astral projection出体

In The Early Sessions Book 1, "out-of-body experience" (also called astral travel or projection) is a phenomenon of consciousness that is gradually explored and experimented with. Although at this stage the systematic theory of out-of-body experience is still taking shape, through Seth's dictation and the personal practice of Rob and Jane, the book reveals the early core expressions of the out-of-body phenomenon, its bodily sensory characteristics, and the personal directions of experimentation.

1. Core Expressions and Terminological Evolution In this book, the concept is referred to by several alternating terms, including "projections" ^[1], "travel in astral body" ^[2], "mental experience of traveling" ^[3], and "out-of-body experiences" ^[4]. Seth points out that in the projection or out-of-body state, the projector remains recognizable to friends, but people will notice certain changes, such as feeling that the projector "looks different" ^[1]. In addition, out-of-body phenomena may occur unconsciously. For example, Rob once experienced an unconscious projection at the age of eleven: at that time he saw a boy holding a grabber suddenly appear and then vanish into thin air, while his brother Loren looked out from the store and saw nothing ^[1].

2. Bodily Sensations and Precursors The book records in detail the bodily sensory changes experienced by Rob and Jane when attempting mental travel or out-of-body experience, and these sensations are regarded as precursors of out-of-body experience or expansion of consciousness:

3. Rob's "feeling of sound": When Rob attempted a mental journey across the Washington Street Bridge, he experienced strong bodily sensations. The feeling began mainly in the left leg and left arm, then spread to the chest and head. He felt his body become light, and a localized internal tingling or thrilling arose behind his ears. Seth called this rich sense of fullness the "feeling of sound" ^[3]. This tingling would even surge up again amid everyday noisy surroundings ^[5].

4. Jane's expanding skull and infinite darkness: Jane also experienced similar precursors when awake with her eyes closed. Her bodily sensation manifested as an "expanding of the skull," and within this expanded area she experienced a strange, infinite black ^[5].

5. Experimental Methods and Individual Differences Regarding how to develop and carry out out-of-body experience, Jane and Rob discussed using "trial and error" to test their respective abilities, because each person's abilities differ ^[2]. When Rob asked Jane whether she could travel in the astral body beyond the room, Jane answered "possibly" ^[2]. They believed that experiments should be carried out according to each person's interests: for example, Bill focused on his travel experiences, Rob focused on his visions, and Jane focused on her "dreams of levitation" ^[2].

6. Position in the Early Material "Dreams and out-of-body experiences," as one of the core themes, is included in the audio-visual products and handbooks of the early Seth material, and is an important path guiding people to understand their own multidimensional personality, create their own reality, and connect with the inner self ^[4].

In The Early Sessions Book 2, Seth refers to the concept of "out-of-body experience" mainly as "journeying" or "extension of self," and elaborates in detail on its operating mechanism, different modes of travel, accompanying bodily perceptions, and how to carry out scientific verification.

1. The Core Mechanism and Classification of Out-of-Body Experience

Seth points out that consciousness, or the personality essence, operates mainly in two ways during out-of-body travel:

1. Personality-Essence Travel: In this case, the physical body remains in place, and the personality essence, after realizing that space and time are only camouflage, moves freely through camouflage space and time. Any contact during this kind of travel is telepathic, and a potential observer using the outer senses cannot see anything ^[1].
2. Diffusion of Energies and the Secondary Camouflage Body: This method is more complex and involves the diffusion of energies. While the original body remains in place, a partially visible or even completely normal "secondary camouflage body" appears at the destination of the journey ^[2]. In this state, an observer can see what appears to be an ordinary entity and can converse with it ^[2]. In scientific experiments, this manifests as the physical form appearing simultaneously in two places, that is, bilocation ^[3].

Seth further explains the deeper essence: consciousness, that is, individualized energy and vitality, forms the physical body. Therefore, consciousness can completely leave the physical body without any bodily action, expand and travel using atoms and molecules as stepping stones, and completely reassemble the physical body at the destination ^[4]. However, if the projector originally had a physical illness, such as gallbladder disease, the reassembled body will have the same illness, because the illness is caused by consciousness itself ^[5]. In addition, although one can leave and reassemble the physical body, in order to maintain a normal lifespan on the physical plane, one cannot live apart from the physical body for a long time ^[5].

2. Bodily Perceptions and Precursors in Out-of-Body Practice

When Rob, Jane's husband, and Jane practiced out-of-body experience through "psychological time," they recorded a large number of unique physical and mental perceptions, which Seth confirmed:

1. Lightness and thrilling sensation: Before entering the state, one usually feels the body become extremely light and weightless ^[6], accompanied by a strong, wave-like "thrilling sensation" sweeping through the whole body ^[7].
2. Enlargement of the limbs: One often feels the hands, wrists, or feet become "fatter" or larger, and may even feel another pair of extended hands, up to ten inches long, appearing above the physical hands ^[8].
3. Two Levels Sensation and levitation: The experiencer may feel the arms or legs lift and levitate, or feel the hands and feet cross at the wrists or ankles, even though intellectually one knows the limbs are lying flat on the bed. This strange perception of "existing on two levels at the same time" is a typical precursor of attempting mental travel ^[9].
4. Sense of detachment: A wave-like sensation appears at the center of the chest, as if trying to "lift out" from oneself ^[10].

