So is Astral Projection actually real? Opinions please.

Hey.

I've been interested in APing for years now, I have read books on it and successfully achieved a few AP's myself, which consisted of me floating around my room.

I am thinking about taking this on full-time so I can learn to do it PROPERLY and most nights to have proper Astral Adventures.

My question is though; Is it actually real? Are you sure its not just our minds playing tricks on us? Are you sure its not just a self inflicted lucid dream? Some of the things people say, for example people say they wonder around, they meet there spirit guides, they fly, they meet other people projecting. I just find those stories hard to believe, which Is why I wanna kinda prove its real to myself even though I'm not sure if it is.

Also, when I projected once, I remember looking at my body and memorizing the position I was in. When I awoke, I was in a different position AND the bed sheets were a different color. So I couldn't have really been looking at myself asleep, it must have just been my imagination thinking I was right?

Thanks!

Silva

[Zyther]

I had the very same question once. It is very real. It doesn't seem real at first because we're not experienced enough but once you achieve astral projection or an obe, you will know that it is real and not your mind. There isn't really a difference between dreams and astral projection except of our awareness of it. If you can become experienced enough, you can test this if it truly is real in different ways. One way is by astral projecting to a place you've never seen before. Then waking up and seeing it in physical reality. Many people around the World have reported astral projecting without being aware of it and tell of stories that are similar to most of what other people say.

You say when you had an obe once you remember you were in a different position and the bed sheets were a different colour. Your room is slightly different when you come out of your body. I remember while coming out of my body seeing a poster on the wall that isn't there in physical reality. Next time you achieve an out of body experience, look around your room to see if anything is different.

Good luck! :)

[Tobi]

The best thing you can do is explore astral projection yourself, and based on your experiences, draw your own conclusions.

Without getting too complicated about "what's real and what's not real"....then all I can say is astral projection/going out of body feels 'real' enough to me, equally as much as going down to the supermarket and buying food feels 'real'. But who am I to discuss the nature of 'reality'?

But when you have your own experiences, then you will know. You will find out some things which will amaze and interest you. Don't just believe in what someone else says, try it for yourself. Keep going and practicing. Good luck.

[IsleWalker]

I agree with Tobi. You've had the experiences--only you can answer for yourself if they were "real".

Then, of course, you get into what constitutes "real"--a much bigger question.

IsleWalker - Lora

[CrystalSong]

What is 'real' is very slippy territory.
Perhaps what is 'real' is not a static concrete definition but a growing expanding concept based on individual experience and exploration?

Guess its kinda like the Flat Earth Society, when it looks flat it is for all intent and purposes - flat, and anyone saying otherwise is selling fancy notions. However when you circumnavigate the world personally and experience its roundness then you have a new paradigm. Your 'real' has just expanded!

[Astral Explorer]

Originally Posted by Silva Verrimus

Hey.

I've been interested in APing for years now, I have read books on it and successfully achieved a few AP's myself, which consisted of me floating around my room.

I am thinking about taking this on full-time so I can learn to do it PROPERLY and most nights to have proper Astral Adventures.

My question is though; Is it actually real? Are you sure its not just our minds playing tricks on us? Are you sure its not just a self inflicted lucid dream? Some of the things people say, for example people say they wonder around, they meet there spirit guides, they fly, they meet other people projecting. I just find those stories hard to believe, which Is why I wanna kinda prove its real to myself even though I'm not sure if it is.

Also, when I projected once, I remember looking at my body and memorizing the position I was in. When I awoke, I was in a different position AND the bed sheets were a different color. So I couldn't have really been looking at myself asleep, it must have just been my imagination thinking I was right?

Thanks!

Silva

The world doesn't know 100% sure if astral projection is real, but then again we can't know if physical life is real as well. There is always going to be a level of uncertainty in everything. But I can say from my own experiences I personally know for a fact that lucid dreaming and astral projection is real, that what we experience in those events are actually real and this physical world is the dream world. We have things quite backwards at this point and it is sad, but I am just thankful I have made it far enough to know what I know.

