Astral projection is something I’ve had a fascination with since I first experienced it several years ago.
It has become apparent that within our consciousness lies a doorway into foreign realms of experience – distant from ordinary reality. People can reach these doorways via various disciplines, whether it be meditation, fasting, prayer, yoga, breathwork, mediumship, shamanism, or astral projection – just to name a few.
Here I’ll focus on astral projection because it tends to be one of the lesser-known spiritual crafts, yet it’s undeniably profound.
I want to be clear, I’ve only successfully astral projected four times in my life. I’ve experienced this intriguing phenomenon a couple of times under the influence of plant medicines, and a couple with no aid at all.
These experiences have all been profound, yet worlds apart from the many stories I’ve heard. There’s a lot of conflicting information out there, so I want to clear the table from my limited, but genuine experiences with this other-worldly phenomenon.
What is astral projection?
Astral projection occurs when your soul temporarily unplugs from physical reality – allowing you to perceive and experience other realms of consciousness. Think of it as projecting your consciousness into other dimensions that can’t be ordinarily perceived.
Instead of viewing your human awareness as an isolated point, imagine it as a node on a string. This string connects you to source (the core of all creation), and vicariously exists in other realms too. We understand this string as the soul.
This means your soul vicariously exists within other realms, and currently, you’re only experiencing a single manifestation of your immense consciousness.
If my experiences with astral projection have taught me anything, we can move our awareness along this string by sinking deeper into the experience of consciousness. We can leverage deeper states of awareness to tap into different experiences of the soul.
While tapping into deeper parts of your soul, you will traverse foreign realms, contact spirits, and soak up an abundance of wisdom within these realms.
I know what you’re thinking.
‘Dude, I just want to fly around Earth and look at things, let’s not overcomplicate this’.
Although I do believe flying around our universe in real-time is a true phenomenon, I understand this phenomenon as remote viewing, not astral projection. Astral projection is interdimensional, and teeming with entities of all kinds. Angelic, demonic, beautiful, weird, neutral, you name it.
So let’s explore the common misconceptions about astral projection to know what we’re actually dealing with here.
Common misconceptions
First off, it’s important to separate fact from fiction and untangle this mess we’ve created.
Astral projection is interdimensional, not part of this universe.
I’ve heard one too many stories of people flying around the universe or touring the pyramids of Giza in spirit. It’s difficult to say what others have experienced, but I believe people tend to mix up the terminology.
Even though astral projection is technically an out-of-body experience because your consciousness is detached from your physical body, it’s not in the way you would think.
I once had an out-of-body experience onset from a lucid dream. I was walking around my house while simultaneously aware of my physical body in bed. However, when I stepped outside into the cold morning mist, my physical body began shivering even though it was cocooned in warm blankets.
This is what I understand as an out-of-body experience. It’s completely different from astral projection because as you’re still here in reality. Sure, you may be disembodied, but it’s the same universe.
I believe remote viewing is a variation of an out-of-body experience. Rather than solely walking around like a regular human, people train themselves to fly, appear in different locations, and go on world tours.
What are the astral realms?
Our reality is akin to a layer of an onion, not the onion itself.
Beyond reality lies other realms of existence that consciousness occupies, but currently we’re experiencing a single layer of it here in the flesh. Each layer represents a different dimension of consciousness, and the core represents source (or god), where all things manifest.
The astral planes are of a different dimension. Different dimensions act as alternate platforms for consciousness to undergo experience. The nature of existence within the astral planes is purely energetic (vibrational), and void of Earthly constructs such as time, matter, and form.
Within the astral planes, I tend to experience moving sacred geometry, colors, and entities. Sometimes entities have a form, however, they often appear as qualities of energy, orbs, or auras.
I’ve tapped into some of these alternate dimensions of consciousness mostly through shamanic ceremonies and plant medicines, which have been extremely foreign to our experience here.
You can read about my complete submersion into one of these realms via ego death here.
How to astral project
Now we’re getting into the fun stuff – the experience of astral projection, and how I’ve achieved it.
