By George A. Boyd ©2003
There are many references to an astral body or light
body in esoteric literature. The astral body shimmers like countless tiny
stars, hence the name astral or "starry" body. This vehicle is the first
subtle covering over the attentional principle; its counterpart is found
over the spirit in 10 of the 12 domains.
Meditation emphasizes experience of interior realities.
So after a brief description of the astral body, we will give you a meditation
exercise to guide you into exploring your own astral body. We will also
discuss methods of projection of the astral body and astral sensing.
The surface of the astral body shimmers or sparkles.
The actual body is opalescent and resembles the physical body in appearance.
However, the astral body may resemble the form of a younger or older physical
form. For example, a 60-year-old man may assume the astral form of his
35-year-old physical appearance. A mature 14-year-old young lady may appear
in an astral form of someone in her early 20s.
The astral body connects to the medulla center by an
umbilical cord-like structure that is referred to as the silver cord in
esoteric literature. This cord is infinitely extensible, yet tethers or
anchors the astral body to the bodys etheric matrix or chakra.
In its ground state, the astral body is effectively
superimposed on the physical form. When the physical bodys arm moves,
for example, the astral bodys arm also moves.
Upon moving through the astral umbilicus, the meditator
enters the astral spiritual tube, in which the meditators attention
encounters six whirling wheels. These wheels are located at the
Base of Spine
Navel
Solar Plexus
Heart
Throat
Medulla
Moving into the level of the face, of the astral body,
the meditator encounters the astral senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch
and taste. At the point between the eyebrows, the meditator finds the
center of the astral will, by which the limbs, face and torso of the astral
body can be moved.
Astral movement corresponds to our faculty of imagination.
In imagination, we can walk through a wall, fly through space, translocate
to another place or move through time. Astral movement replicates whatever
is visualized. The faculty of intention, which is anchored in the attentional
principle, generates visualization.
In the center of the forehead of the astral body is
the so-called third eye. It is a blissful mirror of spiritual development
in the Cosmic Realm, and is a source of intuitive wisdom. It embodies
an inner knowing of the laws of the Superconscious Mind and sees the Astral
Planes of the Great Continuum of Consciousness.
The astral brain resembles a spiral of colored spheres
that culminate in a central jet or flare of light. This central flame
is referred to as the Jyoti in Eastern scriptures. The meditator beholds
a rainbow of pastel-colored spheres, ranging from rose-colored to violet
to brilliant white.
Meditation on the Astral Body
Meditation on the astral body assumes that you can unite
your attention with the attentional principle easily. If you are unfamiliar
with this technique, you may learn how to do this by reading the article
How to Open Your Third Eye
Bring your attention into union with the attentional
principle as before, and then focus your attention successively on
The pineal center
The fontanel center
Next follow the astral umbilicus. Move attention from
the top of the head down into the navel center. The umbilicus will wind
around several times, then you will enter the astral spinal tube.
Base of the astral spine
Astral whirling wheels (base of spine to medulla)
Point between the eyebrows (pay attention to astral
sensation)
Center of forehead (intuitive eye)
Flame at center of the astral brain
After you have contemplated your entire astral body
for as long as you wish, focus your attention through these centers in
reverse order.
Remember to bring you attention back to the fully grounded
state of awareness.
With practice, you will be able to bring your awareness
into your astral body at will. Then you will feel right at home using
the faculties of this body as you do your physical body.
Traveling in the Astral Body
The astral body can be projected from its state of union
with the physical body. Several different means are listed below:
- Along the current of the will stream, leading to
contemplation of the vortices of inner abilities or powers
- Through the channels of the inner vehicles, yielding
awareness of their contents
- To selected symbols or archetypes for contemplation
and to gain experiential knowledge by union (samadhi)
- Along the time track of personal memory and collective
unconscious; into the records of past incarnations
- To discrete locations in physical space (remote
viewing)
- To etheric representations of physical space, revealing
the kingdoms of the elementals, pixies, devas and angels
- Through the physical universe into the Astral Light,
viewing the astral worlds of dimension.
These various tracks of movement of the astral body
can be elicited by
- Guided meditation
- Hypnotic suggestion
- Brain entrainment methods
- Anesthetic or psychedelic drugs
- Lucid dreaming states (some suggest that rapid
eye movement, or REM sleep, and unconscious states may likewise be
due to a de-coupling of the physical and astral bodies)
- Direct projection
Of all these methods, the Mudrashram® lineage recommends
that the meditator develop mastery over direct projection, as it is the
most reliable means to move the astral body exactly where you intend.
