The question of prerequisites for astral travel often arises in the minds of the people interested to learn this precious skill. “What is necessary? Can someone like me learn it? How long does it take?” etc. etc. These are just some of the many questions, but the criteria for it is often time neglected. Everybody is convinced that they can learn it if they apply sufficient effort. And this is true to an extent – it is definitely possible to experience the sensations of astral projection, or even full conscious split of the astral body from the physical, and perhaps even seeing what is out there in the lower astral plane. This is possible for more or less everyone who develops the ability of concentration and relaxation up to a certain point. However, to go beyond these initial stages, there is criteria that needs to be met.

When I started with serious training to learn how to astral travel I was in my early 20’s, and it always amazed me the amount of people who were in the age group 13-20 years of age who also wanted to learn it, yet the immature goals that they had was obviously keeping them away from reaching the astral plane, and yet they complained over and over why it is not happening to them; some of the most popular of such goals being astral sex, spying on others, fighting etc.

One of the first criteria is obviously a good level of maturity, in which we understand that astral plane is a higher level of existence, beyond the theatrical stage of the physical world. We need to understand, though not believing blindly, that the astral world holds answers to many of our questions, and that only a serious seeker can gain access to them. If our prominent goals are the fulfillment of worldly desires on a grander scale, we will not make any significant progress in truly learning the skill of astral projection. We will be stuck in the muddy levels of the sub-astral planes and will never see what is really out there.

Another important thing to understand is that our universe with all dimensions in it is not the chance product of meaningless and random evolutionary processes of nature. There are laws that govern our universe and there are higher beings that administer them and that make sure that the mechanism of the economy of the universe is on the right track according to the original Purpose. Therefore, when a person aspires to find the answers to important questions of life in the astral plane and they are serious in doing what is necessary to achieve it, they will soon realize that the access to such astral levels is reserved to those who have fulfilled the criteria and have deserved access to them. And what is the criteria?

We could simply say, living an upright life. Goodness, purity, and compassion are some of the prominent characteristics that are integral part of a higher form of  life – the life reserved for those who graduated from this three-dimensional school in which we currently find ourselves in. And these qualities are the prerequisites that will grant us access to the astral plane and to knowledge contained therein. The latter however is given to us according to our capacity to understand, and the understanding increases as we do the Inner Work.

There is a lot involved in the process of astral projection. We often time think that it is us achieving it on our own accord, but after a long time I have come to learn that this is not so. There is part of us that most people are not aware of; a higher aspect of ourselves. And it is that which, not only helps us and guides us in our spiritual and astral pursuits, but also gives us these experiences, according to our merits, the inner change that we achieved, and how important to us it is to learn how to astral travel.

HDP, May 2019.