Question: What substances can I use in order to guarantee genuine Out of Body Experiences without any risks?

Other people point out that some of these substances have been used for many thousands of years by ancient cultures around the world to induce altered states, Out of Body Experiences etc..

Answer: There are no substances at all that fall into this category for most people. Many have heard of plant, or fungi based substances such as Salvia Divinorum, Peyote, Ayhuasca, as well as manufactured preparations and "Astral projection pills" and potions, the names of which I will not mention, and ask whether it will work for them.

The truth is that absolutely no substance can guarantee a genuine, useful Out of Body Experience, and most of them can be dangerous.

Most of these substances are hallucinogenic, and which, although producing vivid experiences are not genuinely Astral or Out of Body Experiences. Most of these substances will result in a "trip" through the personal psyche, with imagery and other experiences simply being a result of deeply rooted feelings, and often fears.

These feelings, fears and past experiences can be brought to the surface during these "trips" resulting in what could seem to be an ecstatic experience, or sometimes even a terrifying experience.

Almost never do these substances result in a genuine Out of Body Experience for casual users or experimenters.

It is true that the "shamans" of ancient cultures such as the mesoamerican and north American natives among others, frequently use these substances during their ceremonies and for other shamanic purposes, but at the same time they have bene doing this for thousands of years and have the use of these substances refined to a very high degree, knowing exactly what they can expect.

There is no doubt that these cultures make use of these substances very effectively for a wide range of purposes, but the average person cannot expect to do the same with casual, experimental, inexperienced use.

Much more can be said, but the short answer is these substances will not reliably produce genuine experiences and can be very dangerous in inexperienced hands.

Question: Do I really need to do "energy work", and all of these mystical practices that some of the well known Astral projection books say we must do for success?

Answer: No; absolutely not. Such methods can work for some people, but do require very considerable dedication and practice. The main reason for this is that this type of Out of Body Experience is being carried out from a fully waking state when the Etheric and Astral bodies, the vehicles of projection, are firmly bound to the physical body. Loosening the Etheric and Astral bodies from a fully waking state is therefore far from easy. Unfortunately these methods can and do cause people to give up in frustration, thereby potentially missing out on an extremely valuable experiences.

Question: Do I need to meditate to experience Astral projection?

Answer: Although meditation is a most valuable practice, and one that I would strongly recommend to anyone, it is not necessary in order to enjoy Astral projection or Out of Body Experiences.

It is true that experienced meditators sometimes leave their body during meditation, or find their consciousness projected into the Astral or even Spiritual realms, this often being an objecive, but this certainly cannot be relied on as an ongoing reliable method.

That said the dedicated practice of meditation brings with it several abilities that will help in the practice of Astral projection and Out of Body Experiences such as deep physical relaxation, concentration and clearing the Mind of thoughts. Meditation is therefore a valuable practice in and of itself.

Question: What is the difference between Astral projection and an Out of Body Experience?

Answer: An Out of Body Experience is usually considered to be a projection into the Energy level closest to the physical world, so close in fact that it actually appear to be the physical world. During an Out of Body experience the projector will typically project into his nearby surroundings; often a bedroom, and observe those surroundings as well as their physical body. This physical-like environment is often erroneously referred to as "the real-time zone".

In fact what is being observed and experienced is not the physical world as such, but rather a very close "reflection" of it at a much higher rate of vibration. This usually becomes apparent when anomalies occur such as furniture in the wrong place, objects appearing that do not usually belong in the room, all of which can be further confused by "vision" being spherical through a full 360 degrees in all directions, as opposed to the forward vision of the physical eyes.

That said, surroundings experienced are no in any way "dream-like", vision, or more accurately perception during an Out of Body Experience or Astral projection is more "real" than the "normal" vision of the physical eyes. This is because the Mind is directly perceiving and interpreting pure Energy rather than processed physical light.

The Astral worlds and beyond are so bright, vivid and "real" that to a person visiting from the Astral or inner worlds the physical world seems extremely dull, dreary and murky; somewhat like walking through a smog.

The OBE condition is almost identical to that experienced during physical death, with the exception of course of being able to return to the physical body at will. From this point of view it is most valuable in that anyone experiencing being Out of Body will never again fear death; knowing it for what it really is, an illusion and an instrument of fear, especially by some orthodox religions.

Astral projection is a projection of consciousness to the Astral Worlds or "planes" as they are often known. This is also known as "the afterlife as it is where people transition to after the "death" of the physical body.

It is here, in the Astral Worlds, that we can meet "deceased" relatives and generally observe and particpate in where people go after physical "death".

Astral Projectors note that the Astral Worlds, "the afterlife", is more "solid", "vivid" and "real" than the physical world, which is then seen as the illusion it really is. As with Out of Body Experiences, Astral projection is a life-changing and most valuable ability and experience that everyone without exception should learn.

Question: If I leave my physical body, isn't there a risk of not being able to return, or worse, another being taking over my body while I am "away"?

Answer: No; there is absolutely no danger of this at all. Out of Body Experiences and Astral projection are a projection of consciousness away from the physical body to a different Energy level of vibration. There is never a time that the physical body is left unprotected. While "away" the Astral matrix, sometimes perceived as the "silver cord" is still connected to the physical body which means no other being can enter it. We occupy all of our infinite number of "bodies" at all times, including the physical body while focussed in the physical world, our actual experience being determined by where out consciousness is projected to.

During normal waking our consiousness is firmy focussed within the physical body so we can function in the physical world, but while the body sleeps consciousness leaves the physical body to become focussed inwards towards the Astral worlds.

Question: When is the best time to project?

Answer: The very best time to project is around normal sleeping hours.

The reason for this is that everyone, without exception, projects from their physical body during sleep, an event characterised by rapid eye movements, or "REM". It is during this state that normal dreams also begin.

The reason most people do not actually experience the projection is because the state in this case is "mind asleep, body asleep"; i.e. the Mind is unconscious.

In order to consciously experience an Out of Body Experience the required state is "mind wake, body asleep", and this should therefore be the objective.

There are three main opportunites for achieving this:

1. Allow the body to drift of to sleep while keeping the mind awake.

2. Programming the subconscious Mind to waken the conscious Mind soon after projection has taken place.

3. To wake up 3 hours or so earlier than usual so the body is still asleep or in a state of very deep physical relaxation. This can be accomplished by either programming the subconscious Mind, or by using an alarm clock.

There are many other variants of this method, but the vast majority of Out of Body Experiences and Astral projection takes place around these times.

Night time is also the most convenient time for Astral projection; not requiring to put time aside during the day. In addition, because the physical body is still asleep and therefore rested during Astral projection and Out of Body Experiences, we still awake refreshed, nothwithstanding the Out of Body excursions enjoyed while the physical body sleeps.