There are many myths about the possible risks or dangers of the out-of-body experience (OBE), or astral projection.
Does the out-of-body experience or astral projection involve risks?
There are many myths about the possible risks or dangers of the out-of-body experience (OBE), or astral projection. Throughout history, more emphasis has often been placed on the supposed dangers of astral projection than on its potential benefits. These accounts of possible risks were often intended to instill fear and prevent people from developing a capacity inherent in human nature, since fear is a barrier to human development.
As a rule, these dangers are described by people who have had astral experiences with very low lucidity and no control. The information they share is therefore unreliable: in most cases, it reflects mistaken interpretations based on beliefs or explanations the brain creates to make sense of unfamiliar experiences. Here are some of the most widespread fears about astral projection.
Can our silver cord be cut while we are in an astral projection?
The silver cord is part of our energy body. It is an energetic connection that links the physical body to the astral body, or psychosoma, during an astral projection or journey. “Silver cord” may not be the best term for this energetic link, and can sometimes cause confusion. Because this connection is energy, nothing physical can break, cut, or injure it—just as scissors cannot cut the sun's rays. This fear is entirely unfounded: there are no accounts throughout history of anyone dying biologically because their silver cord was cut while they were projected.
Can someone enter our body while we are projected?
There is also a claim that someone can enter our body while we are in an astral projection.
Every night, when we go to sleep and the physical body relaxes, astral projection occurs naturally. Whether or not we want it to happen, or are aware of it, it happens. In other words, when the body sleeps and recovers physically and psychologically, all beings also undergo astral projection: while the body sleeps, consciousness in the astral body separates from the physical body and has experiences on other extraphysical planes and dimensions. In the morning, when we wake up, it is we ourselves who are in our body—not someone else.
Can we get lost in the extraphysical dimension during an astral projection?
Another fear people describe is getting lost during an astral projection. It is common to encounter unfamiliar people, environments, or places during a projection. If we have not met someone or visited a place before, naturally we will not know it. But that does not mean we will be trapped there or lost in that environment, unable to return to the body.
Returning to the physical body is no difficulty at all; it is the easiest part of an astral projection. Most of the time, we return to the body much sooner than we would like. This can even become a problem: we return before the experience is over and feel frustrated because we could not control the situation.
Many things can bring us back to the body while we are projected. They include:
Thinking about the physical body.
An uncomfortable position in bed, a noise, our partner moving, our own snoring, or a physical need.
Sometimes, the surprise of realizing that we are not breathing makes us think about breathing—and we are back in the body.
Any heightened emotion, whether joy or sadness.
The desire to be in the body.
As we can see, getting lost on the astral plane is practically impossible. Any physical need or change in the environment where we left the body brings us back to it through the strong pull of our energies and the silver cord.
Conclusion
We can conclude that the dangers are fewer during an astral projection than while we are in the physical body. In this life, we can be hurt, injured, robbed, or have an accident, but these things cannot happen during an astral journey. The greatest danger of astral projection is a lack of information and control. The more we know about astral projection, the planes we can access, the beings we may encounter, and how to deal with them, the more our fear can fade. We can gain better control over our projections and benefits that help us understand ourselves as evolving beings.
Written by Obdulia Chico, IAC instructor and volunteer in Madrid, Spain.