Have you ever woken up feeling more exhausted than when you went to bed, with vivid recollections of travelling to places and seeing people, perhaps even by flight, that just felt so real?
You may have actually been navigating the real world in spirit, rather than visualizing fantasy-scapes within your subconscious. Referred to in various terms, such as remote viewing, out-of-body-experience (OBE), near-death-experience, spirit travel, or astral projection - the phenomenon is essentially the extension of consciousness (or spirit/soul) past the corporal, unmoving, body.
This may happen after a near-death-experience, during meditation/trancework, during mild accidents, under anesthesia, in a coma, during orgasm, under hypnosis, during childbirth, during emotional trauma, during sleep, at will, etc.
Theoretically, the subtle body moves beyond the physical one, though still connected by an energetic cord, to landscapes within this planet and dimension, and even beyond. The difference between this and a dream is the apparent interaction with an objective and verifiable reality vs a personal one.
We're going to explore that potential verification. But first, a quick jump back in time.
History of Astral Travel
People have reported astral travel, and recognized it culturally as a spiritual skill, for thousands of years, all over the world. They've also reported very similar phenomena like bi-Iocation (experiencing two perspectives simultaneously) and remote viewing (the extension of 'sight/vision' to real locations vs entire spirit-body).
*For simplicity's sake, most of these consciousness extensions will be regarded synonymously throughout this content.*
Many cultures believe in an entire astral realm, accessible only to humans who can travel there energetically and occupied by many various entities and thoughtforms.
In the US, from the mid 1900s to the present day, the army used psychics of all kinds, while exploring a plethora of metaphysical and psi functions. Through Projects like Stargate and Project Center Lane, they explored:
Hypnosis
OBEs
Holograms
Remote viewing
Extra dimensions
Astral projection
Witchcraft
Psychics/mediums
Palmistry
Scrying
Psychokinesis
Cloudbursting
Eyeless proximity vision
Excessive psychedelics (LSD),
to name a few.
They used psychics to attempt to spy on Iran, the Soviet Union, and in the mission to find Osama Bin Laden. It's unclear whether they had success directly from these approaches.
In 1972 the government attempted to view Jupiter remotely (declassified), and in 1984 (declassified in 2003), the United States Defense Intelligence Agency attempted to explore Mars, but in a different time as well: 1 million B.C.; talk about playing on Difficult Mode.
An unidentified "traveler" described an ancient alien race on Mars in the following way, "very tall, again, very large people, but they're thin. They look thin because of their height. And they dress like—oh, hell—it's like a real light silk. But it's not flowing type of clothing. It's cut to fit. They're ancient people. They're dying. It's past their time or age. They're very philosophical about it. They're looking for a way to survive and they just can't." Creeeeepy.
Intelligence officers who were deemed good candidates often went on to further their training at the Monroe Institute, prominent at the time for its Hemi-Sync® audio, which would put the brain into a trance-like state thought to be super conducive to astral travel and other consciousness experiments.
Currently, the US Army has over $4 million dollars allocated to seedling grants for conducting extensive studies into reiki, acupuncture, transcendental meditation, "Warrior Mind Training" (at Camp LeJeune), and bioenergy - mainly to treat PTSD and pain.
Mundane Explanations for Astral Projection
A study done by one of our own Ottawanians at Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, took a fascinating sample of information from a candidate who claimed to astral project on command. To simplify the complex experiment and findings, they essentially found that this person had activation in their kinesthetic and visualization functions of the brain when "travelling", vs the typical visual center only when dreaming or picturing a scene.
They also discovered that this activation was only present when exploring in first person "soul" vs seeing their soul and body moving from the outside.
Cumulative research suggests that people experiencing these OBEs are easier to hypnotize and more easily immersed in fantasy (becoming absorbed in things like film and stories). They appear to be more pliable, suggestible, and prone to illusion/delusion, scoring higher in somatic dissociation, body dysmorphia, and schizotypy.
