Thanks a lot for your responses, everyone! I really appreciate it! :)

SO it was actually my older brother who asked these questions. Previously, we had engaged in an extremely heated debate concerning these very questions.

I have been practicing meditation in conjunction with qigong energy exercises (specifically Falun Gong) for roughly a year now. In December, I began consistently seeing what we describe as the 3D blackness -- extremely vividly -- while meditating or simply laying down (I actually remember asking about what this could be when I first began to experience it regularly/daily in a post on either this site or Apulse and some helpful ppl referred me to Monroe's descriptions... I believe that's around the same time I joined these two forums, so that I could ask the question about the 3D blackness that I was consistently seeing).

In about March, I realized that I would be at the "astral bridge" upon sitting down and closing my eyes... whether sitting in a car, an office, couch, bed, or basically anywhere I could sit. It was weird because I didn't expect for it to happen by merely sitting anywhere; and, it was even more weird that I would often get there in less than a minute... Today, even within 5 seconds, and then it would become much more vivid and everything would swirl a lot slower and more "up in my face" in a moment lol. Though it was a bit weird to me, I'm now not really surprised because I guess one should expect progression after a regular practice... However, still weird because didn't expect to progress so quickly. Could it be that I've always had an open mind about the universe and remember experiences as a child, or that I've always been interested in "supernatural" things as a child and held beliefs? My bro and I both begin law school shortly and it's going to be very interesting trying to delve into even more regular argumentation on the basis of logic... and astral projection isn't logical to numerous people! The debate I had with my bro made me realize how much I really value these forums because there's not many ppl I know who I can share my experiences with without being ridiculed about it.. lol.

Anyways, my bro seemed to really not believe in me, concerning these questions. And I didn't realize, until then, that my bro probably secretly thought that I was a 'crazy' person when I would share my experiences with him lol. I truly thought he believed me from the start, especially since he told me he once experienced, long ago, the 3D blackness that I described. But he still didn't believe me... he took a meditation class in uni and just felt that the things that I was saying were too inconsistent with his prof's lectures lol... So I invited him to email his prof and ask her these questions. But instead, he decided to ask them here and on another site.

And to clarify, I agree with those of you who said that you don't have to notice or reach the "astral bridge" described, or any other 'bridge' for that matter, in order to project. I explained this to my bro, with reference to the fact that my first projection (last summer) did not involve this 3D blackness as described by Monroe.

My bro didn't believe that I project because I don't often see my spirit leave my body, or a see a silver cord, or see my body over my bed. "Ridiculous!", I thought... He had become too attentive to common stereotypes involving projection... or techniques that seem to work for many, but have never worked for others including myself (e.g. rope climbing technique? Lol! This NEVER worked for me... projections came when I stopped trying to do them.. they came from regular meditation and energy exercises).

Well, that's my rant. I'm sure everybody empathically feels the.. let's say 'grudge'.. that I had against my bro last week lol. I wouldn't expect a stranger to believe me, but I would at least expect my own family to lol. At least I know what I experienced... and ppl say that's all that matter, and I know it's true... but I did feel a tad like ****.

Alright guys, now this really concludes my story! Lol. I really would like to thank you all again for your responses!!! You've been very helpful in allowing my bro to open up his mind a little bit more .. I hope! :p