Our Failures As Guides And Mentors

[personalreality]

Our Failure As Guides And Mentors

I am writing this post as an open letter to all long time members, newcomers, lurkers, casual observers and anyone else who happens to stop by to see what Astral Pulse is all about.  I've been a member here for a while, not as long as some, but I've been around long enough for many of you to get to know me.  I've shared my personal problems with you and I've also shared my sometimes harsh opinions as well.  Some members respect me for it, some think I'm a jerk and it's alright either way.

I took a sabbatical from this forum recently, partially because of some personal issues in my life, but mostly because I had lost faith in what I believed were the reasons that this forum existed in the first place.  I fear that the society we have created and helped to evolve over the years is not what it was meant to be and I intend to make my peace by telling you all how I really feel about what it is that we do here. 

I will begin with a quote from a great mystic by the name of Gareth Knight in his foreword for one of my favorite books, "Walkers Between The Worlds" by John and Caitlin Matthews:

"Here is a book that answers a great need of our times – and it answers it very well.
That need is for a rational and informed description of how to apprehend the forces that form the structure of the 'inner worlds,' those hidden forces that underpin and mold the outer world, which we know through our physical senses, for a realization of the need to come to terms with these other dimensions of reality is fast coming upon Western man.

Those who have not yet understood this need are at times dismayed by what they see as a flight from reason.  However, we ought to realize this flight for what it is.  It is not a mindless rout of the irresponsible but the winging pinions of an informed institution no longer content with an intellectual preoccupation with surface appearances.

Others decry what they choose to describe as 'dabbling in the occult,' which they consider either idly foolish or perversely misguided.  While we, too, would not wish to encourage the occult dilettante, those of us who have spent more years in this research than we care to remember feel, with all due humility, that we have gained rather than lost in wisdom and human fulfillment.

There is no shortage among us of able, responsible citizens – even if those less well informed may sometimes grasp incredulously when confronted with our view of the truth.  We who know understand it to be no facile escapism, but a hard and testing – though infinitely rewarding – struggle toward the truth of what we ourselves are, what our place in the universe is, and what our duties are before God and the rest of creation.

...Crises pass, or come to pass.  Man's relationship to eternity lasts forever."

One of the reasons that I stopped contributing to this forum for a while was because of reading that book and a couple of others.  People here just don't get it, they don't understand what Astral Projection really is.  Because of the people that started this forum, I believe that it was given a particular "character" that focuses on the modern day, "mainstream" idea of what Astral Projection is and completely disregards the truth of the practice.  Occasionally someone might mention ancient Egyptians or something, but people don't seem to understand that Astral Projection is as old religion itself.  And by religion I mean the individual's connection with nature, with the whole of reality. 

To me, Astral Projection is the means by which humans reconnect with who and what they are at the deepest level possible.  It was how tribal leaders healed their people, how they maintained the connection with the universe for their people.  It's so much more than just a fun thing to do or a way to "contact your guides" or whatever people choose to do it for.  I'm not saying that their reasons aren't "noble", just that they don't heed the true nature of what they are doing.  I just wish that more people could make the connections to understand how Astral Projection goes by so many different names and has been practiced by so many people for eons.  Instead, they try to take the mystery out of it and make it some scientific endeavor.  I'm not opposed to true science, but what modern humans practice is not true science in a general sense.  They are so desperate to break Projection down to some fundamental parts and they can't see the forest through the trees as it were. 

Granted, I believe this forum is here to serve the newcomer, to help them find direction.  But I feel that as a whole, the forum lacks the true appreciation for what Astral Projection really is and in the end we perpetuate an incomplete notion of the amazing practice to which we have access.  I mean, look at this "Astral Academy" stuff.  Adrian has turned it into a business.  Yes, the forum is free, but to get to the forum you have to first accept the marketing, like this skill is not free.  If we could only share the entirety of what it is we're really doing here, I think so many more people would be successful.

