The process of astral projection is a natural ability with which everyone is born. In fact, many people actually do it without even being aware of it. Our aim however should be to astral project while we?re physically conscious, thus allowing ourselves to control what your astral body is doing.

Let's assume that you are already familiar with the astral plane and you know what astral projection is. The purpose of what follows is to tell you about a few different ways of engaging in astral projection. If you know which methods work best for you, you can know the powerful experience that is astral projection.

First I offer you a five step method that works for many people learning to astral project.

*Commencing with your toes, tense up and then relax each muscle. Once you?ve completed doing this with your toes, do the same tense and relax exercise with your feet, followed by the muscles in your lower legs and so on. You need to repeat this exercise on every muscle and part of your body as you work your way up, finally finishing with your facial muscles. It goes without saying that this is best done while lying down on your bed. The fundamental purpose of doing these exercises is to bring about a state of deep and absolute relaxation.

*Now that you?ve managed to achieve a state of deep relaxation, you need to bring your breathing under control and the best way to do this, is by following a technique often taught in meditation. Take deep breath and allow yourself to actually feel the movement of air as it makes its way into your lungs. Now exhale slowly, once again paying attention to the feeling of the air leaving your body. Many people find this difficult as they become so relaxed, they simply fall asleep which of course, is something you need to avoid. Mentally trying to focus on the centre of your forehead will however help you remain conscious.

*The third phase is to focus on the concept weightlessness regarding your astral body as well as the real weight of your physical body. By this stage your physical body will be feeling heavy so try to picture it as being a huge lump of clay, heavy and difficult to move. Additionally, you need to focus on how light your astral body feels by comparison. Imagine it to be a large bubble starting to float away up into the air, or even some feathers drifting away on a gentle breeze. Still with your eyes closed, visualize your astral body starting to separate from your physical body and drift away, taking in the feeling of complete weightlessness. Acknowledge to yourself, that your physical body is extremely heavy and almost impossible to move; your astral body on the other hand, has absolutely no weight at all, free to drift on the wind.

*A large percentage of people attempting to astral project claim that in this stage, they see the whole room they?re lying in, in spite of the fact that their eyes are closed. Additionally, in most cases it seems, people claim that there appears to be purple light, or at least, a purple glow filling the room. If you?ve reached this point then the next thing you need to focus on the light fitting in the centre of the ceiling.

*Concentrating on the ceiling light you should mentally start trying to pull it towards you and before long, in all likelihood, you?ll more than likely start feeling as if you?re floating. Whatever you do, do not allow yourself to fall asleep at this point because by now you should be fully aware that you?re floating and in many cases, you may also be able to see your physical body lying on the bed below.

As I mentioned earlier in this article, different techniques work for different people. If this first method has failed you, don?t give up. Simply move on and try the next method mentioned below. Likewise, if this method has worked then you?re on your way to start experimenting astral travelling.

This second tactic is known as the gazing technique and as with the technique discussed above it should also be done when you go to your bed. As the name implies, all you need with this method is an object to gaze at, be it a picture hanging up, the moon if it?s visible through the window or even some form of pendant such as a crystal.

Simply begin focusing all your attention on the object you?ve chosen for the occasion while you are lying down on your bed. Inevitably your eyes will soon start to feel increasingly heavy and irrespective of how hard you try, your eyes will eventually close. This is a perfectly normal part of the process so don?t feel disheartened but instead, you must make sure that you continue staring at the object through your closed eyes. Providing you do this, you will soon start to sense an irresistible urge to sit up or to stand up. Don?t fight this urge as the feeling is coming from your astral body rather than your physical body. You?ll soon realize this though as because when you turn around, you?ll be able to see your physical body lying on the bed.

These methods, like anything else, will probably require you to practice them over and over for a little while until you get results. So don't give up and don't let yourself become frustrated or discouraged as these feelings will just inhibit you from doing astral projection.

Most importantly, it?s essential to understand that one?s subconscious mind is the biggest obstacle in your path to successful astral projection, no matter what tools or techniques you decide to use. Before one can astral project, you need to convince your subconscious mind that it?s acceptable for your astral body to leave your physical body and one effective means of doing this is through affirmations. Once your subconscious has come to terms with the concept, astral projection becomes easy.

The ability to astral project successfully on the first attempt is not possible for everyone as their subconscious minds have to be suitably conditioned. Luckily some very powerful tools exist and are readily available to help you in a very short space of time.

Hypnosis can be used to make your subconscious mind more welcoming of the fact of astral projection. A rightly trained hypnotist can also descriptively guide your mind through the process of the steps to astral projection so you don't have to be distracted with such worries.

Recent advancements in sound technology have brought to light, a concept known as ?binaural beats? which are also proving to be very useful in helping people achieve a state of deep relaxation which is essential for successful 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!