Break on Through to the Other Side

What they do NOT teach you in Sunday School or Bible Study

The Human Body

In addition to the five physical senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste) the human being has two extra physical senses that are NOT sufficiently developed for use in the average person. These two extra physical senses are:

• the astral body
• astral vision — clairvoyance

The Astral Body

The Astral Body is composed of an ethereal substance of a very high degree of vibration — resembling a fine matter, but more tenuous than anything that is known as matter. It is an exact energy duplication of the physical form (body) it encompasses. It is the link between the nervous system and the cosmic reservoir. It is the instrument of passions, emotions, and desires.

Normally, the astral body can only be sensed by astral vision, but under certain conditions, it takes on a vapor form of matter perceived as a "ghost" or "apparition" to the ordinary physical senses.

Note: The photo on the left is the authentic photo of the famous ghost, "Brownlady of Raynham Hall."

The astral body is an exact counterpart of the physical body. It is NOT immortal but will eventually disintegrate and resolve into an original element, just as the physical body will upon death.

When your astral body separates from your physical body during sleep, a state of trance, or by influence of drugs, or in a case by accident, it takes with it the capacity of sensation, and only upon returning to the physical body can pain be felt. The act of your astral body separated from your physical body and traveling on the Astral Plane is called "astral projection," also known as OBE, or Out of Body Experience.

While your astral body is separated from your physical body, it is connected to your physical body by a tiny, thin, shiny, tenuous cobweb-like silk filament of ethereal substance (like a rope). IMPORTANT: If this filament is broken by an accident on the Astral Plane, his/her physical body will "die" and your astral body will never be able to return to it. So this is serious business and nothing to play around with.

Many people are able to travel in the astral body during ordinary sleep, but they usually never have any recollection of it upon reawakening. On the other hand, the trained person will travel consciously, and with a purpose, and will always be wide awake on such journeys. For them, the Astral Plane is as much a home as the Physical Plane.

During these periods of separation, your astral body is extremely sensitive to thought. You will feel light as a feather. You will be able to walk through doors and walls as if they were made of fog. You will walk around as a "ghost." People on the Material Plane will not be able to see you, but animals (dogs) may sense your presence.

As an astral visitor/observer, you will notice that people have auras extending out from their bodies on all sides in different colors and shades. You will see clouds of semi-luminous substance floating along with people; these colors are clouds of thought vibration. More on this below.

According to Theosophical teachings, the astral body is composed of definite forms, the shape of which depends on the quality of thought, which causes vibrations, which are seen as colors. Therefore, by the appearance of the person's astral body, a clairvoyant may be able to determine the state of his/her development.

Astral Body Color and Appearance

Photo of a nebulous form? with Orbs

From the clairvoyant's perspective, the nebulous appearance indicates an imperfect development, whereas an ovoid (egg-shaped?) appearance is an indication of a more perfect development. The photo at right perhaps portrays the difference between the nebulous versus the ovoid appearance.

Colors seen inside the astral body can also be indicative of the person's thoughts, which can be seen as an indicator of the person's character. An astral body with inferior thoughts (rage, for example) will have an appearance of red, while an astral body with higher thoughts (love, for example) will have an appearance of delicate colors, such as shades of blue.

It should be noted and understood however, that the colorization of the astral body is usually associated with those on the Material Plane (via clairvoyance.) Inhabitants on the Astral Plane usually are not acquainted with the bodies higher than their own astral bodies—so they wouldn't see their colorful auras?

The orb photos below were taken by average people. There are 100s of similar photos on the Internet. Most of the orb photos I saw had these white balls of light in them that apparently, were not present when the photo was taken. It was only after retrieving the image (film developed, image downloaded, etc.) did the person discover their strange presence. I'm sure you've seen, read or heard about such phenomena before. I grabbed a few photos of them just to portray a point.

It's a pity some people find joy in trickery or claiming something strange and unusual when their mysterious discovery is really and act of fraud. I discovered that photos of orbs can be artificially created by flash photography of raindrops at night, and they look nearly identical to the authentic orbs photographed by honest people. So beware.

In any case, after examining the orb photos below under a microscope (extreme enlargement in Photoshop) I noticed something about most of them that I had not anticipated, namely:

(1) They are all different.
(2) They are not just balls of light.
(3) They appear to exhibit different texture/material?
(4) They are composed of different colors.
(5) They appear to have dimensional depth/shape.
(6) They appear to be composed of different matter/material (by their texture appearance.)
(7) They appear to exhibit something "inside" them (different matter/material).
(8) They are impressive.

