Astral travel: In your body or out of it?

[UM-Bot]

Image credit: stockxpert

Ken Korczak: Few phenomenons hold greater fascination for me than out-of-body travel, or astral travel, as some call it. Though I consider myself a scientific-minded person, sometimes you don’t have that simple luxury of being a hard-nosed skeptic. That’s because when I was 10 years old, I was nearly killed after being shot through the stomach with a hunting rifle. It was a bitter cold January day in northern Minnesota -- about 15-below zero (Fahrenheit). As I lay crumpled and bleeding on a frozen farm field crusted with icy snow, I suddenly lifted out of my body like a hand slipping out of a glove. Floating free like a duplicate ghost of myself, I felt a wondrous blissful calm -- a dynamic stillness that was yet electrifying and dazzling. On the ground I was dying, but floating above, I was hyper-alive! I was razor aware! I felt fantastically expanded! Also, to be suddenly released from the stunning, exploding pain which had shattered my being just seconds before was like the relief of salvation itself! But most of all, to find myself so obviously and clearly detached from the body which I previously thought was “all of me” was an astounding experience which changed my life forever.

My near death experience is long story, and perhaps I’ll tell it fully another day. Suffice it to say, however, that once you have had the experience of leaving your physical body behind with some other aspect of who or what you are, simply brushing that experience aside and dismissing it is not easily done. Thus, I was launched on a life-long journey to understand what happened to me that day. I wanted to know if what I experienced was a kind of elaborate illusion produced by those natural defense mechanisms which protect the human body from severe trauma -- or if it was something more, such as evidence that we possess a soul, an astral body -- or some kind of electromagnetic version of ourselves that can exist independently of the physical form.After all these years, and more than two decades of intense experimentation with out-of-body travel, I am still undecided if the OBE is literal, objective soul travel, or something than can be explained in more scientific terms. Let me just say, I now believe that absolutely anyone, with some effort, can induce and experience an OBE. Many good methods exists. There are even tools on the market that can help you achieve “astral travel.” Some of the best tools are provided by the Monroe Institute, founded by famed OBE advocate Robert Monroe, author of “Journeys Out of Body.” Monroe developed an elaborate series of audio technologies called “Hemi-Sync” which purportedly forces the two halves of the brain to work together in greater synchronization, providing greater power of focus, and thus making it easier for you to project yourself out-of-body. I’ve experimented with Hemi-Sync extensively and my conclusion is that it works fantastically! (And I’m not saying that because I’m on their payroll).Other avenues to the OBE exist as well. One excellent way to trigger an OBE is by way of the lucid dream -- a dream in which you know you are dreaming. Here again there is technology to help. The Lucidity Institute based at Stanford University has developed a series of ‘dream masks” which you wear to bed at night, and which will send light and sound signals to you into the dream state, prompting you to “come awake” in your dreams. Once you achieve a lucid dream, it is a short step from there to launch yourself into a full-blown out-of-body experience.

I have experimented extensively with the “NovaDreamer” model, and am delighted by how well it works.But I achieved my own first consciously-directed OBE without using any of these kinds of technologies. Rather, I experimented with methods that have been handed down through the centuries by dream yogis, Sufi masters, shamans of many cultures, and other more recent practitioners of the OBE, such as author Rick Stack and most notably, Jane Roberts, writer of the famous Seth books. It was my feeling that if I could trigger an OBE in a safe and conscious way -- without having to nearly suffer a near-death trauma -- then the issue would be finally resolved in my mind. I thought: “If I can have a bona fide OBE, I will have then determined if there is something more than just the physical body, that there is life after death, and that our physical existence is not all that there is.”Well, I was not only able to trigger an OBE in a comfortable and directed way, but I also developed the ability to do it again and again, almost at will -- but the result did not bring be the final resolution I had hoped for. Indeed, my experiences with OBEs only created more questions than answers, although the journey has been fun, fascinating, mind blowing and mind expanding along the way!Why did my OBE experiences produce more questions than answers? Here's the thing: If one is going to approach this in an objective and scientific way, the many alternate explanations that exist for what we are experiencing in the out-of-body state must be considered. Even though the astral travel experience seems extremely real -- that it seems like we are literally floating around above our beds looking down upon our sleeping bodies -- a strong case can be made that we are not actually, objectively “out-of-body.” Instead, we may be experiencing an extremely vivid lucid dream, or an event that is entirely rooted within the brain. Sleep researcher Dr. Stephen LaBerge, author of “Exploring the World of Lucid dreaming,” offers a very good explanation of the OBE phenomenon.

LaBerge puts it this way in his book:“Out-of-body experiences often give us the compelling impression that we have two distinct and separate bodies: the physical, earthly body and the more ethereal, astral one. In fact, a person experiences only one body, the body image -- the brain’s representation of the physical body. The body image is what we experience anytime we feel embodied, whether in our physical, dream or astral out-of-bodies.”Of course, the folks at the Monroe Institute and others strongly dispute this, and point to experiments in which subjects, via their astral bodies, have been able to identify targets placed in other rooms. Yet, as far as I know, these kind of target identification experiments are shaky and inconclusive best, and no one has never been able to consistently demonstrate the ability to “remote view” objects, people or places by way of astral projection. Again, Monroe researchers and others dispute this, and I will say, some of their research and results are compelling.As for myself, I remain on the cusp. I tend to tilt toward the LaBerge explanation of what is going on when we experience OBEs -- an yet -- and yet -- there have been so many times when I have been in the out-of-body state, and the experience can be so real, so amazing, so exotic, so unexpected, so solid -- it just seems there is no way that what I experience could be a “brain only event.” A case in point is something I have come to call “The Starry Tunnel Ride.” Very often when I induce an OBE, I float out of my body, only to be sucked into a vast, whirling vortex, very much like the “worm holes” encountered by the Star Ship Enterprise on Star Trek. I find myself blasting along a seeming whorling rend in the very fabric of space, stars zipping by, a whining buzz engulfing my senses. And where do the tunnels lead? Sometimes to amazing places -- alternate dimensions, strange planets, ancient castles, exotic forests, different time periods -- but other times, I pop out right back in my room! The whole Tunnel ride seems to have been for nothing. Why? It’s all so weird, and yet so tantalizing! The Starry Tunnel Ride never fails to be an unpredictable cosmic crap shoot!I’ll put more of my OBE adventures on my blog, including a deeper description of the Starry Tunnel and where it leads, but let me conclude here for now by saying that my experiments continue. And at this point in my study of the OBE, I'll say this: On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I am convinced that astral travel is just that -- real soul travel. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, I’m convinced astral travel can be explained in more mundane and scientific terms. On Sundays, I rest.

