A big question??

[Shapeshifter]

I have been interested (perhaps even consumed) by the notion of astral projection, and in more recent years, have read books by Jane Roberts, the Conversations with God books, Depak Chopra and others, and have come to the conclusions that I read about yesterday in the link to Frank Keppels Phasing idea. It was fantastic to read a theory that seemed to amalgamate everything I already suspected was true. But, I kind of liked the idea that astral projection was the actual physical projection of the astral body into the astral plane!! To discover that this doesn't actually happen is a little disappointing...

The phasing idea, although new to me, makes alot of sense. However, how come so many of the astral projection techniques I grew up with rely on the actual separation of the astral body? Furthermore, a lot of people unfamiliar with astral projection (but who have spontaneous oobe's) recordd having seen their physical body. The classic scenario being that they are floating above it. If we don't actually physically leave it, how can this be explained?

This has left me a little perplexed. Answers would be appreciated...

[interception]

One reason would be the subjective nature of the "higher" realities or focus levels. The fact that your mind creates what you experience only becomes more true in these other places.

You leave your body but you don't leave your body. It is a subjectively interpreted experience which your mind then crystalize in a way it can understand and memorize. Does that makes sense?

[Shapeshifter]

Hi, thanks for that. Very helpful, although I went back and read the phasing article again as I obviously missed the answer myself when I read it the first time! Duh!

[nickspry]

I'm not sure why you've reached the conclusion that phasing doesn't involve separation of the astral body. Can you explain why?  Don't be disappointed too prematurely. All my experiences, (including phasing) seem to support the separation theory.  But it's a vibrational separation.
It's all a question of interpretation. Separation can mean different things to different people.
Look at it this way:
To me, the term  phasing, means a shift in consciousness - a phasing away from your current reality. The "separation" of astral projection is really the same thing. It's an increase in vibrational energy which separates you "vibrationally" rather than physically. Our consciousness is energy and energy equals vibration.   Entering different vibrational states alters our reality, but all these states are just as real as our (very low vibrational) physical reality. The astral plane is much higher on the vibrational scale than the physical world. So to enter it we alter (or change the "phase" of) our vibrational state.
Phasing or astral projection are just different expressions of the same phenomenon in my opinion.

[MinstruelZ]

Great questions. I think the answers, which I don't claim to have, are difficult to explain because time and space concepts don't fully apply when you talk about higher astral planes. In other words, is one astral plane further from another plane? That's why I like the term phasing (and also really liked the Kepple article) because it talks in terms of energy and frequency rather than us being here and the astral being there.

[Shapeshifter]

I like this way of looking at it. In physical reality we look at things in relation to distance between them. We can then (if we are not careful) apply the same logic to the notion on astral planes - that is, one being further from the other, etc. Thinking of the traditional notion of astral planes as different vibrational states instead of different places in relation to one another makes much more sense and fits with everything we know about vibrational energy. It is all incredibly interesting!!!

[Stookie]

The idea is that there is no "outside", including the physical world. Everything is consciousness. The physical body is a minute part of our greater self. No matter where you "go", you can't leave your self.  You just change your focus of awareness within consciousness.

[dingo]

If you follow this article you'll understand: http://montalk.net/notes/astral-physics

When you change your phase angle from 0 degrees your physical and etheric projections can move independently.

If you imagine one of those cartesian graphs you probably used in maths lessons in schools, the x axis can be the physical plane, y axis the etheric plane. You exist as a point in this space, and normally you'll be a point on the line y=x. Your phase angle is the angle between the line from the origin to your point and the line y=x. So normally you have phase angle 0. The projection of your point onto the x and y axes gives you your locations in the physical and etheric planes. If you allow your phase angle to change though, you're not restricted to the line y=x and your projections can move independently.

It's 2.30am so that probably doesn't make sense, but I'm trying to say phasing and "leaving your body" are just two ways of looking at the same thing. If anyone's bothered I'll draw some diagrams tomorrow.

-d

[iNNERvOYAGER]

or a consciousness projection, you can project within. Sort of a paradox.

Phasing is new to me also and appears to be a simpler modern approach, with out all this complicated stuff about cords, and multiple bodies, and what seems to be references to physical baggage.

[CFTraveler]

Actually the term Phasing was coined by Robert A. Monroe, who was a sound engineer, and saw projection in terms of energy and phases instead of vibrational planes & such.  Frank simplified the focus levels and gave them a different numbering system, Focus one, two, three, etc.  Instead of Focus 10, Focus 27, etc. which was how Monroe classified them.
In theosophy, which are the folks who brought the idea of planes to the west, planes are not necessarily described as items of physical distance, (some authors described them in terms of psychological distance, or distance to how we're used to perceive space), but it's easier to understand gradations of space, or at least it was in the times the terms astral planes & such were written down and talked about.
I enjoyed very much the 'quantum physics' (or astral physics) model in the article dingo quoted, it makes good sense to me the way I experience the phenomenon.