The astral plane is a plane or realm that forms a part of the fifth dimension, another part being the mental plane. Astral is our home in the more proper sense of the word, it is where we return life after life, and we also visit it in the hours of sleep in order to go through various things that our Being wants us to go there, things such as learning, experiencing, helping etc. Although in the morning we may remember only a small fraction of what happened there, it is a place that holds much value for our lives, without us really knowing it.

At a certain point in our spiritual unfoldment, we may find ourselves opening the doors of the conscious exploration of that higher dimension, simply because we feel ready to do it, knowing that it holds something special that is of a great benefit to our further spiritual development. And as our interest in astral travel grows, we are approaching the point of exploring it consciously. I say “consciously” because when we go there during the nocturnal hours, we are not conscious to the degree of knowing that we are in the astral plane.

Many wonder what to do upon reaching that dimension consciously, where to go, with whom to interact, what are the limits etc. All these are valid questions, and unless we have read the accounts of some astral explorers, we may not know much about what is there to do. In fact, even when we read the accounts of other people who went there and have done some stunning things, all that may fall short to how our own astral experience unfolds. That’s because an astral experience can be unique and personalized to our own spiritual need. Nonetheless, we may still benefit a lot by knowing at least a few things that are possible to do there, as there are times when people find themselves standing conscious outside their bodies and pondering what to do next.

It is important to know in advance what to do in the astral plane, to avoid the possibility of losing the experience by being pulled into a dream state when pondering upon it. For that reason, write down five or so goals (in order of importance) to do when in the astral plane, and memorize them. Like this, even if you won’t be able to achieve the first goal from that list, you may continue on trying to achieve the second, the third etc.

When it comes to goals, it really comes down to what you feel drawn to, but it is good to understand that the astral plane is a dimensional location that spans through many levels, from those low and heavy, to high astral levels that can appear paradisaical, as well as everything in between. The astral plane itself is not a paradise; that term is mostly attributed to dimensions higher up, but there are places in it that are reminiscent of it.

Unfortunately, many today want to go to the astral plane to spy on people or do some silly things, such as creating random things with their mind and creating situations for themselves based on egoic desires and fantasies. Having such goals means that, even if they manage to become conscious, they would most likely be stuck in lower astral plane, where only illusion and low spirits can be found. In short, it is a waste of precious time. I say “precious” because it is not necessarily easy to have and maintain an astral experience. It takes time and effort to learn that skill. I would hope that whoever applied that effort would have meaningful goals, because that’s how we can reach places of learning and knowledge. Generally speaking, the more we progress spiritually, the higher access we have to various levels of the astral plane, and beyond. Here are some goals that are reachable:

Explore your immediate surrounding

If you are new to astral travel, you first need to familiarize yourself with the astral plane. If you astral project into your room, or become conscious while dreaming in your house, look around yourself and see if there are things that are different from usual. See how it feels to touch an object, or pick up a book and see if you can read it, etc. Walk towards the exit of your house or flat, and then walk out to the street. Again, observe what is around you, pay attention to details.

By so doing, you are becoming more accustomed to the surroundings of the astral plane. You may find that not everything is the same as it is in the physical world. That may be for two reasons – the level of the astral counterpart of the physical world is not always exactly the same. It may also be that you are in a level above the counterpart level, in which you may see things that do not fully (or at all) correspond with the physical world. The higher up in astral levels you are, the less and less semblance will there be with the physical reality.

Get to know the physics of the astral plane (flying, teleporting, etc.)

The astral plane has fewer laws than this physical world in which we live, which makes it possible to do things such as flying, teleporting, moving through walls, seeing and participating in events of different timelines and parallel realities, etc. Therefore, it is useful to familiarize yourself with basic things such as how to move around the astral plane. Flying can be an exciting means of moving around, so take some self-guided lessons in that. You can try jumping with intention of flying, and then as you fly, you can direct yourself with intention towards a desire object or location. Just like in this world, intention plays a big role in the astral plane, and over there it is directly related to getting around. Another way to move fast is to look at a distant object and feel yourself being right there at it. However, the fastest way of all is to travel by speed of thought, in which you visualize a place and feel yourself there. Besides transportation, look at your astral body, examine it, see what you can do with it.

Learning about the elementals of nature

In the astral plane, you can meet and talk to the spirits of nature, also known as the elementals. These are the essences that move up in their evolving cycle in the Wheel of Samsara, and use plants, trees and minerals as their physical body. They can range from very playful and innocent (such as pixies and fairies), to very wise ones (such as sylphs). In the astral plane, you can invoke them in order to interact with them. Astral is the dimension where they are visible, so it’s possible to see them when walking through a forest, for example. This could be an interesting experiment that could change the way you look at nature. If you wish, you could also invoke a Deva, which is a higher intelligence that guides many elementals of a certain area or region, and see what they can teach you.

Invoking higher beings, spirit guides and your own Being

The most profound knowledge that we can receive in the astral plane, would be from advanced masters, angels, and beings of light in general. A lot of such spirits decided to stay in Creation in order to support the economy of the Absolute. They can tell us incredible things about the existence, Universe, life, death, and many other things that our mind could not even conceive of. When invoking them, it is good to invoke a spiritual being that you have already heard of and feel drawn towards. If you decide to do so, it is wise to have your questions prepared beforehand, because they are unlikely to come just for the purpose of saying hi. You need to have a good question.

Likewise with your inner Being, you can invoke any of its aspect (such as Divine Father, Divine Mother, Divine Spirit, Human Soul etc.) and ask them your prepared question. When it comes to the parts of the Being, they may choose not to appear but instead answer your question in a symbolic way, so that the place in which you are becomes the stage in which a teaching is given to you.

You could also invoke your spirit guide. Many people in the Gnostic circles confuse those for their own Being, but they are not the same. We do actually have guides that are fulfilling a certain purpose in helping us, and in order to do that they need to know a decent amount of things about us, a lot of which we ourselves do not know. They are usually invoked for the purpose of directing us in our higher learning process. They can be of help, and it can be interesting to meet them and talk to them, however a good thing to keep in mind is that their level of spiritual achievement may vary, and thus may know much less than a fully awakened being would know about us and about things in general.

(Continued in Part II)