Out of Body Experiences Throughout History

Astral projection, also known as an out-of-body experience, can occur at any time to any person. The most common out-of-body experiences occur during a major trauma. However, it is possible to have an out-of-body experience by sheer will.

A more common name for such a process is astral projection. A great many persons have claimed to experience out of body experiences and even more people have made the claim they are able to perform astral projection. While the basic techniques for these abilities can be considered identical, although they can differ slightly depending on the exact person. However, some question the true validity of these claims to such abilities.

For hundreds of years, a great many people have experienced this phenomenon known as the out-of-body experience. Many people have experienced these sensation while they sleep but managed to ignored it. It was their belief that what they saw and experienced was nothing but a common dream. Yet, most out of body experiences are commonly felt while undergoing a major trauma such as a surgery.

There have been many accounts of out-of-body experiences occurring during the unfortunate instance of near-death situations. In all of these cases of out-of-body experiences, the individual that has gone through the experience will state he/she was able to see and hear everything that occurred in the room at the time. Such individuals have the ability to describe events that may have occurred while in this state and otherwise would not have realized what had occurred.

Out-of-body experiences also seem to occur as a result of the use of psychedelic, or dissociative, drugs. However, there have been some techniques to induce an out-of-body experience developed. One example is the use of visualization during a relaxed, or meditative, state. There have been studies, recently, that show that similar experiences to out-of-body experiences are able to be induced by directly stimulating the brain, as well.

Among the most common forms of all out-of-body experiences is the process of astral projection. During astral projection, a human being develops the ability to leave the body and visit other physical places as well as the world of astral planes or even higher planes of existence.

In the renaissance Neoplatonist and Rosicrucian philosophy, there is the belief that an astral body in body is created by light that links the “rational soul” and the physical body together. Such philosophy also professes the notion that the astral plane is a world created of the exact light and exists between Heaven and Earth. This metaphysical light is comprised of the spheres of stars and planets that are commonly believed to be the home of angels, demons, and spirits.

According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the soul has the ability to hover, or float, outside the body in, what is called the “Ka”, or subtle body, also known as the astral body. In most beliefs in astral projection, the astral body is connected with a silver cord of psychic energy to the physical body.

The Chinese Taoists had devised a unique alchemical practice which centered on creating a body of energy by way of breathing meditations, pulling energy into something known as a “pearl” and it then is circulating the pearl through the body to cradt the body of energy.

During out-of-body experiences, many people have accounted that they willed themselves to leave their bodies. Others have reported that they had found themselves coming out of their bodies as if being pulled, while others state that they didn’t realize that they had left their bodies until after they were already out. Several people have even stated that they wanted to get out of bed and when they tried to reach for the door, they could not touch it. Upon this sensation, they looked in the direction of their bed and realized that they were still lying down, apparently asleep.

Neurologists have long tried to explain such events as being triggered by an errant mismatch of the visual and tactile signals. The great majority of out-of-body experiences have taken place during the duration that exists between REM sleep and the point prior to waking up. Among the many points of time where out-of-body experiences occur, the subject will go into a state commonly known as sleep paralysis. During this time between being asleep and awake, sleep paralysis might potentially continue and dream-like imagery will become mingled with sensations that reach the senses.

Many scientific studies however have been undertaken in the field of astral projection and out-of-body experiences to show that this is a very real phenomena. Research facilities in a number of different countries such as the Monroe Institute in Virginia and the prestigious Projectarium at the International Academy of Consciousness in Portugal and the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience in Switzerland have explored the subject with a number of interesting results.

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