The Projection of the Astral Body

THE PROJECTION OF THE ASTRAL BODY 135 incapacitated " the phantom if the physical counterpart were " would move out . Just another cause of . so-called " spontaneous projection "-which always has some fundamental law behind it !

It would not be advisable, however, for any one to endeavour to produce a projection of this sort at will-by trying to smother himself into a desire for air-for in trying it, he might " take the air " permanently The clothing of the body can bring about results similar to those just mentioned . During the time of the experiment it is advisable to wear nothing which can be dispensed with . Wearing nothing is better than wearing something . Tight fitting clothing is most undesirable, for it is not only uncomfortable but shuts off the blood circulation . While it is desirable to slacken the circulation of the blood, it is unwise to prevent its circulation .

The less restrictions of this sort the better . It is not that the astral body cannot pass through the clothing or bed-covers, for it can easily pass through a brick wall or a steel vault, but clothing and other such restrictions produce a psychological effect which is not altogether desirable . With little or no clothing covering the body, during the experiment, a psychological effect of " freedom " and " lightness " is produced, which is a powerful factor in strengthening the sensations peculiar to projection .

One can quite understand how such sensations would counteract the sensations of projection, which are lightness and freedom . The sensation of being held down will hold the phantom down ; likewise the sensation of lightness will affect the phantom in a similar wayeven instigating dreams which have a pulling-out effect upon the dream body . So much for the clothing element . It is well to remember that " weight " upon the body-from clothing or anything else-is an unfavourable condition for astral projection .

Projection of the astral body can take place while the subject is seated in a chair-but lying in the horizontal position is greatly to be preferred . Those hours of the night which one has allotted to sleep will probably be found the most satisfactory . There are many reasons why this would be so . When you retire at night you put away thoughts of wordly activities until the next day ; whereas, if you attempt projection during the day, you will say to yourself, " I'll just lie down for a while and see what I can do ; then get to my work again," etc .

There are so many reasons for practising the phase at night rather than during the daytime, that it would seem almost a waste of time to try to enumerate them all-and they should be selfevident by now . At night there are not so many influences to distract your attention from what you are concentrating upon, and you will find that you can think of Self (which is important) with much more ease at night than during the day .

Although projection of the astral body can take place at any