[Help] Overattachment to the physical body

[Lemongrass00]

Hello all, I have briefly mentioned this to others here but I have a theory that one of the reasons my progress is so slow with perceiving and projecting to the Astral and Etheric planes is due to my physical body.

To elaborate, I take pride in my appearance and care a lot about it, additionally I eat very healthy in order to exercise and perform at an advance to elite level.

I have been working on consolidating my desire to be strong and perform well, with being able to perceive the subtle energies of these other planes.

I feel that my ego associated with my body, as well as being healthy and strong has caused me to become more grounded in the physical, making it harder to perceive and separate from my physical body.

I am not willing to give up on my physical goals and pursuits, so I will have to deal with the slow progress and can hopefully achieve success through more intensive practice. Does anybody have any opinions on my theory or any advice to give?

 

[Diluculo_DelFuego]

Yoga might be a solution, lust for results is always a thing. My opinion, I know nothing about astral projection/OOBE.

 

[Al-Zalaam]

Hello all, I have briefly mentioned this to others here but I have a theory that one of the reasons my progress is so slow with perceiving and projecting to the Astral and Etheric planes is due to my physical body.

To elaborate, I take pride in my appearance and care a lot about it, additionally I eat very healthy in order to exercise and perform at an advance to elite level.

I have been working on consolidating my desire to be strong and perform well, with being able to perceive the subtle energies of these other planes.

I feel that my ego associated with my body, as well as being healthy and strong has caused me to become more grounded in the physical, making it harder to perceive and separate from my physical body.

I am not willing to give up on my physical goals and pursuits, so I will have to deal with the slow progress and can hopefully achieve success through more intensive practice. Does anybody have any opinions on my theory or any advice to give?

Your "vanity" and your physical body itself probably has very little to do with your progress with Mental/Astral Travelling.
It is entirely a mental skill, not a physical one.
And if scumbag sorcerers throughout the ages could achieve astral projection to do all sorts of dastardly deeds, I'm sure a normal practitioner with a dash of body-conscientiousness can do it just fine too.

You just happen to have an interest in a skill that sits in the loftier heights of magic. There is nothing novice about it, it is an advance skill that requires the mastery of other basic skills in order to achieve consistent, controllable results. Without this preparatory work, results will always be fleeting and difficult to achieve, and you will need whatever odd techniques and external auxiliaries you can find combined with the luck of god to get any good results.

Have you at least mastered the imagination? This is the bare minimum that you need to effectively engage with Astral or Mental Projection.
Trying to engage with these skills without the mastery of imagination is like trying to run without legs.

The imagination is the crucial tool of Mental Projection, because it is in itself the most elementary form of mental projection. The Mental Body/Spirit isn't rigidly bound to its position or space like the lower Astral and Physical bodies, it changes shape and form at will and freely follows the concentration of the Consciousness.
And the development of the imagination is the very first step that a practitioner takes into the practice of mental travel.

When you imagine an object, you aren't merely recalling a sensory impression in the brain, you are projecting your Mental Body/Consciousness into a mental figment, therefore taking on the shape and form of this figment.
The more effective your imagination is, the more effectively your Consciousness projects into the subject of the imagination.
This is why, at high levels of practice, it will seem as if the world around you just disappears and you lose touch with the physical sphere when you are imagining something.

Once mastery of the imagination is attained, this elementary form of mental projection is taken further through the practice of the transference of the Consciousness (I think it is sometimes called depth-point meditation in modern communities).
In this practice, one shifts from just projecting into the figments of the imagination, to projection into actual external objects.

The difference here is that instead of simply creating a mental form resembling an object that our consciousness projects into, we specifically direct our consciousness into the center of a physical object positioned in the material sphere using the previously developed skill of imagination.

Not only is this the first "recognizable" form of Mental Projection in the perspective of occultists, it is also a basic form of shape-shifting.
When this skill is thoroughly mastered, not only will you be able to transfer your consciousness into any object, you will also be able to project into any person or animal, putting yourself into a position to perceive their thoughts/feelings/qualities, and etc., as well as giving you the ability to take control over them.

After this skill is mastered, it is again expanded further, this time into the well-known skill of Mental Projection/Mental Travel.
Here, instead of transferring your consciousness into specific physical targets, you project yourself into locations within your immediate vicinity(i.e. your room).
At first you begin with close locations you are intimately familiar with like your home, but as you progress, you practice with more distant locations like places in your city, then finally into locations anywhere on the planet.

