Essay 2 - Is astral travel really possible? - Alexandra Tanner Dr. Ron ...

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We live in a world where we’re told anything is possible, from getting that dream job to
winning big with the lottery. We watch movies and TV shows that contain unbelievable content
such as extraterrestrial beings abducting humans, hauntings and mythical and magical creatures
walking among us, but for some people, these crazy events are nothing short of reality. Of the
many seemingly impossible phenomenon, astral projecting is one of many paranormal
experiences that some believe to be true. There is, however, evidence that can prove that this out-
of-body experience is merely happening inside the head rather than outside the body thereby
disproving astral travel.
First, we must ask, what is astral projection? Well, it is defined as an out-of-body
experience (OBE) during which the astral body leaves the physical body and travels the astral
plane. Essentially, there is another plane of existence called the astral plane, one of the 7 planes
of being, that humans living on the material plane, can access using meditation techniques. This
plane is said to be the home of lost souls, angels and spirits and is a new age spiritual mythology
that’s being adopted by many. Anima Mundi describes it as conscious sleep or better known as
lucid dreaming; when you start to fall asleep but end up waking up right before it happens, and
you can feel your soul coming back into your body. (Neal, 2018). Often, this phenomenon is
associated with the feeling of falling and this ‘head exploding sensation’ is only the first step to
starting a true astral projection. In transcending your physical being, mentally, your soul doesn’t
necessarily leave your body, but only explains the phenomenon in a way that’s easy to
understand. However, this still does not explain how, nor why, astral projection works the way it
does and unfortunately no one can be sure of the answers to these questions. Additionally, it is
said that there are two varieties of astral projection: the spontaneous and the experimental, where
the first is when you ‘project’ without knowing you did it and the latter is when you voluntarily
make an effort to enter the astral plane, however, the first seems to be the experience that most
undergo (Joseph, 2017). Arguably, if most enter the astral plane on accident, then how are we to
know if this experience is legitimate or if it is merely a vivid dream? This would not be the first
time that more than one person has had a similar, reoccurring dream. For example, in a near-
death experience, most claim to have ‘seen the light’ or to have talked to God himself. Or, in the
instance of a nightmare, many people claim to have seen the same mysterious man or woman, so
who’s to say that astral projecting isn’t another version of a reoccurring dream? The idea of the
soul being able to leave the material body during a dream state is ancient, from New Agers to
Shamans, the belief is that it is possible to communicate with cosmic intelligence through visions
and vivid dreams experienced during astral projection. Practitioners of OBE’s insist that it must
be a true phenomenon because why else would an experience be so vivid and why would a
similar experience be recognized by cultures and communities worldwide? Opposingly, this
could merely be because of guided imagery, which is when someone is told of what they should
expect thereby solidifying a similar experience among a wide range of people (Radford, 2017).
The brain is a mysterious and complex organ that is yet to be fully understood.
this case, we may ask if the whole thing was merely a fluke or did his sibling see Josephs astral
body floating? Interestingly, Dr Wiltse can relate a large number of his experiences that he had
during his astral trip, which included the perception of things that he claimed to have not known
existed, but that were verified as found correct after exiting his astral journey (Joseph, 2017).
Could this be true? Well, probably yes and this can be explained by the fact that Wiltse had
probably walked by all of the identified items recently, not paying any real attention to them so
he claimed to have not seen them before when really, he had. Therefore, in this state of deep
relaxation the brain was able to identify the items because he had previously seen them, he just
had not made a conscious effort to remember them.
Even though this experience is explained as very profound, there is still no way to prove that
someone’s soul is leaving and then re-entering their body. As of now, there is no scientific proof
that consciousness even exists out of the brain and for that reason, it is rejected in large by the
scientific community. Often explained as a wasted opportunity, astral projecting, if true, would
be a very valuable asset in times of real distress. For example, a natural disaster or even a
hostage situation, where the individual or individuals capable of 'projecting' would be able to
help find survivors under the rubble or help identify where the hostages and suspects are inside
the building. The world provides countless opportunities for astral projection to shine and be
proven as a real phenomenon, so the question remains, why haven’t we seen anyone utilize their
‘power’ in these times of need? Susan Blackmore, author of Beyond the Body, states that
“people who experience astral travel have been found to score higher on measures of
hypnotisability ... out-of-body experiencers are more imaginative, suggestible, and fantasy-
prone than average” (Radford, 2017). Thus, could their whole projection experience be nothing
more than a lucid dream created based on guided imagery? More scientifically, however, in a
paper published in the Frontiers of Human Neuroscience, a subject's brain was observed using
MRI, while she claimed to have been in a state of astral projecting, and the researchers were able
to identify the active parts in the brain during this alleged experience (Neil, 2018). Their results
could prove that astral projecting is happening in your head versus in your soul, meaning that the
experience could simply be an essence of your emotional being rather than your soul leaving
your body. Again, this solidifies the notion of a lucid dream rather than a true projection.
Additionally, The Nature Paper describes an astonishing discovery, whereby the electrical
stimulation of a specific part in the brain can induce out-of-body experiences. In an epilepsy
patient, the brains right angular gyrus was targeted and it’s said that “Stimulation at this site also
elicited illusory transformations of the patients arm and legs (complex somatosensory responses)
and whole-body displacements (vestibular responses), indicating that out-of-body experiences
may reflect a failure by the brain to integrate complex somatosensory and vestibular
information” (Dave, 2016). Thus, if a similar stimulation to the angular gyrus is possible through
meditation, then it would not be out of context to assume that the astral projecting experience is
merely the result of this. Even though astral projection practitioners state that their experiences
are very real, their evidence is nothing but anecdotal. Just as someone who takes LSD may claim
to have spoken to God, dead people or angels, an OBE may just be a profound, life-changing
experience that happens inside the brain rather than outside the body (Radford, 2017). There are
even similarities between astral projection and lucid dreaming, even though the two may not
demonstrate an entirely similar experience, they both work upon the basis of your expectations
playing a leading role in the experience. “If you imagine a friend’s house on your astral travels,
you will likely zap there in an instant. If you imagine your body back in bed, you will quickly