Astral projection is most commonly experienced during deep states of awareness induced by meditation. Imagine sinking so deep into your consciousness that you penetrate the fabric of reality. By creating a needle-like focus on your 3rd eye, your awareness pushes through that hole to enter a foreign realm of experience.
Although I have experienced this phenomenon spontaneously without intending to do so, it occurred during deep states of meditation every other time.
My journey of astral projection is characterized by distinct stages. These stages include:
- Regular meditation
- Deep mindfulness via meditation
- Gateway phenomenon (needle-point awareness)
- Astral projection
Understand that astral projection is an advanced spiritual discipline. Don’t expect to successfully astral project after a few attempts as it requires a lot of practice and patience, as does any spiritual discipline. This process is a long learning curve and can take years to experience.
As mindfulness is the foundation of astral projection, you’re learning curve is likely much quicker if you regularly meditate.
Set your intentions
Setting intentions is an important element of any spiritual practice because your intention is the compass. If there is no desire to enter these realms, you will call quits as soon as anything out of the ordinary happens because it will be a shock.
Before you attempt to astral project, intend to reach these deeper states of consciousness where you can project outwards, and then let go of the result. Don’t think about your intention or hold onto it. Thinking about it will activate the mind and prevent you from slipping into deeper states of awareness.
Start meditating
First, you want to start meditating. Either sit or lie in a comfortable position, and loosen u[ your mind.
Usually, the first 10 – 20 minutes of my meditation sessions will be observing my thoughts in silence. I give my full attention to any thoughts or feelings that arise, and allow myself to think about whatever is coming up. I allow my mind to wander, and don’t resist where it takes me.
Slowly, I’ll begin recentering my mind to my third eye (point of awareness between the eyes). My thoughts will begin to slow down and become less intrusive the more I sit with them without judgment.
At this point, there is about a 50/50 chance that I will transition into a deeper state of awareness marked by tangible differences in my state of consciousness. However, this doesn’t always happen. Often enough, I won’t make it past the cerebral stage of meditation, and wrap up the session.
After years of inconsistent practice, it is just now becoming more common (and quicker) to pass the cerebral stage of meditation to enter the state of stillness that ensues.
So don’t pressure yourself. If you spend the whole session thinking, that’s also good because you’re processing your thoughts and emotions, and building the practice of disciplining your mind.
Reach a deep state of awareness
Sometimes when I’m meditating, I reach a stage where my thoughts seemingly stop. I notice my brainwaves changing, and everything slowing down to a near-halt.
There will be a deep sense of stillness, comfort, and peace in this state of consciousness. My breathing finds a natural rhythm by becoming slower and more shallow, to the point I almost feel as if I’m not breathing at all.
There may still be some thoughts, but they are non-intrusive, more so acting as background noise without goading my attention. I don’t have any desire to ‘do something’, because during this deep state of awareness I feel fulfilled. I’m completely present. There’s no place I would rather be than in this moment.
I’ve noticed that this state of deep awareness can be delicate. If my mind is reactivated, I slide back into the cerebral state of awareness (thinking). A single thought, or perhaps a loud noise can trigger this shift, so it takes discipline to sit with this experience and slowly slide into deeper states of awareness.
This is a very nourishing state to be in, however, occasionally I’ll go even deeper into my consciousness, and this is where I enter the gateway.
Enter the gateway
After entering a deep meditative state, sometimes I will enter an even deeper state of consciousness which I call the gateway. This is where things start to get real.
The astral gateway is the bridge between our physical reality and the astral realms, and you need to reach a certain state of consciousness to access it. The gateway is marked by a set of symptoms that occur simultaneously during deep states of meditation.
This experience tends to come on quite rapidly and it can certainly throw you out of balance, therefore maintaining your composure is necessary, otherwise, you’ll ground yourself and end the experience.
A sharp ringing in my ears occurs while my body energetically vibrates. There will be a sense of expansion, and often my heart starts racing. When this expansive feeling happens, my vision begins brightening – while becoming more complex with colors, patterns, and shapes. There is a heavy feeling in my body like I’m starting to disassociate from it.
