Aromatherapy Haven

For hundreds of years, individuals have experienced a state in which their spiritual self, or soul, is freed from their physical body, allowing their spirit to then explore regions of time and space that differ from the plane their physical body is inhabiting. This state is called the out of body experience, sometimes abbreviated as OBE.

Some of the characteristics of this experience, sometimes called astral projection, include feelings of weightlessness, a sense of being free from physical limitations, and being able to look at one’s own physical body from a multi-dimensional, external point of view.

Those who report having out of body experiences usually do so immediately after going through a traumatic event (either physical, mental, emotional, or a combination of the three), an interaction with drugs, or after intentionally-inducing one through meditation and then a series of specific sequential steps.

Out of body experiences are not dreams; these experiences are conscious states of awareness that unfold in real time and often are very vivid. Dreams are merely manifestations created by the subconscious mind and may or may not seem real to the person experiencing them. People who have had out of body experiences often report that they have heightened senses as well as other levels of awareness in addition to the physical senses they normally possess.

Those who report having out of body experiences say they feel as though their spirits or souls assume a form that is separate from their physical bodies. This separate spirit or soul, sometimes called the astral body, is then able to travel to different dimensions, including different regions and different times. Sometimes they even encounter the spirits of loved ones who have passed away and are now on the other side.

This makes it easy to see why many men and women actively strive for an out of body experience. These people may be looking for answers to overarching questions like ‘what happens when we die?’ or ‘how large is the universe?’ Others may simply want to reconnect with friends or relatives whom they miss or with whom they have business that is as yet unfinished.

It’s important to also note out of body experiences happen to people from all walks of life, all cultures, and all ages. Some are hesitant to say that they’ve had an out of body experience for fear of religious repercussions, but evidence of such experiences has been documented in religious scriptures throughout history, from various ancient Native American oral traditions to the Christian Bible.

Although most people who actively seek an OBE are at least somewhat open to new age thinking, the practice is actually a very old method used to find personal enlightenment and enrichment.

Individuals report that out of body experiences occur with a surprising frequency: approximately one out of every 15 individuals has some type of OBE. These experiences occur in almost every set of circumstances, ranging from sleeping or relaxing to being in the midst of a stressful or violent situation such as an accident. The explanation for this wide spectrum of causality is very simple: every person is different, and each responds differently to given situations.

Many people report a feeling of vibration, or the physical body suddenly feeling very heavy, during an out of body experience. Many believe that these feelings are signals that the spiritual self is separating from the physical body, after which the spirit or astral body is free to travel in the astral plane.

Some people who are not familiar with the concept of the out of body experience fear that if their spiritual self separates from their physical body, it may not be able to re-unite. Experts suggest, however, that a permanent link exists between the spiritual and physical selves, and that this is particularly the case with people who are sufficiently self-aware to induce the state on purpose. Because it is not believed that the spirit can somehow become trapped outside the physical body, there is very little reason to fear having an out of body experience.

Having an out of body experience is more common that one might think, and has been a part of human life across the cultural spectrum for centuries. It has long been considered a method for gaining personal understanding and enlightenment for the world and universe that surrounds us.

Opportunities for growth are before us. If only we can quiet our minds long enough to permit our spiritual selves the freedom they crave, we can grow in personal insight and advance technology in areas that are far beyond our physical consciousness. Personal study and practice is the path that leads us through the process of unlocking our personal potential and spiritual awakening. That path is before us. We need only take the first step.

At first, most people find it difficult to begin astral projecting. There are a lot of things which can make it hard to begin astral projecting, even though it is an ability which every man, woman and child possesses already. Like riding a bike, you don’t forget how to do it – but you do need practice if you want to become able to astral project any time you want and be in control of the experience.

One major stumbling block that many people encounter is relaxation. When learning astral projecting the mind and the body have to be deeply relaxed. This can take some practice, but there are many relaxation techniques that you can employ to help your mind and body relax. There are breathing techniques and muscle relaxation techniques that you can try.

