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Thread: Spirit Travel / Astral Projection

  1. #1

    Spirit Travel / Astral Projection

    I was wondering, there is a lot in Daoist literature about what we would call Out of Body Experiences or Astral Projection. In Chinese I believe it goes by linghun chuqiao or I]yuanshen lishen[/I]which both basically mean the spirit leaving the body. Has anyone come across anyone teaching these from a Chinese perspective?

  2. #2
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    Greetings..

    I have come across references of such in Chinese culture, but can't recall the sources.. beyond that, i will share my own experience/understanding of the subject.. I don't think our "spirit" travels anywhere.. i believe we are ALL One thing, behaving in a "Universe" of different expressions.. what we refer to as "out of body experiences" is better described as expanded awarenesses.. where we are aware of our "non-local" selves (the local self being the immediate physical expression) at places and times that seem as if we have traveled somewhere.. We are already there, we simply need to cultivate the awareness..

    Be well..
    TaiChiBob.. "the teacher that is not also a student is neither"

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by TaiChiBob View Post
    Greetings..

    I have come across references of such in Chinese culture, but can't recall the sources.. beyond that, i will share my own experience/understanding of the subject.. I don't think our "spirit" travels anywhere.. i believe we are ALL One thing, behaving in a "Universe" of different expressions.. what we refer to as "out of body experiences" is better described as expanded awarenesses.. where we are aware of our "non-local" selves (the local self being the immediate physical expression) at places and times that seem as if we have traveled somewhere.. We are already there, we simply need to cultivate the awareness..

    Be well..
    Thanks for your insight - that's definitely the same way that I think about these things.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by TaiChiBob View Post
    Greetings..

    I have come across references of such in Chinese culture, but can't recall the sources.. beyond that, i will share my own experience/understanding of the subject.. I don't think our "spirit" travels anywhere.. i believe we are ALL One thing, behaving in a "Universe" of different expressions.. what we refer to as "out of body experiences" is better described as expanded awarenesses.. where we are aware of our "non-local" selves (the local self being the immediate physical expression) at places and times that seem as if we have traveled somewhere.. We are already there, we simply need to cultivate the awareness..

    Be well..
    Hi Bob,

    I find your post interesting. Maybee you could explain your meaning in reguard to "we simply need to cultivate the awareness".

    There are some who leave the physical body at will, while remaining highly conscious and there are those of us who can only dream about doing so. However, every night, we all disconnect from our physical bodies we just don't maintain the awareness. Cultivating "the awareness", I suspect, requies much of our conscious attention, inviting us to reprioritize certain "things" in our day to day activites.

    Again, good post Bob, thank you.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Juan Nowon View Post
    Hi Bob,

    I find your post interesting. Maybee you could explain your meaning in reguard to "we simply need to cultivate the awareness".

    There are some who leave the physical body at will, while remaining highly conscious and there are those of us who can only dream about doing so. However, every night, we all disconnect from our physical bodies we just don't maintain the awareness. Cultivating "the awareness", I suspect, requies much of our conscious attention, inviting us to reprioritize certain "things" in our day to day activites.

    Again, good post Bob, thank you.
    I would recommend reading Ingo Swann's writings on Remote Viewing. He's someone that is remarkably level headed and analytical about something that attracts a lot of writing that is neither. See his website at: http://www.biomindsuperpowers.com/Pages/1.html

    He was contracted by Stanford Research Institute to do research into Remote Viewing - or controlled psychic spying - for the CIA. Other people to see would be Russell Targ and Charles Tart. They are more into ways of thinking about these things rather than specific exercises, though...

  6. #6
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    Greetings..

    I find your post interesting. Maybee you could explain your meaning in reguard to "we simply need to cultivate the awareness".
    This seems like a contradiction, but.. Awareness is honed through shutting down the thinking process.. we are naturally "aware", but when we engage the thought process it dulls the and buffers the input from our senses.. to the degree we can "still the mind" clarity emerges proportional to the stillness..
    I would recommend reading Ingo Swann's writings on Remote Viewing.... Other people to see would be Russell Targ and Charles Tart.
    Excellent references, but.. remote viewing is a subset of finely cultivated awareness.. the awareness is very general, encompassing the whole of the human experince.. one of the more difficult tasks is maintaining the clarity while focusing on a specific subject (i.e.: Remote Viewing).. if you are interested, a good read is Lynn McTaggert's "The Field".. Russell Targ is discussed prominently in his capacity as a remote viewer.. but, in more simple terms, the evidence suggests that it is the release of our grasp on individuality that frees up our ability to access our "non-local" existence.. Now, releasing our grasp is not a denial of the individual, it is an acceptance of our greater selves, our "Oneness"..

    Be well..
    TaiChiBob.. "the teacher that is not also a student is neither"

  7. #7
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    In my Taiwanese teacher's system of qigong, all the exercises can be broken into levels. As they move from the third to fourth level they become much less physical and more mental/esoteric. Apparently if you meditate while the qi is flowing strongly enough you will start to feel sensations of wind, clouds, water, fire... and these will change your perception of things in life (note, I haven't reached this level at all, so I'm just reporting what I heard here).

    My teacher said after you reach this level it also becomes possible for the mind to leave the body (aka astral projection), but that it can be frightening and potentially dangerous if your body is disturbed while you are not in it... It sounds kind of "out there" to me, but then I've learned to keep an open mind about what is possible with qigong.
    What senses do we lack that we cannot see or hear another world all around us?

    --The Orange Catholic Bible

  8. #8
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    I know asian qi gong is weird.

    It is called yuanshen leaving the body. When you have attained a high level in cultivation you create another being inside your body, its called yuanying in Taoist practices and in some Buddhist (I think) its called the Vajra body. If you have not reached that level I do not advise letting your yuanshen leave your body. It can lead to serious consequences. If you stay out for too long you can die. If you come into contact with some low level beings they may attack you. It won't have any immediate effects afterward but if you keep fighting while you leave your body and don't make improvements you feel tired all the time. A lot of Taoist practices have fighting while your true spirit is out of your body. When you fight with your yuanshen the typical rules of fighting are thrown out the window. Its really different. Its more about what your thinking is, strategy more than ability, concentration, and the most important is to hold on with everything you have in difficult situations.

    Or worse is if when you leave your body and something else tries to come in (ie. possession). Thats where you always hear about qi gong psychosis. That other thing controls them. They find it pretty good and don't control themselves. Best case scenerio is if they just cause little twitches or don't do anything and just live on/in you. I would rather die than give up my body to some other thing. Its really not worth the risk.

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