After all, the point of AP? Worth the risk? (pleasetakealook)

[dpk38]

Hello.
I have a few questions out for all of you, especially the pro's... After all you have experienced out there, you should be able to answer these.
Firstly, is Astral Projection a necessity for me?
I am getting on a spiritual path and hoping to discover the answers to many (spiritual) questions, finding the deeper meaning to life etc. Apart from having fun, I opted to learn projection to be able to contacty guides, learn and discover new stuff and even contact god if possible. But now I'm not sure if I need to AP to achieve that. Can't I just meditate?
Secondly, how different is mediation from AP? What are the key differences? Is meditation a better option for spiritual growth?
Thirdly, you've all had encounters with various beings out there, including random thought forms. Please explain the dangers out there. How dangerous is it? I do know we are nearly invincible in the astral realm, but still, what are the dangers? How frequently do you have negative experiences? How dangerous were they? Do they latch onto you? By percentage, quote how many of your experiences involved baddies. You don't have to narrate your experience, just let us know what we have to face/expect.
Lastly, is AP worth all this trouble? In the end if we don't do anything productive, towards a spiritual growth, I don't think the dangers out there are worthwhile to face to achieve something very trivial...

P.S: I have become paranoid after watching Bob Sanders video on Dangers of Astral Projection. Please do watch it and comment your views here. Thanks a lot! ☺

[EscapeVelocity]

Is AP a necessity or dangerous to your growth? That really depends on the person. If you are emotionally unbalanced, immature, of an obsessive nature, selfish, power-seeking, paranoid...then no, psychic pursuits such as AP would not be beneficial and could lead to mental anguish just as any other obsessive/unbalanced behavior can.

Is it dangerous out there? I'm not sure there is a guaranteed answer here. All I can speak from is my own experience which began when I was six or seven. I did have some scary experiences, but in retrospect that was likely due to my misunderstanding of what environment I was in, not any entities trying to hurt me, save an alien encounter or two. But I had no one in my family who could explain any of this so I was on my own until I came across Monroe's book and some Theosophical books in my teens. I've read the RB literature on Negs but honestly, I've never had one issue like that. Between learning about Hypnagogia, Sleep Paralysis and coming to understand some of the nature of thought forms I can see where a lot of the scary crap can be generated; but you have to understand that this is mostly self-generated "noise" sometimes combined with aspects of a Non-Physical environment that we don't fully understand until we gain more experience.

So I compare the Non-Physical environments to hiking in the woods. Is it as dangerous as hiking in the jungles of Africa? Or the Amazon? Or Grizzly/wolf country in Alaska? I don't think it's anywhere near that. Is it similar to your local woods that might hold a few poisonous snakes, some nasty insects and other minor dangers that you need to be aware of? Maybe...but I think it's actually safer than that. In the NP you probably CAN find trouble, but it occurs to me that you really have to actively go looking for it. Do you normally walk into the most crime ridden section of the city at 2am and start hollering? If so, then maybe exploring the NP isn't recommended.

Meditation is great anytime as long as it is positively directed towards growth.

Personally, I see AP as benefiting the growth and development of my spiritual and psychical senses; within my experiences I can detect the emergence of new sensibilities that, like a new muscle group, require awakening and exercising and open new awareness and understanding to the worlds around me. And all of this helps me to find my way back to Home/God/Source.

Again this is just from my experience; you must decide for yourself. Have you tried meditating and asking your Higher Self for advice?

[Szaxx]

In a nutshell, YOU are capable of scaring the crap out of yourself.
As EV correctly says an unstable personality isn't going to benefit.
If your beliefs are indoctrinated and you refuse to change them then AP isn't going to benefit you.
If you cannot control your fears, AP may help but its going to be one hell of a ride.

The meditation or AP question.
AP could be likened to;
An astronaut, s/he experiences real environments first hand and can interact with them.

Meditation by comparison;
An astronomer, they can only see a tiny representation and have to guess the rest.

