# Astral travel? Is it real? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 11, 2013, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565 "2013-09-11T12:19:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![harryferrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/91b2a8/32.png) [@harryferrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harryferrel)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/1 "2013-09-11T12:19:11Z")
So I’ve been reading some astral travel stories lately. I don’t know if it’s real since I never experienced. But I have to admit I was terrified of going to sleep because of this. Anyone has experience? What triggered your astral projection? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/2 "2013-09-11T12:21:14Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![harryferrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/91b2a8/32.png) [@harryferrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harryferrel)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/3 "2013-09-11T12:25:04Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > No. Oh…okay ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/4 "2013-09-11T12:28:20Z")
> [@harryferrel](#): > > So I’ve been reading some astral travel stories lately. > I don’t know if it’s real since I never experienced. > But I have to admit I was terrified of going to sleep because of this. > Anyone has experience? What triggered your astral projection? Lots of people have experiences, and they may seem very real. Lots of people have dreams and nightmares that also seem very real. Are you asking if the “experience” is anything other than a dream? Are you asking if actual, physical travel happens in dreams? The answer is no. ---
**Author:** ![blue\_infinity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_infinity/32/2817_2.png) [@blue\_infinity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blue_infinity)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/5 "2013-09-11T12:28:43Z")
> [@harryferrel](#): > > But I have to admit I was terrified of going to sleep because of this. You want something to be terrified of when going to sleep? Bed bugs are real. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/6 "2013-09-11T12:35:24Z")
Frightened of Astral Travel? For goodness’ sake, why? Everyone who has ever reported a Projection has woken up safe and sound after the “experience.” You might as well be frightened of the monster under your bed. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/7 "2013-09-11T12:38:15Z")
There’s a monster under the bed? ---
**Author:** ![harryferrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/91b2a8/32.png) [@harryferrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harryferrel)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/8 "2013-09-11T12:39:29Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Lots of people have experiences, and they may seem very real. Lots of people have dreams and nightmares that also seem very real. > > Are you asking if the “experience” is anything other than a dream? Are you asking if actual, physical travel happens in dreams? The answer is no. I am referring to like out-of-body experience, separate from the physical body and capable of traveling outside of it. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/9 "2013-09-11T12:43:05Z")
No, there is no evidence that it is real. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/10 "2013-09-11T12:46:51Z")
> [@harryferrel](#): > > I am referring to like out-of-body experience, separate from the physical body and capable of traveling outside of it. No attempt at confirming out-of-body experiences, such as reporting information the “traveller” could only have obtained by leaving their body, has shown positive results when performed with adequate controls. The current scientific view is that it’s all in your head. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/11 "2013-09-11T12:52:01Z")
> [@harryferrel](#): > > I am referring to like out-of-body experience, separate from the physical body and capable of traveling outside of it. The scary part is what happens to you when your mind refuses to return after a voyage. Dennis Rodman comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/12 "2013-09-11T12:57:06Z")
I once had an out-of-body “experience”. I imagined that I was looking at myself lying in a hospital bed with a cast on my leg and that some friends had played a practical joke on me to put me there. Then I awoke. And guess what. I was lying in a hospital bed with a cast on my leg. And my ankle was broken IRL. Weird, but just a dream. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/13 "2013-09-11T13:08:51Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > There’s a monster under the bed? Not under yours. You are in Australia - the bunyips scared all the bed monsters away. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/14 "2013-09-11T13:18:59Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Everyone who has ever reported a Projection has woken up safe and sound after the “experience.” You might as well be frightened of the monster under your bed. We know monsters are real, but they sound a lot like John Goodman and Billy Crystal. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/15 "2013-09-11T13:22:04Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > We know monsters are real, but they sound a lot like John Goodman and Billy Crystal. I saw that documentary as well. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/16 "2013-09-11T14:09:51Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Not under yours. You are in Australia - the bunyips scared all the bed monsters away. Ah yes, _Austral_ travel is quite real. ---
**Author:** ![sylmar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@sylmar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sylmar)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/17 "2013-09-11T14:21:57Z")
> [@harryferrel](#): > > So I’ve been reading some astral travel stories lately… Anyone has experience? _What triggered_ your astral projection? Bad luncheon meat. > [@](#): > > Originally posted by **don’t ask** > There’s a monster under the bed? > [@DrFidelius](#): > > Not under yours. You are in Australia … So they hide on the ceiling? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/18 "2013-09-11T14:28:18Z")
> [@harryferrel](#): > > Oh…okay ☹ If something that might scare you doesn’t exist, why are you unhappy? ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/19 "2013-09-11T14:31:56Z")
You want it to be real because it would be so cool to visit the world without actually traveling. I suggest you start saving up for some real trips. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/20 "2013-09-11T14:33:40Z")
> [@blue\_infinity](#): > > You want something to be terrified of when going to sleep? > > Bed bugs are real. And Banana Worms. Well, I lied. They’re not real, but they sure are scary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565.md?page=2)