Every person in the world ? man, woman and child is born with the ability to astral project. This is a very real ability and practice is the only difference between those who rarely astral project or do so with difficulty and those who can astral project at will. Astral projection is something which has an extremely long history, just like yoga and meditation. There are many different names that astral projection goes by and a lot of different ways to astral project.

One of these methods is lucid dreaming. This is something you probably already know something about. This, of course is when you are able to control your dreams because you are conscious and in full control of your faculties in the dream. You can begin lucid dreaming by telling yourself ?I am dreaming? while you are in a dream.

Doing this lets you take the reins in your dreams ? but it takes a while to master this, making it not the best way for beginners to astral project.

You have astral projected before, perhaps many times. You may not have been aware that this is what you were doing, but one example is the dreams which you may wake up from remembering each and every detail. These were actually experiences of astral projection.

Being able to astral project all begins with knowing that this is something that you have the ability to do. Astral projecting is an inborn ability in all of us. You need to eliminate doubt from your mind; this can be keeping you from being able to astral project when you want.

Relaxation techniques such as meditation can help you prepare to astral project. Meditation is one of the best ways to prepare for astral projection ? the key is to find a regular meditation routine which can get you the relaxation you need.

One good way to start your meditation (and astral projecting) is to sit in a comfortable chair in a quiet room where you will not be interrupted or distracted. You need to clear all thoughts from your mind and focus on your breathing. Breathe slowly and deeply. Feel your tension and worry leaving your body with each exhalation. Before long, you?ll be nearing the deeply relaxed state necessary to astral project.

To reach an altered state of consciousness, focus more and more on you breathing, which should be slow and deep. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, breathing deeper and slower as you become more relaxed. Concentrate on relaxing your body even more.

Work your way up from toes to head, relaxing each part of your body as you go. There are two ways that you can do this. You can visualize each part of your body relaxing as you go, telling yourself they are relaxing as you do so. You can also tense, then release each part of your body, feeling this tension leaving your body as you exhale.

With each exhalation, you should feel the tension leaving your body. Once your body is completely and totally relaxed you will be ready to move onto the next stage necessary for you to successfully astral project.

At this point, you?ll be so completely relaxed that you may be tempted to fall asleep. To prevent this and stay focused on your goal of astral projection, repeat a phrase to yourself. It really doesn?t matter what this mantra is; even 'ham on rye' can work. Just choose one and repeat it to yourself.

When our minds have nothing else to do, they tend to wander ? and this can spoil the concentration you need to astral project. Keep repeating your phrase to stay focused.

In order to astral project, you?ll need to reach an altered mental state. This can be done by simply repeating your phrase. You can also use the ?body of light? technique, which many practitioners find to be helpful. In this technique, you need to visualize your body transforming into a body of light.

You can watch for these three signs to know that you are beginning to astral project. One is feeling a sensation of motion, even though your body will be at rest. Another is ?seeing? colors and lights with your eyes closed. The third is beginning to hear voices telling you either to stop your meditation or to continue on and astral project. These signs will let you know for sure that you are astral projecting.