"astral travel".

Have you heard of this?

Some people work to consciously induce out of body experiences. Some of these people refer to themselves as "astral travelers".

http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/Astral_projection

You can get a basic overview here.

Many of these people believe in the existence of an astral body, an astral realm, and so on...

However, you don't have to believe any of that to explore the out of body phenomenon. Some people view it as an exploration of the capabilities of the human mind. It can also be viewed as another method of dream experimentation. Some view it as a method to induce lucid dreams.

Belief in the astral realm is quite common and popular. The abundance of terms stemming from that belief seems to be a result of its popularity. Therefore, out of convenience, I may use a lot of terms stemming from that belief system. Personally, I do not share that belief. I'm in the "using out of body experience as a method of dream exploration" camp.

This article deals with unpleasant effects that may occur while trying to induce an out of body experience. What causes them? And how can they be overcome?

~

When you consciously induce an out of body experience, several unpleasant things can happen during the exit from the body.

Most commonly reported are frightening sounds - screaming, crying, scary voices, manic laughter, loud crashes, etc. Sometimes there are frightening visuals. Scary faces, scary hands, and other unpleasant visions. It has to be noted that sounds and visions experienced during the exit are not always unpleasant. Some sounds are said to be random or silly and others are described as being pleasant.

However, it seems that, no matter how positive the attitude of the person inducing the out of body experience and no matter how experienced, these unpleasant experiences continue to pop up from time to time. It's pretty much something that is expected and unsurprising for people who are experienced in inducing out of body experiences.

It has been said by many people who consider themselves to be "astral travelers" that, after achieving exit, a person must move away from the body as quickly as possible. Failure to move away can result in increased chances of experiencing unpleasant sounds and visions.

An interesting phenomenon is something that is called an "astral hitchhiker". As a person feels himself rising out of his body, he becomes aware that another person (or creature) is latched onto him from behind and continues to stay attached to him even after he successfully exits his body. Reportedly, this thing cannot be easily shaken off and is often accompanied by a scary, threatening voice.

Remedies for the hitchhiker problem vary. Some say you should ignore it and allow it to go away. Others say that, if you simply continue to move away from your body, it will eventually fall off on its own or disappear.

(to be continued)