I came back because I felt like I could help people, and I'll continue to do so, but I wish that so much more could be taught.  This is magic and magic is science that we have been conditioned to believe is backwards and superstition.  But in truth, magic is the science of our mind, our soul, our being.  To grasp that and tug on the thread that will unravel the mystery of who and what we are is what I believe to be our true purpose.  And Astral Projection, phasing, pathworking, soul travel, walking between the worlds, dreaming, active imagination, meditation, remote viewing, psychic vision, mediumship, whatever you wanna call it, is the path.  We all must walk it differently, but it is the darkness that validates the light of our waking life.  Darkness has a negative connotation to most people, but not to me.  I love darkness, I love the idea of it, the shadow is where the mystery connects to the glory in of the light. 

I think there is a bigger picture that is neglected and we need to recognize that.

-PR

[Lionheart]

 Personalreality I stand by most of what you are saying here. I love the Astral for it's mystical, magickal adventures. But, I find it to be a personal journey. I would love to open up about where I go and what i do and I can see that by doing that it would show especially new people how fantastical the Astral World really is, but those are the things that I am told not to divulge. Most likely for the simple reason that other people need to project themselves, so they can find their own adventures. On this site we try to help people reach the Astral by many different techniques and methods. I know that it is a easy as turning the physical off and the Astral on. But most people that come here need some kind of blueprint or plan to follow. If they just realized that everyone can just turn their physical focus off at will, we could be talking more about the magick and intrigue, instead of just how to get there. The mystery and the magick to be found is going to be different to each and every one of us. There are countless places you can go, and limitless things you can do. It is like a quest that never ends.
We also get a lot of science minded people that need to see proof. They need to see stats and records, they don't realize this is not a nuts and bolts kind of practice. If it was, Science would have already dissected it and in turn taken the mystery out of it. It is the mystery and the magick that draws us to it and keeps us returning back for more!
This is an ancient practice and still to this day is widely an unknown, just like most of the Ancient practices still are today.
Joe Rogan speaks quite a bit about this point when he talks about the Consciousness Experience. He still experiences the NPR with Shaman of the World, keeping the cultural side of Astral Travel alive and well.
Just to add one last thing here. I heard on Coast to Coast AM that a couple of researchers have a new theory about the famous Nazca Lines and patterns. They say that they were told by Tribesmen native to that area, that it was an area used to test your Astral Projection abilities. That teens would be led to the area as a ritual, sit in the spiral area and then you would consciously leave your body and try to see what design you are sitting in. It was known as a rite of adulthood.

Personalreality, you have stated the problems you see. what solutions do you have?

[Stookie_]

That was a good post PR, I feel ya.

My contributions here have always ebbed and flowed for that past several years and have had several moments of "should I call it quits?". The main reason being is that what I'm doing in my life doesn't always seem to correspond with what others are doing at all, and I feel the more I talk about these things from my personal perspective, the more no one gets it, and I'm not out to confuse or make things more difficult.

I'm also at a place where I don't need advice or help, I'm not stuck and have a meditative life that I had previously only hoped to be able to attain before I die. I don't need this forum or constant conversation about it stay motivated, the non-physical is a part of my life 24-7.

Trying to communicate it to people that aren't open to it is like talking to a wall - when people don't understand or care to understand, it's in one ear and out the other.

And this is just one medium. I may spend 20 minutes to an hour a day, 5 days a week on this forum... in the scheme of my life this is a very minor thing. It's nice because you can talk about things you normally can't, and your words stick around as long as the forum does... I like thinking that someone will find something I wrote a hundred years from now learn something from it.

But I don't have a "regular" lifestyle either, I tend not to follow the crowd, I don't have a regular job, I don't spend money at businesses who's values and practices I don't agree with (Wal-mart, McD's, etc.), I don't buy crap I don't need... I live simple and small and have PLENTY and am very content with my place in life. I feel that's where I make the biggest impact and set an example for others. I'm not saying everyone has to do what I do, but that people should not just have morals and values and ideals, but LIVE them and be them. Talking all day on a forum is just talk, especially when you want to change society and the world. You have to DO what's in your heart, not just talk about it. It rubs off on the people that you're around.