Imagine your regular closed-eye vision as a static TV screen. As I become immersed in this expansive state of awareness, that screen becomes three-dimensional as the boundaries stretch outwards.
Within moments my closed-eye vision has depth while visuals including sacred geometry, movements, colors, orbs, and auras begin to appear inside that space.
Here’s what happens when I reach the astral gateway. These symptoms tend to all happen spontaneously, and simultaneously.
-
- A loud ringing in both my ears occurs
- My heart usually begins to beat quickly
- My closed-eye vision begins to broaden, providing the sensation of stretching out
- My closed-eye vision brightens to a whitish hue
- There is an intense vibration feeling in my body
- There is a generally heavy body feeling as my consciousness begins to detach (feels like I’m being stretched out)
- I begin to lose awareness of my physical body
- I may hear disembodied sounds, hums, and noises
- Sometimes there are visuals including patterns or a grid matrix
Leave your body
To pass through this gateway, I need to maintain this deep state of awareness without snapping out of it – which has proven to be a challenge.
There were multiple times when I would start disassociating from my body, however, the only times when I have successfully passed through this gateway occurred when I could maintain complete composure while undergoing these intense symptoms.
At first, I began to feel fear when this phenomenon began because it was a very unusual experience and I didn’t know what was going on. The fear would activate my mind and instantly snap me out of my deep meditative state.
Once I recognized this experience was the onset of astral projection, I felt excited when it happened. I would think ‘Woah, it’s happening again’ which activated my mind and again, snapped me out of my meditative state.
When you enter this astral gateway, you need to be indifferent to the experience which allows you to maintain a deep meditative state.
As soon as you react to what’s happening, you’ll instantly reactivate your mind and end the experience. You don’t want to be grounded, you want to leave your body and explore. Therefore, being indifferent to the experience is critical.
After a few moments of maintaining composure while passing through this gateway, the journey seems to somewhat stabilize, and you’ll find yourself in a space with a very different quality of experience.
Navigating the astral planes
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations, you’re in for a ride. So now you’ve made it through the gateway where your conscious experience resides in a bizarre, but beautiful place. You now exist as a form of self without cognition or rational thought.
Everything in this space is energetic, but you innately recognize everything you interact with. It feels very real, and there’s no argument that you’re no longer in reality (although there may still be a sense that you are energetically connected to your body, and aware that you’re astral projecting).
Guiding the experience
The nature of your awareness is different in the astral planes. You don’t think ‘I’m going to go that way!’ You instinctively act from desire. In other words, you cut out the middle man – the mind, which allows your experience to be more pure.
If you encounter something dark, your first instinct tells you ‘I’m getting out of here’ and the experience changes. If you encounter a loving being with a bright golden aura, you will feel beautiful feelings, and stay around unless you intend the experience to change (or until the being leaves).
Energy is the language of the astral planes, and intention is your guiding mechanism. Whatever you intend when you’re astral projecting tends to happen. If you get a message from a spirit saying ‘Let me show you something’ and you instinctively feel like it’s a good idea, you will follow it.
Even though there is a sense of movement, I don’t necessarily perceive space in the astral planes. Sure, the experience changes, but it’s almost like you’re watching a video rather than playing a game.
So trust that you know what to do. When you don’t have a mind to think from, guiding yourself in the astral realms is quite simple.
Interacting with entities
As the astral planes are teeming with life, you’re likely to encounter entities when you’re in this space. In my experiences, encounters with entities have always been a vivid experience. There was no doubt that I was interacting with a being.
I’ve experienced orbs with colorful auras that were either distinctly masculine or feminine. There have been all sorts of bizarre spirits both of light and darkness. I’ve also encountered neutral entities who I couldn’t read at all. They didn’t seem to have an intention or distinct energy. They were just there.
