By Jerry Gross

The concept of astral projection has been around for a long time, but until today, it has been hidden from most of humanity. Now, with the aid of astral projection, new levels of knowledge and power enable us to discover the answer to Man's eternal question about life in the physical body. Death takes on a new meaning as we begin to realize that it is only a transition to another dimension, or place of existence. By learning to astral project, we can learn many things about ourselves, and unlearn many things that were previously thought to be true. This leads us to the realization that our physical bodies are only a part of our entire selves, and there is more to our existence than meets the eye!

In our limited awareness, the reality we live and breathe on earth, with its beautiful landscapes, mountains, rivers, streams, animals and insects, can be compared with the petals on a flower. What we see is not the whole flower, but only a part. This is because man has lost touch with the use of his own mind. He concludes, erroneously, that the physical world is the only reality there is. He believes that his life as an individual has only to do with the flesh body of himself, and concludes that the physical world is solid and real because his senses tell him it "feels" solid and real. The mind has abilities that go beyond the five senses of the physical world. The petal of the flower that we now experience is the material world or physical plane of existence. It has a specific vibration, just as all creatures on this level vibrate at the same rate. Because of this, regardless of where we go on this level, all things take on the appearance of being solid, material objects. Just as the colors of the rainbow show the effects of the different vibrations of light, and the melodies on the piano show the effect of the different notes, so, too, does the entire universe contain various octaves, or rates of vibration. These universal harmonics comprise the different levels of existence...

Hypnosis is a process involving a hypnotist and a subject who agrees to be hypnotized. Being hypnotized is usually characterized by (a) intense concentration, (b) extreme relaxation, and (c) high suggestibility. The versatility of hypnosis is unparalleled. Hypnosis occurs under dramatically different social settings: the showroom, the clinic, the classroom, and the police station. Showroom hypnotists usually work bars and clubs. Their subjects are usually people whose idea of a good time is to join dozens or hundreds of others in a place where alcohol is the main social bonding agent. The subjects of clinical hypnotists are usually people with problems who have heard that hypnotherapy works for relieving pain or overcoming an addiction or a fear, etc. Others use hypnosis to recover repressed memories of sexual abuse or of past lives. Some psychologists and hypnotherapists use hypnosis to discover truths hidden from ordinary consciousness by tapping into the unconscious mind where these truths allegedly reside. Finally, some hypnotic subjects are people who have been victims or witnesses of a crime. The police encourage them to undergo hypnosis to help them remember details from their experiences.

Hypnosis: the common view challenged: The common view of hypnosis is that it is a trance-like altered state of consciousness. Many who accept this view also believe that hypnosis is a way of accessing an unconscious mind full of repressed memories, multiple personalities, mystical insights, or memories of past lives. This view of hypnosis as an altered state and gateway to occult knowledge about the self and the universe is considered a myth by many psychologists. There are two distinct, though related, aspects to this mythical view of hypnosis: the myth of the altered state and the myth of the occult reservoir. Those supporting the altered state theory often cite studies that show that during hypnosis (1) the brain’s electrical states change and (2) brain waves differ from those during waking consciousness...

(The following unpublished material comes from a group of ?inner teachers?, channeled by Ellen Meredith, author of Listening In: Dialogues with the Wiser Self.Calling themselves ?the Council?, these teachers invite us to consider and define our spiritual practice in very personal terms. They are non-denominational in their affinities, and generally work to promote a grounded, balanced approach to spirituality through everyday activity and creative expression. For a definition of the ?three selves? - Wiser Self, Talking Self, Earth Elemental Self - click here .)

?Psychic abilities are ridiculed, denounced, pooh-poohed, and disbelieved by many in your culture, and overly revered or feared by others. And yet they are just part of your basic equipment, like seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and feeling.

?What does it mean to be psychic? It means to use your intuition. It means to read the movements and constellations of energy. If you aren't physically blind, then you are able to use your eyes to pick up light and color data, and use your mind to interpret those data as visual images. Being psychic is also a matter of picking up energetic data and interpreting them.

?What makes psychic perception seem strange is that energy is "invisible". In some ways, psychic reading is more akin to hearing than it is to seeing. The data you are reading are not as concrete as the objects you see, nor are they always physically present.

?For many centuries now, your judeo-christian culture has carried a great fear of unseen forces. Magic, psychic intuition, spiritual healing, and many mystic practices were considered the work of the devil because they were not understood, and because they were used by rival political and religious factions. The fear of psychic abilities was directly connected to a general fear of the so-called "feminine", intuitive aspects of human nature.

?But as scientific thinking has evolved, it has moved closer and closer to an understanding of the universe that is similar to that of mystics and occultists. With the invention of radios, for example, you no longer needed to be physically present to hear something. Sound could be carried to you invisibly along the air waves. And with the invention of televisions, you no longer needed to be present with an object to see it. The visual data could also be transmitted through the air waves, and presented to you upon request.

?Energy, too, can be perceived without the constraints of time or place. It can be recorded, transmitted, and picked up at a distance, because it works through a principle we call resonance. Although your physical universe appears to be linear and concrete, your energetic universe is not. A mind that is resonating at a certain level, or in a certain way, can be heard or "read" by another mind which is tuned to read that resonance of energy, no matter where both minds are located geographically.

?Each event, each human endeavor has its own resonance, or set of resonances. Each element, each metal, each organic substance also has a certain resonance. Many of these have been measured and categorized by your chemists and physicists. There are Geiger counters, electron microscopes, and a host of other tools which have been developed to help you read the energies and resonances of the physical realm. But you have instruments built into your mind and body which will allow you to read these same resonances, and also the resonances of human mind and spirit.