I wish I could share all of my experiences and knowledge here in the hopes of others learning from it, but it's not always easy to put into words and not everyone is at the same level, and it's easy to come off as crazy. I sure that's why there are so many levels of initiation within groups/societies/orders that have been secretly passed down for generations. The internet is breaking up the secrecy, but definitely not the understanding of it.

[Bedeekin]

There is no failure.. on any level.

This is a very special learned and ultimately natural ability. The physical is merely an oil slick on the surface of the 'Astral' ocean.

I personally try not to use the term 'astral'... this is not through my ignorance or an indignant way of being stubborn.

I learned without any influence whatsoever. I didn't read my first book on the subject till I was 9 or 10 years into my travels. I only came online 7 years ago. On the forums I mean. Although it opened up a whole world full of people who had discovered it and were wishing to learn it... I also found it smattered with large pinches of bad advice and bovine feacal matter. But you can sort the wheat from the chaff pretty quickly and soon found a lot of online like-minded friends.

I took a sabbatical partly because of certain characters that seemed to be rising amongst the ranks of the online 'AP' community and because I read My Big TOE. It created a revelation... it was the first thing I actually read that described and tallied with my own experience. It brought me to its ultimate conclusion and I thought... "what's the point?... if people are wanting to experience it then apparently they will if they find it and open their minds"... I went on the MBT forum... and found the same thing as the AP forums... disagreements and egos.

(Sorry Tom... but the very notion of opening direct communication with fans will bring a quazi-religious following... because some of the information divulged in MBT describes the foundations of our PMR fascination with religion... it has attracted the religiously inclined followers. Not all of them.)

Between that time I have been getting back to myself with my nonphysical life.

I missed the forums... the old one I was heavily involved with imploded and always thought this one too professional for me... Don't ask why... it just seemed like all the corners were covered.

All this is irrelevant.. and I didn't intend to write a 'dear diary, I'm sorry I haven't wrote in you lately' letter to OOBEs.

What I'm saying is that I have been through what you seem to be going through in terms of feeling a bit deflated about the 'state' of affairs. Ultimately though it will balance out.

I wish I could share all of my experiences and knowledge here in the hopes of others learning from it, but it's not always easy to put into words and not everyone is at the same level, and it's easy to come off as crazy. I sure that's why there are so many levels of initiation within groups/societies/orders that have been secretly passed down for generations. The internet is breaking up the secrecy, but definitely not the understanding of it.

Same...

Although one rule stands within the secret society we all love to hate... the Free Masons. They have a fantastic rule... To leave any political and religious beliefs at the door.
 

[personalreality]

I don't wish to be misinterpreted.

My intention was to say that we sometimes try to hard to tell others how it's done, when in fact it is an extremely personal experience.  Others have walked the path, but we cannot walk the same path.  This just lets us know that it can be done, that we can do it too.

I chose my screen name with great care.  We each live a personal reality and that applies to both our physical and non-physical lives.

It's a difficult point that I'm trying to make.  I suppose I just feel that the Astral Projection information out there is misleading and people come here with ideas implanted in their minds about what the "right way" to do this is.  My point is that there is no right way and we do disservice saying that there is. 

[Bedeekin]

I agree with you on the level you are speaking on... I'm just adding thoughts.

We do all have a personal reality... but lest not forget that we are all experiencing the same thing at its root core.

There are very obvious commonalities that are shared amongst us... the Phenomenology of which can be put into words that we can all relate to.

It seems that it's the finites that are the things we sometimes disagree on. But these finites sometimes... not always... are personal opinion based.

We are all experiencing the same colour... but the subjectivity it causes forces our need to understand and in doing so the need to let others see our point of view.

One thing that is quite beautiful is that when we/humans/conscious beings attain the ability to project to a degree of attaining knowledge... it seems to sow seeds of wanting... nay.. yearning to help others achieve the same thing. The ability promotes this.

Imagine if everybody understood. The human race.

There is Williams paradise on earth.

[Killa Rican]

I dont have much to add as to what hasnt already been said, but very wonderful insight everyone, and I do agree for the most part.