Intro
There are many techniques and paths open to you in order to pursue astral projection, however, fundamental truths still exist, regardless of techniques, and are critical for you to understand in order to attain success.

Below is a no fluff guide mixed in with "truths" about astral projection. This is meant to be used in conjunction with the three articles contained under the Beginner's Guide link. This guide is really more of an accessory to the Beginner's Guide to simply point out specific concepts that need to be understood.

Reduce Magnetic Hold/Mimic Sleep State
Simply stated, the magnetic hold over the astral body must be reduced. This naturally happens nightly in deep theta, or delta but we are usually preoccupied in dreams to take notice. When you go to bed, the following process happens: you lie down, mentally digest your life's activities while in alpha and as you drift off, your body enters light theta. As your sleep starts deepening further still (entering delta), your astral and etheric body start to vibrate and your chakras open to receive energy to replenish yourself for your next day's activities (your heart rate also slows and body temperature drops).

The vibrations, of which you are not consciously aware of, allow for the slight misalignment of the etheric vehicle from the physical body in order for the chakras to open. This accounts for the jerk we sometimes encounter when our bodies realign themselves. The trick to projection is to consciously mimic the REM sleep cycle (see "Sleep and Inducing a Projection" article). If you were to mentally wake yourself up in theta (using a dream mask, or becoming lucid in a dream) and thought of your body, yet remained physically asleep, you would find that your body was in the deep vibrational state required for separation. But to become lucid in a dream is not sufficient for it's the focusing on the body that terminates the dream and leaves you in the hypnopompic state (the state of consciousness coming out of sleep). Click here to see the different levels of consciousness related to sleep Sleep Cycles

It was no fluke that Sylvan Muldoon had so much success with astral projection. He was bed ridden for years and whenever we are ill, our magnetic hold is naturally loosened. Robert Monroe was also an older projector and as we age, our magnetic hold loosens. This is why teenagers have such a tough time of projection; they are healthy and their magnetic hold is very tight (except in those instances where this person has a naturally loose hold over their astral body). How many books have you read recently where the projector was under 30?

Find the Right Aid For Your Sleep Type
Now, to mimic this sleep state can be done several ways. One is mastering meditation. The other is using valid aids. I say valid because there are so called "aids" that are just mental crutches and don't do a thing. First, before you can figure out what aid to use, you have to know your body sleep type. Deep sleepers require different aids than light sleepers. I am a light sleeper (and light sleepers are also better projectors because they can bounce in and out of the hypnagogic state which is the state of consciousness going into sleep). Brain entrainment tapes help light sleepers go under but too much so for the deep sleeper. My tester Kristina is a deep sleeper and finds the lucid dream mask very good as she is able to maintain her sleep state, yet notice the cues in her dreams. I myself practically leap out of bed when these flashing lights start pulsing. The dream herb (calea) keeps you from going into deep sleep and for me, it's like taking a shot of espresso before bed, but is effective for Kristina.

Another effective means of modifying the brain waves are hemisync tapes. I've listed two good ones on my webpage (the Transcendence cd and the astral projection one from Brainwave Mind Voyages) Both are under $20. Very much part of our existence is vibrations (both light and sound), and these tapes alter your brain waves. They WILL increase the hypnagogic state and are worth the $15.00 they cost. I also recommend the Gateway series, but you're going to drop a lot more money for these and should start with the cheap ones first. The dream mask isn't cheap either, but if you're a deep sleeper and can afford it, it's good. All these companies are listed on my site under the Aids Link.

Before a person can progress beyond this point, they have to achieve the first stages of separation (the vibrations). Here is what I recommend: Decide if you are a light or deep sleeper. This is pretty self explanatory. Deep sleepers have to be shaken to be woken up and light sleepers wake at the drop of a pin. Then, pick up legitimate aids (definitely the tapes, and maybe the mask if you're a deep sleeper... depends on how much you want to invest in this whole process). Then, focus on learning how to put the body asleep and yet keep the mind awake. I cannot stress this enough; you have to really mimic sleep. To be relaxed is not sufficient. We relax all the time, but nothing happens. You have to literally hear your body falling asleep (I often hear a slight snore or two!) but I keep the mind focused. This is rather difficult to achieve, as you naturally want to start dreaming or fantasizing. Images will appear and take your concentration away. A good tip for that is to focus on the internal ringing in your head. Sometimes you won't hear it, but if you focus on this, it will start to slightly be heard. If you're already in theta, and start to listen for this and think of nothing else, the vibrations may happen within 5-10 minutes.

Other Tips
Some other important tips; try in the morning vs. night. Most people are too tired and get nowhere except really frustrated when they try at night. If you can, set your alarm for an hour early, enter theta and focus on the internal ringing. Afternoon naps are really good as well as it disrupts our natural sleep pattern and leaves us in that groggy state which is perfect for projection.

Saturating your subconscious is effective too. Whatever we dwell on, we manifest. This can be done with reading astral projection topics, affirmations, or just thinking a lot about it. The reason that so many techniques exist is because someone had success off of an attempt and thinks that it will now work from then on. The fact is, most of the time, when we switch techniques, it initially works because we stimulate our subconscious into activity. Whatever we do for too long, our subconscious bores of and it stops working. The rope technique, visualizing a box in front of you, asking for help, all those are just the stimulated subconscious. I can't tell you how many e-mails I get saying "it worked for a week but never to return". I myself stimulate my subconscious by switching my concentration from one area of thinking to another. No matter what your technique, if your body is not asleep and mind awake, it won't be effective more than once or twice. Try and reduce other outside strong mental stimulants as well. Like I said, what we dwell on is what we manifest. When I go through periods of stress or something exciting happens, my projections terminate. To be honest, the more boring your life is the better.

Try and take control of dreams. This is hard, but the dream state is an excellent portal into projection. People sometimes try to master this by checking their watch throughout the day and asking if they are dreaming. Of course, you MUST do a reality check in your dreams, otherwise you will think you are awake. Many times my tester and I have questioned if we are asleep (we are) but think we are not because we failed to do the reality test (like levitation or something else normally impossible.)

Summary
In summary, really understand body asleep/mind awake concept, get your appropriate aids together, and start utilizing morning hours to achieve the desired state of awareness. Discipline yourself from mind wandering and focus on putting your body into sleep paralysis.

Initially, you may experience such things as seeing through closed eyelids (etheric projection, not astral), intense heat waves (stimulation of chakras, aka kundalini energy) or fear when you finally do experience the pre-projection vibrations and you just didn't realize they felt like a huge earthquake. This is the beginning, but very important. Most people can't get past this because they don't grasp the fundamental truths of projection.