Astral Journey: delay and low sound quality
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In the last months I’ve developed my former active imaginations practices in to full ritualized scrying protocol. I got some interesting results, images and colors much more intense and spontaneous, and some really interesting conversations with the “figures”.
On the other hand it still is far from what I am looking for, mostly because of some sort of delay between the vision and my mind causing the images to become discontinuous. The other problem is the sound. Much of what gets through are images (very little sound) and dialogs emerge as part of my own discursive thoughts (my own voice speaking although with no conscious volition).
Is this an usual difficulty or am I missing something?
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You may be much more visual than auditory. Mist people have some unevenness, especially at the beginning.
The "gap" you mentioned sounds like maybe insufficient physical and psychological relaxation. Are you beginning with the usual prep for meditation? Intentional physical relaxation, rhythmic breathing, meditation itself as a preliminary?
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@Jim Eshelman said
"You may be much more visual than auditory. Mist people have some unevenness, especially at the beginning."
That is exactly it! My visual skills are quite good (used to paint) but auditory ones are dreadful (worst musician ever). Good to know that it is not unusual.
@Jim Eshelman said
"The "gap" you mentioned sounds like maybe insufficient physical and psychological relaxation. Are you beginning with the usual prep for meditation? Intentional physical relaxation, rhythmic breathing, meditation itself as a preliminary?"
The usual praxis begins with relaxation, rhythmic breathing with a mantra for about 10-15 minutes, banishing, energization with middle pillar ritual and invocation. No particular meditation (dharana) but it can be done.
I am trying to get a visionary experience as intense and sensorial as my usual dream experience. Am I aiming to high?
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Not too high but maybe too fast. Give it a year of persistence and see where it takes you.
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Thanks Jim, to read this is reassuring. I will report a year from now I see what I got.
I always imagined that the hallmark of successful astral projection was an instantaneous shift of conscience, the sound of a metallic click and intense sensorial immersion in the body of light, but it seems that there are more levels and shades of astral perception than I first supposed.
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You're already "existing in the astral." It's part of the universe in which you live and move. You aren't literally going anywhere - you're using "journey" as a metaphor.
Ultimately, what you are working toward is opening your senses to perceive at a different level, and training your habituated self-conscious mind - the ego that interprets itself as fixed in physical time-space - into letting go of its limited idea about the universe. Your sense have to be trained to perceive, your brain has to learn to shift to another mode of functioning, and your personality has to be willing not to freak out and resist the whole thing (or some version of that which is suitable to you and your character).
These would rarely be instanteous.
You're learning to WAKE UP into a different mode, Some people wake up quickly. Some need a while to shake the sleepies out of their eyes and get around to looking out the window.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"You're already "existing in the astral." It's part of the universe in which you live and move. You aren't literally going anywhere - you're using "journey" as a metaphor.
Ultimately, what you are working toward is opening your senses to perceive at a different level, and training your habituated self-conscious mind - the ego that interprets itself as fixed in physical time-space - into letting go of its limited idea about the universe. Your sense have to be trained to perceive, your brain has to learn to shift to another mode of functioning, and your personality has to be willing not to freak out and resist the whole thing (or some version of that which is suitable to you and your character).
These would rarely be instanteous.
You're learning to WAKE UP into a different mode, Some people wake up quickly. Some need a while to shake the sleepies out of their eyes and get around to looking out the window."
It may sound silly but knowing this would have avoided my initial frustration with astral journey years ago, and I would have kept working for longer. This kind of first hand tips are priceless.
Thanks
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That's why Crowley set up a system where everyone is mentored by someone who has already passed through a specific set of tasks. A Neophyte working on this task would have a Zelator as mentor, meaning someone who already knew how this works.