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My understanding of the subtle bodies is similar to Peteyzen's. I would expand on this a little, as the knowledge may help others who wish to astral travel.
I'm going to use the term 'soul' rather than subtle bodies or a list of the subtle bodies to indicate the 'you' that excludes the physical body. But 'you' are a combination of bodies that each operate in unison through the various planes of existence. If there's a table in the physical world, there's also a table in the astral, spiritual, mental, etc planes. Counter to this, there may be objects in the astral plane (for example) that aren't in the physical; much like there are beings that live in the subtle realms that don't have physical bodies.
But back to the main point: we are essentially a soul that resides in a physical body. It's 'locked' into place, and certain vibrations are needed before it can 'discard' the physical body temporarily. It may help to get some additional details here that may seem a little off topic at first.
When we die or are reborn, we pass through the 'pearly gates'. These remove and restore memory depending on the direction we are traveling. When we sleep, we partially pass through these gates as our soul travels to heaven; where we dream - our thoughts are instantly manifest. This transition partly though the gates is what results in our dreams being hard to remember.
When we astral travel, we're essentially making the transition out of the body, but retaining enough of a connection to our body that we're conscious of the event; to visit the astral realm rather than heaven.. or to a lucid dream if we do go to heaven.
For those that astral travel or lucid dream, they'll likely comment on the wash of vibrations that pass over their body that causes the soul to lose that 'locked' state. This is you passing partially through those gates, and the tighter a hold you have on your consciousness, the more control you are likely to have over what happens next and better you'll be able to remember them (as your physical brain is actually receiving those details). Also, the better your physical mind is able to process the senses of your soul, the more clear you experiences are likely to be. As such, if your third eye is open and functioning, you are more likely to see clearly while astral traveling and have clearer signals reach your physical brain so they can be stored in your long term memory.
Most people that leave their bodies venture into the astral plane first, being the lowest of the subtle realms. The astral body has all the senses of the physical body, they just behave a little differently. This adds to the difficulty the brain has in interpreting details; it's not accustomed to organising visual data in 360 degrees. As such, despite having a full spherical field of view, your physical brain is more likely to ignore the 'extra' details leaving you seeing the astral realm much like you do the physical one.
Movement is also a little problematic at first. Because you don't technically have arms and legs in astral form, you can take any shape you want, and may imitate walking/running in some way. But movement in the astral plane happens instantly; at the speed of thought. You think of where you want to be, and you'll simply shift there. Again, if you're new to astral travel, this can be a little disconcerting as you're used to moving your legs to stimulate motion. Initially, you may be more comfortable moving in familiar ways (using imaginary legs), but it usually results in a jerking series of 'shifts' to get where you want to go.
Some people have certain methods of falling asleep that result in spontaneous astral traveling. Their minds are full of thoughts, or they're simply existing quietly while they wait for their body to sleep. The body being asleep (despite the mind being awake) triggers the separation process to allow the soul to leave the body. You being conscious allows you to feel these vibrations that are washing over your body, and they can be used as a signal that it's time to initiate an astral travel or lucid dream.
Astral travel is something that can be learnt, but to get the full benefit of it, you'll also need to improve in other areas; such as opening your third eye. And this shouldn't be done until you are properly balanced and don't have too much negativity in your life.
As a word of caution, your mood / mental state is what dictates who/what you encounter in the subtle realms. If you're angry, scared, on drugs, depressed, etc, you are likely to encounter negative beings that may attempt to worsen your mental state; to drop you further down, allowing them more easy contact with you. If you are too closely aligned with their energy, they can attach to you and become a more permanent feature in your life.
To combat this, imagine your house being full of love and light. Meditate on this a little before attempting to astral travel. There are more techniques for handling negative entities, but I feel this post is long enough. Let me know if you wanted me to continue.
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