Spiritual Portal

this morning in attempts to go out of body and astral project i witnessed a sparrow sitting at the edge of my ceiling fan. when i tried reaching at it with my hands the bird flew away and disappeared.

I understand Eric I to would like to leave the body. Sometimes it can be quite limiting and to be in it for the duration of a life is a bit like imprisonment to the soul. Yet even more blissful is leaving the mind for several seconds. If we have that experience we will enter a state of complete bliss. I know it has happened to me. A sparrow represents the simple things in life.
Let that simple nature that eludes the mind twizzlers never leave you my friend.

Let me get this straight. All I have to due to join your cult is leave my mind?

Kinda sorta but not really.

Sometimes I feel God and energy when meditating, well, God is right here, all around. So, why would I want to leave my body and do astral projection? That seems like something I would attempt to do to bring me closer, but in my case seems like an oxymoron.

Hello SpiritImage and welcome
Although your question might have been directed at Steve I'd like to add a few thoughts.
If you need anyone to convince you as to why you should do something then perhaps that something isn't for you.
If you are interested in astral projection... I've been recommended a book- Adventures Beyond the Body: How to Experience Out-of-Body Travel by William Buhlman.
http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Beyond-Body-Out-Body/dp/0062513710

The best means of discussion on a topic where not much is known is to engage personally and gather your own experience. Then we can relate and try to form a better understanding of what astral projection really is.
From my research, I have read we all leave our bodies when we sleep but lose consciousness just before and begin to dream.

I think when it comes to astral projection, they key word is projection. What is gained by this exercise? I disagree with your research that concludes we "leave our bodies" when we sleep. Where, then, do you presume we go, and what is that entity that goes? That is the thing to find out.

Hello. It's not about convincing me to do it, just talking out loud.


True, but I like to hear what others experiences are, of course I have tried and will continue to try. Maybe like PY said somewhere, you have to pass through that plane to go higher.

Brock,that's fine. No conclusions really. Just the beginning to what may be a life long journey of discovery.
Very good questions.  :)

SpiritImage, maybe. I don't know. :) I'm glad to read you're interested. You might find that book I've suggested valuable as it accounts for others unique experiences.

At times in the past there seemed to be a disrespect about other people's approach to spirituality. We just have to recognize that all of us are searching for something higher, something expanding and I am sure other words can be added. The beauty is a sense of tolerance and the ability to recognize we all have a different take on life. What interests me is not always the view expressed but rather the way it is expressed. Every flower opens in its own time and in its own way. The beauty of all the different petals unfolds us along the way.
 

It's also helpful to smoke out the stuff that may not really help, and that might end up causing others to take that as an insult, or maybe they'll (or yourself) stop and think for a minute. I know some people who *cannot* accept any other versions of the spiritual truths, other than their own, they won't even consider it. So they end up becoming defensive and that can lead to everyone feeling that there's disrespect in the religious air, that we're supposed to be a part of, as it were. Still, I push for truth.

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Hi Steve. I believe what you described in your meditation is akin to transcending the astral plane and into a realm of higher vibration.

Kind of like what SpiritImage said earlier.
People have described having an out of body experience not only as they enter sleep but in their meditations. I had one(an o.b.e) as a child once(that i can still recall) laying in the back seat of my dads car, starring out at the clouds. It was brief. I remember, a feeling of slowly drifting away from my body.  I was entranced by the liveliness of the clouds but the moment my focus went elsewhere the experience was over.

I think the astral plane exist and is something we're tapped into on an emotional level.

With Out of Body...
My experiences seems to happen by chance. Though I have had the opportunity to try and induce my own…To some success. I am fascinated by what happens and attempt to reach out and share in places where these sort of discussions are welcomed- hoping to learn more. I have met some very interesting people here and elsewhere who have described their experiences to me. One persons understanding of the astral plane has helped build my confidence in discussing openly. The path to understanding Astral travel isn't for everyone and I can understand how some might feel put off by the idea- under some pretense this is to consume their life and take away from their spiritual practice. I'm attempting to see how it all connects- Because I believe it does.

It is connected.

yea that's the other side of the coin. Really though there's not much to defend when you think about it except our own concept of ourselves and that keeps changing.

I liked your sharing of your childhood experience. We often notice we have certain talents like diamonds in the rough. I can understand why you might want to develop something that surfaced so early in your life. Music is like that to me Eric. Although I do see music having a connection to my spiritual life I do not see it as part of my SADHANA.