About a month ago I was thrust out of my body randomly and attacked by a dark energy. It was a terrifying experience, and I heard it very clearly speaking to me in deep whispers. I felt like I was in imminent danger, and that danger felt very real, regardless if it was in the astral realms.
During my time working at a shamanic healing center in Ecuador, I was told that dark energies can cause real-life issues, and I witnessed several exorcisms during this time too. Dark spirits can attach themselves to you and ride your spirit back into reality.
Unless you know what you’re doing, you’re vulnerable (or rather, exposed) in these states of consciousness. You’re in their world, so don’t play with fire.
There is often a visual component to spirits in the astral realms as they may manifest a form, however, you feel them, the same way you feel the presence of someone else in the room – however you’re much more sensitive in these energetic states.
Each being has a distinct, yet unique energy. When you’re in their presence, you will start to feel things. You may feel love and compassion, you may feel pain and hatred. Likewise, you may feel calm, strange, uneasy, or just downright weird because you’re picking up the energy field of the being you’re interacting with.
Astral beings can communicate with you, but as with all spiritual encounters, they do so telepathically. You may receive messages or insights as if you’re getting a download. You may hear voices, or attain instant understanding.
Returning to reality
At some point during the experience, you will snap back into your body. Like a lucid dream, I don’t see a need to end the experience. It will naturally end at some point, so my advice is to enjoy it while it lasts.
Remember, you’re still energetically tied to your physical body, so you can’t get lost. Having trust in the process may help. With that said, perhaps you’re feeling afraid and just want the experience to end. In this case, your desire to end the experience will probably end the experience.
It’s no mystery that the astral realms are an intriguing place to visit. There are so many beings to interact with, so much you can learn, and overall it’s just a fascinating experience.
Enjoy the journey and don’t be afraid to explore your immense consciousness!
2 comments
I astral projected when I was 17.but it only took me 3 months to do it.i had read Robert A.monroes book on the subject .the first one at least 5 times and also had a meditation book I learned from as well.i started off slowly.first moving the fingers of one hand and then the other,my astral fingers that is then I did my arms and legs.after this tho I still couldn’t get my whole spirit out so I just continued to to meditate eventually the vibrations became so strong and violent that I would see myself flying along a wall at a high rate of speed.and the whole atmosphere around me was colored orange.after awhile this vision would go away,and I would become alert and aware of my physical body again.this went on for over two months.and I only practiced this in the afternoon from like one to three.towards the end of the 3rd mo.i was becoming inpatient.and I tried rolling over as I’d read this was a way to get out of the body.but in the daytime meditation that didn’t work.i just rolled while I flew.never going anywhere other than the wall I was on.and then it happened one night as I was falling asleep.i rolled over naturally,as I would normally in the physical.and next thing i knew i was bopping along on top of the ceiling.i looked down and there was my body.well of course i flipped out! Which made me slam back into my body again.but thru trial and error.i was finally able to do what u did,and just calm down and ignore the shock of it all,and calmly navigate my way around my house.eventually I became bored and ventured outside in my neighborhood.i didn’t experience feeling the layers of the door when I walked thru it bc I didn’t want to feel it.and eventually I got bored of the outside.not having the guts so to speak of exploring anywhere further away.ik now that I was only on the first ring,or plane of the astrals.so one night I asked my higher self to take me to another realm.and it did.but this was when I got terrified.it really wasn’t that unnerving.but I was young.what I should have done afterwards was called the Monroe institute but I didn’t.and that was my downfall bc they would have helped me become calm instead I prayed all day and night never to experience that ever again.and just like that it stopped.now i am 63 and want to do it again bc i am way more knowledgeable,and have studied the hidden mysteries my whole life.so i am trying again with the gateway cds.
Thanks for sharing your encounters. There does appear to be layers with astral projection. I’ve had an out of body experience before, but every time I’ve experienced the vibration sensation, I was in another world. There are some dark things in there I’ve discovered and it can certainly be terrifying, but also beautiful. With the wisdom and knowledge you now have, I’m sure it will be a very different experience for you. Continue your exploration of these profound states of consciousness!