Each person has the natural ability to astral project. Many people do it and are not even aware of the fact that they do. The key is to consciously astral project, and control where your astral body is going and what it is doing.

If you are interested in astral projecting, you probably already know what your astral body is and about the astral plane. Read on to find a few different methods that will help you learn to astral project. Since astral projecting is such a personal experience, it is important for you to find techniques that suit you best.

The first one is fairly easy for most people. You want to do this when you are in bed and just about ready to go to sleep. This technique involves five simple steps.

*The first thing you want to do is get completely relaxed. You can't astral project unless you achieve a deep level of relaxation. Lie down in bed, and begin with your toes. Tense them up for a few moments, then consciously relax every muscle. Do the same thing to every muscle, working your way up your body until you finish with your head and face. This may feel unfamiliar at first, but you will soon get used to this method of relaxation. Your body may feel rather heavy. This is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.

*The next step is to take slow, deep breaths. You may want to try a meditation technique where you breathe in slowly and deeply, paying attention to the way it feels as the air comes into your lungs and moves through your body. Exhale slowly and completely, again paying attention to how it feels for the air to leave your body. Imagine all the tension leaving your body with each exhale. It is very important not to fall asleep. If you feel yourself drifting, focus on your forehead, right in the center.

*Step three is where you want to pay attention to how your body feels, it should feel very heavy. When you think about the way your body feels, you should think of it as a lump of clay and not very easy to move. It is time now to think of your astral body, as you think of your astral body you are thinking about how light it feels. Your astral body is weightless, it is free. Close your eyes and see your astral self, you are like bubbles or feathers that are floating away in the breeze. The physical body may be heavy but your astral body is so weightless.

*Now is when many people who use this technique report that they are able to see the dark room then are in even though their eyes are closed. The room seems to be cloaked in a purple light. If you are able to get to this step then you need to focus your attention on the ceiling light.

*For the fifth step of this method, imagine that you are pulling the light on the ceiling toward you. This action may make you feel like you're floating. Remember to stay conscious! The floating feeling should continue, and if you look down, you may see your physical body asleep on the bed below.

Wow you just had a successful astral projection session! Now you can begin astral traveling. If this method did not work well for you, try out the next one.

This method is called gazing. Try this at bedtime. You need something to focus on, such as a picture, the moon, a crystal, or some other object.

Once you've chosen your object, lie down and get comfortable. Turn your attention to the object. As you keep staring at it, your eyelids should begin to feel heavy. No matter what, keep staring at the object. While your eyes will tend to close eventually, you should still be able to see the object. While you continue to stare, you may feel the urge to sit or stand up. When you do get up, don't be surprised if you see your physical form peacefully asleep.

Do not lose heart if neither of these techniques works the first time or even the second. Try them a third time, if they still dont work, there are other techniques that you can use. It is important that you dont get frustrated, which will increase anxiety and be counter productive in promoting relaxation.

It is very important that you understand that it is not really the tools or techniques you use to astral project that may be holding you back. The real stumbling block no matter what method you use is your own subconscious mind. Give your subconscious reassurances that it is acceptable for your spirit body to leave your physical body for a short time. Affirmations are a very effective way to send this message to your subconscious mind. Once your subconscious mind accepts this, astral projection will be very easy for you.

There are a few short cuts you may try to help you achieve astral projection quickly. If you don't use them, it may take a long time to create the proper state of mind for it to happen. If you do use them, you may find yourself successfully astral projecting after your very first try.

Hypnosis may help you achieve a relaxed state much more quickly. If you use a quality guided hypnosis session, it can also help explain how to astral project so you don't have to worry about remembering what to do next. This lets you just follow the session and relax, increasing your chances of having a successful astral projection.

There have also been recent developments in sound technology with something called 'binaural beats' where different sound frequencies are played in each ear. This very quickly puts you into the deeply relaxed meditative state required for successful astral projection.

Remember that being able to astral project is not as difficult as most people believe it is. It is a natural ability that you were born with, and all of these tools and techniques just help you to fine tune an ability which is already there!