Is Astral Projection considered to be Esoteric or Occult?

Many people have heard of Astral projection or out of body experiences but have also heard they may be esoteric or even occult practices that are frowned upon by their religion.

In fact Astral projection is a perfectly natural ability which automatically happens to everyone during sleep every noight when the Astral body, the Soul, leaves the physical body. It would seem highly unlikely therefore that God would have given human beings an ability that would be frowned upon in any way, much less be considered to be occult or esoteric as discussed on the Our Ultimate Reality site.

For a true definition of occult or esoteric practices I would recommend this article on occult and esoteric knowledge where it should be plainly seen that Astral projection far from being occult or esoteric is a truly natural process.