Visit Ken's blog: http://www.ironghost.wordpress.com

[Bella-Angelique]

Maybe it is not disconnection but connections that are there all of the time and only perceptions that are changing.

[Lorelei]

Wow, I really enjoyed that article! I like how the author believes in OBE but, also remains scientific/skeptical.

He also has a great way of explaining things. I literally got goosebumps when I read this part:

Floating free like a duplicate ghost of myself, I felt a wondrous blissful calm -- a dynamic stillness that was yet electrifying and dazzling. On the ground I was dying, but floating above, I was hyper-alive! I was razor aware! I felt fantastically expanded! Also, to be suddenly released from the stunning, exploding pain which had shattered my being just seconds before was like the relief of salvation itself! But most of all, to find myself so obviously and clearly detached from the body which I previously thought was “all of me” was an astounding experience which changed my life forever.

Very good stuff. I'm going to bookmark this blog.

[thursday_]

Yes it was indeed a very nicely written article, thanks! You describe your experience just as I'm re-experiencing it at the moment of reading. The tunnel is however something I haven't been through anymore. It's weird!

My first (almost) OoBE lead me through the exact tunnel that you described (except for the stars.. I just saw darkness with every few seconds some lights flashing when I moved down the tunnel). I had lots of vibrations when I was gliding, it was exciting and scary at the same time. Out of fear I just woke myself up before reaching the end of the tunnel. At first I thought I was being abducted by aliens or something lol! I was so paranoid/desorientated when I stood up and walked to the bathroom. I just had to do some reality checks! So cool..

Also take note that this first experience was without any assistance, nor from MP3 nor from intention nor from unconscious expectation (I hadn't read about near death experiences since 2 years before that). I was very depressed though. Maybe it was a sign or something. Since then I have been converted from religion hater/agnostic to a 'believer'. Many things are however very distorted and mixed up & I still quite hate religions, but okay that's another story..

Oh BTW, if anyone really is interested in this.. read up about the subject. A very cool method to astral project would be projecting from a lucid dream (like the author of the subject mentioned?). It's really cool, once you're lucid in the dream you just have to fix your mind on this:

- "I want to have the typical vibrations one feels before projecting out of body"

(Notice how fast you're state of mind is changing!)

- "I want to separate from my dreambody to a higher consciousness"

(Just concentrate on a color or a wall or some object you see in the dream, once you do.. you will see things change.. vibrations will come rapidly.. before you know it you are out of body!)

You can also learn to project consciously, but believe me.. it's much easier to find proof for yourself when doing this in a lucid dream. Once you know it's possible.. That's when the motivation starts to get a boost! That's the moment things will change. That's the moment your view on life might change a lot.

Thanks for the cool article, I'm definately going to make some more attempts at projecting in the near future! I'm first downloading the hemi sync gateway series which might make things easier for me. If I like it I will donate them some money although I'm such a poor student ..

[keenu]

I have had a few OBEs and I understand the ambiguity of them. While you are there they are more than real but when awake you know they are real but they don't seem so real. To get to my point: If physical reality isn't really "real" then the idea of these OBEs being generated from the "brain" makes some sense, as all reality would be generated from the same place. Rather from consciousness/spiritual reality than the brain but for the sake of the argument I will leave it as brain. So, they are real but only as real as real can get here in physical reality. This is my take.

[SandDunePsychonaut]

I've travelled to the etheric, astral, and mental planes and had one full on OBE. In my opinion, these things are the greatest, most mysterious and unknown frontiers for humanity to explore in all of history...more so than space and time.

when it comes to reality though i think the matrix...

What is REAL?

How do you define REAL?

If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.

Whether it's in your head and produced by your pineal gland and experienced by the mind, or out of your body and an experience of the soul...I think it's real.

In the words of Joe Rogan,

"Join my cult mother fu|<ers!"

Explore and learn about these experiences as I am; a psychonaut - an explorer of experience.

Or not.

NeverMIND.

thanks for the article, ken. look forward to some more experiences in your blog. and keep postin up more articles too

[crystal sage]

Was looking up "Klini chair with Dannion Brinkley,"

http://www.whispy.com/OOBE_OBE_out_of_body...s_in_dreams.htm

http://eclecticviewpoint.com/evbrink2.html

A chair that is supposed to greatly assist in OBE's

and found out about this reputed Astral Island that OBE travellers go to to communicate... This reminds me of the secret places that the Eastern mystics travel to in their minds... or in induced OBE states to have wise chats with some Masters....

http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_...u-t22578.0.html

Welcome to OBE discussions!

Everything pertaining to Out of Body Experiences

http://www.astralpulse.com/forums/welcome_...u-t22578.0.html