Humankind's conscience mainly relates to the physical world through the five senses, known as the waking consciousness; this is the opposite of the consciousness that we experience during sleep.
Most dreams will be forgotten, although some take hold in our memories, especially if they provoke a rude awakening as is the case with nightmares or if the dreams occurred right before waking up.
However, there is another type of consciousness which is known as astral travel, something that many have heard of in the movies or on TV, but what is astral travel and how can you do it successfully?
What is astral projection
Astral travel, otherwise known as astral projection, corresponds with a change in our conscience outside of the body with the help of another body, generally called an astral or emotional body. During the conscience's journey outside of the physical body, it is in a vegetative state where it is in a type of sleep or trance as far as an outside observer is concerned.
Astral projection then occurs when the conscience leaves the physical body and moves through space on the astral plane, and this could happen if we have a violent accident, a heart attack that provokes temporary death, through hypnosis, or via personal training, which is the case that we will discuss below.
How to experience astral travel
For people that would like to get started with astral projection, beginning in the morning instead of the nighttime is ideal, when you're still feeling a bit sleepy. Some say that it is easier to achieve the necessary state of relaxation and this level of consciousness when the sun is just coming up.
Create a pleasant environment in a place in your home where you feel entirely comfortable, like the bed or a couch; lie down and relax, preferably alone. The blinds should be closed, and any distracting noise should be eliminated since any interruption could hinder the state of relaxation that you need to achieve. Lie down on your back, close your eyes, and try to free your mind of distracting thoughts. Concentrate on your body and how you feel.
Contract your muscles and then relax them, starting with your toes all the way up to your head; you should make sure that your muscles are relaxed before you get started. Inhale deeply and exhale entirely, without tensing your chest and shoulders.
Concentrate on your breathing and don't worry right away about the idea of your soul leaving your body; if you want, you can place a piece of quartz between your eyebrows, where your third eye is, this will help you to feel vibrations and to clear your mind.
Try to visualize the color purple, gold, or white, and when the astral travel begins, place the quartz on your chest, abdomen, or hold it with your hand, as a form of protection.
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Astral unfolding
Continue the astral projection process until you reach a hypnotic state (between wakefulness and sleep), allowing your body and mind to get closer to sleep, but without becoming completely unaware. You can reach this state with your eyes closed, letting your mind to wander to different parts of your body like a hand, foot, or finger, concentrating on each piece until you can perfectly envision each one even with your eyes closed. Keep focusing this on this image until all of your other thoughts evaporate, without moving.
Visualize your toes stretching and folding, or tightening and loosening, until you feel like moving them. Then, broaden your concentration to the entirety of your body, move your extremities, then your head, just using your mind.
Then go deeper to achieve the state of vibration needed to reach astral projection. Don't be afraid of these vibrations, because this feeling could take you out of your meditative state. Now use your mind to detach your soul from your body. Imagine the room that you're in, move your body using your mind to stay awake. Get out of the bed, cross the room, and look down at your body lying on the bed.
If you have a hard time separating your soul from your body in this astral projection, try to remove it from one hand or leg to start, and continue training for this.
Return to your body; your soul is always connected by an invisible force, often called the "silver cord". Let this guide your soul towards your body. To return, you can concentrate on reuniting the two shapes, the mental and the physical aspects of your being. Take long, deep breaths, feel the weight of your physical body, while you use your willpower to reintegrate the body and soul.
Astral projection
Once you have experienced your first astral projection, the next time that you try, don't look at your body. Leave the room, go to another room in the house, look at an object in detail. Return to your body, find that object and confirm all of the features that you observed in your mind.
During the next sessions, you can continue to explore more and more. After a few trips, you will have enough experience to travel to far away places. The people or things that you encounter on a given plane will typically be in harmony with the astral plane that they come from, and this way, it is possible for your soul to interact with others' that are also on astral projections or travels.
When you become an experienced astral traveler, you will start to form a different concept of space and a feeling of freedom that our physical bodies don't have. With practice, you will be able to astral project at night, or even after eating in the afternoon, when you get that sleepy feeling, and not just in the morning time.
If you have the desire and the opportunity to experience astral travel in a way that is safe for your physical body, this will allow you to develop a new consciousness and an experience similar to what awaits us after death.