Hello all,
for those who know, I have been dedicated on the path of lucid dreaming and ultimately astral projection.
I have had some success with lucid dreaming this summer but not on a consistent enough basis
my current routine is meditation anywhere from 10-15 minutes daily and trying to recall dreams
However I am a college student, and the life of studying, partying and girls has me too rooted to the material world and I feel like it is a great hinderance to any spiritual insight or progress I can make.
Does anybody have any tips to help me dissolve the ego, disassociate myself from my mind and my body, which I take great pride in, in order to experience the higher planes of reality?
All comments are appreciated.
Dissolving the ego isn't really a necessary component of lucid dreaming or astral projection, if that's all you're after.
Besides, true dissolution of the Ego is near impossible unless you wish to pursue what's often called the "Mystic's Death" and dissolve into cosmos entirely - otherwise you will always have the presence of Ego because it is a fundamental function of the individual Spirit.
Which isn't a problem at all, even Adepts possess a perfectly functioning Ego.
What you need, however, is control and discipline.
Astral projection is not a basic skill, it is an advanced one that requires the mastery of other basic skills in order to attain consistent results.
The basics revolve around mental mastery, a structured pursuit of mental control.
Any magical initiation worth its weight will instruct the student to train through mental disciplinary exercises in the beginning, because they are the foundation of all serious pursuits in magic - whether it be ceremonial magic, energy manipulation, or such things as astral projection.
You cannot reliably practice magic or engage with magical skills without a solid control of your mental being, and to a certain extent, even your physical being.
So let's look at it from the beginning:
A.
Have you first mastered thought control/Mindfullness meditation?
This is usually the first step in the pursuit of mental mastery.
If you are unfamiliar with the exercise, it is a meditation which revolves around watching your thoughts from a completely neutral position as a spectator. You cannot allow yourself to become engaged with the thoughts, you must only watch them as an unattached observer.
If you can successfully practice thought control for 10 or 15 minutes without being distracted or accidentally becoming absorbed into the thoughts you are watching, then you may consider this exercise complete.
B.
The step up from this exercise is what is often called "focal meditation".
There are different ways to practice this, but it usually revolves around two things:
1. Concentrating on an external object such as a candle flame, a spot on the wall, etc. can be anything.
The goal is to maintain perfect concentration on the chosen focal point for 10 minutes.
2. Instead of an external focal point, you can also choose a mental figment.
Basically, choose one specific thought or train of thought, and concentrate on this thought for 10 minutes.
It could be something like a melody being played on a piano, a visualization of an object, or imagining yourself in a particular place.
Once this exercise can be done perfectly for 10 minutes without distraction, you can move on to the last step of thought mastery.
C.
In the last two exercises, you have learned to disengage with your thoughts and impulses and observe them as a spectator, and also learned to concentrate your mind at will on a focal point, but the last step is learning to purge your mind of these things entirely and fundamentally master concentration.
This exercise is usually called "Void" meditation, and it is pretty self explanatory.
The objective is to hold a state of complete mental void for 10 minutes without any interruptions.
Literally, sitting down and keeping your mind completely devoid of thought, immediately banishing any that approach. This exercise can be considered complete when 10 minutes of void can be maintained without any breaks or intrusions of thought.
Once all of these exercises are mastered, you will have attained the basic mental mastery to effectively pursue such things as Astral projection or other skills.
You will also notice a complete transformation of your willpower and mental structure, and your emotions/impulses/thoughts will all have a much harder time controlling you.
For the most part, you will be in control of them instead of them being in control of you.
However, there are other exercises beyond these basics that should also be mastered.
There is a physical-mastery exercise related to the aforementioned exercises that will not only give you further self control on a physical level, but is also a helpful addition to the practice of Astral Projection.
Related to the "Asana" practice in some traditions, it is basically a form of physical meditation.
In this exercise, you must sit in a meditative position of your preference, and then maintain absolute stillness for 10 minutes.
You must ignore all impulses to move, to itch or fidget, or to get lost in mental wandering.
Once this exercise is mastered, you will find yourself with an even greater degree of willpower and physical self control, and it will be very easy for you to manage yourself in your material life.
It will also prepare you for the state of stillness you need to maintain while practicing such things as trance or Astral Projection.
There are other exercises and details necessary for the practice of astral projection, but they are not relevant to your concern of material matters, so I will cease.
Dissolution of the ego is not necessary for any serious pursuit of astral projection, just need discipline and self-control.
