Soul Travel–a.k.a Astral projection (astral travel) is an interpretation of out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and is one of the practices of Echanka, Religion of the Light and Sound of God. Eckankar is ancient wisdom. Its teachings, emphasize the value of personal experiences as the most natural way back to God. Whatever your religious beliefs, Eckanka shows how to look and listen within yourself–to expand your consciousness and enjoy spiritual freedom. Learning, perhaps for the first time, how to lead a happy, balanced, and productive life and put daily concerns into loving perspective. OBEs are achieved either via deep meditation, awake and aware transitions, lucid dreaming or use of psychotropics. Those who believe in Soul Travel maintain that their consciousness or soul has transferred into an astral body (or ‘double’) which moves in tandem with the physical body in a parallel world known as the astral plane.
The understanding of Soul Travel dates back to ancient China. There are two schools of thought on the nature of Soul Travel, these are defined as the mystical model and the phasing model.
The mystical model includes a variety of belief systems and astral maps, but they are tied together by their belief that Soul Travel takes place outside of the actual physical body. A more subtle energy body is believed to carry the consciousness outside of the physical body, and as one progresses to more advanced levels of the astral plane, more subtle bodies are realized and consciousness is transferred in turn to each of them. (Other mystical models assume only one subtle body.) The subtle body is attached to the physical body by means of an energetic connection which usually takes the appearance of a silver cord ‘plugging’ into the chakras like an umbilical cord. I have seen this ‘silver cord.’ It has been suggested that the cord is related to etheric projection, not astral. If the cord was associated with just astral projection, then we would see it every time we astrally projected.
The phasing model, defined by Robert Monroe, contains the belief that it is impossible to actually leave the body in the truest sense of the word, and that the astral planes and the physical world are merely points on the long spectrum of consciousness. When a person projects, they actually “phase” into another area of consciousness and the locales it contains. This can be likened to tuning a radio to another station. One of the initial signposts representing a phase shift away from physical reality has been labeled the state of focus (mind awake/body asleep). This viewpoint can be seen as a logical progression of the philosophy that external reality is actually an internally created state.
There are four types of Soul Travel:
o Unconscious–Unintentional – a person is unaware and had no intention to Soul Travel – usually during sleep or sometimes a person is awake, but seems to be absent.
o Unconscious–Intentional – a person is unaware, but had no conscious intention to Soul Travel – does not remember the experience clearly, may have some images, but has no definitive recollection.
o Conscious–Unintentional – a person is aware, but had no conscious intention to Soul Travel
o Conscious–Intentional – a person is aware of the experience and intentionally created the Soul Travel experience.
“To perceive other realities, we have to use the Inner senses–methods of perception that belong to the inner self and operate whether or not we have a physical form. The Inner Senses expand normal consciousness and allow us to become aware of our own multidimensional existence.” Seth, from The Seth material.
One of my Conscious–Unintentional Soul Travel experience occurred while mindlessly dusting. Being in nature is a passion. As I dusted I found myself standing on a path near the Bell Rock vortex in Sedona, AZ. The experience was magnificant as I was living in NJ and missed the beautiful skies full of Love, Spirit energy and awesome beauty of the red rocks jutting high into the sky in all directions.
Another Conscious–Unintentional Soul Travel experience occurred while I meditated. I saw myself looking back at myself sitting in the chair meditating.