A friend and I were having a conversation the other day about astral travel and what it looked like. The conversation was amazing! And I started thinking more in-depth on the topic. 😊 **This is an opinion piece based on my own experiences and insights – I would love to hear your experiences and thoughts!** Definitions for astral projection and remote viewing are at the end. 😊
According to PopularMechanics.com (link below), researchers have been delving more into Quantum Mechanics – research has shown in some cases that it’s “possible to speed up, slow down, or reverse the flow of time in a quantum system". According to the same article, this ‘adjustment’ of time is not time travel, “…but is instead implementing or reverting [an object] to different quantum states from different points in time”. Popular Mechanics.
According to this article (simply put), items can be sent through a quantum system, then it can be reverted back to the state it was in before it ‘traveled’! For more info, I definitely recommend the article (link below) – their perspectives are fascinating! The same article states that this cannot yet be done with humans as the physical body doesn’t experience changes in the same way as other items they’ve tested. BUT! What if we could “speed up, slow down, or reverse the flow of time” with our consciousness?! Or jump from ‘space’ to ‘space’ without actually leaving the physical body?!
I’d like to challenge the mainstream, ‘acceptable’ version of travel when it comes to astral projection and quantum mechanics. So many different terms exist for this concept, right?! Remote viewing, astral projection, astral travel, lucid dreaming, dream walking, journeying, transcendental meditation, spirit-walking, out of body experiences, soul travel, thought casting, et al. are all different terms with similar definitions. Even distance energy healings could be considered as a similar practice! Each culture has a version of these practices, some going back to the very dawn of Humankind.
The generally accepted version of astral movement, with whatever term may be used, is a dissociation between the physical and astral bodies within a person, allowing one’s consciousness to move freely without the restrictions of the physical body. [Not to be confused with cognitive dissonance.] Following dissociation then, is the accepted version that the astral body leaves the physical body in one place and goes to a completely different place – essentially creating two of YOU in different places at the same time…. (more on this in a minute). It also appears that a general rule of thumb is that everyone is capable of ‘traveling’, but special training and understanding may be required in order for this to occur.
Now, those who say this type of travel is impossible or cannot be proven say that the experiences we receive are a combination of fantasy and desire, and are a result of visualizing a particular outcome to suit our fancy – i.e. the astral body does not separate from the physical body but instead creates an (arguably delusional) alternate reality that we consider to be true. In some cases, I believe this is entirely possible.
BUT!! What if …! What if… we don’t have to travel outside of the physical body to reach other worlds and/or planes of existence? What if… we have the ability to bring the realities on other planes to our current space and time rather than moving about to get to them? WHAT IF… all of time and space exists in / at the same time and space as quantum physics suggests, and we are merely opening to more realities than the human perception recognizes on a normal basis? AND! What if… you and everyone you know do it all the time and you haven’t yet realized it!?
Encyclopedia.com (link below) states, “In occult cosmology, the astral plane is one of several (most often, seven or twelve) planes of existence, along with physical, etheric, causal, and mental. Although humans function within all these dimensions at once, they are usually only conscious of the physical plane.” I like the term dimensions in this definition – the term ‘dimensions’ provides more insight into understanding that planes coexist within the same space but serve different functions.
We’ve heard the term “as above, so below” in so many different versions, and understand it to mean that the microcosm mimics the macrocosm and / or heavenly or otherworldly occurrences will also occur on the earthly plane. Could it be true then, that our physical body could contain a macrocosm within the microcosm within the macrocosm – as we are composed of stardust and animated with a Soul (Divine energy)?
That said, if according to quantum physics all space and time exists in the same space and time, then would traveling necessarily have to be ‘outside’ our physical perception? Would not some, if not all, the worlds / planes ‘out there’ also exist ‘in here’ (the physical body)? In metaphysical practices, we are aware that our perception creates our reality; however, there are things that are true whether we perceive them that way or not, correct?
To contradict myself, the planes across time and space that can exist within and without which I am referring to are the ones where YOU exist in different timelines, different ‘physical spaces’, and different ‘perceptions’ (so to speak). I am not referring to angelic, fairy, or dragon realms or other places that vibrate at a different frequency than the humans’ physical plane. I am in no way negating their existence! It is just outside of my experience to know if they can be accessed by going ‘in’ instead of ‘out’. That said, you may be aware of the dragon sitting right next to you, or the imps that steal a sock as it goes into the dryer, without physically seeing them sometimes, correct? In this case, we’d be crossing vibrational levels that occupy the same space, and could therefore be ‘close’ to the physical body.
Back to the original train of thought 😊
Have you experienced a time where you were inside a dream knowing you were inside a dream?
Were you able to take the opportunity to manipulate that dream – bring in a character, change an aspect, or shift your perspective? Or, my personal favorite, stand off to the side and watch yourself perform a task so you would know how to do it differently next time, if needed?
