This is an introduction to many basic and common elements of astral projection techniques. Most astral projection techniques are very similar and most of them share a similar structure. One could say that the main difference between most techniques is how much they stress a certain element. While there are some basic elements that seem to work well for most people, we are individuals and as such we must discover for ourselves what basic elements we are good at.

Relaxed body and mind: I can not stress enough the importance of a relaxed body and mind. If both mind and body are healthy, then this will make it much much easier to AP.

Some tips to relax body and mind are to exercise, take a hot shower, drink hot tea or hot chocolate, etc.... Anything that helps to relax is good.

Breathing: Breathing is useful to focus the mind and to gather new energy. Metaphysically speaking, the act of breathing in, is the act of taking in energy, and the act of exhaling is the act of releasing spent energy. If it is done with a consciouss goal in mind, it can serve to re-energize one's energy.

Visualization: Visualization is the ability to imagine or to use creativity to manipulate something outside of oneself. We can all visualize something. It is part of creativity and it is part of our everyday thoughts. There is no such thing as having trouble with visualization because we are all capable of it unless we are blind. Visualization simply consists of going through a pre-set story in one's head. It is like telling oneself a story. It is not neccessary to visualize every element or to even "see" anything. Any "seeing" will occur by itself simply by the telling of the story to oneself.

For example, try not to think of a pink elephant. Did you think of a pink elephant? If you did not think of a pink elephant at all then you are not consciouss and visualization will be very very difficult for you.

Loss of Physical Feeling: It is important not to pay attention to the physical body. If one keeps one's physical body still during the astral projection attempt, one will begin to loose feeling and attention of the physical body and this is what is desired. The less attention we have stored in the physical body, the better your chances at astrally projecting.

A "floatation tank", which is a tank of water full of epsom salts, is used by some to loose attention on their physical body. Since their body is floating on salt, they loose attention of the gravitational pull of the Earth on their body and begin to loose attention on their physical body. If you are interested in this, be sure to do more research on it.

Body Asleep Mind Awake: This should not be taken as a concept to aim for, but should be regarded as a literal statement. The body should be asleep and the mind should be awake. This is why relaxation is so important.

The mental state where an out of body occurs is what scientists call "deep-sleep". For this state to occur, one's body must be asleep. The mind is kept awake by giving it a simple task to follow. The task could be to think about a geometrical figure or to just imagine a thing or things. This state is also termed the trance-state, since one is in a state that is very limited in terms of mental actions.

This is a difficult concept to describe, but it should become clear to you when you arrive at this stage as to what it is.

People familiar with meditation are probably more consciouss of what this state is than people that have never meditated before. I have never meditated so I can not say what it is in terms of meditation, but I would guess that it is similar to some type of meditative state, since the mind is very focused and the body is very relaxed.

How does one know that one is close or is in this stage? One's breathing will slow down and one may have very vivid imagery or one may feel "energized" as if one had already slept fully. It is a state of deep relaxation. The mind can be focused very easily in this mental state and it is easy to solve problems in this state; this state is not only the gateway to a consciouss out of body experience, but it can also be used to heal oneself and it has many other uses. You should become familiar with how this state feels once you find it for yourself.

Motion: Motion in terms of bodily feeling and in terms of visualization can be very helpful in achieving an astral projection. Motion helps in visualization by letting the mind be active at the same time that it is in a relaxed state. The mind is a very active being and letting it be active with a predetermined object can take one into the trance state. For example, one can visualize a ball or a cube moving to keep the mind active and to keep the thought current to a minimum. If the mind is properly distracted, the thought current will diminish.

Some people have commented that swimming in the ocean for a long time and letting your body feel the motion of the waves all day long so that as one is going asleep they can still be felt is helpful to relaxing the body and mind due to the energy of the motion experienced.

Energy: Energy is a general term for a type of spiritual, physical and mental energy that is acquired in this plane of existance. A good healthy diet, exercise and an active mind are all that is needed to keep one�s energy high. A good and healthy environment is also needed however to keep the energy high after it is acquired.

There are many practices where energy is acquired through physical exercises. This seems to be the best path to take in terms of energy, since strenous physical exercise strenghtens the body, mind and soul.

Chakras: The practice of activating the chakras might have some effect on letting one astrally project. It is my personal belief that the activation of the chakras is not needed to astrally project. Nevertheless, the practice of activating the chakras and the feeling of this energy is helpful towards letting one become consciouss of one's energy body. For this reason, the activation of the chakras is a helpful practice, but it should be combined with some technique to astrally project. A simple technique will work if one is consciouss of one�s energy body or chakra energy.

Meditative Trance: A meditative trance is just that a trance state. This state can most easily be accessed through a calm mind and a relaxed body; this is why exercise is so important.

Light: Light is just another element in terms of visualization techniques. Its main purpose is to keep the mind distracted while other parts of the mind are working to calm the body and mind down.

Concentration: Concentration consists of quieting the mind so that thoughts seem to come in minimum doses. It is a state where the mind is no longer very actively thinking, but it is in a more observant state.

To achieve this state, one needs to use the will to calm the mind. If one thinks of the mind as a calm pond with every thought as a ripple, then one will get the idea that the mind is very fragile when it comes to disturbing it towards thought and action. To calm the mind all it takes is the will for it to be so and the patience for thoughts to subside. If one tries to calm the mind by using the mind, all that one is doing is creating more ripples in the pond. One needs to let all thoughts pass and to not worry if they will every stop coming. A feeling of detachment towards one thoughts is what is needed to stop their flow.