Negs and things,
In half a century I've never met a neg that's had any lasting effect. Add to this that every one I had the pleasure of dealing with, not one was impossible to sort out. I've had a real hard time with some of them (first encounters with the reaper) but even this battle of wits was won.
Most of the internet finds you'll read are from scaremongering idiots who have no life other than being a yes man to some false ideal.
Very few of those with a genuine experience will have realised its a lesson in fear control. Some people really need a kick up the butt to see the truth. This simulation is one way they get it. It scares most who read it but its THEIR experience and not intended for anyone else.
Brave it out and find out if you think these scaremongers are real men or kittens.
I don't meow by the way. Its more fun being shot saving people in the NP than listening to those who are scared of their shadow.
Once you've mastered projection, you're powers are almost limitless.

[astrophlakes]

If you are toying with the idea of AP, and finding your way to these forums, and have probably read a couple books about the subject, I don't understand how you can be asking if its worth all the trouble!  Its the universe!!!  Its the world we live in plus infinite others.  Its where and how we exist.  It is literally endless realms of anything imaginable and unimaginable, waiting to be explored.  Oh and then theres the fact that you can fly!  And you can't die.  Do you see where this could get interesting?  Endless possibilities!  Sorry if that seemed forceful, Im only trying to get you to see how amazingly fun AP can be, and to use your imagination to think about where you could go and what you can do.

Now that being said, Earth is the focus of our lives for now (and lives to come) so I guess if you want to look at it that way and just be a "normal" person who doesn't really care/know about AP and all this exploration stuff and just wants to live their life on Earth, then there is nothing wrong with that either.  Or just do meditation, its awesome.  What we are doing on Earth is amazing enough.  You don't have to AP.  We are all given the gift of physical life on Earth which is the greatest blessing of all.  So you can't really go wrong.  And the funny thing is that when you realize that the world is not static and that everything is always moving and changing and evolving and alive, you will see that physical Earth life is just another amazing form of astral travel (slightly more physical and "heavy"), and a thousand times more dangerous because we need our bodies here... hence the amazing blessing to have the opportunity to live in the physical realm. 

So then that would make pretty much everything we do, in a way, "spiritual" already, without having to make any beliefs, religions, or required textbooks necessary to have a "spiritual" experience.  You are doing it already, even now.  And the Earth-Gaia thing we have going on here is so precious, you have to admit.  And amazingly unique in the universe, it is our home away from home But there are others, places, people, beings, games, art, music.  Why not see what's out there?  Your body will be waiting for you in the morning!  And you will always wake up, here or there

And for me, when I got into AP and all this about 10 years ago (in my early 20's), my view of the universe was not as big, and I had a pretty big imagination even back then.  But now that the universe seems so much bigger because of my new discoveries and insights, the Earth seems so much smaller, like we are all neighbors here, all the same Earthlings (which is why we should stop fighting about everything!).  I think when I started practicing AP my goal was to get away from Earth, join the enlightened ones, never to return.  Now I see that it is our life on Earth that is the precious gift, and the other realms will always be there to explore.

But AP can give you proof, and only on a personal level, that you are more than just your physical body and that there is really no such thing as death.  I think thats pretty profound.  You don't have to take my word for it, or from some religious leader, or from some old book but prove it to yourself that you are more than just physical you.  And while I'm sure meditation can lead you to these same conclusions, theres nothing like experiencing it first-hand.  And at some point, I think meditation turns into AP anyways.  I really don't think those meditation masters are really just sitting there for 20 hours straight.  Maybe.  But I bet most of em are flying through different dimensions for most of it.

I also know that you can't force AP and that it will happen for you when you are ready, although practicing it is necessary for most of us, at least in the beginning.  It took me quite a few years of casual practicing before I ever got to the vibrational state (and even then it was spontaneous), then a couple more years before I had my first full OBE.  And I have not had more than a couple dozen since then, altogether.  Im in no hurry   But I though you should know that Im not a veteran AP'er.  And I still get scared almost every time the vibes hit me!  But as the others have said, AP is about conquering your fears and seeing where it takes you.  I keep a very positive mindset in general, so I've never had any problems going to "dangerous" places or meeting malicious entities, because thats never been my focus or interest, or even one of my fears really either, so I've never had a problem with it.  I really can't offer any help in that area.  But from what I've seen, its enough to convince me that you cannot ever die from anything, ever... you will always wake up.  Just don't get negative or allow yourself to become something you hate or hurt others.

