5 Steps to Travel Out of Body and Into a Powerful New Perspective
By Denise Linn, Internationally Renowned Spiritual Alchemist, Teacher and Best Selling Author
Almost all native cultures have traditions of astral travel, which is sometimes referred to as an out-of-body experience. Astral travel is when your spirit is literally separated from your physical body, and it usually occurs during sleep. It’s different from dreaming, as it’s thought to be a tangible experience and not simply an image emerging in your mind during REM sleep.
In addition to a sense of separation from the physical body, there’s a self-awareness that’s extremely vivid that accompanies astral travel. Some recount a kind of silver-colored cord attaching the physical body to the astral body during nocturnal sojourns.
Another unique phenomenon you may notice—when you first leave your body—is that you seem to remain very much in your present physical form. However, the longer you’re separated from your physical body, the less delineated the boundaries of the body become, and your “being” appears to transcend into a cloudlike vapor or some other amorphous substance.
Some in the scientific community explain astral travel as an ancestral memory from the days when—according to Darwin’s theory—our predecessors were either aquatic or airborne creatures. Psychologists refer to astral dreams as a type of depersonalization, or a means of avoiding being grounded in normal reality. However, anthropologists have found that astral travel is a common event, deeply rooted in indigenous cultures. Australian Aboriginal elders, Native American shamans, African sangomas, and many healers in native cultures throughout the world practice astral traveling.
The beliefs of the astral traveler determine the pattern of his or her experience. For example, in Eastern Peru, the shaman imagines he’s leaving his body in the form of a bird, whereas some Asian tribesmen view the silver cord as a ribbon, thread, or a rainbow. Africans perceive it as a rope, the natives of Borneo, as a ladder.
Regardless of how the phenomenon is defined, it appears common among astral travelers that a type of cord is viewed as a connection between the astral and physical body.
HOW TO ASTRAL TRAVEL
- Relax:As you’re falling asleep, relax and enter the space between wakeful and sleep consciousness. This is a very delicate balance. It’s where you’re not yet asleep but are no longer awake.
- Focus:As you’re in this very relaxed place, with your eyes closed, focus your awareness outside your body. Imagine that you’re outside your body touching a far wall. If you experience a tingling sensation or hear a vibration, simply allow the vibrations to increase in frequency. This will occur until the frequency is so high that you’ll be almost unable to perceive it. Don’t be concerned if you don’t sense a vibration, not everyone does.
- Imagine:Imagine gently pushing against the wall. Then begin to increase the pressure until it feels as if your hand or arm is actually going through the wall. Then allow yourself to slip off to sleep.
- Explore:Once you’ve learned to leave your body while you’re sleeping, you’re free to explore and examine anything and any place you desire. Simply direct your consciousness to an area or a person and you may find yourself there. When you wish to return to your body, simply imagine moving either your fingers or your toes in your physical body. This will immediately bring your spirit back into your body.
- Be gentle with yourself:Sometimes after long periods of practice without attaining any results, in that moment when you least expect it, you’ll experience your first conscious out-of-body journey.
5 SIGNS YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED ASTRAL TRAVEL
Flight: Often astral travel dreams have an aspect of flight in them. Flying dreams, with your arms outspread, or floating over a terrain can be an astral dream. Dreams of flying or of being in an airplane frequently accompany out-of-body experiences.
It Feels Real: Astral traveling feels more real than ordinary dreams.
Believing You Could Fly as a Child: Research indicates that people, who as children, believed they could fly, or liked to jump off trees or roofs, have a tendency to report astral dreams more often than others.
Power Lines: The astral body seems to be affected by electromagnetic flows. A very unusual kind of “dream,” which is usually an astral dream, is when you find yourself floating above or below power lines, especially when you can’t seem to get above or below them.
Vibration: You’re aware of a kind of vibration, hum, or tingling feeling, especially just as you are falling asleep.
HOW TO OVERCOME COMMON BLOCKAGES TO ASTRAL TRAVEL
One of the biggest blockages to astral travel is fear. Even the most intrepid of us will discover, upon deeper examination, that at some time we’ve come face-to-face with the wall of fear regarding separating from our body. First and foremost is the fear of death—the frightening notion that if we’re separated from our physical body, perhaps we’ll die. Our automatic reaction may be to get back within the physical body quickly because this is where our life is, in the physical.
We tend to have this reaction in spite of our emotional attitudes and intellectual thought processes. Only after repeating the experience many times can we hope to release the fear of death. It’s much like beginning to swim and eventually realizing that your body will float—that you won’t drown.
Another common fear is “Will I be able to get back into my body?” or “Will something occupy my body while I’m traveling?” I can say with absolute certainty that you will return to your body. There’s abundant evidence that those who experience astral travel are always able to return safely. Also, if you are concerned about entities and your body (which are almost never a problem), imagine an egg-like shield surrounding your body before you go to sleep. This simple visualization makes sure that all is well.
There appears to be no research indicating that damage results from consciously leaving your body. In truth, it’s a very natural occurrence. It’s interesting to note that when you’re having an out-of-body experience, you don’t experience time or space as you do when in your body. You may find yourself slightly ahead or behind temporal space, and you can gain an extraordinary new perspective on yourself and your life.
If you’d like to learn more about astral travel, lucid dreaming or decoding the true meaning of your dreams, or you’d like a safe environment to learn how to astral travel, I’d love for you to join me this winter in Santa Fe, New Mexico during my 7-day holiday retreat, Shamanic Dreaming. When you attend this intimate retreat, you’ll also become certified as a Gateway Dreaming™ Coach and receive special bonus gifts! You will learn a variety of new skills that will support you and your clients in using the power of dreams to create a life that is meaningful, fulfilling and purposeful. You can learn more when you visit https://celebrateyourlife.com/denise-linn-shamanic-dreaming-certification-course/.