What are you experiencing?

[Astrex]

Hello,

I am new to the boards, and (recently) the concept of astral projection.

I have been experiencing vibrations at night when I go to bed (on and off for about 8 months) and so i stumbled across astral projection from my googlings. I am an agnostic who usually leans towards the atheist side, although with a very open mind. I believe you projectors clearly experience something but I am very intrigued to ask; what do you actually believe you are experiencing? Do you think it is real or is it just being able to explore your conscious (all explained by science, but still amazing)?

Is there a split amongst the projectors or do you all agree that it is real?

Also has it changed your spiritual views at all? Do you all believe in god?

I haven't, as of yet, been able to leave the body but i seem to be close from what I have read (vibrations and loud "whooshing").

Sorry for all the questions I'm just an excited and inquisitive potential traveller

[Astral316]

Hi there.

To explain astral projection with the fewest assumptions possible... it is dreaming with full awareness and lucidity.

Some people stick with that viewpoint and are happy enough, others go a step further and attempt to explain this phenomena from a metaphysical or spiritual perspective. I'm one of the latter.

My beliefs in a nutshell... life is a stable dream. Therefore, when we dream we're visiting other realities. From that belief comes the assumption that consciousness is in fact the foundation of this wider reality... not the material world made of energy. This is a common idea that is widely accepted among AP communities more or less. Of course there are always differing opinions because there are so many ways we can interpret this one thing.

As far as god... my view is panentheistic. God is consciousness and as receptors of consciousness we are fragments of God. When we project, we are exploring not only other realities but ourself as one infinite and eternal being.

If you need further help in your journey into this practice, feel free to ask.  

[Xanth]

Very nicely put, Astral316. 

[NoY]

Welcome to the Pulse Astrex 


:NoY:

[wisintel]

Curiosity is a wonderful gift, so never be sorry for a well meaning question.  I can't really speak for anyone else, but I am more than happy to tell you what I believe.  I have been having these experiences for about the last 15 years or so.  Ever since I was in middle school.  I was raised in a very Christian community, so suffice to say when this started happening to me I was confused.  My first experiences all happened of their own accord I was not trying to induce them.  From everything that has happened to me, the most important conclusion that I have drawn is simply, this is not all there is.

We are not simply a body that lives and dies in a human lifetime. We are an eternal consciousness that has always been and will always be.

This world is not all there is nor is it really what it seems to be.  There are infinite worlds in infinite dimensions with an infinity of time to explore them all.

Of all the explanations I have ever heard about reality, these are the things that resonate as the truest with me.  I am not so sure about GOD, as a personage, I believe more along the lines that there is an energy that is the source of all things and that could be considered GOD.  But I do know that this life, this world and even this person that I am typing at this keyboard is not all that there is.  

It would be the cruelest joke ever played on the universe to give a human the aptitude for the depths of emotion and experience that we possess, run him threw the emotional ringer of experiences for 80 years and then snuff him out as if he never existed.  It would make the universe pointless.  

[Tee1234]

Hello,

I am new to the boards, and (recently) the concept of astral projection.

I have been experiencing vibrations at night when I go to bed (on and off for about 8 months) and so i stumbled across astral projection from my googlings. I am an agnostic who usually leans towards the atheist side, although with a very open mind. I believe you projectors clearly experience something but I am very intrigued to ask; what do you actually believe you are experiencing? Do you think it is real or is it just being able to explore your conscious (all explained by science, but still amazing)?

Is there a split amongst the projectors or do you all agree that it is real?

Also has it changed your spiritual views at all? Do you all believe in god?

I haven't, as of yet, been able to leave the body but i seem to be close from what I have read (vibrations and loud "whooshing").

Sorry for all the questions I'm just an excited and inquisitive potential traveller

To show you a different angle, I disagree with Astral316. I believe its completely different than dreaming.   Its hard to explain without talking about personal experiences but for me there's a huge difference in the 2. A lucid dream to me is simply just a dream that I realize im dreaming which in turn I have limited control till I wake.

A Obe for me is usually something I have to induce which brings me to a world where my senses are heightened and I have full control and full awareness of everything around me. Not even close in comparision.

As for religion, Yes I believe in God and the other guy. But I dont really bring religion into it. Maybe some day I will but for now I dont really mix the two. I think OBEs are somewhat normal but people dont really understand much about it and it seems paranormal. Alot of people never even heard of it. Try telling someone about it that never heard of it and theyl think you have a screw loose. Thats why Id never bring it up, outside of people that have experienced one or believe its real.

You never know, maybe in a couple hundred years, it will be accepted n understood. But for now, were just not there yet.