Photo 1: Three Orbs	Photo 1: Orb
Photo 2: Three Orbs (1-2-3)	Photo 2: Orb #1
Photo 2: Orb #2	Photo 2: Orb #3
Photo 3: Orbs? or Raindrops?	Photo 3: Orb near fence

A brief word about Orbs
The photos above appear to depict some type of (invisible?) life form. Are these lowly astral bodies on the 7th Astral Plane? Are they empty "Astral Shells?" More on that later. Are they "Artificial Entities?" More on that later, too. Whatever they are, the simple fact they all basically exhibit a different color and texture and material (exterior and interior) indicates to me they are somehow different entities of some kind that either inhabit a plane beyond our physical, visual senses, or inhabit our Material Plane on a frequency beyond our physical senses — but not beyond the visual sensitivity of photographic film or digital electronics sensing equipment obviously.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2007

It is early evening. The sun has set and light is fading fast. I was photographing some construction work and I took two photos standing from the same spot, the 1st photo was taken withOUT a flash and the 2nd WITH a flash. The two photos were taken about five (5) seconds apart.

I did my best to postition the camera lens in the exact same location when I took the 2nd photo (with the flash.) In fact, I overlaid the two photos in Photoshop and the difference between the location of the camera lens between the two photos is nearly exact.

The photo withOUT the flash exhibits NO ORBS whatsoever, yet the photo WITH the flash exhibits a number of orbs. Common sense tells me the orbs' appearance in the photo is related to the flash (light) and therefore must be caused by some type of OPTICAL aberration.

CONCLUSION: Since I shot the photos with a digital camera, any tricks of light inherent with "film" can be ruled out, therefore, the orbs must be "something physical" in the air that is microscopic or too small to be obviously visible to the naked eye yet under illumination becomes visible "as a reflection" with the camera lens, like a rain drop might appear when photographed with a flash. Could they be dust particles? Tiny insects?

:-|

The Rearrangement of Astral Matter

Remember that first paragraph on page two under the title, Astral Planes, where I briefly mention the rearrangement of the matter of the astral body? ...hmmm, forgot? No problem. I will repeat it below, with (hopefully) a comprehensible explanation. Read the paragraphs carefully, and multiple times if necessary.

First of all, think of your body as composed of two parts: an astral body and a physical body. According to Theosophical theory, the matter that composes the astral body does not possess intelligent life but a kind of life that enables it to convey an understanding of its own existence and desires. (Is this consciousness?) This is in a descent stage of evolution because the turning point has yet to be made as far as the astral body is concerned. Opposite this is the possessor of the attached physical body, whom is on a mission of ascent. Do you understand this theory so far? ... There is an opposition between the astral and physical bodies. The difference is within the opposition between the grosser and finer thoughts, or matter, that eventually reside within the astral body. Thus, the composition of the astral matter is altered; the grosser thoughts demanding their medium gross astral matter while the purer thoughts demand the fine astral matter.

Again, think of your body as composed of two parts: an astral body and a physical body. The astral body consists of seven concentric sheaths, the most dense material on the outside and the finest material on the inside. In life, at periods, one type of matter may get the upper hand — the stronger matter may diminish the weaker matter altogether. During physical life, the different kinds of matter in the astral body (gross and fine) intermingle, but at physical death, survival of the fittest prevails; thus, a rearrangement of the matter of the astral body ensues into a series of seven concentric sheaths — the densest matter being on the outside and the finest matter being on the inside.

The state the new inhabitant finds himself in on the Astral (his astral body matter has been rearranged into a series of sheaths) is not eternal. The gross outer sheath gradually wears away, leaving the individual clothed in the six lesser gross sheaths. Slowly, over the passage of time, the sheaths gradually dissipate, each one resolves into their compound elements. When the final, finest matter sheath disintegrates, the individual departs the Astral World and enters the Mental Plane.

Rearrangement of the astral body is not inevitable however, and those who have learned and know, are capable of preventing this rearrangement at physical death.

Astral Vision

Astral Vision is the perception through astral light. Clairvoyance. Those who have developed or have an innate ability of clairvoyance can sense the Astral Plane naturally. For the rest, it is possible to learn, but only through proper training.

