Astral Projection.... what the HELL?, *coughharrypottercough* Options

[Retrogressive]

My friend just got into astral projection. I'm not sure what your religious stand point may be, but as I was raised a Christian I was also taught that even though there are other worlds and spirits that I shouldn't open myself up to them. My friend (who is Christian) has gotten my interest piqued in astral projection. Personally it scares the hell out of me.


Things you probably should know if you have no idea what I'm talking about:

Astral projection is a type of out-of-body experience (OBE) in which the astral body leaves its other six bodies and journeys far and wide to anywhere in the universe. The notion that we have seven bodies (one for each of the seven planes of reality) is a teaching of theosophist Madame Blavatsky. On its trips, the astral body perceives other astral bodies rather than their physical, etheric, emotional, spiritual, etc. bodies. In an ordinary OBE, such as remote viewing or the out-of-body near-death experience, there is a separation of a person's consciousness from his or her body. In the near-death out-of-body experience, there may be the experience of hovering above and perceiving one's body and environs,and hearing conversations of surgeons or rescue workers tinkering with one's body. In astral projection, it is the astral body, not the soul or consciousness, that leaves the body. The astral body, according to Madame Blavatsky, is the one that has an aura. It is also the seat of feeling and desire, and is generally described as being connected to the physical body during astral projection by an infinitely elastic and very fine silver cord, a kind of cosmic umbilical cord or Ariadne's thread.

There is scant evidence to support the claim that anyone can project their mind, soul, psyche, spirit, astral body, etheric body, or any other entity to somewhere else on this or any other planet. The main evidence is in the form of testimonials.

Other links:

http://skepdic.com/astralpr.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astral_projection

What are your thoughts?

[*islandgirl4eva*]

Wow, Bill. That sounds intense. It's something I think I might actually be frightened to witness, not to mention partake in. However, the benefits that are reaped of the activity are intriguing. How many times have you done this? How did the invitation come to be extended to you?

[Retrogressive]

Bill, I'd really like to hear some of your accounts.


Anyway, it's very difficult to astral project. And it takes a lot on concentration and meditation. At the same time, people say that many people astral project naturally when they are dreaming. Also astral projection is very connected to Remote Viewing:

Remote viewing (RV) is a procedure developed by parapsychologists at the Stanford Research Institute to perform clairvoyance under controlled conditions. Somewhat similar to astral projection, the phenomenon involves a belief in the projection of consciousness to remote locations, and is considered a pseudoscience by mainstream scientists.

Remote viewing allegedly allows a viewer to use his or her clairvoyant abilities to "view", i.e. gather information on a target consisting of an object, place, person, etc., which is hidden from physical view of the viewer and typically separated from the viewer in space by some distance, and sometimes separated in time (future or past) as well. Supporters claim that the existing experimental evidence supports the validity of these techniques, and claim that remote viewing is a method of clairvoyance which is better suited to experimental testing.

Proponents argue that remote viewing is distinguished from other forms of clairvoyance in that it follows a specific experimental protocol (or some variant of it). The critical aspect common to these protocols, proponents contend, is that the viewer is blind to the target in the sense of being given no (or negligible) information regarding the target being viewed.

Some critics of remote viewing claim that it is a pseudoscience, and that the experimental evidence is inadequate. Some critics liken remote viewing to dowsing, and accord remote viewing just as much validity as that procedure.[1] And some say that remote viewing is just clairvoyance under a new name, made to seem more credible.

While proponents call the remote viewing technique "scientific", it has only a minority acceptance among scientists. Skeptics contend that an incorrect description of an object by a remote viewer is often considered a "hit" due to small similarities, and that visual cues and extraneous evidence under poorly designed testing protocols account for the more accurate descriptions. Positive results have only been achieved in tests designed and run by remote viewing proponents.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_viewing

Dowsing:

Dowsing is a controversial practice which proponents claim empowers them to find water, metals, gem stones, and hidden objects by carrying or waving a stick or other apparatus over a piece of land and watching for any movement. Repeated tests under controlled conditions have not supported this claim. Dowsers (sometimes known as diviners) may also use a forked branch of a tree, bent pieces of metal or plastic wire, or a small pendulum. Some people use no pointing device at all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dowsing