Now once this skill is mastered, you will already possess most of the skill necessary for Astral Projection.
The only difference between Mental Projection and Astral Projection is the presence of your Astral Body alongside your Mental Body wherever you are projecting, and this is achieved with a simple technique that somewhat resembles energy work.

In the beginning, you perform normal Mental Projection right beside your body where it lies.
With your physical body in sight, which is still housing your Astral Body as well, you use the power of your imagination to "pull" your Astral Body from its tethered position in the physical body into alignment with your Mental Body.
As you become more proficient with this skill, you will no longer need to be near your Physical body in order to summon the Astral Body.
And eventually, you will be able to project your Mental and Astral Bodies altogether.

It should be mentioned, however, that during Astral Projection, the tether between the Physical and Astral Bodies will exist in a hyper-extended state, making it fragile and delicate.
It is very important that your physical body remains undisturbed during this operation, because if your body is touched by others during this state, it may disrupt and break this tether, causing your immediate death.

Anyways, of course with all these skills in hand, you will be entirely free to travel not just anywhere on the physical sphere, but to any of the Mental and Astral Zones you may wish to visit as well.

This is the functional path of pursuing the skill of Mental/Astral Travel.

Imagination (elementary mental projection) -> Transference of the Consciousness -> Mental Projection -> Astral Projection

Without this conscientious development brick-by-brick, it will always be an extremely difficult skill with inconsistent results.

 

[KjEno186]

I agree with @Heydi that your physical body development has nothing to do with your current seeming "inability" to project. You are to be commended for the level of self discipline required to maintain your physical body in good condition.

What Heydi describes is similar to the Body of Light technique promoted by those of the Golden Dawn tradition. Rather than going into all that here, I'd just say read this book (if you haven't already). It is better than most books I've read concerning the nature of the mind in relation to the physical plane:

Book – PDF - The Astral Projection Workbook: How to Achieve Out-of-Body Experiences by J. H. Brennan

https://mega.nz/file/5yh1iaLQ#2g2eGmVeAU6YP83JD8_iDCmrZH1PoPBWt47fSwnCcxE

wizardforums.com

Imagination is the key. But you cannot force it like you would, say, a workout exercise where you make yourself do "one more rep." We all dream every night. I've been keeping a dream diary now for over a year. I have a notebook with pages and pages of handwritten scribblings of fragments of dreams that I used to assist in recalling them first thing in the morning into my actual dream diary. I no longer have to write down any details in a notebook; I just recall dreams. It's not perfect. It cannot be forced. It requires a certain knack, for lack of a better term. My intent to recall dreams has, with gentle persistence, resulted in a gradual ability to do so more often and in greater detail as memories. And so, the ability to transcend the physical senses, whether in lucid dreams or astral projections, requires intention, imagination, and that certain "knack" which cannot be forced.

 

[Lemongrass00]

Your "vanity" and your physical body itself probably has very little to do with your progress with Mental/Astral Travelling.
It is entirely a mental skill, not a physical one.
And if scumbag sorcerers throughout the ages could achieve astral projection to do all sorts of dastardly deeds, I'm sure a normal practitioner with a dash of body-conscientiousness can do it just fine too.

You just happen to have an interest in a skill that sits in the loftier heights of magic. There is nothing novice about it, it is an advance skill that requires the mastery of other basic skills in order to achieve consistent, controllable results. Without this preparatory work, results will always be fleeting and difficult to achieve, and you will need whatever odd techniques and external auxiliaries you can find combined with the luck of god to get any good results.

Have you at least mastered the imagination? This is the bare minimum that you need to effectively engage with Astral or Mental Projection.
Trying to engage with these skills without the mastery of imagination is like trying to run without legs.

The imagination is the crucial tool of Mental Projection, because it is in itself the most elementary form of mental projection. The Mental Body/Spirit isn't rigidly bound to its position or space like the lower Astral and Physical bodies, it changes shape and form at will and freely follows the concentration of the Consciousness.
And the development of the imagination is the very first step that a practitioner takes into the practice of mental travel.

When you imagine an object, you aren't merely recalling a sensory impression in the brain, you are projecting your Mental Body/Consciousness into a mental figment, therefore taking on the shape and form of this figment.
The more effective your imagination is, the more effectively your Consciousness projects into the subject of the imagination.
This is why, at high levels of practice, it will seem as if the world around you just disappears and you lose touch with the physical sphere when you are imagining something.