Robert Monroe gave us some wonderful insights into astral travel and told us much about the future which fits in with Sri Yukteswars picture of the higher yugas. But Robert also took his astral body into a higher time here on earth. So you see there are connections/pieces which fit into a larger puzzle that already have surfaced. It appears that such travels will be common in the future and the human body may just be used as a point of reference in the physical realm. Cars, vehicles, phones and the internet being old relics just as Wagon Trains, chariots  and horses are to us. We will develop our mental abilities in the TRETA yuga or silver age to the extent that the physical vehicle will slowly loose it's significance....As our electrical/and astral body/ understanding increases.

Afterthought....i used to read Robert Monroes' books. Now there is youtube and his presence is strong there. I will leave it to someone else to post more videos or info here about journeys out of the body. I believe the more we think in this direction the more we realize that we are much more than these bodies we inhabit. Thanks for your contribution Eric.

That is very surprising to me. Music can bring you into meditation just as well as sitting with crossed legs. Wasn't the sage Narada a musician? There is a term, maybe sanskrit, for a musician - bhagavathar. It means one who sings the praises of God. Music is a perfectly good path, but the can trip us up there. But the ego can trip people up in anything, including sitting with crossed legs. I believe its formal name is "nada yoga". But it is definitely a form of yoga. Why shouldn't music be a big part of your sadhana? I find that curious.  8) 


I think while this stuff may be futuristic and may involve certain Siddhis, it won't get anyone liberated. That was kind of what I was driving at in my other post. I would like to add a quote from Ramana Maharshi to this effect:

"There are two kinds of powers and one kind may well be a stumbling block to realization. It is said that by mantra, by some drug possessing occult virtues, by severe austerities or by Samadhi of a certain kind, powers can be acquired. But these powers are not a means to self-knowledge, for even when you acquire them, you may quite well be in ignorance." - Ramana Maharshi

Q: People talk of Vaikuntha, Kailasa, Indraloka, Chandraloka (the Hindu heavens). Do they really exist?

A:"Certainly. You can rest assured that they all exist. There also a swami like me will be found seated on a couch and disciples will also be seated around him. They will ask something and he will say something in reply. Everything will be more or less like this. What of that? If one sees Chandraloka, one will ask for Indraloka, and after Indraloka, Vaikuntha and after Vaikuntha, Kailasa, and so on, and the mind goes on wandering. Where is shanti? If shanti is required, the only correct method of securing it is by self-inquiry. Through self-enquiry Self-realization is possible." - Ramana Maharshi

Sometimes i read your posts and smile. I'm trying to figure out why. Sometimes I just laugh like now. I think we get in a Web of words sometimes. Of course music can be a form of sadhana and yes I sing Yogananda's chants Ammas' chants and other spiritual chants and songs  before meditating. Yes music comes thru this vehicle for a spiritual purpose... to inspire and to remind... to show the beauty of this creation and what can come from other places as well. Sometime I might tell you about that also. It has been shown to me that even the music that comes thru this vehicle comes from higher spirits that help us in this venture.

Having said all that... i have a certain discipline I go thru in my sadhana. It involves, the energization exercises, yoga asanas, the mantra, om technique, the kriyas and the iam technique. This is my routine. Music is a way I have made a living for years. Sometimes I hear people say; oh yea I meditate when I golf or go fishing. I just smile as I am doing now. Don't let any one fool you. When someone's heart slows down... When their metabolism slows down. When they are not nodding out. Where their breath slows down.... then we see some of the signs of real meditation. All these other things we do..sure it is important to be in that witnessing consciousness... sure it is important to offer them to a higher source and to remember who and what we are serving... so in this sense everything we do can be part of our sadhana.

Yet really we have learned from the great ones what we have to do to reach into the depths of our being. This takes following that spiritual sadhana the gurus have given us and this is where we have come to... you me and some others here. We must follow that sadhana our Masters have given us. It is a daily routine that is slowly eating up our karma and revealing higher and higher states of consciousness and realization.

I'm happy that you can at least get a laugh out of some of my foolishness!  :D As for music, those harmonic notes at the beginning of Demian are very nice.

Thanks had to put a little sadhana into the mix to keep it lively.

Just thought I'd remind you. If you ever need home remedies or on line therapy my services are unlimited. Only circumscribed by the detour at the end of the portal.

                                                                  THE TEN OR SO MOODS OF THE KOOK

Exactly what home remedies/therapy are you referring to? (Sorry don't mean to feed the troll)

I have all sorts of cures for relationship problems. My latest is small doses of arsenic that you can put in your partners food every time your partner disagrees with you.
They will get it after a while that disagreement with you leads to sickness. Once they make the connection your relationship will improve by leaps and bounds.

