In book two of the new witch series I’m researching, the sisters must capture their mother’s murderer and retrieve the map to Sanctuary. Unfortunately, the Yoruba priestess has taken refuge in another dimension, making their travel by astral projection, necessary.
Human beings have five subtle bodies; these color spectrums of light surround the body and act much like auras and chakras. These energies are broken down as 1) Etheric body 2) Astral or emotional body 3) Mental body (concrete mind) 4) Causal body (abstract mind). The subtle body exists with the physical body, and each subtle body has its own aura and set of chakras, and corresponds to a particular plane of existence.
Astral projection has been around for thousands of years and dates back to ancient China. It is often associated with the New Age Movement. The idea of astral travel is rooted in religious accounts of the afterlife. Soul travel appears in various religious traditions throughout history, like the ancient Egyptian concept of the Ka’s (the soul’s) ability to hover outside the physical body.
Reality is created by our consciousness and then projected into the physical grid. In astral projection, the mind leaves the physical body and moves into the astral body to travel. When a person astral travels, they still remain attached to their physical body by a long silver cord. This type of travel can be achieved while awake, meditating, dreaming, or during drug experiences, and it is often referred to as an out-of-body experience (OBE).
Science has yet to prove this is possible. Through brain scans of a lady having an OBE experience, the scan proves this person is experiencing what she claims through brain activity, but it doesn’t conclude that the soul in traveling. The scientists of this experiment believe her astral travel a type of hallucination, triggered by some neurological mechanism. (You can find the article here: https://sploid.gizmodo.com/scientists-unlock-mystery-of-woman-who-sees-herself-out-1538196076 )
Astral projection is considered a spiritual theory, there’s no physical evidence of the phenomena other than first hand accounts. From these accounts, the travelers claim to have visited deceased loved ones and aliens from other worlds. These astral explorers speak of rewarding experiences in their travels and great learning. But not all experiences are said to be rewarding, Erin Pavlina describes her first astral travel as terrifying, as spirits began to coax her to leave her body. Pavlina went on to have many more astral experiences and she learned to fight negative spirits like a feisty heroine.
According to philosophical thought, whether it is Hermeticism, Neoplatonism or various others, the astral plane is a world of light between heaven and earth, composed of planets and stars. These astral spheres are believed to be populated by angels, demons, and spirits. Many sects belonging to Islamic mysticism interpret Muhammad’s night ascent (Isra and Mi’raj) to be an OBE. In India, the Yogic tradition is a system of meditation and astral projection. Astral projection is one of the Siddhis (spiritual powers) considered possible by yoga practitioners. Christians acknowledge it’s existence in the book of Ecclesiates, and Paul speaks of astral projection in his second letter to the Corinthians. There are Inuit groups who are said to have the capability of astral projection, and they claim to visit remote places. Shamans are also known to astral project. Anyone can practice astral projection if you can reach that type of hypnotic state. Jerry Gross is considered an expert of out-of-body experiences and he holds workshops and classes on the subject. When asked about astral projection, Gross had this to say, “Astral projection is the ability to leave your body. Everyone leaves their body at night, but before they do leave, they have to put the physical mind to sleep. Most people don’t remember this, but when the physical mind is asleep, the subconscious takes over, and this is usually when you do your astral projection. In other words, everybody does it, but they just don’t remember doing it.” The conscious mind is concerned with the here and now, while the subconscious mind is concerned with processing the soul’s lessons and experiences.
Belief in the afterlife may affect what you see, if you expect to see angels and deceased love ones then you likely will, if you expect to see hell, well then that is likely what you will get. Form follows conscious and sub-conscious thought, so try to remain in a positive mind-set. If you come upon negative energy, offer it love and understanding, it is said transformation occurs from unconditional love. The person traveling decides where they want to go. Gross claims astral travel is a gift to us to learn how to use. Those who experiment in this form of travel, speak of various planes shaped by energy and light. As in dreams, your thoughts guide the experience. A person must allow the subconscious to take control, while refusing the conscious mind from leading.
A special thank you to crystalinks.com, Paranormalbeliefs.com, https://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/astral-projection.html and https://paranormal.about.com/od/outofbodyexp/a/astral-projection.htm
