Astral Projection

            Astral projection is the act of removing your soul from your body by your own means. This often involves a ritual but a ritual is not always necessary. Astral projection from an etic point of view would not have scientific evidence backing up its possibility and therefore be considered an aspect of the belief system in which the hypothesis exists and not necessarily a factual part of the process of life. The soul is defined in Webster’s dictionary as the part of the human or animal that is immaterial: considered immortal. If it was considered that a soul could be removed from the body without killing the physical vessel, then the supernatural realm would have to become part of the natural. It would not be uncommon for people to disregard the possibility of astral projection and spirits due to the unknown factors at play. A survey was taken of 1,048 university students in New Zealand asking whether or not they believed in the supernatural. “Over half of the SS indicated belief in telepathy, precognition, and life after death. Over 30% also expressed belief in clairvoyance, astrology, biorhythms, body auras, astral projection, flying saucers/unidentified flying objects (UFOs), psychic healing, and ghosts” (Clarke). There have also been a number of near-death experiences in hospital rooms and words have been written on the floor that can only be read from the ceiling. Science is skeptical about the existence of the supernatural and will likely remain so until undeniable proof is provided to validate its existence.

             From an emic point of view, there is little question that a spiritual realm beyond the physical indeed exists. There are features of this universe that are not solely linked to the physical world. The spirit world is another plane of existence. I can imprint on the physical just as the physical can imprint on it. Spirits can be seen as shadows that do not belong or, if the presence is strong enough, they could appear as they once did in the physical realm. The spiritual world and the physical world cannot interact directly on a regular basis. It takes great power and understanding to be able to interact with the balance of the spiritual and the physical. Ritual is a form of attempting to perform this interaction and the intention of the ritual could vary greatly. Every intention has a different series of required practices in order for the intention to be realized. Astral projection or an out-of-body experience is not an unnatural thing to do even by accident, however, one must be acutely aware of the dangers of such a feat. Malign spirits could attempt to enter your physical form which has been left vacant. If this occurs you may not be able to return and forced to wander as a ghost. A number of cases are recounted in Robert Crookall’s book Practice Astral Projection (1960). There are also a number of much older tomes that describe the process of performing astral projection willingly.

References

Clarke, Dave

 1991 Belief in the Paranormal: A New Zealand Survey. Journal of the Society for Psychical

    Research 57(823): 412-425.

Crookall, Robert

 1960 Practice Astral Projection. Secaucus: Citadel Press.