You must understand that the second you enter your subtle body and your consciousness is no longer consciously aware in your physical body you are no longer looking at the physical dimension. If you are able to see anything while leaving your body, and once you have left your body you are looking at a different dimension and not the same physical dimension we live in our Human bodies. The dimension that you are in before entering the astral planes is referred to as the RTZ which means the Real Time Zone. Basically it is a spiritual dimension that overlaps the physical dimension and typically will be a mirror reflection of the physical space it overlaps. But it almost always has anything varying from minor to major distortions. Sometimes it will not look anything like your physical room as well, I have had the RTZ space look like a house I lived in a long time ago. I actually begin projections in a house I lived in a long time ago on a regular basis. So this indicates to me that the RTZ is anything but static and our subconscious mind can shape it in some circumstances.

The reason your bed sheets or whatever you said looked different is exactly what I am talking about, it was a distortion in the RTZ. The reason your body was laying in a different position was because you were not looking at your physical body, you cannot see your physical body when you are in the RTZ. You were likely looking at your etheric body, which is our densest subtle body and stays very close to our physical body while we are alive in the physical dimension. It's likely your etheric body was laying in a different position than your physical body, it actually happens a lot to me. So with that said astral projection is beyond real, it is the true reality. This physical world is actually the dream world.

[IsleWalker]

Originally Posted by CrystalSong

What is 'real' is very slippy territory.
Perhaps what is 'real' is not a static concrete definition but a growing expanding concept based on individual experience and exploration?

Absolutely right, CrystalSong. Not only is real an expanding concept, but I suspect it expands as we are capable of "understanding" (whatever that means).

Actually, I think increasing understanding is the growth of consciousness. It becomes more and more aware around it, further and further out and further and further inward--ad infinitum!

Lora

[Jaykay]

That's the 64 Billion dollar question, isn't it? I believe the previous responses say it best when they say you can only decide for yourself and that hopefully your own continued experiences will provide an answer. Even if I could answer you with absolute conviction, would you believe me?

I know for myself I was never able to fully develop my AP experiences when I tried so hard in my 20's, certainly nowhere near as much as many people here seem to have been able. My upbringing was one of logic and practicality without any religious fervor or dogma (fortunately) and I never held any sort of true belief in an afterlife. After accidentally stumbling upon AP through self-guided meditation I spent many more frustrating years trying to experience it as much as I could before I let it go dormant. Even though my results were so limited that I still don't have any “absolute” certainty, I can say that for me it was real enough to overturn my belief system. For me even a taste of AP has provided me with a gyroscope of calm throughout my life and it has provided me with a sort of faith in something that I never had before.

I have witnessed it first hand...not as the traveler but the "host"

And have pictures to prove it!

[IsleWalker]

Originally Posted by Jaykay

That's the 64 Billion dollar question, isn't it? I believe the previous responses say it best when they say you can only decide for yourself and that hopefully your own continued experiences will provide an answer. Even if I could answer you with absolute conviction, would you believe me?

I know for myself I was never able to fully develop my AP experiences when I tried so hard in my 20's, certainly nowhere near as much as many people here seem to have been able. My upbringing was one of logic and practicality without any religious fervor or dogma (fortunately) and I never held any sort of true belief in an afterlife. After accidentally stumbling upon AP through self-guided meditation I spent many more frustrating years trying to experience it as much as I could before I let it go dormant. Even though my results were so limited that I still don't have any “absolute” certainty, I can say that for me it was real enough to overturn my belief system. For me even a taste of AP has provided me with a gyroscope of calm throughout my life and it has provided me with a sort of faith in something that I never had before.

Well said, JayKay. I too struggle with having as many OBEs as I desire. Even so, it has totally changed the direction of my life.

Thanks for your comments. It adds some humanity to the process. It's not just about deciding to do something and it happens. It happens in conjunction with a strange kind of growth. Each person is different.

Lora