[stacy]

I’ve seen videos online where people talk about flying out of their bodies and moving to places after immersing in deep breathing & body scanning meditations. This is often referred to as “Astral Projection.” Is it recommended to try something like this? What made me curious is that this is often recommended online for people who think consciousness is limited to the physical body. They contend that it is not a hallucination and there is only one way of figuring that out for yourself.

[Lal]

Stacy asked: “I’ve seen videos online where people talk about flying out of their bodies and moving to places after immersing in deep breathing & body scanning meditations. This is often referred to as “Astral Projection.” Is it recommended to try something like this?”

• No. The Buddha did not ask people to practice “astral projection” or “astral travel.”
• However, there are times when the “mental body” (or the gandhabba) can separate from the physical body and come out of the physical body. (i) Some people have the natural ability to do that. (ii) When cultivating the Noble Path or even mundane jhana, some develop the ability to come out of the physical body. Once out of the physical body, the gandhabba can travel at high speed and reach far-away places instantly.

In the post “Out-of-Body Experience (OBE) and Manōmaya Kāya,” I gave examples of (i) in #10.

• The other possibility is also discussed there.

________

Stacy wrote: “What made me curious is that this is often recommended online for people who think consciousness is limited to the physical body. They contend that it is not a hallucination and there is only one way of figuring that out for yourself.”

• Both physical and mental bodies are not hallucinations. 
• But in the Brahma realms, the physical body is absent, and they have only the mental body.

[Christian]

It’s not good to do that. Things like “astral travel” must be done in the state of jhana so as not to be harmful (and this can be harmful too if you do it incorrectly).  Whatever is promoted on websites and methods of such ways are generally self-induced hallucinations.

[stacy]

Thank you for replying, Lal and Christian. Regarding Jhana, do we must stay away from all heavy sensual activities like sex, substance, etc.? If so, is there anything else that you guys would recommend to someone who’s not yet ready to live an ascetic type lifestyle? I still find myself often conflicted on whether pure materialism is correct (that consciousness is an emergent property of neuronal activities of the brain) or if there is something else going on. I don’t want to adamantly reject any possibility but I’m desperate to know how it works.

[Christian]

Unless you have a “high birth” you will have no chance of attaining jhana without giving up a sense of pleasure to a certain extent. It’s something that you need to discover yourself to what extent you can attain jhana and yet be in “every day life”

[Lal]

Stacy asked: “Regarding Jhana, do we must stay away from all heavy sensual activities like sex, substance, etc.?”

• When following Buddha’s teachings, one must take a step-by-step approach. 
• One starts living a moral life first. Staying away from sensual activities like sex comes later with an understanding of their adverse consequences. See “Is It Necessary for a Buddhist to Eliminate Sensual Desires?“
• Cultivating jhana is not necessary. See “Samādhi, Jhāna, Magga Phala – Introduction.”

Stacy asked: “I still find myself often conflicted on whether pure materialism is correct (that consciousness is an emergent property of neuronal activities of the brain) or if there is something else going on. I don’t want to adamantly reject any possibility but I’m desperate to know how it works.”

• There is an extensive series of posts in “Origin of Life.”
• I suggest scanning them to see whether any posts interest you.

[Author]

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