This results in an altered state of consciousness. There are a large amount of techniques that can be used to achieve this including meditation, trance and imagination techniques.

A large amount of people who experience astral travel report that the experience happened from a vantage point such as high in the sky looking down. A number of controlled tests have taken place which support the excistence of astral travel.

Astral travel has also been reported by some people who have had a near death experience. Some people who have had this type of experience have reported watching their operation and recalling conversations among hospital staff.

The astral body is often reported as being joined to the physical body by a silver cord - an etheric umbilical cord. Some people believe that if the cord breaks while in astral travel you will not be able to return to the physical body.

ASTRAL TRAVEL TECHNIQUES

The Technique Using a meditation technique of your choosing place yourself into a state of deep relaxation. Reach out with your imaginary hands and pull yourself hand over hand up the invisible, imaginary rope hanging above you. Try and imagine the feel of a rope in your hands.

You will feel a slight dizzy sensation inside you as you do this. This is caused by exerting dynamic pressure on the etheric body. The dizzy sensation comes from the etheric body loosening. This feeling of vertigo will intensify the more you pull on the rope. Just keep climbing, hand over hand, ever upwards, and you will feel the heavy sensation come over you. The pressure you are exerting on your etheric body will force you into the trance state. Ignore this when it happens and concentrate on what you are doing. Keep climbing and you will feel your chakras open in response to the pressure. Next you will feel the vibrations start, your whole body will seem to be vibrating and you will feel paralysed. Next you will feel yourself coming free of your body. You will buzz slightly as you feel yourself coming out of your body. You will exit your body in the direction of your imaginary rope and will be hovering above your body. You're free at last.......Robert.

The Moving Anchor. After meditating into a state of total deep relaxation, imagine an object about 6 feet in front of your eyes (assuming that you are lying down). Now feel this object pulling at you like a magnet. Once you can see the object clearly in your minds eye and feel the pull of the object on you, begin to move the object slowly towards you. Just a small amount at first. As the object moves towards you feel the pull getting stronger. Now move it back again (the pull gets weaker as you do). Now repeat the process moving the object closer each time and feeling the pull becoming stronger and stronger as the object comes closer. Once you are comfortable with the movement of the object begin the process again, only this time the movement of the object should be a fluid motion, and as the object moves to and fro it should be like a wave. You should also feel this wave on yourself as the pull gets stronger and weaker and stronger again. Finally as the object virtually reaches you the strength of the pulling force combined with the wavelike motion will simply pull you right out of your physical body.......Robert.

All that is needed is for you to focus on your breathing. When you breathe in, notice it. Notice how the air feels on the tips of your nostrils ... and then again, when you breathe out. It's important that this be done during an activity .. @ work, shopping, daily activities, etc. .... not in isolation. Do not train your breathing. Just let it flow and watch it ... then start to focus on the gap between breaths. After a while, you'll begin to notice a certain distancing effect .... almost as if your own activities and the things around you are a drama that you're watching. You're not really a part of it, although you are acting through the part. It produces a sense of separateness, that is similar to the point in time right before an OBE occurs. I like this technique because it's very simple to do, and it isn't a solitary technique ... it's meant to be attempted at various times throughout the day. It also helped me learn to passively watch my mind's hynogogia before falling asleep (like "watching" my daily activities), while keeping another portion of my attention awake and aware enough to successfully achieve an OBE....James.

Using this method, however, will safeguard your trip, because a spiritual traveler will come and guide you. Make sure that you have twenty minutes undisturbed. Lie down, sit in a good chair, and close your eyes. Take a few deep breath, to make sure you are breathing calmly, and that your heart beat at a relaxed pace. Now, concentrate on your third eye, just above your nose, between your eyes. Take a deep breath, and while breating our, sofly sing Huuuuuuuuu. It`s sung like the man`s name, Hugh . Sing as long as you feel comfortable with each breath, but don`t run out of breath. Be relaxed. Sing this for a ten to fifteen minutes, then sit quite, and look in a relaxed manner for the light in the third eye. Do this EVERY day, until one day, something happens. This ensure you that you are getting some soul travel experience, and not astral, which is both limited, and not so secure. You may get your first obe in the Dream state, and the man that comes to guide you, may be invisible at first, but he will be working for your benefit, with your first Hu.....Lisa