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Astral projection (also known as astral travel, soul journey, soul wandering, spiritual journey, spiritual travel) is a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE)[1] that assumes the existence of a subtle body, known as the astral body or body of light, through which consciousness can function separately from the physical body and travel throughout the astral plane.[2]
The idea of astral travel is ancient and occurs in multiple cultures. The term "astral projection" was coined and promoted by 19th-century Theosophists.[3] It is sometimes associated with dreams and forms of meditation.[4] Some individuals have reported perceptions similar to descriptions of astral projection that were induced through various hallucinogenic and hypnotic means (including self-hypnosis). There is no scientific evidence that there is a consciousness whose embodied functions are separate from normal neural activity or that one can consciously leave the body and make observations of the physical universe.[5] As a result, astral projection has been characterized as a pseudoscience.[6]
- ^ Myers 2014, p. 52.
- ^ Park 2008, pp. 90–91; Crow 2012.
- ^ Crow 2012.
- ^ Zusne & Jones 1989, p. [page needed].
- ^ Regal 2009, p. 29: "Other than anecdotal eyewitness accounts, there is no known evidence of the ability to astral project, the existence of other planes, or of the Akashic Record."
- ^ Hines 2003, pp. 103–106.