Anytime an individual experiences the sensation of floating outside of their body, this is called an OBE or out of body experience. This is an experience that has been scientifically proven to occur and ordinarily happens when a person is very close to death.

There is also a phenomenon known as astral projection and this is when your physical body is being observed by you from outside of your body, this is also an out of body experience. This is a real experience and one that should not be ignored. There have been many people that were on the verge of dying that have come back to share their experiences, they have been able to tell other's in the room what was going on even though medically speaking the were non-responsive.

In 1943 the term, out of body experience, began to be used rather than the belief centric term 'projection'. In the past, an out of body experience was called 'spirit walking' and scientists are currently researching this phenomenon because they simply can't think of it as something imaginary.

Consider that 1 out of every 10 people have encountered an experience such as this at one point in their life or another. The statistics for individuals that have experienced an out of body experience are staggering. So while a person may want to look at this skeptically, one can not deny the facts.

Sometimes a person will undergo an OBE spontaneously and other times they are brought on by some kind of physical or mental trauma, if the body is in a coma or trance, or with the use of psychedelic drugs.

You may even be able to deliberately induce an out of body experience. You can find books and courses that claim to be able to teach you how to astral travel at will. It is thought that the Ancients had the natural ability for astral travel but this art has been lost throughout the generations. However, once taught the proper way to do it, people today can purposely have an out of body experience without the need of well trained mental powers or even advanced spiritual development.

This is not to say that you don't need to concentrate while you are trying to astral travel. Keep in mind that your conscious mind because it has a fear that once you are out of your body that you will not be able to come back. This fear is what inhibits your ability to astral travel or astral project.

It is believed that a person's astral body is able to leave the physical body for a short time. If a person truly believes that he can project the astral body from the physical body, he is on his way to succeeding. This is because he has already suggested himself into allowing his conscious mind to completely 'let go'. However, if there is even a tiny bit of fear that the astral body will escape from the physical body and leave him in a state of limbo, he should not try this kind of experiment.

However, if you are able to silence your mind, and believe that your astral body will return to your physical body you can astral travel. Any purposeful (done on purpose)out of the body experience starts with a mediation or self hypnosis. You have to start thinking positively by telling yourself that you want to have an out of the body experience. When the mind takes over you are will notice that you are more open to the thought of astral travel.

To do this lay down in a place where you are not going to be bothered, this needs to be a place that quiet and that is free from disturbances. Let your arms rest at your sides, now your aura is going to become one with Mother Nature. You should be breathing deeply, slowly, methodically, letting your body relax so that your astral body is able to go forth and explore the realm outside of your body. You will notice a tingling feeling; encourage this sensation as it is the feeling of the astral body leaving the physical body. Try to push out any physical thoughts that are entering your mind, just concentrate and breathe.

The first thing you will notice is that you feel vibrations and your heart rate will increase. This is the way that most out of the body experiences begin. Let the vibrations envelope you, let them take over your body and your soul. Very soon you are going to experience your astral body leaving the physical body.

Trust that your astral body is going to make it back to your body. A number of people that have had out of the body experiences state that their journey ended because of the sudden fear that their astral body was getting to far away from their physical body. They also state that they know they had an out of the body experience because they were a part of the different experiences taking place in another realm. If you believe that you can astral travel you will be able to astral travel.