a key role in creating new developments which have not yet manifested in your physical life. The astral is like a giant laboratory in which you experiment with your life and your creations.
The astral can also offer great insight, as it allows you to come at things from a different angle. Astral dream experiences allow you to see things from a different perspective than your normal awareness. As a result, astral dreams can be especially useful for working on situations thatâfor one reason or anotherâmay be difficult to face directly in daily life.
Astral Projection Meditation
Astral projection typically involves getting into a meditative state so you can consciously move your astral body out of your physical body. With practice, astral projection allows you to develop greater awareness of out-of-body and astral experiences.
These are simple directions for an astral meditation that is suitable for beginnersâŚ
ASTRAL PROJECTION EXERCISE:
Preparing the Space, Preparing YourselfâŚ
Find a quiet, comfortable place for yourselfâwhere you will not be disturbed. Create a relaxing atmosphere. You may want to light a candle, burn incense, or play some quiet, soothing music in the background. Begin to relax in general. Take some deep breaths and perhaps do some light stretching. Sit upright in a comfortable position with an open posture.
Part I: Aura Meditation
Get yourself centered and grounded by doing the Aura Meditation in How to Meditate. You will also need to repeat this after your astral projection meditation.
Notice how you experience yourself before doing the Astral Projection exercise. Then close your eyes and focus your attention inwardâŚ
Part II: Astral Projection Meditation
Be aware of your body. Notice how you experience the density of your physical body. Then be aware of your aura about an armâs length all the way around your body. Notice how you experience the lightness of your spiritual energy. Then start to open up your awareness of an intermediate body between your physical body and you as spirit. Notice how you experience the vibration of your astral body.
Allow yourself to shift your awareness to your astral body. Be present in your astral body.
Float your astral body up to a corner of the room. Be present in your astral body in that upper corner of the room. From that upper corner of the room, be aware of your physical body down below you, sitting in the chair. Notice how you experience your physical body down below you.
Then float your astral body up through the ceiling and be on the roof of your building. Be aware of your astral body standing on the roof of your building. On the roof, move around a bit in your astral body. Notice how you experience being in your astral body. Be aware of the world around from the roof of your building. Notice how you experience the world from your astral body.
Then bring your astral body down through the roof and be in an upper corner of the room again. From the upper corner of the room, notice your physical body sitting in the chair below you.
Float your astral body above your physical body. Notice what itâs like to be above your physical body. Then gently lower yourself down into your physical body. First be aware of being in your astral body in your physical body. Then allow yourself to shift your awareness to your physical body itself. Allow yourself to come back fully into your physical body.
Part III: Repeat the Aura Meditation
Get yourself centered and grounded by doing the Aura Meditation in How to Meditate. Draw all of your energy back from above you. Feel your feet on the floor. Feel your legs, torso, arms, neck and head. Be aware of your aura an armâs length around your body. Notice what itâs like to be grounded back in your body.
When you feel ready, take a few deep breaths, gently open your eyes, and slowly begin to move. Notice how you experience yourself after doing the Astral Projection exercise. Give yourself some time to integrate this experience and enjoy being relaxed before moving on to other activities. (Especially after you first start practicing this meditationâyou may want to journal your experience, have a cup of tea, or go for a quiet walk.)
If you practice astral meditation on a regular basis, it will become easier to do and your out-of-body experiences will gradually become clearer. – Oakwulf
âDreams have much to teach us about how we âconstructâ our experiences and sense of identity or self in our waking life. During mindless daily life, we seldom look deeply enough into our perceptions, conceptions, and projections to recognize that our selective attention, biases, preconceptions, and assumptions are actually weaving together to construct our experience. Properly understood as expounded in the philosophy of Tibetan dream yoga, our ordinary life is seen to be a âwaking dreamâ subject to many of the same conditions of our âsleeping dreams.â Learning to wake up within our dreams, and see and understand deeply and clearly what is going on, can be a profound path of awakening. As Thoreau said, âOur truest life is when we are in our dreams awake.â
In this post series about how to work with your dreams, so far I have focused on dreams you already have had. Now letâs take it to the next level, and learn how to ask for the dream you want to have. Known as dream incubation, this ancient method for asking for guidance from the dreamworld is scarily effective.
If you can develop the ability to enter and remain in a state of relaxed, free-flowing awareness before or after sleep, images will come. You can simply observe them as they rise and fall, or engage with one of these images or scenes and enter into what may be a full-fledged lucid dream journey.
Experiences in this twilight zone are very similar to those of psychics when they âopen upâ and let impressions come, and of creative people when they enter a flow state. Indeed, both psychic discoveries and creative breakthroughs come almost effortlessly in the half-dream state if you are willing to let them come â and (of course) to catch them and use them.
CHARLIE MORLEY is a well known lucid dream mentor, author, and instructor who has integrated âShadow Workâ into his teachings. His articles, books and videos reflect his vast experience with both lucid dreaming and âshadowâ psychology. His works are easy and fun to follow as he combines personal anecdotes with humor, a vast knowledge of the topics, honesty and self-awareness. â Britta
The skills of actively engaging with our subconscious, being non-judgmental in face of intense emotions, remain objective to our own experiences and – ultimately – find a place for every living creature in our worlds, may they be destructive or constructive, appalling or dulcet, have proven invaluable for my magical works.
CHARLIE MORLEY is a well known lucid dream mentor, author, and instructor who has integrated âShadow Workâ into his teachings. His articles, books and videos reflect his vast experience with both lucid dreaming and âshadowâ psychology. His works are easy and fun to follow as he combines personal anecdotes with humor, a vast knowledge of the topics, honesty and self-awareness.
The Dream Exit Induced Lucid Dream (DEILD or dream re-entry) is a condensed version of the WILD technique, allowing you to slip into a lucid dream from a waking state.
Under the right conditions, itâs a wonderfully effortless way to become lucid.
Once you get to know the DEILD technique, youâll be able to use it multiple times per night in dream chaining. You can also use it to deliberately re-enter a great dream (lucid or non-lucid) if you wake up prematurely.
Occult Aspects 