                                      One of 10 moods of the Dr. Kook

I see. Timing and delivery is the key, I'm not good at it either.

"Exactly what home remedies/therapy are you referring to? (Sorry don't mean to feed the troll)"
Spirit Image

I have all sorts of cures for relationship problems. My latest is small doses of arsenic that you can put in your partners food every time your partner disagrees with you.
They will get it after a while that disagreement with you leads to sickness. Once they make the connection your relationship will improve by leaps and bounds.

                                      One of 10 moods of the Dr. Kook





pretty good oxymoron! LOL

Well I had an out of body the other night but I'm not sure if it turned lucid or what. It was in my hotel room I remember getting up from the bed and noticing the field past the window. I sent myself out the window and down into the field where I think someone was shot. I think I sat down next to image of what happened, next to where someone had been shot. I don't think it was real time but like watching a past scene. It was more an impression or idea and then I woke up.

Thanks for sharing and inspiring us with your OBE’s

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8F_brswMQTs

Thank you Steve for sharing this video. I thought it was interesting to witness or feel the scene of someones death. I wonder if this was a recent impression or if it was indeed just a lucid dream. If it was a successful astral projection it makes me curious to the way we perceive time in this realm. Just like in the video,
Murshid Inayat Khan teaches that in man contain both heavenly and earthly knowledge. The astral is as natural a realm as is the physical immediate reality. Still there are planes higher than the astral- and if I remember his teachings the astral is the realm of the mind where the Jinns reside(I THINK).
He breaks the elements like this... Bone, skin and flesh is earth. Blood saliva and perspiration is water. The heat in the body and digestive system is fire...  Breath and movement air... The ether is something like passion and that which controls our activities...
Then he says these realms are always present:
angelic, jinn and earth...

Taken from:
Volume V - Spiritual Liberty
Part I
A Sufi Message of Spiritual Liberty - London 1914

in a multiverse with infinite possibilities the experience of the astral plane is mystifying as it is so infrequently discussed everyday.
i am pleased to watch this video, wherein he discusses meditation, various brain waves and as a way the reality of quieting our chatter and switching to a listening mode...

Hello Eric I put a heading for your topics; ‘out of body experiences’ because I think you really have a lot to say on the subject and now others can find it easier.

i have been getting more ringing in my ear and sometimes am startled.
this morning i had an opportunity to project. sometimes i pick up on people talking. this time i picked up on an alien language. i am certain i was in the company of alien entities. i was to scared to commit to the projection and tried to turn everything off. i ended up slipping into a vivid dream. i will need to ground myself most likely.

Your freedom is welcome. Freedom to express. Freedom to be you. Freedom to inspire us all. Sometimes I feel like we’re in a fishbowl here and there are others that are on the outside looking in. But when I’m more spiritually alive I feel like there is an aquarium out there and there are a lot of people swimming aimlessly wondering if there is a way out. There seems to be more direction not following the crowd.

During what felt like a small hiatus from my daily posting here, I had joined an astral projection community and am journalling my experiences there. I have learned a phrase that really put things in perspective. It's called a non-physical experience. I learned in a recent endeavor that the idea of projecting from your body can create a double effort, when you think you're in the state where you need to exit your physical body- it's a perfect time to remind your self that you are already in the desired state. This awareness, is a non physical experience. Here, your minds eye is leading.

Thanks for the reminder Brother your experiences and how to reach / experience them are welcome and appreciated.

Not sure if you remember Eric, so I reposted this here and also other places on the site in the past.  I find it interesting to approach this subject from both the astral body and a more scientific explanation of OBE’s. Whether you want to call it out of phasing or astral projection we may arrive at such states regardless of the terminology or perhaps in some cases the method.

It is somewhat like UAF (unidentified ariel phenomenon) which we always called UFO’s. For me science does not have the nomenclature or expertise to describe, elicit and explain such experiences properly nor a method to enable such experiences as the Gurus from the East have and have had far before the scientific method had ever been invented. Out of a deep respect for this ancient spiritual knowledge I’d rather keep the discussion going in this context. This by no means takes anything away from some of the brainwave understanding that Monroe came up with here in the video. As I mentioned I read most his books in my early 20’s and as teenager. Yet for me, it was not till I was exposed to the teachings of for instance, Paramahansa Yogananda and the hugging Saint Amma till I actually could verify such accounts that Robert Monroe gives here, in the laboratory of my own spiritual meditation.

Understanding the different brainwaves of meditation, a toddler, and during rest has helped me understand my sleep paralysis. Has helped me understand the miracle of breath, and so forth.