While physical vision depends on the eyes, astral vision depends on the various kinds of astral matter being in a condition of receptiveness to different forms/appearances. Because of the rearrangement of the astral body's astral matter, only the grossest matter of the astral body is visible, since it is the kind of matter that the thick outer sheath is composed of. Under these circumstances, the new inhabitant of the astral world sees only the worst of it, and many times so does the clairvoyant. More on this later.

Achieving Astral Vision is a slow and gradual development process in most cases. Most of us possess it to some faint degree but fail to develop it further (because of lack of interest or proper instruction.) Some people have occasional flashes; many "feel" the astral vibrations rather than seeing with astral vision; and others gain some degree of Astral Vision by crystal (ball) gazing, etc.

Seances
Most seances are not what you think or believe. Psychic or occult phenomena is often misinterpreted. When a soul moves on and departs his astral body, s/he leaves behind what is known as an "astral shell." These shells have left in them former thought and will vibrations of their former owners. This gives them semblance of life and power. Although this power gradually wears away, it dwells on the plane in the meantime. Only the souls who retain strong material thoughts and desires (lower mental vibrations) persist in the deserted astral form, which gives it the semblance of life and activity. These astral bodies are known as counterfeits, or spectral forms.

Seances and psychic connections to the Astral are many times (most?) NOT communicating with the deceased but with these spectral forms. The psychic power of the medium, and/or those composing the circle, gives the spectra seemingly life. The sceptra will strive to manifest itself by speech, automatic writing, knocks on wood, etc. In some cases, old memories will survive in the spectra form, too, which will enable it to answer questions fairly well, even alluding to past experiences.

Although there are many forms of "spirits return," much of what passes for real phenomena is really the manifestation of the presence of these spectra forms.

Additionally, it should be pointed out that these spectra forms steal ideas and impressions from the minds of the medium and/or persons in the circle. So beware.

It's a pathetic shame that these counterfeit spectra forms are accepted to be the departed soul of the individual who was loved so much on earth, when in reality they are nothing more than a galvanized physical corpse of the individual who once inhabited it. Although the current of energy may cause the spectra form to move, it is nevertheless nothing more than a corpse and discarded shell.

Now you have good reason to be skeptical.

Astral Travel

One can travel from one Region to another by an act of will without moving in a single point in space. One may travel in space from one point to another in cases where these points have some relation to points on the material plane. For instance, you can travel from Berlin to Bombay in the twinkle of an eye by merely wishing or willing it.

Take a Trip and Never Leave the Farm
Time and Space has its manifestation in the Astral. Imagine that you can traverse all the sub-planes, one after the other, see their scenery, inhabitants, phenomena and activity in a moment of time, then return to the material plane, all without leaving your seat, or bed.

Astral manifestations on its 7x7 sub-planes can be and likely are, present on the exact point of space that you are occupying at this very moment of time on the material plane. Again, imagine listening to ALL the notes on the musical scale (different frequencies) at the same time. Each note (major and sharp and every tone in between) occupies a different frequency, yet they can all share the same point in space in your ears — as noise :-)

While traveling on the Astral, you will meet many strange inhabitants, some pleasant and some unpleasant. Some of the inhabitants have passed on from the Material Plane, while others have never dwelt on the Material Plane. Those who have never dwelt on the Material Plane are "forms" native to the Astral and are very strange in themselves.

The Astral World is a very strange and interesting place indeed.

And so this concludes my general, basic, OVERVIEW of the Astral World.

The information I reveal here in this section should give you a general glimpse/idea of the many scenes that exist on the Astral Plane. The Astral scenes depicted within this section are typical of those witnessed by any advanced occultist who is able to travel on those planes.

The startling and sensational Astral scenes have been omitted because, as the author puts it, "I have no desire to attract or cater to those seeking sensation—"

Now let's take a tour of the Astral World. But before we begin, I want you to know I have decided NOT to give any instructions on how to astral project. There are a variety of techniques. My methodology is my own, and any hints of the matter may lead to experimentation, and experimentation can lead to undesirable results.

I will however, tell you this, which is not a technique but a factual observation: There is a state of being between sleep and non-sleep, when it is possible for you to manipulate your astral body out of your physical body.

If you have ever laid in bed, your eyes closed, falling asleep, and then all of a sudden you can SEE the room around you as if your eyes were completely open ... and all the while you know you are NOT dreaming, but you are completely AWAKE ... then you sit up ... and suddenly ...