Naturally though if the environment is not conducive to promoting a relaxed environment then your astral projection session is not going to go as smoothly or be as successful as you would like it to be. Here are a number of tips that you can follow to help get the most out of your preparation.

*Start by removing any tight, restrictive clothing and any jewelry. Some people even find taking off their clothes to be helpful when astral projecting, but whatever works for you is the right way to go.

*You will want to practice your astral projecting in a dim or dark room. It should be dark enough that you cannot see light through your closed eyes, but not so dark as to be pitch black.

*With your head pointed north, lie down along a north-south axis. This should be easy to figure out with the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. So if our of your bedroom window you can see the sunset that means you need to be laying along the window, not with your head or feet pointing towards the window.

*While you practice astral projecting, make sure that the clothes you wear keep you warm, but are comfortable and loosely fitting.

*Your astral projecting should be practiced in a quiet room where you will not have any distractions.

*It is time to enter a state of relaxation, (this is where you want to practice your relaxation techniques.)

*Give yourself suggestions which will help you remember the goings-on of your astral projecting; try telling yourself “I will remember” at least five times. In order to make sure that you can remember all of the details later, keep a pen and paper handy so that you can take notes on what happened once you return from the astral planes.

*Continue to practice your breathing.

*Focus on the blackness ahead of you as you relax.

*Start to focus on a point which is about one foot away from your forehead. Once you have done this, move your focus to a point about six feet away.

*Now you want to make a 90 degree angle that goes from your six foot away focus up so that you are drawing an imaginary line that runs parallel to you body.

Following these simple steps will prepare you for astral projecting. It is important that we note that you also have to have mental control of what you are going to do. You don’t want your astral body to just go out and bounce through the astral planes with no direction. You can go anywhere, do anything so it is important that you have direction.

Those who are well practiced at astral projecting have reported being able to perform feats which their physical bodies would be unable to do and even speaking with departed loved ones. Remember, astral projection is something you have done before. You know those dreams where you wake up and remember everything vividly? Those were actually astral travels – and with practice, you can astral project at will and gain many benefits.

The last time you were having a dream where you were flying, you were experiencing what astral travel was like. Astral travel is the way the astral body moves about in the astral plane, and it does so by flying. You simply think about where it is you want to go and what it is you want and once your physical mind and body are asleep the subconscious mind and astral body are off to fulfill your desires.

A lot of people confuse astral travel with dreaming. When we dream, what happens is that our minds try to process the happenings of the day that could not be resolved in our waking lives. This is a normal process which is essential to maintaining our mental health. However, we don’t usually remember these dreams, except in disjointed fragments.

Those times where your dreams are vividly remembered are the times when you are experiencing astral travel. It is good practice to write down these dreams on paper or in a computer journal of some sort. You may not understand the dreams now, but later you can browse over the lot of them and likely make some sort of sense for you.

Just as those first dreams you have at night help your mind relieve stress and work through the issues of the day in order to keep you sane, astral travel has benefits as well. Which is why it is important that you keep track of those dreams that you remember very well. It is these experiences that can help you, the benefits will vary by the individual and that is because each astral travel experience is unique to the individual.

Astral travel, when practiced regularly will lead to a deeper sense of your connection to the larger universe. This in turn will fill you with inner peace and a sense of well being. You will also find that astral travel can improve your memory and make you more creative. Why does astral travel produce these results? It is because astral travel uses parts of your brain which are not often used while you are awake – astral travel can help you to reach your full mental potential.

Once practicing astral travel, you should see a significant boost in your telepathic and psychic strength. Anyone who works at astral projection will tell you that their psychic abilities increase the more they practice. They can more easily sense sprits and use their telepathic skills.

When you astral travel, you use untapped psychic energies and cause your psychic abilities to bloom.

Even skeptics who didn’t believe that astral projection and astral travel were real, experienced that ability to see and read peoples’ auras.

