The trance, and why it's awesome.

The meditative trance state is a simple and natural state of being, it is the time at which the body goes to sleep. We have five types of brain waves, and these brain waves contribute to our all-round development and well-being and are measured with the help of an electroencephalograph or EEG.

The beta (14-40 Hz) is the waking consciousness, the fully awake mind. The alpha (7.5-14 Hz) is a state of light meditation and daydreaming, it increases imagination and visualization power. The theta (4-7.5 Hz) is deep meditation and light sleep. The alpha-theta border (7-8 Hz) is where the magic happens. This state is known as the trance (REM dream state), it is the gateway to the realm of your subconsciousness. This is when the creative power of the mind starts. Your mind can do anything it pleases. Being conscious in the trance gives you a new outlook towards the universe and your part in it.

While meditating, be open and fearless to the fact that you can experience anything. Strong vibrations in the body, very mild electric shocks, warmth and vibrations at the crown/third-eye/throat/heart/solar/sacral/root chakra, alluring smells, mellow music etc. Just don't break the meditation and keep calm. The vibrations at the chakras are the pure light entering you, the source energy, receive it. When you feel the warmth of divinity in your body, everything else just disappears and you have an insight. An insight that changes your life, changes the way you have perceived this world till now. It makes you want to do good, be good, and feel good all the time. Nothing in this universe has the power to make you feel gloomy but you.

Here is the basic explanation of the seven major energy spiral points (chakras) of the energy body that we possess. From the bottom to the top:
The Root Chakra: Located at the tip of the triangular bone at the bottom of our spine, it signifies our relationship with mother earth and being in the moment, for opening this chakra let go of all your fears and insecurities.
The Sacral Chakra: This lies slightly below the navel area and signifies the creativity, sexual energy and passion. You need to forgive yourself for all of the guilt and hesitation that is trapped inside you.
The Solar Plexus Chakra: Located in the middle at the top of your abdomen area and signifies positive use of personal power, the self-determination and motivation that we possess. Let go of any instance or situation that has caused you shame.
The Heart Chakra: Located in the middle of your chest, it signifies the love and oneness of all things. Don't let any kind of grief overpower you and make it difficult for you to give and receive this beautiful medicine.
The Throat Chakra: Located in the middle of the neck signifying our communication and sharing of thoughts. Do not lie as the truth is written in the cosmos.
The Third Eye Chakra: Resides in the centre of the forehead signifying intuition and psychic. Let go of all the illusions.
The Crown Chakra: The top to the head, over the forehead, signifies divine guidance, peace and the universe. Be free of your earthly attachments as this life is a journey and not a destination, fear or hope at this moment decides you future.

As you lie in your bed and reach the theta brain state your vibrations are high, you can guide the energies inside your body through your thoughts (Yep, I didn't believe it either), you have to try it. It makes you feel more in sync with your energy body and realize the power that you possess. The trance that comes after this state is the cherry on top of the cake. It is the borderline of two strong states of being, like an orgasm going through your whole body. While in it, I have felt my whole body flow like ripples that are made at the top of a lake when you throw a stone in it, feeling each and every atom of my body moving in the motion of a wave. I have at most stayed there for 10-15 seconds, although it can be held for hours by experienced yogis. This should be experienced by everyone as holy communications an divine wisdom is received when you go into yourself, as finding yourself is finding God. 

Being calm in this crazy world.

An out of body experience is when the consciousness makes a transition from operating with your physical body to operating with the astral. Another way to put it is that the person transitions from the physical, everyday reality into a parallel but different dimension. This dimension is more subtle than ours, but always there. It remains invisible to many of us because we lack the physical perception to see into it.

Projection into this parallel dimension is temporary, it can last from a few seconds to a couple of hours in rare cases, but inevitably we must return to the physical body. The process of moving into the astral dimension is dependent on the energetic connection between the physical and the astral body. This connection, sometimes called the silver chord, allows us to travel into the astral dimension and keeps our two bodies connected and safe. It also allows energy and information to flow between the two bodies. The placement of this chord depends on the individual and will come out through the strongest chakra of the body.

The technique of astral meditation is very simple and calming. It helps you to control your mind rather than it controlling you. There is no use in thinking about some dumb thing you said to some person during the day, it does not really matter.

Just lie down on your bed aligning your head to the magnetic north and your feet to the south. Be as comfortable as you can be and just breathe. It's all about 'being present', letting your mind run, and accepting whatever thoughts come up, while practicing detachment from each thought. Stay completely still and focus on your breathing. Look at the light-show happening in front of your eyes, but don't focus on it too hard and don't move your eyes. The trick is to stay completely conscious while your body goes to sleep. While you are still, you will get urges to move, don't give in. After a while you will feel ethereal vibrations starting from your feet, that are slowly moving up. It is actually a beautiful feeling when you experience your body go into rest-mode. Then comes the phase of the hypnagogia or hipnopompic hallucinations. They are visual, tactile, auditory, or other sensory events, usually brief but occasionally prolonged, that occur at the transition from wakefulness to sleep. In this you will hear random sounds or feel that you are somewhere else, doing something else, it's for a second, then you come back.Your mind is trying to hallucinate you at this point. After a few of these, you will hear a ringing sound in your head that will start with a low pitch soft sound and then turn up its volume and move from ear to ear. As the sound increases your eyes will start moving rapidly, this is known as the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. This is the point when the 'leaving of the body' takes place. If this is your first time, your heart will start beating like crazy and you might get scared (because personally, it is damn scary). But don't be afraid, you do this every night, it's just that you are unconscious and don't notice it. You are now going to feel vibrations and maybe even your whole bed shaking, these are just inside you and are not visible to anyone (if they are watching you sleep). At this moment your astral body is already around an inch away from your physical body. Just imagine yourself floating away from your body or picturize yourself sleep from any point in your room. And if you did reach REM sleep consciously, you will be able to get outside. Just believe you can and you will.

All of this takes time, patience and mind control. So if you're not able to do it in the starting, don't be disappointed as the best things are never easy. I have been practising it for almost a month now and have been consciously out only once, met my spirit guides (I have two), heard the things they had to say to me, things that I have always wanted to know, although I didn't really ask them. I came back with a thump when I saw my own body sleeping. I was awestruck for the next few weeks as I had never really imagined feeling what I had felt that night, it was the most magnificent thing that has ever happened to me.