Once mastery of the imagination is attained, this elementary form of mental projection is taken further through the practice of the transference of the Consciousness (I think it is sometimes called depth-point meditation in modern communities).
In this practice, one shifts from just projecting into the figments of the imagination, to projection into actual external objects.

The difference here is that instead of simply creating a mental form resembling an object that our consciousness projects into, we specifically direct our consciousness into the center of a physical object positioned in the material sphere using the previously developed skill of imagination.

Not only is this the first "recognizable" form of Mental Projection in the perspective of occultists, it is also a basic form of shape-shifting.
When this skill is thoroughly mastered, not only will you be able to transfer your consciousness into any object, you will also be able to project into any person or animal, putting yourself into a position to perceive their thoughts/feelings/qualities, and etc., as well as giving you the ability to take control over them.

After this skill is mastered, it is again expanded further, this time into the well-known skill of Mental Projection/Mental Travel.
Here, instead of transferring your consciousness into specific physical targets, you project yourself into locations within your immediate vicinity(i.e. your room).
At first you begin with close locations you are intimately familiar with like your home, but as you progress, you practice with more distant locations like places in your city, then finally into locations anywhere on the planet.

Now once this skill is mastered, you will already possess most of the skill necessary for Astral Projection.
The only difference between Mental Projection and Astral Projection is the presence of your Astral Body alongside your Mental Body wherever you are projecting, and this is achieved with a simple technique that somewhat resembles energy work.

In the beginning, you perform normal Mental Projection right beside your body where it lies.
With your physical body in sight, which is still housing your Astral Body as well, you use the power of your imagination to "pull" your Astral Body from its tethered position in the physical body into alignment with your Mental Body.
As you become more proficient with this skill, you will no longer need to be near your Physical body in order to summon the Astral Body.
And eventually, you will be able to project your Mental and Astral Bodies altogether.

It should be mentioned, however, that during Astral Projection, the tether between the Physical and Astral Bodies will exist in a hyper-extended state, making it fragile and delicate.
It is very important that your physical body remains undisturbed during this operation, because if your body is touched by others during this state, it may disrupt and break this tether, causing your immediate death.

Anyways, of course with all these skills in hand, you will be entirely free to travel not just anywhere on the physical sphere, but to any of the Mental and Astral Zones you may wish to visit as well.

This is the functional path of pursuing the skill of Mental/Astral Travel.

Imagination (elementary mental projection) -> Transference of the Consciousness -> Mental Projection -> Astral Projection

Without this conscientious development brick-by-brick, it will always be an extremely difficult skill with inconsistent results.

Wow, very well written. Thank you for this.

I have not heard of imagination training specifically, will definitely look into it, but I am glad it is considered an advanced skill because the results really are quite slow except for the occasional lucid dream.

 

[stalkinghyena]

Lemongrass, have you ever tried any type of "pathworking"? If not, there are various forms and instructions, but the essence is to take an image and let your mind wander through it in exploration. It's a "controlled daydream" that gives your mind somewhere to go and in which you can exercise other skills like projection. The image could be something as simple as a nature photograph or more complex as the cabalistic Tree of Life with its symbol packed spheres of consciousness arranged in a map. This can help build "the body of light" over time. It can also improve your memory and associative skills. Using Tarot decks is a classic example, any style will do. In the process of exploration you gradually can attain to the necessary trance state where you can feel out the next steps, which may come as a revelation but also seem quite natural. However, if your mind ever wanders into random "flotsam and jetsam" states, as I call them , you can just return to the image as a sort of baseline. As you examine the image, you may gain greater sensory awareness of objects in the image, but also the deeper meaning behind the energetic patterns which may attain to greater form, and these impressions can be mutually reinforcing. Most important in the immediate sense is that use of images gives your subtle body a sense of steps and goals to fulfill. Image exploration can also be done before sleep to aid in dreaming.

Another trick comes from Carlos Casteneda, where you train yourself to see your own hands in your dreams. According to this art, once you see your hands, your mind should attain a lucid state that allows access to different levels of reality.

