Stopping Time in the Astral

[Magickist]

I was just thinking about astral projection the other day and the thought arose "Since time doesn't exist in the astral, is it possible to stay there for what seems forever, only to return to the physical planes with only an hour passed?"

In other words, could you rule a world in the astral from its beginning to its end all in 15 physical minutes? Or how about gather all of the knowledge from the Akashic Records in 5? I wonder how it would be done...

[CFTraveler]

I was just thinking about astral projection the other day and the thought arose "Since time doesn't exist in the astral,

Who said time doesn't exist in the astral?  If time didn't exist in the astral we would perceive no time passing at all.  Time may be different in the astral but it exists, because we perceive it.
I have read over and over that people say 'time isn't real' and that is not necessarily a fact.  Time is a measurement of changes in space- we can measure time because of the changes in energy that happen- so perception is the only way to 'see' time, because it's not a 'thing'.  But it passes, because changes happen.
In the astral perception happens- things happen that we perceive, changes happen in the energy, sometimes because of our interaction (thought creates in the astral), maybe regardless of it (although I doubt it).  But if change happens, that means that there is time there, although different.  Subjective.
People who have recurring dreams or projections to the same place can see the differences from the last time they were there, and sometimes decay can be perceived- even if it's energy reacting to thought, it's still change.  And for there to be change, time is perceived.  So the first premise really isn't.

is it possible to stay there for what seems forever, only to return to the physical planes with only an hour passed?"

I've had projections that lasted days (in subjective time) but where only an hour passed in 'material' time.

In other words, could you rule a world in the astral from its beginning to its end all in 15 physical minutes?

Rule a world?  Do you mean control the environment and the time that passes?

Or how about gather all of the knowledge from the Akashic Records in 5? I wonder how it would be done...

The akashic records are already there, and you (your Higher Self) already knows what's in there (in my worldview).  If you are allowed to access it, all you'd have to do is connect with your HS.  I don't see what time has to do with this.

[Aquarious]

With all due respect to CFTraveler, I dont agree with much of what she said on this topic...

Change does not equal 'time perception'... In fact quite the opposite, experiencing change means you are 'in the moment' and probably have no care for time. The expression 'time flies' comes to mind.

We dont actually 'perceive' time at all. In terms of perception, we can objectively view a clock and watch what seems like time pass but we can also look at a blank wall that doesn't change and take a good estimate of how much time has passed. In physical reality, we constantly live in an infinite present, we aren't perceiving/experiencing changes in time at any point. We can only look back at a sequence of events and relate it to a timeline or look forward and do the same thing..

When OBE or in dream state we experience a 'real' lack of time perception. The perception of time only appears if you try to put into persepective a sequence of events. Without thinking about timelines, time does not exist because the only thing that exists in a dream or in an OBE is what you think about. Thats why people say that time does not exist in the astral because we dont spend much time thinking about it. Even if you spend a lot of time thinking about time in the physical, its not beeing 'perceived' ir just being conceptually thought about.

Stopping time in the astral can happen in a way where previous events do not enter your mindset leaving pure thought about the moment, if the thought of the moment is consistent, event or energy changes will feel like time stopped or more likely feel as if time didn't exist at all.

[Magickist]

CFTraveler I see what you mean about time being percepted and controlled by our mind. You said you experienced a projection that seemed like days but was only an hour of physical time. That alone shows how different astral time is from physical time. I guess what I meant from "freezing time" was making it seem like you were in the astral for as long as you want while hardly any physical time passes.   

[CFTraveler]

I'm glad you got what I meant, Magickist.

[CFTraveler]

With all due respect to CFTraveler, I dont agree with much of what she said on this topic...

Change does not equal 'time perception'... In fact quite the opposite, experiencing change means you are 'in the moment' and probably have no care for time. The expression 'time flies' comes to mind.

I'm sorry you didn't understand what I said, I'll try to be more clear.
I didn't say change equals 'time perception', I said time is the measurement we can perceive of changes in timespace. 

We dont actually 'perceive' time at all.

Exactly.  Because time is not a thing, it's a measurement.

In terms of perception, we can objectively view a clock and watch what seems like time pass but we can also look at a blank wall that doesn't change and take a good estimate of how much time has passed.