3. Scientific Verification and Limitations

Seth encourages Rob to try to establish contact with people he meets during travel in order to verify the authenticity of out-of-body experience:

1. Establishing contact and asking for addresses: When meeting others during travel, such as the girl Rob saw in the New York office, or George Marshall whom he met in Louisiana, one should try to give the other person one's own name and address and ask the person to write to oneself, which helps with scientific verification ^[11].
2. Purposeful visits and physical evidence: It is suggested that one choose a familiar and mutually attuned person for a purposeful visit, so that one can be recognized by the other person when materializing ^[12]. A more difficult but feasible method is to bring back a physical object from the travel destination, such as a handful of sand from a Florida beach, as evidence ^[13].
3. Mental obstacles: The greatest obstacle to verifying out-of-body experience lies in the inability of the personality essence to give up its belief in camouflage space and time. Carrying out such experiments requires temporarily "suspending logic" and making an emotional and psychic leap ^[14].

4. Warnings and Limitations

Seth emphasizes that in the early stages of practice, because one has not yet learned to replenish psychic energy, out-of-body travel will bring a certain degree of fatigue ^[15]. At the same time, Seth expresses particular concern, warning readers never to blindly seek suicide in order to prove that "consciousness can exist apart from the physical body" ^[4]. Out-of-body experience is only an extension of the self; one must return to the physical body and face one's own problems ^[5].

In The Early Sessions Book 3, Seth offers an in-depth examination of the concept of "so-called astral travel" or "astral projection," clarifying the electrical mechanisms behind it, the physiological and sensory signs involved, and the role played by the ego.

I. The Nature of Out-of-Body Experience and Its Electrical Mechanism Seth points out that all movement is essentially mental or psychological movement, and all of it possesses "electrical reality" ^[1]. The inner self moves by changing or moving through different pulsation intensities within the physical field ^[1]. Moving through these intensities in the electrical system produces, in the physical field, the effect of moving in physical time, and this is precisely the clue to astral travel [chunk:5131, 5132]. The inner self possesses unlimited pulsation intensities; when it passes through ranges of impulses it has already experienced, this appears to the ego as a journey into the past; when it reaches new intensities, it appears as a journey into the future ^[2]. Psychological time experiments can increase the individual's mobility and unconscious manipulation within the electrical universe, providing a safe reference basis for out-of-body travel ^[2].

II. Physiological and Sensory Signs During Out-of-Body Experience Jane and Rob recorded a rich array of bodily sensations while attempting out-of-body experience or undergoing "separation":

1. Bodily dissolution and a sense of suspension: The most common precursor is an extreme feeling of lightness, a sense of freedom from physical resistance and pressure [chunk:4863, 4864]. The practitioner may feel the bed disappear beneath them [chunk:4862, 4945], or feel the body below the chest completely dissolve [chunk:4864, 4865, 4882], producing a floating sensation of drifting rather than walking [chunk:4865, 5016].
2. Displacement and enlargement of the limbs: The limbs feel as though they want to lift up from within themselves [chunk:4834, 4906], or the hands and feet feel enlarged and suspended, or even feel as though the hands are folded at the waist when in fact they are lying flat at the sides of the body [chunk:4834, 4906, 4945, 4994].
3. A rushing sensation from the head: Jane experienced an intense feeling of rushing or speeding rapidly outward from the head [chunk:4862, 4867]. Seth explains that this sensation of rushing out from the head represents the initial outflow of the inner self from the physical image ^[3].
4. Temperature changes and trembling: Attempts at out-of-body experience are often accompanied by drastic temperature changes, such as heat in the head and neck followed by cold ^[4], or extreme cold throughout the body with persistent trembling, and even abnormally cold hands and feet after waking [chunk:4882, 5003].

III. The Ego's Defenses, Fear, and Safety Control Out-of-body activity requires a delicate balance between the ego and the inner self:

1. The ego's fear and obstruction: The inner self knows its own abilities, while the ego instinctively obstructs these abilities, like a dog scenting danger ^[3]. If the ego panics, it will "dam up" the energy originally intended for astral projection, causing the practitioner to feel utterly exhausted ^[5].
2. The wording of safety suggestions: Seth emphasizes that the wording of suggestions is crucial. Using "I will progress safely" is excellent, because it allows a balance between progress and safety; whereas the word "slow" or "slowly" is not good, because it represents only a neutral, temporary postponement and does not directly imply safety ^[6].
3. Reassuring and "landing" the ego: The ego must be given the necessary assurance that the inner self will always return safely ^[6]. Using the analogy of an airplane, Seth points out that it is very important that the "landing" does not end in a crash [chunk:4872, 4873].

IV. Emotionally Driven Travel and the Distinction from Complex Projection Seth contrasts Jane's spontaneous "Saratoga trip" with her later attempts at out-of-body experience. The Saratoga trip was driven by personal emotional impetus and memory; its destination was a place familiar to the ego and emotionally cherished, and therefore it belonged to a "preliminary test flight" that the ego would not oppose ^[7]. The projections attempted later in psychological time were far more complex; lacking the lubrication of that specific emotion, and with the ego's defenses stronger, they were more likely to encounter egoic obstruction and panic [chunk:4875, 5212].