An out of body experience or OBE, is when someone has the sensation of floating outside his or her body. This scientifically proven experience normally takes place when a person is very near-death.

The idea of perceiving your physical body from a sphere outside your body is called an astral projecion as well as an out of body experience. This is an experience not to be scoffed at, because a large number of people who were supposedly at death’s door, came back with memories of watching their physical body lying in a room. They could also describe the activities going on in the room during that period.

It was in 1943 that this term began to come into usage, instead of the more belief- centric term of “projection”. In olden days, out of body experiences were called “spirit walking”. Scientists are still researching about this particular phenomena because they cannot consider it to be something imaginary.

Approximately 10% of the population may have been through this type of experience at some point in their lives. These are some very large numbers, so one should not look at the concept of an out of body experience with scorn, disdain or skepticism.

An out of body experience can occur spontaneously for some people, but for others it can be associated with the use of psychedelic drugs, a mental or physical injury or slipping into a coma or some type of trance.

There are plenty of places on the Internet, which promise you the joys of astral travel and projection. Astral projection is not difficult if you know how to go about it in the right way. This is supposedly a natural process, which was used very often by the ancients. Unfortunately, a large number of their modern descendents have forgotten the art of astral projection. An out of body experience does not need a large level of spiritual and mental power.

You do need to focus on one thing, however. The conscious part of your mind restrains you from having an OBE because it fears that once you project yourself out from your body you will not be able to return. This fear often prevents astral projection and astral travel.

The belief is that one’s astral body can leave the physical body for a little while. If one believes in the idea that yes, he can project his astral body outside his physical body, he is already on his way to success. That is because he has auto suggested himself into allowing his conscious mind to “let go.” However, if there is just this brief bit of fear that one’s astral body is going to escape one’s physical body and he is going to end up in the state of limbo, one is better off not trying any sort of experimentation.

So once your mind is silenced and you know that you believe, you need to use meditation as well as self hypnosis in order to go through a successful out of body experience. Start thinking positively; tell yourself that you want to go through astral projection or out of body experience. Once your mind takes over, you are going to find yourself receptive to the thought of successful astral travel.

Find a place where you can lie down and remain undisturbed. Your arms should be next to your sides. Allow your inner self to come into true harmony with nature. While breathing deeply and gently, concentrate on relaxing your physical body in a way that will permit your astral self to exit your physical body and enter a place that is outside your normal physical bounds and knowledge. Mentally encourage the tingling sensation you’ll feel in your body. Dismiss any conscious thoughts that come into your mind and continue breathing deeply and gently.

An out of body experience normally start with vibrations and rapid heartbeat. Let these vibrations engulf you. Stay calm. Do not get over excited; let them take over your heart body and soul. You are soon going to find yourself leaving your physical body behind and setting onto your out of body experience in your exciting astral journey.

A number of people who have gone through an OBE say that the out of body experience ended because of the fear of getting far away from their physical body. According to them, the experience which they had was definitely not a dream, because they had been existing in some other realm or sphere and undergoing experiences there. So if you want to take part in this exciting new world of astral travel and believe that you can do it, you Can Do It.

The author William Courcey writes for the popular astralprojectiontravel.com site. Experience being outer body for yourself and get 29 Free out of body experiences Audios from here.

A lot of people find that there are some stumbling blocks preventing them from successfully astral projecting. However, this is something which all of us can do. It is a natural ability which every man and woman already has. Much like riding a bike, you dont forget how; but you do have to keep in practice in order to do it well.

One major stumbling block that many people encounter is relaxation. To astral project the mind and the body have to be deeply relaxed. This can take some practice, but there are many relaxation techniques that you can employ to help your mind and body relax. There are breathing techniques and muscle relaxation techniques that you can try.

Naturally though if the environment is not conducive to promoting a relaxed environment then your astral projection session is not going to go as smoothly or be as successful as you would like it to be. Here are a number of tips that you can follow to help get the most out of your preparation.

*Start by removing any tight, restrictive clothing and any jewelry. Some people even find taking off their clothes to be helpful when astral projecting, but whatever works for you is the right way to go.

*It is easiest to practice astral projecting in a dark room. You dont want it to be so dark that you cant see anything with your eyes open, but it should be dark enough that no light penetrates through when you close them.

*Orient your body on a north-south axis. Your head should be towards the north. If you are unsure how to position yourself, use the sun as your guide.

*Make sure that the clothing you are wearing is loose and comfortable. You want to be covered so that you are warmer the you normally are but you dont want to be hot.

*Astral projection should always be done in a place which is free of distractions. Make sure that you have a quiet and peaceful place to practice astral projecting.

*Practice your relaxation techniques. You need to be totally relaxed in order to astral project.

*Start giving yourself mental suggestions that will help you be able to remember what is happening during your session. Keeping a pen and paper close by is helpful, so that as soon as you finish your astral travels you can write down what you remember. Remembering can be enhanced by saying to yourself five times, I will remember.

*Start using your breathing techniques and feel yourself starting to relax.

*As you are breathing focus on the blackness in front of you.

*Now you want to focus on a point or object about a foot away from your forehead, once you focus on that object change your focus to six feet away.

*Next, imagine a line running at a 90 degree angle from this focal point to a point parallel to your body.

These tips will help you to prepare for astral projecting. You need to have full mental control of the process, so that your astral body doesn’t just wander off directionless. When you astral project you can go anywhere and do anything, so focus on the wheres and whats.

Some people who are expert in astral projecting can speak with departed loved ones and perform feats which they could never do with their physical bodies. Even if you are skeptical about astral projection, you should realize that you have done this before. Those very vivid dreams which you remember when you wake up are astral travel! However, with some practice you can astral project whenever you like and gain the benefits of this practice.