Depression Effects | Depression Definition | Depression Children | Treatment Of Depression | DEPRESSION MEN

For centuries, human beings have experienced a state in which their spiritual body is freed from their physical body, and thus, able to explore the outermost regions of space and time. This is called the out of body experience, or, OBE for short.

Characteristic of this experience are feelings of weightlessness and freedom from all physical limitations, as well as being able to see one’s physical body from a multi-dimensional outside point of view. This is also known as astral projection.

Those who report having out of body experiences usually do so immediately after going through a traumatic event (either physical, mental, emotional, or a combination of the three), an interaction with drugs, or after intentionally-inducing one through meditation and then a series of specific sequential steps.

Out of body experiences are not dreams; these experiences are conscious states of awareness that unfold in real time and often are very vivid. Dreams are merely manifestations created by the subconscious mind and may or may not seem real to the person experiencing them. People who have had out of body experiences often report that they have heightened senses as well as other levels of awareness in addition to the physical senses they normally possess.

People who report out of body experiences feel as if their spirits or souls take on another form in addition to their physical bodies, and that this spirit – also called the astral body – is then free to visit different dimensions, different times, and to even encounter loved ones who have passed on to the other side.

For this reason it’s easy to see why many individuals actively pursue the out of body experience, whether in search of answers to the unknown questions of the world such as ‘what happens after we die’ or ‘how big is the universe?’ or simply to reconnect with a friend of a relative with whom one has business yet unfinished.

It’s important to also note out of body experiences happen to people from all walks of life, all cultures, and all ages. Some are hesitant to say that they’ve had an out of body experience for fear of religious repercussions, but evidence of such experiences has been documented in religious scriptures throughout history, from various ancient Native American oral traditions to the Christian Bible.

Although most people who actively try to have an out of body experience are new age thinkers, the practice actually is an ancient way to strive for personal enlightenment and betterment.

Surprisingly, individuals report traveling outside of their physical bodies with some degree of frequency: about one out of every 15 people has experienced some sort of out of body experience. Such experiences happen to people in almost any situation as well, from sleeping or relaxing to being in the midst of a violent situation such as an accident or a pending accident. The rationale for such a wide spectrum of causality is simply, people are different, and thus respond differently to various situations.

Many people report a feeling of vibration, or the physical body suddenly feeling very heavy, during an out of body experience. Many believe that these feelings are signals that the spiritual self is separating from the physical body, after which the spirit or astral body is free to travel in the astral plane.

Some who are new to the concept of out of body experience may fear that if the spiritual self separates in this way, it then runs the risk of not being able to reenter. Experts suggest that the physical and the spiritual selves are permanently linked, however, and that this is especially the case for those self-aware enough to purposefully induce a state of separation in the first place. For this reason, it is not believed that one can become trapped outside his or her physical body, and therefore there is no reason to fear exploring.

An OBE is more common than one might think. Out of body experiences have been a part of mankind’s life across a wide array of cultures for hundreds of years. Out of body experiences have long been thought of as being a means to increase self-understanding and to achieve greater enlightenment for the universe surrounding us.

If only we can calm our minds long enough to give our inner selves the freedom they strive for, we can enjoy opportunities for increased personal insight and advances in technology that otherwise lie beyond our physical consciousness. Through study and practice, anyone can begin to unlock his or her personal potential by starting down the path that leads to spiritual awakening. The path is before us, we have only to take the first step.

The process of astral projection is a natural ability with which everyone is born. In fact, many people actually do it without even being aware of it. Our aim however should be to astral project while we�re physically conscious, thus allowing ourselves to control what your astral body is doing.

While this article is an attempt to help people learn how to astral project using different techniques, you should keep in mind that astral projection is a personal experience so ideally, you need to apply a technique that works best for yourself. Furthermore, we�re taking the liberty of assuming that you are already familiar with the meaning of astral projection.

The primary method of understanding how to astral project, is a straightforward process consisting of five basic steps which can be done while lying down on your bed.

*First – Relax your entire body completely. The best way to do this is to start with your toes and work your way upwards, tensing and then relaxing each part of your body. You’ll become deeply relaxed as you do this and your body may feel extremely heavy � this is perfectly normal.

*Okay, hopefully you will have achieved a state of deep relaxation, so now you need to control your breathing with slow deep breaths by following a method which has proven to be very popular in meditation. Breathe in deep but slowly and allow yourself to actually feel the air moving into you as it makes its way into your lungs. Now breath out slowly, once again paying attention to the air leaving your body. This is the bit many people find hard due to the extreme relaxation which results. Instead, they simply fall asleep which is of course, the last thing you want to be doing. Focusing on the centre of your forehead will in most cases, help you to remain conscious.

*Third � Focus on the relaxed, heavy way your physical body feels. It probably feels like a heavy lump of clay or a slab of stone. Now turn your focus to the way that your astral body feels weightless and able to float free of your physical body. Imagine your astral body drifting upwards from the bed.

*A large percentage of people attempting to astral project claim that in this stage, they see the whole room they�re lying in, in spite of the fact that their eyes are closed. Additionally, in most cases it seems, people claim that there appears to be purple light, or at least, a purple glow filling the room. If you�ve reached this point then the next thing you need to focus on the light fitting in the centre of the ceiling.

*Fifth � Try to visualize pulling this light to your astral body. You’ll feel like you’re floating; this is your astral body floating above your physical body. Just look down and you’ll be able to see your bed with your physical body at rest below.

Once you reach this stage, you have consciously astral projected for the first time. Now you’re ready to astral travel. Here’s another method if the above doesn’t seem to work for you.

