Study Points Willed, fully conscious, astral projection. 1.When your dream diary shows some projection-type dreams, program a new going-to-sleep tape: a.To gain control over sleep projections. b.To give the lower self instructions to follow during such sleep projections. c.To make the return from projection to the physical body smoothly and easily.

2.Do not confuse dream projections with true conscious astral projection. 3.Practice for the imaginary projection of consciousness. a.With the aid of a plant, aquarium, or picture, enter into a visible scene. b.Adapt your imagined presence to a size and condition suited to the scene.

c.Act within the scene as if you were an actor in a play-only make it more real than any play; feel elements of the scene upon your skin, hear sounds, smell, move, etc. d.Return to normal consciousness feeling relaxed and refreshed. You have been on vacation. 4.The imagination works upon, and through, the astral body. The above exercise gives your lower self practice in handling data separate from that normally transmitted through the physical body''s neural system.

5.Locate your center of consciousness: where, in your physical body, does your sense of personality attach? 6.Formula Four-willed projection of consciousness: a.Assume the Earth posture. b.Perform Formula One. c.Send forth to a convenient distance above you a jet of silver-gray mist.

d.Form it into a key figure, in the same posture as yourself, facing you. Do not form it as the simulacrum. e.Intensify your awareness of selfhood at your center of consciousness to a single point. f.Mentally determine to transfer yourself to the key figure. g.

Imagine that you, concentrated into that single point of consciousness as in e above, are gliding swiftly upward toward the key figure, and entering it at the point corresponding to your own center of consciousness. h.Now, "turn around" within the key figure and see the room from its viewpoint-see your physical body below, facing you. i."Feel yourself into" the astral vehicle (the key figure)-locate your hands, feet, etc. 7.Return from the astral vehicle. a.

Turn around (turn the astral vehicle you now inhabit) so that you are facing upward in the Earth posture, about eight feet above your physical body. b.Renew your awareness of the astral vehicle. c.Sink, in your astral vehicle, slowly down-ward into your physical body. d.Feel a renewed sensory awareness of your physical body. 8.

If, at this time, you find you are not making rapid progress in achieving full astral projection, check back over the program for problem areas. There is absolutely no reason why you cannot succeed. The most frequent problem areas are physical lethargy and mental negation. a.Diet and exercise should be kept at a per-sonal optimum. Indulgences in alcohol and tobacco may have to be reduced, or eliminated, for some people. b.Discipline may be needed.

The program with its repetition of practices is important. c.Mental negation: your rational mind may still deny the reality of projection-influenced by fear or even by love-as in the case of someone dear to you not approving of your astral projection work. The formula of the simulacrum must be used to lead the lower self gently into a more self-confident and spontaneous attitude. 9.Some people may like to have material aids in their astral projection work. These are used as a kind of code to the lower self. a.

Before assuming the Earth posture, a trace of oil of jasmine can be applied to the forehead between the eyebrows-the third eye area. b.Or you can burn an incense compound of mastic gum, oil of jasmine, and powdered orris root. c.Absolute regularity of the routine, the time and place, clothing, etc., also acts as a code alerting the lower self. You have now had a fair amount of experience, of one sort and another, of exteriorizing astral substance. You are accustomed to using the formula of the simulacrum, and once any initial personal obstacles have been smoothed out by the use of this, you have this valuable formula for use freely in educating the different levels of your psyche to work together in a harmonious partnership.

This you can, at every step, direct so as to make it helpful in your program for out-of-body experience; so that in this, as in everything else, you will find that what is helpful for your general physical and psychic well-being is good also for your astral projection program.You are also accustomed to using the formula of the watcher, so that you know by experience that a shape of astral substance can travel away from your physical body, is capable of sensory perceptions, and can be recalled without difficulty. By the verification of impressions brought back by the watcher, furthermore, you will have been able to assure yourself of the reality of the astral shape and of its journeys. You should, if your dream diary is showing up any projection-type dreams (it probably is, now and then) give yourself a new going-to-sleep tape, containing something on these lines: If I travel out from my body during sleep, I will take deliberate control of the situation. If I am naked, I will clothe myself in astral garments. If I am flying, I will determine my direction and my landing place. If I meet other persons, I will teach and assist those who need it, and will try to learn from those who are wiser than I am. The exact words must, of course, depend upon your own needs.

To dream of being without clothing, to meet with other people and to be so disconcerted as to speed from their company or, quite frequently, to wake up with a jump, is a fairly common sign of involuntary astral projection. The lower consciousness, until it is very well trained in forming a vehicle for itself, naturally tends to forget such a refinement as clothing. The lower consciousness, after all, is what you came into the world with; but then, upon encounter with other entities, a more mature social awareness asserts itself. The peculiar "jump" of awakening is another sign, a sudden jerking back of astral substance into the body. If the sleeper can consciously take control of the situation, this can be avoided. Training oneself to become aware of an astral projection during sleep, that is, asserting the rational mind to direct what might otherwise be an aimless and merely instinctual wandering, is good practice. It still must not be confused, however, with the true object of your endeavors, that is, the willed going forth in full consciousness in a deliberately formed astral vehicle, the performance of an intended series of acts while in projection, and the subsequent willed return to the physical body. Imaginary projection of consciousness Just as at other stages of this program you have begun by carrying out in imagination something that you afterward perform in fact, now you are going to give yourself some practice in the imaginary projection of consciousness.

This experience also will have value in everyday life, for on occasions when you have neither time nor need to project an astral vehicle for yourself, it can be very restful and relaxing to detach yourself for a few minutes from your physical body by sending your consciousness imaginatively into a situation of pleasant adventure or of repose. Everyone does this to a very minor extent all the time, without even thinking about it. Why else are we accustomed to hang on our walls pictures of pleasant scenes, landscapes, attractive human forms, or animals with which we feel some particular affinity? Or, simply, with pictures of our friends? Surely it is in every case so that among the day''s occupations or on awaking in the morning, the eye can dwell upon something or someone in whose presence the consciousness loves to linger, be it with the smile on a loved face; the serenity of earth, sky, or water; the beauty and suggested excitement of a ship, or the lithe muscles and sleek coat of a living creature. A picture, preferably a landscape, can very well be used for practice in separating consciousness from the body, but as a first example, let us consider something else that may be in your home, a potted plant, or a tank of tropical fish, preferably with aquatic plants and perhaps a rock or so. It is a pleasure to look at these fragments of the natural world existing in our homes, but now you are going to do much more than just look. The plant Sit comfortably near your plant so that the rim of the pot is just below eye level. Consciousness is in no way limited to the dimensions of the physical body, so as you let your gaze travel slowly up the stem you can imagine it to be a huge tropical or prehistoric tree. Imagine yourself standing just within the rim of the pot; you go forward carefully over the huge earth granules or rocks, and you reach your tree.

You can, if you like, sit down at the foot of it and gaze up into the folia≥ or perhaps you would like to climb upward among the branches. You can make your way from branch to branch, or you can stretch along a stem, up there among the leaves. Or perhaps you prefer to fly like a bird into the branches and settle there; or, if your plant has blossoms, to explore these in the manner of a bee or a hummingbird. Whatever you do, rest there a little while, really savoring and enjoying this new experience; be aware of yourself in that setting, feel the leaves and flowers around you, or the fern fronds. It should make a little vacation for your consciousness.