This is my favorite way to explore the many dimensions of the multiverse. Out-Of-Body Experiences are known by many names: astral traveling, astral projection, journeying, OBE, OOBE and probably many more names depending on culture and belief system. There are a variety of techniques to induce out-of-body experiences (OBE) from soul journeys in the shamanic tradition to the Monroe Institute's scientific method of brainwave patterning. The easiest for a beginner, coming from my point of view, may be to induce a lucid dream, and then try to force a false awakening.

The difference between an out-of-body experience and a lucid dream, is a matter of degrees, degrees of consciousness. It's possible to be experiencing an out-of-body experience and think one is dreaming, one is awake, or one is asleep. The awareness of the phenomena is the only thing that maintains a "memory record" of the experience. Again, the experience of consciousness is like traveling from one color band in a rainbow to another. It is possible to mistake one experience for another because one doesn't test the environment or has little experience with a dimension.

Typically, the OBE starts on the plane closest to the earth. I call that plane the etheric plane. It mimics the physical plane very well, but it still allows you the luxury of passing through walls, if you are knowledgeable enough to do it. There may be things that appear to be different on this plane, such as when you move into a new home. The decorations on the etheric may reflect the previous owners decorations as it takes a bit of time for those thoughtforms to dissapate. However, most of the time, the etheric plane reflects the physical plane very closely. However, one can be "out-of-body" on any plane, the astral or the mental, and different rules apply to different dimensions.

What and Where Are The Spiritual Planes?

There are seven spiritual bodies associated with consciousness. They correspond to seven chakras, or energy centers, located along the center of the body. They also correspond to seven spiritual planes that are accessed in different states of consciousness.

The first five chakras are thought to be in this 3D space more than the others. They correspond also to the five energies, going from bottom (red) to top (blue): earth, water, fire, air, ether. This is one system of categorizing energetic bodies. There are a variety of systems, some with more than seven chakras, others with different names. For me, this is the most basic and easiest to understand system. And since, it is rare for anyone to even reach the fifth chakra consciousness within thier lifetime, it seems appropriate to our studies here. The seven chakras correspond to the following bodies and consciousness:

The seven spiritual bodies are a subject that can take years to learn. If you are not already familiar with the spiritual bodies, I encourage you to research them under my links page in The Energetic Body Section. When a person travels "out-of-body," suffice it to say that they are actually traveling within to various dimensions of their God-self. Whereas meditation and prayer are bridges, the chakras can been seen as doorways at the beginning or end of a bridge. By the use of various bridges, like meditation and prayer, one has access to all of the limitless universes beyond the physical body. Clearing and opening a chakra, changes your inner self, so it naturally opens new dimensions of being, a new reality. The wheels that carried Elijah away to heaven in the Bible are said to be representative of the chakras or wheels, another term used for these energy centers.

Is There A Goal To Astral Traveling?

Asking what the goal of astral traveling, is like asking what the goal of living is. Is there meaning to life? What is our purpose here? Like everyone else, I've asked those questions. If living is just a form of consciousness and astral traveling another, what's the point of it all? My conclusion is that the point of it all is the actual dimension itself. If you find yourself on the physical plane, it is because something in your soul has resonated to this particular dimension where spacetime was necessary to explore facets of yourself. If you resonate to the astral, it is because your being is resonating with that level. The point of being is being. This is not to say that we can't seek the Divine within all these experiences, its to say that you are where you are because of who you are. If you want to change where you are, change who you are and that will change your surrounding dimensions.

This lesson is particularly clear when you are out-of-body. The higher mind has released the physical and finds itself able to effect almost immediate changes to the environment through thought alone. Think happy thoughts, and you find yourself in a happy place. Think negative thoughts and you find yourself in a negative place. The dimension around you reflects your inner being.

More to Come, later!