My experiences have all been very positive and its been a life/mind/paradigm-changing ride over the past ten years.  And yes a lot of it was scary, no doubt about it, and Im sure I'll find other things scary in the future.  But Im very glad I kept reading all the books I could find and practicing now and then.  Its been a true adventure and I love life so much more now knowing the things I know about the world and the universe.  AP gets my endorsement and I really hope you try it out!  Unless you have strong mental, emotional, or personal life issues going on, I think you will be amazed at what you can accomplish with AP.  You just have no idea what you will find.  I hope you find something good and not scary!  And learn a lot about yourself and the world we live in.  Go somewhere nice.  Fly out and see the moon, the Earth from space.  Listen to a celestial choir or rock out at an astral party.  Create your own dream home on your own planet!  Meet other people and other beings.  Help someone out.  Share the love.  Keep a good vibe going.  Blessings!

[Xanth]

I'm going to take a different stance here... and being that I'm the Administrator of this forum, you might find it a strange stance.

Why do I help people to experience the non-physical for themselves?  So that they learn that, ultimately, they don't need it.

If your goal is spiritual growth then you don't need Projection.  You will grow the fastest simply by existing within this physical reality.  That is why you're here in the first place.
You didn't come here simply to be physical or to "have experiences".  You came here because this is the fast track to spiritual growth... the fast track to increasing the quality of your consciousness... the fast track to becoming a higher consciousness... whatever you want to call it.

You do not need to Project for this.  If you want to grow, you start to interact with other consciousness beings HERE with Love and Compassion. 

Let me move onto the original post's questions:

Firstly, is Astral Projection a necessity for me?

Went over that above.

I am getting on a spiritual path and hoping to discover the answers to many (spiritual) questions, finding the deeper meaning to life etc. Apart from having fun, I opted to learn projection to be able to contacty guides, learn and discover new stuff and even contact god if possible. But now I'm not sure if I need to AP to achieve that.

Per above, you don't.

Can't I just meditate?

Yup.

Secondly, how different is mediation from AP? What are the key differences? Is meditation a better option for spiritual growth?

Astral Projection...
Meditation...
These things alone are actually meaningless.  They don't, in themselves, cause spiritual growth. 
So what drives spiritual growth?  I touched on it above... your choices in the interactions you have with others drives your spiritual growth.

Thirdly, you've all had encounters with various beings out there, including random thought forms. Please explain the dangers out there. How dangerous is it? I do know we are nearly invincible in the astral realm, but still, what are the dangers? How frequently do you have negative experiences? How dangerous were they? Do they latch onto you? By percentage, quote how many of your experiences involved baddies. You don't have to narrate your experience, just let us know what we have to face/expect.

People like to look at this from an individual perspective... that's because they believe they're individual.  You're not.  You're consciousness.  You're a small perspective of the whole.  You're like a wave in the ocean, part of it and never separate from the Ocean.  You come out of the Ocean for a brief time and then go back to the ocean, hopefully a better wave than you were before.
AS SUCH... what's to happen to you?  You're consciousness... you're part of everything you experience out there. 

There is NO risk to Projection.  ZERO.  You're projecting right this very second.  What happens if you physically die?  You move on.  What YOU REALLY are can't be hurt.  Can't be destroyed. 
Does that make any sense?

P.S: I have become paranoid after watching Bob Sanders video on Dangers of Astral Projection. Please do watch it and comment your views here. Thanks a lot! ☺

Don't fall for the Fear-based responses others tell you.  It's THEIR reality, not yours.  It's certainly not MY reality. 
People compare projection to their physical life... if you leave your door in the morning, there IS a chance you can die.  Nice, eh? 
Well, that's only a small perspective... you PHYSICALLY can die, yes.  But you're consciousness, what YOU are lives on.  You are not your physical body.

So yeah, I'm the Administrator of the Pulse and I suggest learning to Project only so you learn that you don't need it. 

[dpk38]

Awesome!

[Xanth]

Most people get caught up on "physical pain".  Remember, pain is a temporary condition.  It's entirely physical.

Think about it like this...
When you physically die, whatever goes with you IS the real *you*, whatever stays behind here isn't.  Think about that for a bit.