Hello Riah,

It sounds like you've been getting close to projecting a couple of times. And definitely last night I think you were out but were taken back to your physical body very quickly - that feeling you had is quite common.

Just in case the concern is still there for you, I just want to emphasize that astral projection is completely safe and there's no way you can be harmed by astral projecting. So if you find yourself projecting again, there's no reason to fear.

Concentration is a really important ingredient in conscious astral projection (as opposed to unconscious astral projection that occurs when we fall asleep and dream). So I'd suggest trying things that will improve your concentration.

Some suggestions include trying to do one thing at a time as opposed to multitasking (surprisingly it's often more efficient) so we train ourselves to be focused and trying not to get lost in thoughts when doing a task - when reading, it's important to focus on what we read as opposed to external sounds, what we will eat next, etc.

This link here http://www.gnosticweb.com/obe-videos offers a practice to improve concentration.

Then projecting involves relaxation (so we can sleep) and then concentrating on one thing until we physically fall asleep and our astral body detaches. That one thing could be a visualization of a place, our own heart beat, etc.

If you don't have much online access, the book "A Course in Astral Travel and Dreams" offers the course teachings in book format. But being busy aside, I'd still recommend the course. The practices given in it don't take up that much time and you can watch the videos at your leisure. Plus you get access to the course forums to discuss all your practices with teachers and fellow students.

Lastly, eyes closed is generally best. That's what's needed for sleep. Those who are very advanced can apparently project with their eyes open, though - but I don't fit into that category so I personally always try to project with my eyes closed.

Happy astral!

Mike

Hi Riah,

Good luck with boarding school!

It's sad that you can't take the courses here because they proved their effectiveness to learn how to astral project many times for many students.
Perhaps, you'll have a chance later!

Like Mike said, If you want, you can purchase the book about astral travel written by Belzebuub because the course basically based on it.

http://www.absolutepublishinggroup.com/

Candle practice which is shown in the video, is one of my favourites! Also, there is some information you can read about out-of-body experiences here, as well

http://www.gnosticweb.com/out-of-body-experiences

Fear is a big obstacle for astral projection. From early age usually we become so attached to our physical bodies that we tend to believe that we can't live without them...so when out-of-body experiences take place, it can cause panic.
However, with experience and practising, we can learn that it is something very natural and enjoyable to be in other dimensions while physical body gets some rest and restores energy. Like Mike said, it's completely safe.

Every night when we fall asleep, we go to the astral plane, and later, when we wake up, we come back to the physical.
Sometimes, this transition can happen fast, and then we can experience something like you've described

"all of a sudden I felt my whole self crash back into my body, it hurt a little."

It' ok.

Astral projection requires falling asleep, most of the people prefer to close their eyes for that, but you can try other way around too. What is the key here, is to learn how to relax all the way to fall asleep and in the same time remain focus, keep concentration.

To develop concentration, what is important in my opinion, is to understand that it is not given for granted.
It requires practising it, it is like a muscle which needs to be trained in order to function well.

Maybe, you can find materials here to be useful for that.

http://www.gnosticweb.com/concentrating-the-mind

Best wishes to you,

Vadim

Thanks! I'll keep working and try to let you all know about my progress.  I might bother you with more questions later on :)

Good luck with your progress, sure, feel free to ask questions.

All the best!