Or – have you had a moment where you were lost in thought halfway through folding a t-shirt, doing the dishes, traveling a road you’ve been on a million times… and you lose track of where you are while you’re thinking of someone or something else? And if it’s someone else, did they call or somehow contact you to check in shortly after you came ‘back to your reality’?
Have you ‘phased out’ (as my generation calls it) and recalled an old memory, taken it apart and re-built it in a way that makes better sense for where you are in your life now – without changing the actual events of the memory?
Have you ever stared at a picture of a place you want to be, and just for a moment you can feel the breeze on your face, smell whatever smells are associated with that
place, feel the ground beneath your feet as different than where you are now, and fully immersed yourself in this ‘visual’?
Have you caught a glimpse of yourself as another person, someone who looks like you but dresses or talks differently, like glimpsing another life on a movie screen? Or stepped just outside of your physical body and observed yourself with ‘new’ eyes as if you were looking in a mirror?
Have you stepped outside yourself when receiving a shot or having blood taken, or while enduring another unpleasant experience, so that you can’t ‘feel’ what it is that you’re doing? Sometimes you may watch from the side or sometimes your consciousness may step back out into the lobby where you are?
All of these instances, my friends, can be astral travel – astral projection – lucid dreaming – what-have-you. 😊 (Some of these instances can also be strong visualizations – if one has a good imagination, one can feel ‘as if’ these things are occurring as well…. Discernment is important!)
But Miria … I can’t travel! I don’t know how to travel – that is way too complicated. I don’t have the experience to be able to do something that involved… And isn’t possible to become lost or even die while you’re ‘traveling’ if you don’t do it right? Can my body be hijacked?
All of these are things I’ve heard over the years and have said myself, to be honest. I would be willing to bet that you have ‘traveled’ somewhere else, at least once in your life, without realizing. We are Divine beings living a human experience, and as such have the ability to work as the Divine works. Yes, we are attached to a meat suit made of ancient stardust, but that is not ALL we are. Traveling, as with all things, takes a little practice. 😊 When I first realized what it was, I had learned it as ‘journeying’ and had no idea that the term also meant ‘astral travel’. Some research and discussions later, I realized I had been journeying since I was very young!
While doing a little research for this blog, I saw some articles that said out of body experiences are intentional – only something someone does on purpose. Some other articles said these experiences are spontaneous – when we are close to entering fully into our subconscious but aren’t quite there – still teetering on the edge of the conscious and just slightly ‘aware’, such as when we are entering into a dream state. We have ways to intentionally enter into this type of ‘dream state’ without going to sleep, such as deep breathing exercises. I understand there are chemical ways of crossing this threshold as well, but again this is not something I’ve ever tried and I cannot promote nor encourage the use of ‘enhancements’. (Please do your research and use good judgement before attempting to add any aids to your toolbox – stay safe! No judgements here!) From my point of view, both perspectives are correct – one may slip into that dreamlike state where travel is possible without realizing AND one may choose to travel.
I often wonder if the stories about dying, getting lost in the astral plane, or having one’s body hijacked by an evil entity are stories that were told to keep us fearful – the more you know, the harder you are to control (says my inner conspiracy theorist). The more fear is involved in a practice, the more people are aware of the dangers instead of the benefits, and the less people do the things. ☹ That said, I do not know if those things are possible. I can say, I have visited places I did not want to return from. Given the choice, I may have stayed on some other planes and not returned – the constant beat of my heart and the person I was with reminding me that’s not where I belonged brought me back a couple of times. I honestly couldn’t tell you if it would have been humanly possible to stay…. I know that I have never had trouble ‘coming back to’ my body (or ‘waking up’ to my body, in other words) – I know that I have felt like I’ve died on other planes but am still here on this one to tell the tale – and I trust that no one or thing will steal my flesh and bone suit while I’m not wholly in it, and it hasn’t happened yet. That is not to say that someone else hasn’t experienced anything like these things – again, do your research! and do what is best for you. If in doubt, it never hurts to ask a buddy to hold space for you and help bring you back if need be.
