When you have those dreams of flight, this is very similar to the experience of astral travel. The feeling of being airborne is much like the way that your astral body travels through the astral plane. All you need to do is focus on the place you want to be or on the things which you want and your astral body is there in the blink of an eye. When your physical body and mind are at rest, your astral body is free to roam the universe.

Astral travel can occur during sleep, but it is important to make the distinction between astral travel and dreaming. These are two separate phenomenal; dreams happen in the brain and are our mind's way of processing the events of your day. It replays your day in combination with other remembered events and in this way, we work through the stresses of daily life and awaken refreshed. Astral travel is something else entirely and while you forget many of your dreams even before you awake, this is not the case with astral projection.

When you wake remembering vividly even the smallest detail of what has happened as your body was at rest, this is almost certainly an astral travel experience rather than a dream which you are recalling. It's important to keep a journal where you can write down everything you remember. You'll want to add to this record and refer back to it periodically. It won't all make sense at first, but much like putting together a puzzle, a picture will begin to take shape.

Dreams are beneficial for the mind, since they allow it to make sense of your daily life. Astral travel fulfills a similar function for your spiritual being. No two individuals have the same astral travel experiences and the benefits of the practice also differ between people. This is why keeping an astral travel journal is helpful; comparing your experiences to those of others is meaningless and it is only through your own experiences that you can make sense of things.

While many of the beneficial effects of astral travel vary, one which is universal is an improved self awareness and a sense of where you fit into the larger universe. Having this knowledge brings inner peace and well being. In most people, memory and general alertness are also heightened since astral projection uses parts of the brain which often go undeveloped there are very real benefits of astral travel for your intellect as well as your spirit, it seems.

After learning to astral travel, other latent psychic abilities will begin to awaken and be strengthened. Most people report having an increased awareness of others thoughts and an easier time sensing spiritual presences.

Astral travel lets you see things and go places you never would be able to otherwise; including inside your own psyche; and the reward is that psychic abilities and mental acuity begin to bloom.

Even those who previously expressed skepticism about the practice usually change their minds after having some experiences with astral travel. They often find that it changes the way that they look at the world and increases their ability to see things which may otherwise go unseen.

Of course, astral travel can also be fun. You can think of it as sending your astral body on a mini-vacation, taking in the sights of exotic, far off places and returning relaxed and ready to help you live a better life.

The most surprising thing about astral travel is that it isn't done by everybody. The reason that it isn't more widely practiced is that there is a widely held misconception that only a select few are able to astral project. This however is not the case as anyone can learn to astral travel if they want to.

We have all experienced astral travel before, whether or not we are aware of having done so.

To begin astral projecting, the best method is to allow yourself to naturally experience it and start keeping a record. Once you can start to recognize these experiences as you are having them, then it's time to begin practicing on consciously leaving your physical body for astral travel. As you practice, your psychic abilities and your mind will grow sharper.

All it takes is practice and there are many great resources which can help you prepare for astral travel. With a little time and effort, you can enjoy inner peace, self awareness and all of the other great things which learning to astral travel can do to improve your life.