Is it possible to pull one's soul out of their body to aid in astral projection, I am having a lot of trouble and would really appreciate it if someone could help and give me a little tug.
It is possible to aid in astral projection, but it's not easy to do if you're not experienced with it, if the other person is blocked, or if the two energies aren't "compatible" (as some energies just don't click right with each other. Usually people differentiate between a spirit and a soul, and even then, it's usually the spirit or consciousness that shift to the astral plane.
Projection of the soul is often believed to be a denser form of etheric projection, such as near death experiences or Out of Body Experiences (OoBEs) - usually thought of as resulting in a loss of physical, waking consciousness or temporary death. A lighter form of etheric projection is where one projects their spirit or consciousness to another part of the physical plane or a place adjacent to the physical plane (the etheric plane is tied to the physical, whereas the astral is not - I tend to think of AP as more of a cosmic projection); this form of projection is often what people mean when they say astral projection, which can make AP seem harder than it actually is.
Is this the case with you? There are different exercises one can do for EP and AP and I personally find some people have a better time letting things flow rather than trying methods others are more "popularly" attuned to (such as the roll out method and tingling sensations).
The reason I find the typical methods of astral projection to be problematic is because it sets up an expectation of what something *should* feel like when the person attempting it has no idea what the experience should be like for them, personally. Some think you're supposed to phase out of your body, lose physical awareness, and then go on some mystical quest where anything can happen. While that's the case with some people, it is not with everyone.
I personally find pathwalking easier as it uses physical surroundings that resonate with etheric and astral spaces - a prime example being walking through a forest to pathwalk to the Norse realm of the Ironwood in Jotunheimr (I use this because that is an experience I have, but it is certainly not limited to that). Because the Norse realms aren't tied to physical plane (except Midgardr), but you use the physical, and thus etheric, spaces to expand your consciousness, you're technically using etheric and astral projection in the form of consciousness, rather than projecting your spirit.
Another method I find helps is bi-location, which is similar to pathwalking, but in honesty, it's more projection while keeping your awareness in physical consciousness (though some people mean it specifically to being awake during EP). Bi-location focuses on expanding the awareness to the subtle planes and realms around you by utilizing your psychic senses. For some people, this easier than trying full projection for reasons I stated above.
I hope this helps. If you have further questions, please ask them.
Sorry for the late reply, but it there are reasons why it is and isn't effective for people. As I stated before, the reason that some people have problems with projecting is that they expect something they previously knew nothing about or don't know that they are already aware of. The rope pulling method contributes to this if you haven't passed the hurdle of a completely new experience.
Keep in mind that etheric projection is not the same as astral projection. The etheric plane, in keeping with the views presented before, is adjacent to the physical plane. Astral means "of the stars", so it is cosmic in nature - it is also a realm heavily involved with the mind and as the mind is not as dense in matter as the physical etheric energy and not as dense as the rest of the physical matter of the body, one can conclude that astral or cosmic energy is not as dense as the etheric or physical.
So etheric projection, in being adjacent to the physical plane in terms of the density of the energy, is not as easy to work with without prior experience (though it can become easier with developing techniques, practice, and time). Psychometry is a good place to start working with etheric energy as you are picking up on the energy of an object, place, or person to gain psychic knowledge of their past interactions with other energies - and being that you are gaining psychic awareness of physical events, people, places, and objects, you are developing subtle etheric awareness.
Awareness, no matter the level of density of the energy you are working with, is the first step (in my belief) of beginning subtle energy work, continuing on to beginning projection. Whether you are detaching your subtle body or you are expanding and shifting your consciousness will be up to you to decide your belief of, though in concept, the end result is the same; you have the awareness of a new plane of existence and the capability of moving around in it.
Coming back to the rope pulling technique, which you stated as pulling up, is actually interesting as it falls in line with this idea of the levels of density of energy of the planes (the "bottom" being our physical, "middle" our etheric, and "upper" being our astral or cosmic understanding of physical and subtle reality). The rope, in this technique, is not as important as the actual way of "ascending" consciousness as it is merely a means to an end; the means being the way of getting your conscious mind to understand that it is shifting in awareness.
Now the astral or cosmic plane (I prefer the term cosmic as it has less preconfigured connotations to worry about, given the history of occultism and actually allowing your mind to move past such ideas) is a lot easier to work with because of the associations of the mind and awareness and it has no actual direct ties to anything physical as it is adjacent to the etheric plane rather than the physical plane; thus it allows your mind to free itself of any expectations at all (which is honestly what you'll want as many things in occultism are honestly about unlearning preconfigured concepts, developing your own understanding of subtle reality, and about becoming aware of things you didn't know you were aware of before).
Now, the cosmic plane is not linear as it is not bound by physical limitations of space and time. It is said that everything that ever was, is, and will be happens all at once in the cosmic plane, allowing you to explore essentially all of reality; just keep in mind that we can only truly experience what our minds interpret. This is important for the next step because the parts of our minds that can identify nonlinear aspects of reality is our subconscious mind in that it deals with emotions, abstract concepts, instinct, primal awareness, and everything else that can't be calculated or written about in a linear manner.
This is why it is important for many to realize that to aid in expanding and/or shifting your awareness, you have to connect to the subconscious mind via altered states of consciousness. We have four different states of consciousness that are recorded and researched (Gamma is not researched as well and most sources actually forego mentioning it altogether) depending on the level of HZ (herz - cycles of electricity) our brain is producing at any given time. I'll explain a brief overview of them in bullet points.
Beta
12 - 40 HZ
Waking consciousness
Motor functions
Concentration
Alpha
8 - 12 HZ
Light altered (often called meditative) state
Creativity
Emotion
Relaxation
Theta
4 - 8 HZ
Dreams (REM stage of sleep)
Deep altered (often called trance) state
Delta
0 - 4 HZ
Dreamless sleep
Deep relaxation
Healing (as in our body speeds up replenishes itself during sleep)
When working with altered states of consciousness (A.S.C.s), we are working with the Alpha and Theta brainwave states. Any techniques to help induce creativity, psychic awareness, relaxation, and the like will aid in achieving the Alpha brainwave state. Any technique that involves deeper awareness will help in achieving the Theta brainwave state (and they're not that hard to look up online).
What's important to remember is that every one of us cycles through each state every day, so we already know how to shift consciousness levels and this is the part where you learn what you already knew. Ask yourself some of the questions presented in these bullet points.
What helps me get "in the zone"?
What is it like when I am first waking up or falling asleep (refer to hypnopompia and hypnogogia for further study)?
Have I ever felt like there was something "more" than what we physically sense? What was it like?
How will I incorporate techniques I learn from other people in a way that I will understand?
What has and hasn't worked for me so far? Why has it or hasn't it worked for me so far and what got me to such conclusions?
What are some other ways of looking at things?
Read through all of this, experiment, ask yourself these questions (and any more if you think of any that may be relevent), ask for second opinions, research different materials on the subject (and make sure they are from valid sources or, since the topic at hand is subjective, make sure the sources make sense to you), rinse, and repeat.
I love the feed back on this question. To clarify I am similar to you. I imagine a field or a forest to get to that relaxed state where I can move away from my physical self. However, I don't travel to "outer space" or an opposite plane of existence. I have use it to go see people I know. I see the field, then I imagine the route to the persons home. Is this AP? Or EP? Or something completely different.
The other interesting fact with me is I never read about it or asked about AP before I just did it. I have to have a couple of candles to start my focusing and can easily stay under/out of body about 15 to 30 minutes... or as long as I can concentrate.
Do you think that too much explanation could be complicating AP/EP for others?
