Exploring the Mysteries of Astral Travel: Unveiling the Unfolding of the Body
Understanding Astral Travel
Above but not beyond the body lies a transcendent region of the universe known by the name of the astral plane. Within this elusive realm, there exists a limitless potentiality for the exploration of consciousness. Here, astral travellers leave their physical shell behind – the body is left behind – and journey through the soul. All the while, time and space recede from their clutches. This is the realm of the astral. The phenomenon referred to as astral travel, unfolding of the body (and similar terms and phrases relating to out-of-body experiences), has captivated mystics, spiritual enthusiasts and adventurous minds throughout the ages. It offers the possibility of travelling into, within and beyond dimension; a doorway to a higher state of being and, perhaps most importantly, an insight into the nature of reality on a deeper level. In this article, we’re going to be taking a mysterious journey to explore what exactly astral travel is and why it’s done. We’ll cover the origins of astral travel, the tools used in the art, and where it might lead us.
Understanding Astral Travel
Astral projection, also known as astral travel, is the capacity to temporarily leave the physical body and travel to the astral plane, a realm of reality that lies just outside the physical world. In the astral plane, the traveller experiences a sense of expansion and lightness as consciousness disengages from the physical body. Astral travel is often culturally understood as a mystical introspection used as a means to realise spiritual harmony in esoteric traditions and the metaphysical realm. For researchers studying altered states of consciousness and human perception, astral travel can provide additional layers of insight into the nature of reality.
Origins and History
Astral travel has been present in many religious, mystical and esoteric traditions over thousands of years. The idea of a plane of spirit separate from the physical plane, as well as the idea that one can leave the body and travel to this astral place, was prevalent in Egyptian, Greek and Hindu writings and spiritual practices. In Western esoteric writings, astral flight was described by philosophers and occultists such as Plato, Plotinus and Paracelsus – and built upon in turn by later mystical movements, most notably Theosophy, Rosicrucianism and modern-day New Age spirituality.
Practices and Techniques
Astral travel is facilitated by a variety of meditative and other consciousness-expanding practices; my favourite procedure is a type of meditation that induces a state of profound relaxation, then uses visualization to disengage from the physical body and rise above it. This process separates out the strands of emotion and awareness that connected you to your body, and leaves you floating on what’s known as the silver cord, a cord of energy that anchors you to the body. At this point, you can move into your ethereal form of the astral body and travel throughout the astral landscape, meeting other ethereal beings and gaining insights into yourself and the world. Other methods involve performing ritual or soundwork, or utilising one’s own energy centres to shift consciousness and enable astral projection. One can journey through both landscapes while awake, through mindful appreciation or exploratory practice. By ‘the astral’, I do not mean the ‘etheric’, ‘nirvanic’ or any of the countless other planes or worlds. I am not concerned with the divination and inner exploration techniques developed by Victorian occultists, or any kind of mental telepathy. This type of magick is whimsical fantasy, but it is, of course, a valid form of spiritual practice. It is simply not the territory I have expertise in. Nor am I alienating you by suggesting that a genuine astral reality only manifests after death for the soul. My focus here is on experiences of the astral body that occur while one is still alive and can be recounted with as much clarity and detail as memories of a normal, waking day.
The Astral Plane: A Realm of Possibilities
It is an energy medium and the vibrational dimension … my thoughts and emotions manifest there … consciousness is fluid and malleable … the astral plane extends to etheric and causal planes and has various levels or dimensions associated with different dimensional planes of consciousness and corresponding vibrational ranges … the traveller may make contact with flowers, crystals, stars or godlike beings associated with celestial beauty or find themselves in shadowlands crawling with shadowy spectres on pinched features and abusive energies that destroy and threaten. The list of reported sensory experiences within the astral plane is large and disparate. Astral travellers can experience a kind of unity and euphoria, and also dark feelings and destructive energies.
Transformative Potential
The astral traveller should recognise that the experience will be a transforming one for him. It will disclose the condition of things not limited to the senses and the reason, and introduce scenes and vistas not furnished by the physical senses or the mental faculty, widening out into possible fields of knowledge and spiritual growth. The purpose of astral or out-of-body travel then is to acquire a knowledge of the oneness of things, the nature of consciousness, the structure of being and the eternalibration of the soul: To heal by direct administration, to inspire, to warn, to kill, to vanquish, to be with, to see and be seen; to traverse every incident of human fear and desire, every clinch of fate, every casual word and deed, every bit of gossip he has heard and every vision he has dreamt. Said fictionally by Scarlet or otherwise, that’s the point of astral travel.
Conclusion: Embracing the Mystery
In conclusion, astral travel remains the largest enigma in the cosmological universe given its capability to push the frontiers of medical science, psychology, teleportation, invention, scientific research, and cultural practices. To unlock its secrets is to comprehend the nature of higher consciousness, and how it lies beyond the purview of our waking, five-sensed world. To merely think of the possibilities of astral travel is an adventure akin to a self-directed excursion into our exoplanetary neighbour-worlds. Astral travel is an extraordinary gift that mankind has to share, to be a resource for all those who wish to explore consciousness beyond the confines of the physical world. May we leave for this journey in peace, as we honed our ability to seek meaning over generations, millennia, and beyond. May this examination of the depths of astral travel bring much light to the wayfarers along this path.
