Walkers Between The Worlds - Caitlin and John Matthews

[personalreality]

I haven't even finished this book yet, so this isn't a review necessarily.  However, I was talking to a friend of mine who has been a Wiccan Priest since the 60's and was instrumental in starting the Christo-Pagan movement in the late 80's - early 90's (he wrote a book that became something of a cult classic and now sells on ebay and amazon for as much as $200 - good book), and he told me that this book was required reading in a lot of the covens he met over the years, as well as many occult groups. 

Originally this book was published in 1985 and 1986 as two books, "The Native Tradition" and "The Hermetic Tradition" respectively.  Now they have been combined in one book called "Walkers Between The Worlds".  If you are interested in OBE/Astral Projection/Phasing or just general knowledge and experience of the otherworlds, then you HAVE to read this book.  I have read a lot of books on this topic.  Unlike many of the modern students however, I ventured out past the so-called "new age" realm of AP studies and have also studied AP from numerous traditions around the world (occult, shamanism, psychology, pagan, etc.).  Branching out like that has given me such a large perspective on what AP is and the variations practiced by people since the beginning of human civilization and earlier.  With that in mind, this book is a must read.  It provides a fantastic explanation of what travel to the otherworlds is all about, especially in relative to the processes that are taking place.  On nearly every page in this book I encounter a statement that is just beyond profound and such a beautifully succinct way of answering questions common to between world travel. 

I will warn you, those who are overly sensitive to religious material approach this book with an open mind.  The authors describe the experience of between world travels from the perspective of the celtic and norse traditions because that's what they know.  However, they clearly state that any tradition can be used and even spend time getting the reader to think about their own ancestral and current traditions (where your people are from and where you are from respectively).  But more importantly they stress that you need to find/create your own metaphor for these experiences, your own paradigm to lay over the fundamental traditions.  This brings an interesting point to light.  Many people in modern AP are trying to do the exact opposite.  They are trying to remove all tradition from the practice and make it a benign, neutral and mechanistic process.  The authors of this book oppose such a view and they provide ample explanation.  The language of the otherworlds is myth, metaphor and symbolism, so it would make sense to practice in that same language.

When I compare the teachings presented in this book it makes one thing glaringly obvious.  Modern AP techniques are essentially a short circuit of the process, cheating basically.  Phasing is excluded in this statement because phasing involves training and mental tempering, which is basically one of the main skills taught in this book (indirectly).  Modern OBE technique bypasses the discipline in favor of a quick fix by teaching people to catch themselves before sleep in order to experience the other worlds.  The more I've learned, the less safe I feel this method is.  Traditional OBE techniques throw you out of your body with no personal preparation which forces many people into hellish realms (manifestations of their own inner turmoil).

One more thing, for those of you seeking a modern OBE interpretation and technique, this book is not for you.  In this book you will find a very serious (but light-hearted)  guide to the otherworlds and the people who walk between them.  There are over 20 practical exercises and if you stick to it you will learn to AP by reading this book.  But more than that, you will be reconnected with the old religion that first began journeys between worlds.  You will be taken through a progressive journey that starts with visualization journeys and that eventually progress into full phasing experiences.  More than that, following the practices in this book will provide what many of you seek, a spiritual experience in the otherworlds.  There have always been posts on this forum to the effect of "how can i have more spiritual experiences OOB?", and this book provides you with that.  You will learn what your personal myth is, your life's narrative and the themes of your life.  You will meet guides, gather your seal/totem that will be your passport between worlds, meet ancestral energies, and whatever else you want to do.  Bottom line, if you are really serious about AP being your chosen spiritual path, then this book is for you.  If you can look past the Celtic/British Paganism, there are jewels here that are invaluable and in my opinion, this book should be required reading for any serious AP student.

[Pauli2]

The practices, they are described as guided meditations. Could you elaborate on this claim when you've finished the book?

[Summerlander]

I read this and thought about something that I had posted on Astral Viewers on another topic:

How do you shift the focus to the right side of the brain? You don't. It just comes to you in the waking state and a "translation" is often attempted in the left side. I think in dreams, however, is when you are mostly focused on the right side.

