"MEDITATION CHAPTER 9"



ASTRAL TRAVEL



This will be the final chapter in the meditation book. I have saved it for last, simply because in order to be able to astrally travel one must be proficient in meditation. There are other ways, such as having a near death experience, but for the most part astral travel is accomplished once one has become able to meditate in a deep state.

I want to give a background in astral travel before I actually write about the meditation. Some people ask what the astral body is. Well, to tell the truth it is pretty much open to interpretation. I have heard so many interpretations it can get confusing. Some people believe that there are dozens of layered realities within, each having its own particular name and function. I have not truly gotten into all the "named" layers, because I prefer to keep things simple, as I feel they were intended to be.

Anything can be made difficult, if we work at it long enough. On the spiritual I have always found the answers to be simple, concise and to the point. I strive to make things come across that way in my books. I do not feel that spiritual things should be kept a mystery or talked about in complex terms that even confuse those talking (except most of the time they won't admit to being confused...hehehe). I want to share my experience and knowledge, as anyone can accomplish these things if they have; commitment, desire and pure intent.

Just as we have a physical body, we have an astral body. This is simply your "consciousness, id, spirit, essence" (or any other name you wish to tag on), still you, but without a physical body to encumber you. You can see with this body (but it is not through physical eyes so the perception is totally different), hear (once again not with physical hearing, more of a thought transference) and even feel (once again not the same as a physical feeling, more of an emotional transference).

The reason I am taking the time to explain this thoroughly, is that most people think astral travel is just a fun thing to do and want to do it for a lark. This is very far from the truth. It takes much work to be able to astrally travel and once you can, you don't want to "go on vacation" or play around. By then, hopefully, you have learned that everything must have a purpose, and the only reason to astrally travel is if you have a distinct purpose. This is not a day at Disneyland. There are real dangers associated with astral travel, so precautions should be taken and wisdom used.

First of all, when you are out of your physical body you are entering another dimension. You are able to see other spirits' in whatever form and the parameters are not the same. In other words the safety of your bedroom in the physical world, is not the same safety in the astral world. You are no longer under such confines, nor are you just in your "safe" zone. Walls do not stop spirits and while they, for the most part, have no effect on your physical body, they can make a profound effect on your astral body emotionally.

Before anyone astrally travels I always recommend that they have a complete and strong contact with their spirit guides (guardian angel, whatever you wish to call the spirit that protects and guides you). The spirit guide is more than able to guide you through the process and keep you safe while you are out of body.

I do not want to alarm anyone, but I have read reports of experiments that were conducted at a research Institute concerning astral travel, and they had more than one incident where a subject went insane when coming back to their physical body and had to be institutionalized. I will admit that this is a rare case, but there is no reason to put yourself in harms way when there are simple guidelines to follow which will keep you safe each and every time.

The first guideline, as I already stated above is to go with your spirit guide. No harm will come to you with your guide along, as long as you listen to them. Your guide is capable of taking you to spiritual realms, physical realms, even to other worlds, once you get used to traveling. I will tell you right now that I have found astral travel to be energy draining and have found restraints as to the amount of time I stay out of body.

When the spirit leaves the body it must leave enough energy to run the body, IE breathe, run all organs and continue the sleep cycle. If your body is disturbed while astrally traveling you will be pulled back in faster than a blink of an eye. This is not a pleasant experience, so you want to make sure you are in a place where you are not going to be disturbed.

Some people claim to have seen a silver cord attached to the physical and astral body. I have not seen such a cord, which does not mean that it doesn't exist, just that it is something that I have not experienced. There are also different type of astral traveling where you don't take as much of yourself. I know that this is probably starting to sound confusing, but it isn't really. Imagine that you are driving a car, you aren't always focusing all your energy on driving, especially if it is a known route. I know that I have driven places before and was surprised when I arrived because I had been daydreaming' most of the way. This is the same with astral traveling. If it is a place you have been before and you are comfortable with, maybe you are only going briefly and don't need to take a lot of your consciousness with you.

An important thing to remember is; as in all things the dangers come from our own fears. If you can approach this without fear, then you are safe. If you have any trepidation, then make sure you take your spirit guide along.

Let's talk about intent for a moment. As in all things; everything has a purpose. Astral travel was not meant to be a playtoy, nor a means of scaring other people by appearing in their bedroom. It was also not meant as a means to prove to people that it exists. Once astral travel can be proven as a fact, it is no longer a belief. This is a difficult thing to learn, and must be given the respect and dignity deserved. The price for not showing this respect usually comes in the form of an inability to successfully travel.

Now that I have given my warnings, I can tell you what great benefit astral traveling has in store for you. If you are a healer you can go to your patient, no matter where they are and work on them directly. If you need information from a spiritual plane, you can go there and learn. If you wish to travel to other planets and learn from other beings, you can do that. The applications are endless, as long as the intent is pure.

MEDITATION;



Get into your meditation position. Take three deep breaths and become relaxed. Now is the time to speak to your spirit guide. Ask you guide to take you on a journey. Let your guide pick the place to start with, as they are much more familiar with the realm you are going to. The first trip is generally a short one, and you may not even leave your room, but get used to the feel of being out of your body.

From this point the guide should talk you through it. However, I will give you my perspective. Some people rise out of the third eye chakra, others merely sit up and get out of bed as if they still had a physical body. Others rise straight up in the air and are able to observe the body lying on the bed.

When I first started I used to rise straight up and go out my ceiling into the night sky traveling from there. Through the years I merely close my eyes, decide where I am going, and I am there. The more you practice at this the more adept you become, as in anything. You will also develop your own unique style of leaving and coming back to the body.

When I was first starting out I would get the feeling of vertigo, which is weird because the feeling wasn't in my body, but in my mind. I could feel myself moving at a very rapid rate of speed. The landings at first were very tenuous at best. One of my first recollections was coming back to the body (someone or something disturbed my body and I was virtually yanked back in). I saw myself enshrouded in red and was slammed back in. I felt ill for two days, almost like I was half in and half out. You learn very rapidly when this happens...hehehe, and I have been more careful about my descents and in much more control ever since. In fact, I can honestly say that was the only time that ever happened to me.

Where you go and what you do is entirely up to you. I have visited people before, done healing, gone to different spiritual planes, visited other planets and met different people on astral planes. As I said before the uses are endless.

I find that especially at first the trips are short, as it takes great concentration to stay out of your body for any period of time. Always come back into the body slowly and make sure that you are all the way back in. If you are not you will immediately know it. There will be a headache and a feeling of nausea. If this occurs take the time to go back into meditation and center your spirit in the body.