Astral projection is often thought of as “mystical”, but in fact just about everyone has the ability. In fact, lots of people experience astral projection unaware. So the trick sit is to have control over it and do with it what you want to do.

You probably already know about the astral body and the astral plane, so we’ll jump right into techniques which can assist you in your efforts to learn how to astral project. Different people do better using different methods, so you’ll probably want to try out a few until you hit on one which gets good results for you.

The first technique in learning how to astral project, is one that you can do when you’ve gone to bed for the night. Let’s break it down into five steps.

*First - Relax your entire body completely. The best way to do this is to start with your toes and work your way upwards, tensing and then relaxing each part of your body. You’ll become deeply relaxed as you do this and your body may feel extremely heavy � this is perfectly normal.

*Okay, hopefully you will have achieved a state of deep relaxation, so now you need to control your breathing with slow deep breaths by following a method which has proven to be very popular in meditation. Breathe in deep but slowly and allow yourself to actually feel the air moving into you as it makes its way into your lungs. Now breath out slowly, once again paying attention to the air leaving your body. This is the bit many people find hard due to the extreme relaxation which results. Instead, they simply fall asleep which is of course, the last thing you want to be doing. Focusing on the centre of your forehead will in most cases, help you to remain conscious.

*Third � Focus on the relaxed, heavy way your physical body feels. It probably feels like a heavy lump of clay or a slab of stone. Now turn your focus to the way that your astral body feels weightless and able to float free of your physical body. Imagine your astral body drifting upwards from the bed.

*A large percentage of people attempting to astral project claim that in this stage, they see the whole room they�re lying in, in spite of the fact that their eyes are closed. Additionally, in most cases it seems, people claim that there appears to be purple light, or at least, a purple glow filling the room. If you�ve reached this point then the next thing you need to focus on the light fitting in the centre of the ceiling.

*Envision yourself pulling the drawing imagine that you are pulling the ceiling light into you. As you’re doing this you might well get the sensation that you’re floating. If you feel this, you can likely look “down” at your own physical body lying still on the bed.

At this point you are now astral projecting and your astral body is free to begin traveling the astral plane. If you aren’t able to successfully astral project using this technique, you can try the following method.

You can do this one, known as the Gazing Method, when you’re hitting the hay for night as well. You’ll need an object to focus on: the moon through your window or skylight, a lava lamp, even just a nightlight; whatever can hold your attention.

Of course, you must make sure you can gaze at the object as you lie in bed. Now, essentially you’re going to stare at this object. If you feel your attention wandering, bring it back to the object. You should soon begin to feel your eyelids getting heavy. Just keep staring; eventually your eyes will close but you should still be able to see the object as if your eyes are still open. Don’t turn your head; keep “staring”. You’ll come to a point where you want to sit up or stand up, and if you feel yourself do this don’t be alarmed if you can see your own physical body lying asleep on the bed.

If you aren’t immediately successful with these techniques, don’t give up. There are other ways to astral project, though any technique can take some practice. Be persistent and you will learn how to astral project before too long.

You see, no matter what methodologies you attempt with astral projection or any new spiritual discipline, it’s your own subconscious mind which is the main obstacle. Your subconscious mind must feel like it’s perfectly alright for the astral body to temporarily depart from the physical body. To this end you can do some affirmations for several minutes every day to re-program the subconscious mind. Remember that all affirmations must be stated in the positive and they cannot be lies. (I.E. do not talk as if you have already astral projected; talk as if you have made the decision to astral project and you know it’s perfectly natural to do so).

Plenty of techniques can help you learn how to astral travel; you’ll find the right one for you with a little practice and possibly some trial and error.

One of the shortcuts is hypnosis. A good hypnotist can tell you what you are experiencing as you enter into the right state of mind, so you don’t have to worry about what you “should” be experiencing.

Recent advancements in sound technology have brought to light, a concept known as ‘binaural beats’which are also proving to be very useful in helping people achieve a state of deep relaxation which is essential for successful astral projection.

Learning how to astral project isn’t actually that difficult. It’s really just about practicing. This is an ability which every man and woman already possesses; it just takes a little work and a little patience to learn to do it at will. Just like being able to read, it’s something you’re born with the capacity to do � but you do need to practice to become expert in it.