Several mental and physical conditions could cause the sensation of shifted perspectives visually/mentally/physically: seizures, migraines, hypercarbia, sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, psychosis, depersonalization, cerebral hypoxia, multisensory processing, brain injury, psychedelic drug use/flashbacks, fatigue, stress, sensory overload, anoxia, gravity-induced loss of consciousness, and vestibular issues.
Many of these other factors have been lightly linked to OBE cases. Neurologists generally believe it happens either as a strange memory of being born, as a defense mechanism against trauma, or as a hallucination most likely caused by neurotransmitters and an overactive frontal lobe from any number of conditions. None of these explain the phenomenon perfectly, but they do seem more plausible than living-ghost travel, especially since there's very little evidence to suggest it's the latter. Little, but not none…
Compelling Spiritual Evidence
If we are to look at the spiritual theories surrounding astral projection, we would come upon versions of planes classifying levels of existence. Layers of physical, mental, energetic, cosmic, ethereal, elemental, emotional, quintessential, and imaginative type planes would usher the being through different worlds/experiences. Those who astral project have temporarily ascended to, and landed on, the astral plane from the material one. Now that's all cool and well, but, why should we believe that?
Well, we'll look at 4 incidents and studies where the seemingly impossible may have happened.
Light Anomaly
In 1980, researchers K. Osis & D. McCormick were able to detect spurts of light using magnetic and electrical detection equipment in a room with an active 'astral projector'. They took the approach of detecting the spirit itself, as well as having the subject report visual proof of travel. It went as planned and they did indeed have psychic Alex Tanous successfully trigger sensors only during the times he successfully identified concealed objects in that vicinity (away from his physical body).
Kittens
Kittens' reactions were studied by R.L. Morris, S.B. Harary, J. Janis, and J. HartWell in 1978, to see if they would detect the presence of a travelling astral spirit. A kitten was measurably more timid and quiet during the times its owner 'travelled' to it.
The Pam Reynolds Case
Pam Reynolds underwent very invasive brain surgery and did experience clinical death for a portion. In this time she was seeing her own body and the scene around her in details and angles impossible at the time. These details (surgical equipment, sounds, visuals) were confirmed to be accurate.
5-digit Impossibility
In 1968, C.T. Tart studied a subject named Miss Z with electrodes and a visual test. A 5-digit number sequence written on paper rested high on a shelf in a sleep study room. Miss Z had to astrally float up and identify the sequence correctly. On the fourth night she did so. There are many criticisms for some uncontrolled variables in the experiment and for the lack of visual monitoring, so this one isn't too strong.
If she did not manage to cheat, the odds of her achieving this against probable chance are 1 in 100,000.
Interestingly, Tart also studied Robert Allan Munroe, founder of the Monroe Institute (and inventor of the Hemi-Sync® audio). Nothing significant came of it.
Not a lot of compelling links have been drawn between astral projectors and psychological/health disorders, with some findings even suggesting OBE groups are healthier than others. A lot of evidence is still missing or inconclusive on both sides; out of the handful of compelling findings, thousands more statistically insignificant ones were found.
The thought that C.L.A.S.S.-A could actually be investigating and documenting the spirits of the living and not the dead is honestly baffling and fascinating. Reports of coma ghosts, doppelgangers, and phantom limb sensory detection have been reported from all over.
Other incredible documentations include mutual/shared dream visitations verified by both separated parties. Many believe that lucid dreaming is just astral travel, while some believe that subjects pass the visual corroborative tests by reading the minds of the researchers rather than actually mind-seeing the object.
Whether it's ESP, soul travel, delusion, perceptual dysfunction, dreaming, or whatever, it presents the possibility that ghosts (both alive and dead) may exist, as well as mediums, psychics, and time travelers/teleporters too. All of these deal with the displacement of consciousness and the detection of it. What a trip.
What's the harm in trying? We know we will! Happy floating and follow our socials for more studies and adventures! Follow our official website for more up-to-date content!
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