I say just dreams and don't include lucid dreams/2nd phase because in the latter is when we start using our left side more as we try to make sense of the environments and they adopt forms more true to life. Here's something interesting about split-brain patients (corpus callosum is severed usually to treat epilepsy):

"Split-brain patients have also taught us about dreaming. Scientists had hypothesized that dreaming is a right hemisphere activity, but they found that split brain patients do report dreaming. They found, therefore, that the left hemisphere must have some access to dream material. What was most interesting was the actual content of the dreams of the split-brain patients. Klaus Hoppe, a psychoanalyst, analyzed the dreams of twelve patients. He found that the dreams were not like the dreams of most normal people. " The content of the dreams reflected reality, affect, and drives. even in the more elaborate dream, there was a remarkable lack of distortion of latent dream thoughts. The findings show that the left hemisphere alone is able to produce dreams...Patients after commisurotomy reveal a paucity of dreams, fantasies, and symbols. Their dreams lack the characteristics of dream work; their fantasies are unimaginative, utilitarian, and tied to reality; their symbolization is concretistic, discursive, and rigid." (Segalowitz)"

http://www.macalester.edu/psychology/whathap/ubnrp/split_brain/Behavior.html

I just thought one should consider how our beliefs and our brain might also have an impact on what we experience.

The more I've learned, the less safe I feel this method is.  Traditional OBE techniques throw you out of your body with no personal preparation which forces many people into hellish realms (manifestations of their own inner turmoil).

Different perspective here...perhaps their own minds deem the experience of "hells" with utmost urgency because they would benefit more if they dealt with their own turmoil? just a thought. Also, what about split-brain patients? They seem to have their imagination impaired and however they did this it wouldn't matter. It seems to me that whether you use the phase or modern OOBE techniques, it doesn't really make a difference. It is just different ways of entering the OOBE-state. Besides, even with the modern techniques, you are still "phasing" into another state.

One more thing, for those of you seeking a modern OBE interpretation and technique, this book is not for you.  In this book you will find a very serious (but light-hearted)  guide to the otherworlds and the people who walk between them.  There are over 20 practical exercises and if you stick to it you will learn to AP by reading this book.  But more than that, you will be reconnected with the old religion that first began journeys between worlds.  You will be taken through a progressive journey that starts with visualization journeys and that eventually progress into full phasing experiences.  More than that, following the practices in this book will provide what many of you seek, a spiritual experience in the otherworlds.  There have always been posts on this forum to the effect of "how can i have more spiritual experiences OOB?", and this book provides you with that.  You will learn what your personal myth is, your life's narrative and the themes of your life.  You will meet guides, gather your seal/totem that will be your passport between worlds, meet ancestral energies, and whatever else you want to do.  Bottom line, if you are really serious about AP being your chosen spiritual path, then this book is for you.  If you can look past the Celtic/British Paganism, there are jewels here that are invaluable and in my opinion, this book should be required reading for any serious AP student.

The old religion is just another view. I don't subscribe to such view therefore the book is not for me. I use the nap method. Besides...it all about interpretation, nothing more. If you had a look at my journal and you saw the art that was inspired by it, you would know that many have interpreted my experiences as "spiritual". I on the other hand take a more pragmatic approach. I don't know what it is. Note that even the technique I have used has allowed me to seemingly travel to other worlds and meet other beings. But I will always say...just because you have met a hooded figure (as I did) does not mean that you've met a demon or an angel or a spirit guide for that matter. Likewise, I do not say that the wonderful "summerland world" I've found myself in once, which was magical and mystical, was truly heaven. I simply say that it was probably an amazing consctruct in the metaphysical realm. For all we know, regardless of what methods we use, it is all in our heads.

You'll find some of my OOBE-related art in the art thread, btw!!

[personalreality]

I believe you misunderstood my sentiment.

I'm at work and don't have the time to properly respond right now, but we are on the same page summer.

[Summerlander]

Ok. Maybe I did. I'll await your reply to try to make me understand. Sorry if I was a bit dense there.