A Book has Me Thinking About Astral Projection

Can anybody do it?

Photo by Josh Marshall on Unsplash

Surprise, surprise, I read a book that’s got my mind reeling. I actually finished it a while ago, but it’s sitting on a bookcase at the foot of my bed — staring at me unnervingly. I considered relocating it to the shelf across my room, but instead, I decided to write about it, and here we are.

The book is about astral projection — the idea that our consciousness/soul/mind can leave our bodies then return again — a topic I’ve felt drawn to for over a decade.

We know the mind is a powerful thing and capable of phenomenal feats. Humanity has known this since ancient times. Yet, many still struggle to accept the possibility when it comes to concepts such as astral projection — an experience with mounting evidence to support it.

What’s Astral Projection?

The idea that our soul, or whatever you want to call it, can leave our body dates back thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years. Often the experience is considered a spiritual one led by a spiritual leader, sometimes known as a Shaman. These ceremonies are still practiced today and include concoctions such as ayahuasca — a drink made from herbs and plants with hallucinogenic properties. I’ve talked about this before.

Today, astral projection is still prevalent. In fact, some studies suggest about 10 percent of the global population have experienced an out-of-body experience, intentionally or not — I belong to the unintentional group.

Unfortunately, there’s been little scientific study on the topic. This is mainly because we don’t have the knowledge or know-how to begin. Not to mention, the experiences usually occur at random and don’t last long enough to be measured or recorded. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

A 1998 review of six studies analyzing out-of-body experiences (OBE). They found that the ones where hypnosis was used to attempt to produce an OBE indicate that,

“a person’s mind is actually at an out-of-body location versus merely hallucinating being out, and require us to look at how even our perception of being in our bodies is actually a complex simulation, a biopsychological virtual reality.”