I will work to develop a common nomenclature which will be used throughout this blog, to help clear up confusion and bridge the, perhaps unwarranted, dichotomy between proponents of "lucid dreaming," "out-of-body experience," and "astral projection" - or whatever other term one prefers to describe these non-physical experiences.
A little background is in order. I first got into this subject during my sophomore year of college in New Paltz, upstate New York. I was dealing with a dark night of the soul where I spent most of my time in bed. I thought I may have contracted mono, the kissing disease, but the truth is I was dealing with a serious bout with depression - there was a void in my life, something was missing.
I can't quite remember what planted the seed in my head, but I found myself purchasing a couple books off of Amazon on the subject of 2012 and the psychedelic substance DMT. This was the beginning of my decent down the rabbit hole. I was introduced to an array of new ideas which I found extremely interesting - especially those ideas revolving around the subject of consciousness studies.
Within a year I found myself practicing meditation, keeping a dream journal and devouring all sorts of metaphysical books - everything from shamanism and entheogens, to Eastern mysticism, to quantum physics. All of this was coupled with what I considered to be genuine spiritual experiences and synchronicity. Suddenly my previous paradigm as a cynical atheist was being thrown out the window. A magic which had been barren since I was a child was reentering my life.
One subject, above the rest, truly captured my excitement; that of out-of-body experiences and lucid dreaming. When I came across my first book on "astral projection," Adventures Beyond the Body by William Buhlman, I couldn't believe what I was reading. "Could people truly have these experiences? Why doesn't everyone know about this?" I thought to myself. I was determined to find out for myself.
Within a week of trying a few of the exercises presented in Buhlman's book I found myself laying in bed in an altered state of consciousness with these intense electrical-like vibrations roaring and buzzing throughout my body accompanied by a loud crackling sound. The experience, often referred to as the "vibrational state," is a known precursor to an out-of-body experience. Ill prepared for the intensity of the experience, it caused me to wake up. I lay in bed, bewildered and excited, unable to process what I had just experienced. Although a fleeting experience, it was subjectively powerful and fueled my determination to see how far I could take this out-of-body stuff. I wanted to test the limits of human experience.
This blog will focus on what I have discovered and give practical advise on how you too can foster these experiences. Anyone can have an out-of-body experience. I will attempt to appeal to a Western audience who, rightly so, is fed up with dogma and other unwarranted beliefs. We deal with dogma everyday, whether it be from our favorite political party, socialite or religious institution.
I've found that these non-physical experiences are a lot about unlearning the conditioning of daily life - the conditioning to think you are merely a physical body. From the day we are born we are conditioned to think in a certain way - all human beings are a product of their culture, there is no exception. Learning to have these non-physical experiences will be an exercise in personal growth. It is part of a greater picture. You will be forced to confront your beliefs and assumptions about reality, which is not always a comfortable process.
As a human being, I still deal with the perils of the ego and fear. I am, most likely like yourself, a work in progress. In a sense, I ask you to join me in a journey of self-discovery. Let us push the limits of human experience and bring magic back into the world.
[Image: The Sun ©Stephanie Pui-Mun Law http://www.shadowscapes.com]
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