Double Vision: Did Reading Book Lead to Astral Projection?

astral-projection-2

A week ago while visiting my husband's mom in Virginia, a strange thing happened to me. On this particular evening I was reading the book "Phenomenon" by Sylvia Brown, and was about to turn in for the night. I bookmarked my page and noticed the next chapter was entitled "Astral Travel." Though I was excited to read about it, I couldn't keep my eyes open, so I went to bed thinking I would read it the next day. I drifted off to sleep in a matter of minutes, and then suddenly I felt myself leaving my body. (I felt sort of half awake at this point). It began with my hand and arm leaving my body, and then it was as if I was moving at a thousand miles an hour in a black, swirling hole. It scared me! Then Slam! I felt as if I was thrown back into my body with a great force. I woke up frightened and unsure about what had really happened. Was I dreaming because of the book I was reading, or did I actually have an experience where "my body" caught my spirit leaving and then freaked out? Any thoughts or advice would be really helpful. My date of birth: 6-4-70 - Karen

Dreamchaser:

Over the years, I have mentioned this very subject over and over in this column. I am glad to talk about it again, however, because it happens so frequently to people.

When we go to sleep, our soul leaves our body and goes to where it most needs to be in order to fix whatever happened today and prepare for tomorrow. Sometimes it works very hard, and sometimes it just plays by itself or with other souls.

Dreams, by the way, are the journeys that our souls go on every night. Sometimes we remember our soul work, and sometimes we don't. Either way, our souls DO leave and travel and learn every single time we are asleep. Scientists have yet to prove why our bodies need sleep; it's because our souls must have time to do their work when our human mind is not in the way.

What happened in your case was that your mind was not fully asleep yet. Your logical, human mind was still relatively conscious of what was going on around you. When your soul lifted off, your human mind was aware of it.

Usually our souls wait until REM or deep sleep to lift off. When your soul realized that your mind was still active, it jumped back into your body. That was the SLAM you felt. When you woke up, your human mind was searching for a "logical" explanation as to what had just happened.

This can also work in reverse, by the way. Our souls can wake our bodies sometimes before our minds kick into gear. Have you ever woken up and not known who you were, where you were, what was going on, etc.? Then it took a little while for you to shake out the "cobwebs" and come back to reality? That is when your soul pops back in before your human mind is awake, clear and ready to be cognizant of what is happening.

Your mind was running on high gear because you had been reading new information. You were learning and growing and evolving, and it was exciting for your mind to filter into your soul and back up. The cycle was working, but you were too tired to stay awake and read more.

Your human mind was ready and wanting to learn about astral travel. Your soul was saying, "Go to sleep so we can integrate what you have already learned." Part of you was ready to sleep and part of you was ready for more exploration. The two were running on conflicting schedules, and you caught it happening. So in a way, the book caused this, but it happens on a nightly basis anyway. Because you were conscious, you just happened to catch it happening this time!

You can learn how to astral travel while you are awake. Keep reading! I wish you many more conscious experiences with astral travel!

*****

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.