Besides all of the above, there is also the simple fun and adventure of travelling outside your own body. It is like being on a rollercoaster whenever you want while at the same time providing you a sense of well-being and peace.

It is hard to believe that astral travel isn’t consciously experienced by more people. Most people are simply afraid to try because they believe one must have the skills present. However, everyone is born with this ability as long as they are willing to practice it.

Whether you realize it or not, you have already astral traveled. You’ve had those flying dreams too – they are astral travel experiences.

Now that you know something about astral travel, you can allow yourself to experience these events openly. The next time you have an astral travel experience, try to control some aspects of it. A little practice at this and you will see your mental strength increase each day.

There are techniques that you can learn on your own through books offine or ebooks and other resources online. These were created by people who practice astral travel. Learning to astral travel is not as difficult as people want to believe that it is. This is a natural ability that you were born with, you just forgot how to use it and need to fine tune your ability.

The ability to astral project is an innate ability that each and every person is born with. The difference between those that astral project on a regular basis and those that do not know they are doing it is simply practice. Astral projecting is an ancient practice that should be treated with the respect that it deserves, much like meditation or yoga. There are a variety of types and names that it is known by. There are also different ways to astral project.

Lucid dreaming, for example is a form of astral projection. You already know what lucid dreaming is – this is when you are conscious within a dream and able to direct the course of the dream. This takes practice to do reliably, but it is as simple as saying to yourself ‘I am dreaming’ while you are in the middle of a dream.

Doing this lets you take the reins in your dreams – but it takes a while to master this, making it not the best way for beginners to astral project.

You need to know that astral projection is real. You should also know that you have astral projected already, you simply were not aware that is what had happened. Have you ever woken up from a dream either in the middle of the night or in the morning and remembered a ‘dream’ that you had the night before really well. As if you had lived it. That was an astral projection.

The key element to astral projection is to know that you can do it. This will help erase any fears or doubts that you may have that could be keeping you from being able to astral project.

Meditating and practicing relaxation techniques will also help you astral project. Meditating is actually an ideal way to prepare your mind and body for astral projection. All you have to do is find a meditative practice that you can follow easily and that you will be able to stick with.

Find a quite place to relax, a comfortable chair or lie down, making sure you will not be interrupted. Clear your mind of all thoughts, picture a blank screen. Pay attention to your breathing, take slow deep breathes. Imagine all your troubles leaving your body when you breathe out. This will put you in a deeply relaxed state that will enable you to astral project.

You now need to go deeper into a state of altered consciousness. Just think about your breathing as you are now without worry or stress. Your mind is clear, you are taking deep breathes. Focus on breathing in through the nose and letting the airflow out through your mouth. You are breathing slower and deeper and getting more relaxed, now focus on relaxing your body.

Begin with your toes and move on up your body telling each part to relax. When you breathe out, tell each part of your body to relax. You can also tense the muscles up first and then relax them, whichever works best for you.

You’ll begin to feel heavy and limp as you release all of the tension and negative energy. After you have relaxed your entire body, then it’s time to move on to the next step in starting to astral project.

Your body and your mind will be completely relaxed and it would be very easy to fall asleep, but don’t! To stay alert, you can repeat a phrase to yourself. It doesn’t matter what this phrase is – it could be as simple as ‘walk the dog, walk the dog’.

When our minds have nothing else to do, they tend to wander – and this can spoil the concentration you need to astral project. Keep repeating your phrase to stay focused.

There are different ways to achieve a state of altered consciousness. You can repeat your chosen phrase or do it another way. Imagine a glowing light, and then imagine you entering it and transforming yourself into this body of light. This is referred to as the body of light technique.

When you begin to astral project three things will happen to let you know. You will have a feeling of movement. You will notice different colors and lights in front of you. Your eyes will be closed as you are still in your chair or bed. When you see the lights this is when you are passing into the astral zone. Voices will tell you to go on and encourage you or tell you to stop now as a warning. When you hear these voices, it means you have succeeded in astral projecting.