It?s amazing just how many people astral project without even having the slightest idea that they?re doing it and this is simply because astral projection is a natural phenomenon. What needs to be learnt is the ability to astral project while you?re conscious.

While this article is an attempt to help people learn about astral projection using different techniques, you should keep in mind that astral projection is a personal experience so ideally, you need to apply a technique that works best for yourself. Furthermore, we?re taking the liberty of assuming that you are already familiar with the meaning of astral projection.

The first technique is one that you can do when you've gone to bed for the night. Let's break it down into five steps.

*Your first priority is to achieve a state of deep relaxation by relaxing your body thoroughly. In order to achieve this state of relaxation you need to be lying down. Your goal here is, starting at the lowest point which is your toes, to tense each muscle and then relax it again. Once you?ve worked through your toes, you do the same with you feet, and so you move upwards until you eventually finish with the muscles in your face. Don?t be alarmed if you sense a feeling that your body is heavy as this is perfectly normal.

*Now you will slow down and deepen your breathing as they do in meditation practices. Consciously breathe in deeply and slowly and focus your attention upon the way the air feels as it comes into your lungs and descends into your diaphragm. Now exhale slowly and deeply, focusing your complete attention upon the air leaving your lungs, your nostrils, your mouth. But if you feel yourself drifting off to sleep, focus your attention on the middle of your forehead instead as you breathe.

*This third step focuses on the weightlessness of one?s astral body together with the weight of the physical body. Now that your physical body feels heavy, try to imagine it as being a large piece of lead, heavy and difficult to move in any way. Likewise, focus on just how light your astral body feels, comparable to a large bubble which wants to float away one the slightest hint of a breeze, or some feathers blowing away in the wind. With eyes closed, see your astral self starting to drift away, feeling the complete weightlessness of space. Yes, while your physical body may be heavy and difficult to move, your astral body has no weight at all, free to drift on the wind.

*If you get to this stage you're likely to start experiencing exquisite 'night vision ', where just like a cat you can see clearly in total darkness. Also, the room will seem like it's saturated with light, especially purple light. So, now focus your attention upon the light on the ceiling.

*See yourself being pulled up into the ceiling light. It's likely that you'll experience a physical sensation of floating and should be able to look down at your own prone physical body on the bed.

If you?ve experienced this unique phenomenon, well done. You?ve successfully managed to astral project and are now in a position to start exploring with your astral travels. As I?ve mentioned before, different techniques work for different people so if this technique hasn?t worked for you, go ahead and attempt using this next technique.

You can do this one, known as the Gazing Method, when you're hitting the hay for night as well. You'll need an object to focus on: the moon through your window or skylight, a lava lamp, even just a nightlight; whatever can hold your attention.

Lying on your bed, simply begin focusing all your attention on the object you?ve chosen for the occasion. After a while your eyes will begin getting heavy and no matter how hard you try, they are going to close but what?s important is that you continue staring at the object even though your eyes are closed. Following soon after will be a strong urge to sit up or to stand up and it?s when you do this that you will see your physical body left behind on the bed. This is what you?ve been aiming for so try not to be alarmed.

You may need to practice these methods several times over before you start getting results, so the important thing is to never give up. If you let yourself grow frustrated or anxious this will only interfere with your ability astral project.

You see, no matter what methodologies you attempt with astral projection or any new spiritual discipline, it's your own subconscious mind which is the main obstacle. Your subconscious mind must feel like it's perfectly alright for the astral body to temporarily depart from the physical body. To this end you can do some affirmations for several minutes every day to re-program the subconscious mind. Remember that all affirmations must be stated in the positive and they cannot be lies. (I.E. do not talk as if you have already astral projected; talk as if you have made the decision to astral project and you know it's perfectly natural to do so).

Being able to astral project after the on the first attempt is simply not possible for some people as their mind needs to be conditioned. Fortunately there are some very powerful tools which can do this for you in a very short space of time.

Perhaps the most helpful tool is hypnosis as it gets you into a perfectly relaxed state of mind and a really good session will also allow you to understand the workings of astral projection once you experience it.

The recently developed sonic technology of 'binaural beats ' can also program your subconscious mind to be deeply relaxed and let down the guard against astral projection.

Remember, astral projection is not mystical or just something for a select few. It's one of your innate abilities–all you need to do is use the right techniques to master it!