But such a state doesn't exist.  If I sit on a chair (or the floor) and stare at a blank wall, I can see change happening in front of me- because matter is constantly changing, even if I don't consciously perceive it.  I can still feel my heart beating, I can still feel air move around me.  While we are alive and in-body, there is always the unconscious perception of time passing, because space is doing things around us, all the time.  All down to the quantum scale.

In physical reality, we constantly live in an infinite present

No, in theoretical physical reality, we live in a state of infinite present, but on 'actual' physical reality, change is always perceived.

we aren't perceiving/experiencing changes in time at any point.

There are no changes in time.  That is because time isn't a thing.  It's a measurement. The changes are in matter.

We can only look back at a sequence of events and relate it to a timeline or look forward and do the same thing..

Which is what a measurement does.

When OBE or in dream state we experience a 'real' lack of time perception. The perception of time only appears if you try to put into persepective a sequence of events. Without thinking about timelines, time does not exist because the only thing that exists in a dream or in an OBE is what you think about. Thats why people say that time does not exist in the astral because we dont spend much time thinking about it. Even if you spend a lot of time thinking about time in the physical, its not beeing 'perceived' ir just being conceptually thought about.

Maybe you don't think of time in the astral.  But I go to certain areas in the astral where I remember (at the time, not upon awakening) when I was there before, and what changed.  So yes, there are sequences of events, so there is the perception of time.  Just not the same way.

Stopping time in the astral can happen in a way where previous events do not enter your mindset leaving pure thought about the moment, if the thought of the moment is consistent, event or energy changes will feel like time stopped or more likely feel as if time didn't exist at all.

And this is only possible in the Void, which is a 'no-place' that is not necessarily the astral.  But that's now getting too technical, I admit.

[Aquarious]

Exactly.  Because time is not a thing, it's a measurement.

When you say it's not a 'thing' what exactly is a 'thing?'

A 'measurement' is just a concept like 'time'... And these things are mostly used to navigate through the physical world with its natural laws.

The laws are quite different in the astral - gravity for one, seems to turn off and on at different frequencies in the astral, (gravity being a concept in the physical also). You can fall asleep for a minute and feel like you've been asleep for hours so time is either distorted or doesn't exist.

Deciding to fly, means at times you have the will to manipulate gravity in the astral. Going into 'the void' means you can manipulate time. So yes, these things exist in the astral but (mostly) at the expense of our will and creativity.   

P.S: I didn't want to say 'always' or make any solid comitments to laws in the astral cause a lot of the time we're swept away in a story line that manipulates the experience.

[CFTraveler]

That's exactly my point- it's not the same to say 'something behaves differently' than to say 'something is not'.
When I say time is not a 'thing' I mean time is not an object that can be looked at.  It is how me measure something.  In the astral, perceptual phenomena behaves differently than in the physical, but it is measurable.

[Magickist]

An example of what CFTraveler is saying about us measuring time is this:

We see a car pass by on the road. By seeing this car pass by, we know that what we call "time" has passed by. If the car passed by quickly (80 mph) since we saw how quick it shot by we may measure a second. If it passes by slowly (5 mph) we may measure 30 seconds. We all percieve the length of time differently. What I want to know is; how can you slow down your perception of time to achieve a prolonged experience?

[CFTraveler]

I don't know.  It has happened to me but it 'just happened'.

[dbmathis]

Hi Magickist,

I just wanted to put emphasis on what CFTraveler stated above.

And this is only possible in the Void, which is a 'no-place' that is not necessarily the astral.  But that's now getting too technical, I admit.

It's theorized by many of the big names (Robert Bruce, Monroe, Buhlman) that the astral plane is just one of possibly infinite dimensions that one can experience. I would not be focusing exclusively on just astral but instead I would be more curious about the possibility of the seemingly endless number of over "planes" that appear to all have their own set of rules and physics.

My statements unfortunately are based upon the 1000s of pages I have read on the subject as I have only had less then 20 projection experiences myself.

Best Regards

David

[Magickist]

Thank you for emphasizing that for me, dbmathis. Does anyone have any information on reaching this void?