# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/21 "2013-09-11T15:35:36Z")
I read Robert Monroe’s _Journeys Out of the Body_ when I was in high school, and was fascinated. Monroe’s accounts sounded quite detailed, and the tests that were performed on him seemed well-documented, and I became very interested in astral projection. Unfortunately (for Monroe and similar authors; fortunately for me) my fascination inspired me to do more studying. I eventually read the comments of the researchers who performed said tests, and their account of the results was quite different from Monroe’s. That began my transformation from almost-believer to lifelong skeptic. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/22 "2013-09-11T15:37:07Z")
No. Next question. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/23 "2013-09-11T15:42:14Z")
NSA = real, scary. TSA = real, scary. IRS = real, scary. You don’t need to make up things that are scary. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/24 "2013-09-11T16:56:47Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > 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. _You can fly high as a kite if you want to Faster than light if you want to Speeding through the universe Thinking is the best way to travel_ -The Moody Blues ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/25 "2013-09-11T18:33:22Z")
> [@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? Hallucinations certainly happen. There’s no controversy there. And there are methods by which one may make oneself hallucinate. No controversy there, either. The controversy begins when you reach the conclusion that your hallucination wasn’t all “in your head”, but rather, that it was, or included, a journey to a “higher” plane of existence - to wit, “the astral plane.” You are then making an essentially religious claim, and in doing so you make yourself a target for skeptics, materialists, atheists, etc., who will point out that you have no way of proving that your hallucination was in fact an “astral journey” to “the astral plane.” ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/26 "2013-09-11T19:29:17Z")
A very long time ago, when I was an undergrad, I was given a mimeographed instruction on astral projection. It gave instructions on how to do it. I followed the instructions. I was laying in bed in my bedroom. Then I observed myself laying on my bed, but the view was from a tree branch outside my window. I never did it again because it was scary, as I felt that I was not in control, and I immediately returned to my body. But then again, it could have been the morning glory seeds I consumed. I gave them up also. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/27 "2013-09-11T19:46:46Z")
Since the OP is asking for opinions, let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**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, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/28 "2013-09-11T20:04:18Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Since the OP is asking for opinions, let’s move this to IMHO. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator But it has a factual answer. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/29 "2013-09-11T20:05:12Z")
By the Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth, the answer is no. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/30 "2013-09-11T20:06:11Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > 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. Are you a AAA member? They can help plan your trips. In this case, ask for the Timothy Leary package. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/31 "2013-09-11T20:08:45Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > But it has a factual answer. Sure, like “does God exist” has a factual answer. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/32 "2013-09-11T20:16:33Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > A very long time ago, when I was an undergrad, I was given a mimeographed instruction on astral projection. It gave instructions on how to do it. I followed the instructions. I was laying in bed in my bedroom. Then I observed myself laying on my bed, but the view was from a tree branch outside my window. I never did it again because it was scary, as I felt that I was not in control, and I immediately returned to my body. > But then again, it could have been the morning glory seeds I consumed. I gave them up also. Were the morning glory seeds part of the instructions? Wouldn’t surprise me if they were. Drug use for the purpose of astral travel is common enough. In the West, that’s been going on since at least the 1840’s. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/33 "2013-09-11T20:17:20Z")
Now if you want to talk asstral projectiles, I can share some stories! ---
**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, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/34 "2013-09-11T20:18:21Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > Were the morning glory seeds part of the instructions? > > Wouldn’t surprise me if they were. Drug use for the purpose of astral travel is common enough. In the West, that’s been going on since at least the 1840’s. Correction: Drug use for the purpose of _thinking_ you’re astral travelling is common enough. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/35 "2013-09-11T20:24:25Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > Were the morning glory seeds part of the instructions? > > Wouldn’t surprise me if they were. Drug use for the purpose of astral travel is common enough. In the West, that’s been going on since at least the 1840’s. No, they weren’t part of the instructions. But, unlike other substances they were legal to consume and cheap for poor college students. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/36 "2013-09-11T20:33:59Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Correction: Drug use for the purpose of _thinking_ you’re astral travelling is common enough. English is not my first language, but let’s see here… The first definition for “purpose” over at [Thefreedictionary.com](http://Thefreedictionary.com) is “the object toward which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal.” In other words, when folks like Paschal Beverly Randolph and the like took drugs, they did so with the aim, or goal, of achieving an astral projection. That is what they were striving for. That was the _purpose_. Whether any of them ever achieved anything more than drug-fueled hallucinations is a question of faith. You can’t prove it, and you can’t disprove it. For the record here, I personally do NOT believe they achieved anything more than drug-fueled hallucinations, but I realize I can’t prove that anymore than I can prove, or disprove, the existence of God. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/37 "2013-09-11T20:41:12Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > There’s a monster under the bed? No, but there’s a monster at the end of this [book](http://www.amazon.ca/Monster-This-Book-Sesame-Street/dp/0307010856). ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/38 "2013-09-11T20:47:35Z")
> [@Steken](#): > > …For the record here, I personally do NOT believe they achieved anything more than drug-fueled hallucinations, but I realize I can’t prove that anymore than I can prove, or disprove, the existence of God. You could prove it – you could project yourself to see something that you couldn’t see from your body’s position. That is, have someone hold up a card or something across town, project over there, report what the card is. Do that with, say, 100% accuracy, and you’ve probably proven it (or the guy holding up the card is in on it – I’ll hold it for you). The reason I say 100% is that I can get pretty close to 100% accuracy in identifying a playing card held up so I can see it clearly. ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/39 "2013-09-11T21:06:33Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > You could prove it – you could project yourself to see something that you couldn’t see from your body’s position. That is, have someone hold up a card or something across town, project over there, report what the card is. Do that with, say, 100% accuracy, and you’ve probably proven it (or the guy holding up the card is in on it – I’ll hold it for you). > > The reason I say 100% is that I can get pretty close to 100% accuracy in identifying a playing card held up so I can see it clearly. I’m talking about those who claimed to have accessed (and/or genuinely believed themselves to have accessed) another plane of existence, i.e. “the astral plane”, and there mingled with angels and spirits and elementals and whatnot. I mentioned Randolph - he’s one of them. As for traveling in spirit within _this_ world, you’re absolutely right, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2013, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565/40 "2013-09-11T21:08:39Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Frightened of Astral Travel? For goodness’ sake, why? > > Everyone who has ever reported a Projection has woken up safe and sound after the “experience.” Well, _naturally._ If their astral form _had_ been consumed by a soul devouring eldritch horror they wouldn’t wake up to report it, now would they?! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/astral-travel-is-it-real/668565.md?page=3)