 

[Lemongrass00]

Lemongrass, have you ever tried any type of "pathworking"? If not, there are various forms and instructions, but the essence is to take an image and let your mind wander through it in exploration. It's a "controlled daydream" that gives your mind somewhere to go and in which you can exercise other skills like projection. The image could be something as simple as a nature photograph or more complex as the cabalistic Tree of Life with its symbol packed spheres of consciousness arranged in a map. This can help build "the body of light" over time. It can also improve your memory and associative skills. Using Tarot decks is a classic example, any style will do. In the process of exploration you gradually can attain to the necessary trance state where you can feel out the next steps, which may come as a revelation but also seem quite natural. However, if your mind ever wanders into random "flotsam and jetsam" states, as I call them , you can just return to the image as a sort of baseline. As you examine the image, you may gain greater sensory awareness of objects in the image, but also the deeper meaning behind the energetic patterns which may attain to greater form, and these impressions can be mutually reinforcing. Most important in the immediate sense is that use of images gives your subtle body a sense of steps and goals to fulfill. Image exploration can also be done before sleep to aid in dreaming.

Another trick comes from Carlos Casteneda, where you train yourself to see your own hands in your dreams. According to this art, once you see your hands, your mind should attain a lucid state that allows access to different levels of reality.

Honestly no, I have never tried pathworking or Kabbalah in general. So in meditation or before sleeping I would think of an image and let myself wander through it until I achieve a trance state? I will most definitely try this, and you said your preference is Tarot? I am also quite unfamiliar with Tarot, as I have concentrated all my efforts on energy work and projection work.

 

[Al-Zalaam]

Wow, very well written. Thank you for this.

I have not heard of imagination training specifically, will definitely look into it, but I am glad it is considered an advanced skill because the results really are quite slow except for the occasional lucid dream.

The imagination training I am referring to is the very same development of the imagination that practitioners of direct-magic go through.

Also, while I'm sure occultists have found other ways to explore projection using dreamwork/trancing/whatever else, I'd like to clarify that the method I was referring to in my original post makes no use of such things.
It works the exact same way that a practitioner of direct magic would perform any normal feat of magic.

Here, assuming you had all the necessary skills I laid out, you would simply sit or lie down, then use your powerfully-refined imagination to operate projection directly, without any other kind of aid or the use of altered states of consciousness.
It is a straightforward, relatively instantaneous method.
But it is only possible if you have thoroughly mastered the fundamental skill of the imagination and the transference of the consciousness.

but I am glad it is considered an advanced skill because the results really are quite slow

Are you referring to the development of your imagination in this sentence?
If so, then there may be deeper issues slowing your progress.

Developing each imaginary sense shouldn't take any more than a few months each at the most - if this isn't the case, then that may be a sign that there are deficiencies in your mental development keeping you from properly progressing.
On the other hand, it could also be your technique in practice.

I would recommend exploring your imaginary senses and seeing if there is one particular sense you find easier than the rest.
If so, it would be wise to develop that sense so that it gives you a good idea of how to develop the rest of your senses.
In Rawn Clark's Bardon Companion, he mentions that he met a student that had been stuck on the Visual sense for years with no progress, but Rawn noticed that the student had a natural talent for the auditory sense.
He instructed the student to hold off on Visualization, and instead focus on developing his auditory sense instead.

The student found that he was able to master the auditory sense in less than two weeks, and doing so give him a deeper understanding of the development of the imagination as a whole, and he went on to master the rest of the individual senses in the weeks that followed.

If you find that there isn't really any particular sense that sticks out to you, and you wish to continue with visualization, then you may wish to examine your technique.

Personally speaking, I wasn't able to make any progress in visualization until I approached it from a very methodical, incremental perspective.
For nearly a decade, I had fruitlessly practiced nearly every day for a half hour or more each session, but recently I had made a change to my technique in practice that finally started to get me somewhere.
Beforehand, I would merely sit down with a few objects in front of me and try to visualize each of them in a generic fashion until I got tired - which of course got me nowhere after all this time.
But recently, I have begun approaching every object with a very structured pursuit of progress:

First, I take one object, give it a good look and try to remember a reasonable degree of its details, like normal.
But then, instead of simply trying to visualize the object in a generic fashion for the next five minutes or so, I start very very small, with very concise technique.
I close my eyes and imagine the object to the best of my ability, then solely focus on sustaining this static image while counting down from a predetermined duration. The visual fidelity is not important here in the beginning, all that matters is that I hold on to this conjured image with all my might for the duration of the countdown.