You can do this one, known as the Gazing Method, when you’re hitting the hay for night as well. You’ll need an object to focus on: the moon through your window or skylight, a lava lamp, even just a nightlight; whatever can hold your attention.

Gaze at this object and stay focused on it. Eventually, your eyelids will become too heavy to keep open � but if you’ve succeeded you’ll still be able to see this object in front of you. Continue to gaze at it until you feel an urge to stand up. When you do, you’ll see your physical body lying in bed asleep! Don’t be alarmed; this means you’ve succeeded and can begin to astral travel.

If you�re really serious about learning to astral project, you need to understand that these methods aren�t always successful on your first attempt. In all likelihood you may not even be successful with your second or third attempt either but if after that they still don�t work, don�t give up because there are still other techniques so simply try again using a new method.

You see, no matter what methodologies you attempt with astral projection or any new spiritual discipline, it’s your own subconscious mind which is the main obstacle. Your subconscious mind must feel like it’s perfectly alright for the astral body to temporarily depart from the physical body. To this end you can do some affirmations for several minutes every day to re-program the subconscious mind. Remember that all affirmations must be stated in the positive and they cannot be lies. (I.E. do not talk as if you have already astral projected; talk as if you have made the decision to astral project and you know it’s perfectly natural to do so).

Plenty of techniques can help you learn how to astral travel; you’ll find the right one for you with a little practice and possibly some trial and error.

Hypnosis is perhaps the most powerful tool available as it gets you into an ideal state relaxation. Additionally, a really good session will also enable you to grasp and accept the principles of astral projection when you experience it.

New audio technologies called binaural beats can also help you learn to astral project. These specially designed recordings consist of slightly different frequencies played into each ear. The effect of these recordings is to place the listener into the meditative, deeply relaxed state where astral projection comes naturally.

Once again, astral projection is actually not difficult–it’s a natural capability born into you. You just need to use the right tools to get it done, and then you can astrally travel the cosmos!

Since the time of the ancient Egyptians out of body travel has been recorded by various cultures. The Egyptians called the astral body or soul, Kha and produced images of the astral body hovering just over or beyond the real body. Often it was depicted as translucent, airy and haloed.

In their fascination of the astral body these ancient people used various methods of controlling their ability of out of body travels to other planes of space and time, all the while their physical body stayed put. It is possible that practising astral projection, they learned the secret skills needed to build the ancient pyramids using the materials they already had. Even today scientists are baffled as to the construction of the pyramids of the ancient Egyptians.

The first component of out of body travel for the ancient Egyptians involved meditation, it is recorded. Followed by focusing on nothing except the visions seen with the eyes closed, while nearly at the point of being asleep. The ancient Egyptians associated the flashing patterns and lights as a sign of the beginning of the journey to other planes of space and time by the astral body.

Upon passing through this meditative state, the astral body would reach a phase of emergence, which would create a tingling and humming within the physical body. Then they would experience the feeling of heaviness. The ancients believed that the feelings of tingling, humming and then heaviness was a sign of the astral body pulling away from their physical body. This would then initiate the journey of the astral body to unknown planes of existence.

They accomplished this in different ways yet the most common was that of walking out of the physical body by using the astral body. Beginning with the minds eye, followed by the shoulders, chest, hips, legs, knees and then the feet. This continued until there were two separate entities, that of the physical body and that of the astral body.

Once separated, the astral body was then not only free to pass through the solid objects that restrained the physical body, but to hover and fly as well without being affected by the changes in atmosphere or the lack of oxygen.

Recordings of the ancient Greeks include examples of out of body astral travel, which expanded on the meditatively-induced state of the ancient Egyptians. This included the experiences of out of body travel by the means of some sort of mental or physical trauma. Plutarch of Queroneia an ancient historian cites that Arisdeu had suffered a blunt head trauma after falling and then slipped into a coma that lasted three days.

During this time the experience of Arisdeu included seeing his immobile physical body on the ground, although he was able to freely move about. He was able to travel out of body to previously unimagined places. After adapting to this new environment, the spirit guide of Arideu met him and assisted him and then advised him of the projection of his astral body into other dimensions.

Although, he was eventually pulled back into his physical body, while in his altered state he did learn and explore. Once returning to his physical body, he did spend the rest of his life using the knowledge he found during the time of his out of body experience.

Other ancient cultures recorded their findings of out of body travel similar to that of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. For instance, the history of the Native Americans includes various full accounts of such happenings to their people as well. Their accounts include the meeting of their spirit guides and totem spirit animals. These entities also advised them concerning the astral plane and the astral body. For centuries, the Native Americans have used specific plants for burning and inhaling in order to relax the mind to the point of being more receptive to out of body travel on the astral planes.

The ability or the human body to explore various spheres of space and time is possible. The ability to do so has been recorded since the time of the ancients. Channeling our consciousness into a spiritual body is possible. However, along the way many have forgotten how to do such a natural thing. Knowing how to alter our consciousness to the point that we can release it from the confines of our physical limitations, seems lost to so many modern individuals. However, with patience and practice we can relearn how to astral travel to meet our spiritual guides on the higher astral planes.

In order to reopen this door to higher planes within us all, we have to remember how we can reconnect with our higher, spiritual selves. Once we are able to do this, we are able to use our out of body experiences to reach the higher planes of existence. This natural process is unlimited in its possibilities. When we are able to rediscover this natural part of us that so many have forgotten, we open ourselves up to the potentials of traveling the astral plane and understanding our higher, spiritual self.