In this third post on astral projection I will look at the topic of preparing to project, and that’s because before you can begin to use any astral projection technique you first need to prepare yourself. The only physical preparation you need to make is that you are warm and comfortable and that you will not be disturbed for the duration of the astral projection exercise, but psychological preparations are a little more involved.
To start with, you need to push past what experienced projector Robert Monroe called, “The Fear Barrier”. Most people are, at least to some extent, afraid of the unknown. Since the non-physical planes are unknown to most people, it follows that most people are initially a little afraid of projecting their consciousness into these planes. Such fears can in fact stop you from successfully projecting, hence the need to assess your fears and get rid of them.
The most common fear is that of “getting stuck” on the non-physical planes and being unable to return to the physical body. The best way to overcome this particular fear is to remember two things:
Firstly, if most experienced practitioners are correct, everyone projects every night during sleep. This takes place without your conscious knowledge, but it still occurs and you wake up fine every morning. It can be concluded, therefore, that you have already projected thousands of times without having any problem “getting back in” to your physical body.
Secondly, we will all have to leave the physical plane at some point, so why fear the inevitable? Wouldn’t it be better to face this fear head-on, explore non-physicality deliberately and so know what we can expect when the inevitable happens?
Another common fear is that during projection the body may be “taken over” by another consciousness. In other words, many people fear that projecting could leave them open to some kind of psychic attack or possession.
Again, the best way to get over this fear is to remind yourself that your consciousness in projected into the non-physical planes every night and so far you haven’t been attacked or possessed, so what chance is there of this happening when you are projecting with full conscious awareness? My own opinion is that the chances of such things happening are almost nil.
What you must remember at all times is that when you are projecting your consciousness into the non-physical planes, you are entering a world in which thoughts are manifested very quickly. This means that if you project with thoughts of fear or danger, your thoughts could create nightmare-like scenarios which you will encounter on the non-physical plane. You will not be harmed by such encounters, for just as a nightmare disappears on awakening, so negative astral encounters vanish as soon as the exercise ends. However, being aware that your thoughts will have a strong influence on what you experience should encourage you to let go of fear and think positive thoughts of peace, love and spiritual advancement. This will help ensure that your astral trips are as beneficial as possible.
I will present the first of two actual projection techniques in my next post. In the meantime, serious students of astral projection would do well to click the banner below for information that we highly recommend.