I would like to share an experience I had once with traveling to a different physical place on this plane and let you choose what could be real and what’s not 😊 This is one experience I ‘know’ I traveled outside of my body on purpose while remaining close to the physical Earth – I also know there are those that still think I’m delusional (and I’m okay with that). My dad lived a few states away and was edging ever closer to his deathbed. He and I had shared a telepathic link since I was a small child, and the closer he came to crossing over the harder it was for us to connect. I set my intention during meditation one day to visit his home (that I had not seen in ‘real life’) to check on him. I connected to what I could find of his energy, although his light was dim, and projected my awareness to where he was. I studied the house in depth, room by room, attempting to find him. I could tell his energy and his wife’s energy were close, but I couldn’t ‘see’ them. There was however, a small, dark, catlike shadow that kept creeping along the edges of the rooms, just at the edge of my sight, that honestly made me uneasy. I called for Dad with no response and the catlike thing became a much larger shadow. I left the house thinking maybe it was Dad’s residual energy I was feeling, and went searching… but never found my dad on that trip. As I left the house, the shadow followed, and we’ll just say there was a confrontation as I ‘assumed’ this creature was there to harm my family…. I returned home to my body, frustrated and disappointed, and called my dad to make sure he was okay. He was truly at home and was too tired to even leave his room, so it was a short phone visit – he did confirm that he was resting comfortably though. I spoke with my mentor and asked what was it that I had missed on this journey, as I didn’t understand how my dad and I hadn’t connected. I hadn’t ‘intentionally’ traveled like this before, and wasn’t sure if I had done all of the ‘right’ things (ß don’t let this become a sticking point!) At this point, I was wondering – am I crazy? Did I visualize (paint mental pictures) all of that out of a desire to ensure my dad was doing okay (as in not struggling to come to terms with the inevitable)? How do I know that’s actually where I went if I’ve never physically been there before? My mentor journeyed on my behalf and learned that the dark shadow was one of my dad’s protectors and had chosen that shape to scare me off – she had assumed I was the intruder and acted accordingly. I will say, I did ‘travel’ to meet the protector shortly after - we talked about the confrontation and established a shaky truce lol. A month later, it was time to go say our goodbyes to Dad and help him prepare to transition, and I learned that my initial journey was not a delusion, that it was not just built on desire… however, the place that I had visited was the exact opposite of what my dad’s house looked like. Everything was exactly as I had seen it during my ‘travel’, even down to the placement of the eagle statues around the living room, but everything that should have been on the right was on the left and vice versa. I had essentially visited a mirror image of the house my dad was in – because my dad’s protector didn’t trust me at the time and created an alternate reality in the same space and time. So strong was my memory of the journey, that I literally walked into a wall thinking there should have been a door there as it was in my ‘vision’, only to find it was directly behind me in the perception we call ‘real life’. It took quite some time for my thinking brain to catch up to my ‘knowing’ brain, to reconcile the two realities. (A little embarrassing at times too, lol!)
Which brings me to otherworldly beings – they are out there, and they don’t always have your highest good in mind. That said, they are not always out to get you either. Just as every person you meet has their own personality and their own agendas, so too do those on other planes. Use your perception, your instincts, your gut knowing, and your discernment to do what is best for you no matter where you are! You can set your intentions before journeying that you remain protected in the way that you are comfortable as well. 😊
Intentional internal travel could also look like chakra work, evaluating your emotions, traveling to the cosmos through your internal system, bringing a past/present/otherworldly version of you to your awareness in this place and time, just stepping ‘outside’ for a moment to observe yourself, etc.😊
For me, this visualization (mental picture) comes through similar to ripples in a pond. We touch the water, and ripples emanate from the originating space – each born of the other but changing ever so slightly as they expand. The ripples, I imagine, appear very similar whether we are watching from above the water or below the water – and although we can’t see it, the ripple in the water also affects the vibration of the ‘worlds’ above and below. In this manner, our ‘travel’ could be very much the same – enter into that quiet space within your body, fully engage your astral spirit, and travel to / bring in that which you seek – rippling out but still “of” the center.
The possibilities could be endless! Whether you travel ‘in’ or ‘out’, or only travel while you’re asleep, or visit the realms of otherworldly beings, don’t let what you hear overwhelm you or keep you from activities that you may otherwise enjoy. Our physical bodies may not be able to fly – but you’d be amazed at what you can do and learn about yourself (and others!) when projecting. 😉 I have faith in you!
Astral Projection (Travel) – “a supernatural phenomenon in which a person’s astral body is said to separate from the physical body and travel to or in a different plane of existence”. Dictionary.com “…a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of a subtle body, known as the astral body or body of light, through which consciousness can function separately from the physical body and travel throughout the astral plane”. Wikipedia.com
Remote viewing – “…the practice of seeking impressions about a distant or unseen subject, purportedly sensing with the mind”. Wikipedia.com “…the ability to go deep within your mind, beyond all five ‘normal’ senses, to do extraordinary things…”. ECO Institute. “… the term of art for a series of nonlocal consciousness formalized protocols in which an individual is asked to provide detailed information about a person, place, object, or event, which information they should not be able to know by reason of their being shielded from it by time, space or both”. PSI Encyclopedia.
References: Listings here are not necessarily articles or trains of thought I promote or condone, but present some interesting food for thought. Please follow your intuition and best judgement when researching.
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