What is the difference between lucid dreaming and astral projection

But while all of that may be extremely difficult to believe, astral projection and lucid dreaming are actual phenomena—even if scientists aren't completely sold on all the details. Here's what you need to know about the concepts; thanks in advance for not using them to murderously body-switch your way closer to the man of your dreams.

As seen in Behind Her Eyes , the first step to being able to launch your soul onto the astral plane at will is mastering the practice of lucid dreaming, a longstanding concept that gained a much broader audience a decade ago, thanks to Inception. Lucid dreaming allows a sleeping person not only to become conscious of the fact that they're in a dream, but also, often, to take control of the dream and change its storyline as they see fit. It's a well-documented practice that has been around for centuries, confirmed through scientific study , and used for the treatment of PTSD and nervous system damage.

In the series, Adele, Rob, and Louise all try out lucid dreaming to overcome their night terrors. Rather than simply being satisfied with a good night's sleep, however, all three quickly learn how to take things a giant step further by conquering astral projection, too. The idea of astral projection is far less medically sound than lucid dreaming. There certainly have been documented cases of out-of-body experiences, in which a near-death situation, neurological trauma, or hallucinatory drug use can send a person into an involuntary dissociative state, per Healthline , but the act of consciously sending your soul out of your body to "travel" elsewhere, as Adele puts it in Behind Her Eyes let alone to take over someone else's physical form is regarded as more of a spiritual practice than a scientific one.

The biggest cultural touchpoint here is probably Doctor Strange , in which the titular medical professional does indeed have to wrestle with the conflict between science and spirituality as he learns to magic himself around the world and into various dimensions. As seen in Doctor Strange —though not in Behind Her Eyes , which posits that astral projection begins with a lucid dream —a main difference between lucid dreaming and astral projection is that the latter is typically believed to be done while the projector in question is still awake.

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Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research , 72 , 1— Moser, R. Mental and astral projection. Cottonwood, AZ: Esoteric Publications. You can do anything you want in the astral realm without the fear of getting arrested or making everybody mad at you. Fistfight with the Rock? You can do that there. Look like Dermot Mulroney? You can do that there! Look like Dylan McDermott?

You can also do that there! You can do that there, but be cool about it —ethics still exist in the astral realm. Eventually I attended a workshop with Jade and she shared with the new astral projectors among us why someone would choose to dedicate their life to teaching others astral projection.

How is this possible? Seemingly in this reality! So just the sheer extraordinariness of it is—you want to explore, you want to do it. Which brings me to my own astral projection journey, and my second, far more elusive astral travel teacher And when that goes unaccepted, I send a slightly more desperate email, and start piecing together my own lucid dreaming and astral projection study plan while I wait ….

I start where any good journalist should when researching an ancient spiritual phenomenon: by sitting down with its most lucrative pop culture interpretation to date. The plot of Inception is simple. Just kidding, the plot of Inception is nearly incomprehensible—either a work of unique artistic vision, or a hubris-fueled act of dorm-room philosophy, depending on whom you ask.

But I had forgotten that Leo and Co. For my lucid dreaming practice, I have a sound machine that all the most brand-conscious babies use— the Dohm Classic in pink , set to level II, always—and the fool-proof method of a fictional teenager from a Netflix thriller.

Through my first half-day of studying astral projection, my biggest takeaway is that learning about this phenomenon requires a surprising number of streaming platforms. Which makes me think that Doctor Strange might be the most accurate Hollywood depiction of astral phenomena.

What he finds instead is an entirely new understanding of the world around him. Only one of those knows how to astral travel, unless my editor is lying and all of this is an elaborate body-snatching ploy.

Of course, upon reflection , I realize that Behind Her Eyes posits a world in which best friends are actually the most likely culprit to snatch your body while astral projecting, so this plan was terrible all along. Luckily, the Spotify meditation makes up for what I lack! Personally , I fell asleep halfway through the pod. Maybe next time …. And it works. Nothing really even gets to vibrating. A door. I would never lie to you, it is a whole-ass door in my mind.

My phone rings. I find a phone number for the Water Magister on a now-defunct Water Magister Facebook page, and he picks up on the first ring.