[Astrex]

Thanks for your responses, it's very interesting and much appreciated. 

I can't wait to experience this first hand. I wish i had found out about the astral during my philosophy degree ha ha, it sounds like I could have used it. 

Yeah tee1234 i had never heard about it until a week ago, but since reading up I cant believe it is not a widely recognised concept/practice. When just enquiring about it to people I know the defensive reaction I receive is usually quite strong. So i can imagine it must be very frustrating not being able to talk about it openly with everyone.

So when you are in the astral do you all see/experience the exact same thing? In other words, if you project somewhere, and I also projected there (not necessarily at the same time) would, when talking about it, we describe the same thing? Would we have seen exactly the same thing. Or is it just your idea of the same place?...if that makes sense?

[Summerlander]

Experience it free of preconceptions. Forget what you've heard. This phenomenon is completely elusive in nature. there are so many theories. I encourage you to develop your own. I personally think that we tap into other frequencies of reality or even other realities. Compared to our waking world you'd say they are non-physical but, I think they have a solid reality of their own because you can still experience them as though they are solid, which they are, if you adapt your focus there.

As for SP, VS, normal hearing and auditory hallucinations, here's an insight:

The ear converts sound waves into signals that the brain can interpret through the firing of neurons. This happens in the inner ear which is embedded in the temporal bone and lateral to the temporal lobe of the cerebrum. When sound waves bend protein filaments on hair cells there, these are stimulated to release a neurotransmitter that will trigger a chain reaction translating the waves into nerve impulses.

The Tensor Timpani muscle in the ear can serve to dampen external sound and may cause rumbling as it spasmodically vibrates during the state of sleep paralysis. The perception of vibrations could be the feedback one may get from neurons rapidly polarising and depolarising. The 'radio effect' during sleep paralysis where I have experienced many auditory hallucinations with shifting or sudden musical intervals could be due to the possibility that the pineal gland may act as a receptor of electromagnetic signals at this point. We can only speculate this to be the function of calcite crystals found in the gland which appear to be piezoelectric in nature.

The sensation of paralysis alone may occur when cells at the pons send inhibitory signals to the motor neurons in the spinal cord eventuating muscle atonia. Muscle atonia is necessary to prevent individuals from physically acting out their dreams.

[Under_the_Midnight_Sun]

So when you are in the astral do you all see/experience the exact same thing? In other words, if you project somewhere, and I also projected there (not necessarily at the same time) would, when talking about it, we describe the same thing? Would we have seen exactly the same thing. Or is it just your idea of the same place?...if that makes sense?

From my experiences I've gleaned that two entities inhabiting the very same "space" and communicating with each other may perceive the environment as drastically different. Everything is basically a subjective reality. The subconscious mind often alters ones surroundings as well. It seems that the higher up, in terms of dimensional frequency, the more the subconscious mind interacts with the environment. So, if you were to meet someone close to the rtz the two of you may report similar sights.

Even how you perceive an individual in the astral may be faulty. There have been times that beings disagreed with the way I have described their appearance. For instance a man, whom i perceived to have dark graying hair (much like my fathers), replied to me that his hair was blond. The perception stems from the subconscious mind. This may account for why so many people experience being with family members. The family members could either be manifestations of the subconscious, or an altering of another entities appearance.

[CFTraveler]

Hello,

I am new to the boards, and (recently) the concept of astral projection.

Hi Astrex.

I have been experiencing vibrations at night when I go to bed (on and off for about 8 months) and so i stumbled across astral projection from my googlings. I am an agnostic who usually leans towards the atheist side, although with a very open mind. I believe you projectors clearly experience something but I am very intrigued to ask; what do you actually believe you are experiencing? Do you think it is real or is it just being able to explore your conscious (all explained by science, but still amazing)?

I never have believed that my soul leaves my body, but that is because my definition of soul may be different than others.  I think that my conscious awareness sometimes moves out of my body, and sometimes it's an exploration of my own mind, depending on the experience and the information I bring into my consciousness.

Is there a split amongst the projectors or do you all agree that it is real?

Even the definition of 'real' is debatable- but I am sure that most of us think it's worth the trouble, depending on your viewpoint.  The experience in itself is valuable, whether transcendent or not.

Also has it changed your spiritual views at all? Do you all believe in god?

It has not changed any of my spiritual views, and I think I've always believed in God, even before I had an intellectual understanding of what God is.

I haven't, as of yet, been able to leave the body but i seem to be close from what I have read (vibrations and loud "whooshing").

Sounds like you have, even if you stayed 'in place'.

Sorry for all the questions I'm just an excited and inquisitive potential traveller

Well I wish you luck, hang in there.