Suggestive methods (guided meditation and
hypnosis) have decreased control over where the individual projects,
due to variation in responding to the suggestions given by the guide
or the hypnotherapist. Moreover, the unconscious mind of the meditator
often produces much extraneous material, confounding the meditators
ability to clearly sense the objective of meditation.
Entrainment methods use selected tones, melodious
chants or exotic musical interludes to allegedly balance the hemispheres
of the brain and/or elicit selected brain waves similar to those found
in deep meditation. Similar effects can be elicited by photic driving
methods, where the individual is exposed to flashing lights keyed
to brain wave frequencies. In some entrainment modalities, these light
and sound methods may be combined. Due to variations in individual
response to these stimuli, not everyone has astral experiences induced
by them, and there is little control over them by the meditator if
they do result in bilocation of the astral body.
Dreaming methods such as so-called lucid
dreaming, where you remain inwardly awake while in the dream state,
or making suggestions before falling asleep, are also under limited
control by the meditator. Here again, there is no reliable control
of where the astral body travels.
Chemical methods such as anesthetic and psychedelic
drugs also induce a passive experience over which the meditator has
little or no control. The other drawback with these agents is that
they are toxic to the organism and may result in damage to the organs
and nervous system.
The teachers of the Mudrashram® lineage
warn against the use of chemical agents of any kind to alter consciousness
except as warranted by necessary medical procedures (e.g., use
of anesthetics prior to surgery or narcotic analgesics to treat
intractable pain).
So-called recreational or social use of these
agents can produce dependence and addiction, damage to the organism
and unbalancing of the inner vehicles. Actions taken while intoxicated
when normal inhibition is suspended, moreover, may lead to negative
karmic consequences.
Tampering with the delicate neurohormonal-etheric
pathways through the use of drugs may result in the disruption
of mental and emotional organization within the vehicles. This
in turn can lead to states of emotional dysfunction and intellectual
disorganization, effectively precipitating mood disorders, personality
disorders, dissociative states and even psychotic decompensation.
The Raja Yoga technique of direct projection
allows the meditator to move the astral body out of confluence with
its physical-etheric counterpart, and travel through the physical
universe and the realms of the Astral Plane. The astral body follows
the lead of the attentional principle: wherever the attentional principle
is focused, the astral body moves to this same location. The technique
of direct projection is taught in the Mudrashram® Master Course
in Meditation.
Activation of Psychic Ability
Much of what is called psychic sensing, clairvoyance,
or mind reading, corresponds to the normal operation of the senses of
the astral body. These subtle sensory impressions are vague, dreamlike,
imprecise and often distorted. Like the images in dreams, the percepts
of the astral body seem less defined than their physical counterparts.
To understand these dreamlike productions at times requires
analysis, reflection and contemplation of their meaning. It is at the
stage of labeling of the image and attempting to interpret its meaning
that much of the distortion is introduced. Accurate psychic readers must
also possess a gift of understanding the symbolic language of the unconscious
mind, which may present its meanings by way of myth and metaphor.
The senses of the astral body respond to your suggestions
for the object of perception. A skilled meditator may tune the focus of
the astral senses to any number of channels, much in the same way you
may adjust a radio receiver. Some of the visual channels of the astral
body that an experienced meditator can access include:
- Seeing into and through environmental objects around
the physical body
- Viewing people or objects beyond the visual horizon
(so-called remote viewing)
- Visions of celestial bodies (e.g., moon, sun, planets,
galaxies)
- Perceiving energy signatures of bands of the electromagnetic
spectrum outside the visual range
- Visualizing molecules, atoms and the subatomic field
- Witnessing the vibrational ether
- Sensing the flow and blockage of life force in the
etheric body
- Beholding others thoughts and emotions as colored
fields surrounding their physical body (visual clairvoyance)
- Receiving visual impressions of others past
experiences or impressions in their unconscious minds
- Becoming aware of images and impressions from past
incarnations
- Experiencing scenes from the dimensional realms of
the Astral Plane
- Encountering spirits, angels, guides and inhabitants
of the dimensional realms.
Astral sensing is synesthetic, which means that the
senses work together as one. This simultaneous blending of the senses
allows you to touch, taste, smell and hear whatever you see. If you used
your astral vision to penetrate into a piece of fruit, for example, you
could concomitantly smell, taste, hear and receive tactile impressions
from the object. You may also detect the vibrations within a locale or
"space" through this means.
This sensing, however, is not always accurate. Since
the astral body is the repository of the faculty of imagination, the mind
fills in certain initial impressions received through the astral senses.
This is another avenue through which distortion is introduced into psychic
visioning.
We invite you to explore and familiarize yourself with
your astral body and its functioning. The astral body of the subconscious
mind is but one of your many vehicles that you will encounter on your
voyage of inner discovery.
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