At first, I only started with 5 seconds.
If I succeeded, I would move on to another object. If not, I would repeat it until I did. This would continue until I had completed about 10 or so minutes of total practice, or I became tired.

In this perspective, every few seconds gained with the visualization of an object is a wonderful success. I started with only 5 seconds, but very soon I found that I could succeed with 10 seconds, then 20, then 30, and here I am currently with a full minute of success with any object. The fidelity of the image has also gradually improved automatically.
In only a week, I had gotten further with visualization than I had in a decade prior. And considering the fact that 5 minutes of success is the recommended standard for the completion of this particular practice, it seems likely that I will achieve that in the near future at the current pace.

Now, if you find that even with good technique that you cannot develop the imagination, then there may be a deeper mental deficiency that can only be remedied by taking a step back from the development of the imagination, and swinging back to your mental development.

The exercises in question are the various thought-control exercises which develop control over the fundamental consciousness, which I'm sure I have explained to you before.
Thought Control/Mindfulness Meditation, Thought Discipline/Focal Meditation, and Thought Vacancy/Void Meditation.

Before I recently made the aforementioned change to my practice of visualization, I had spent the last few months prior refreshing my mental development because I found that it had regressed somewhat, and I'm sure that my decision to remedy this weakness is a factor in my present success with visualization as well.

In my original post, I stated that Mental Projection is a lofty brick that lies upon the bricks underneath, namely the Transference of Consciousness exercise and the development of the imagination - but these bricks which support the Mental Projection above it also have their own bricks supporting them underneath, namely the Mental exercises/Thought Control.

This is why good courses of initiation like the IIH have you start from ground zero with Mental Development.
All the magical skills that occultists are so desperate for are skills which lie upon other skills....... which then also lie upon other skills.
You can't build a good house without a good foundation, and you can't be a good practitioner without a solid mental foundation and all the bricks between it and the higher skills you are reaching for.
Otherwise, practitioners are in for a rough and sluggish path of magic.

 

[killing raven sun]

I feel that my ego associated with my body, as well as being healthy and strong has caused me to become more grounded in the physical, making it harder to perceive and separate from my physical body

there it is then, you get what you want, always

i would examine your motivation for oobe, what are you ultimately trying to achieve?

 

[Lemongrass00]

The imagination training I am referring to is the very same development of the imagination that practitioners of direct-magic go through.

Also, while I'm sure occultists have found other ways to explore projection using dreamwork/trancing/whatever else, I'd like to clarify that the method I was referring to in my original post makes no use of such things.
It works the exact same way that a practitioner of direct magic would perform any normal feat of magic.

Here, assuming you had all the necessary skills I laid out, you would simply sit or lie down, then use your powerfully-refined imagination to operate projection directly, without any other kind of aid or the use of altered states of consciousness.
It is a straightforward, relatively instantaneous method.
But it is only possible if you have thoroughly mastered the fundamental skill of the imagination and the transference of the consciousness.



Are you referring to the development of your imagination in this sentence?
If so, then there may be deeper issues slowing your progress.

Developing each imaginary sense shouldn't take any more than a few months each at the most - if this isn't the case, then that may be a sign that there are deficiencies in your mental development keeping you from properly progressing.
On the other hand, it could also be your technique in practice.

I would recommend exploring your imaginary senses and seeing if there is one particular sense you find easier than the rest.
If so, it would be wise to develop that sense so that it gives you a good idea of how to develop the rest of your senses.
In Rawn Clark's Bardon Companion, he mentions that he met a student that had been stuck on the Visual sense for years with no progress, but Rawn noticed that the student had a natural talent for the auditory sense.
He instructed the student to hold off on Visualization, and instead focus on developing his auditory sense instead.

The student found that he was able to master the auditory sense in less than two weeks, and doing so give him a deeper understanding of the development of the imagination as a whole, and he went on to master the rest of the individual senses in the weeks that followed.

If you find that there isn't really any particular sense that sticks out to you, and you wish to continue with visualization, then you may wish to examine your technique.

Personally speaking, I wasn't able to make any progress in visualization until I approached it from a very methodical, incremental perspective.
For nearly a decade, I had fruitlessly practiced nearly every day for a half hour or more each session, but recently I had made a change to my technique in practice that finally started to get me somewhere.
Beforehand, I would merely sit down with a few objects in front of me and try to visualize each of them in a generic fashion until I got tired - which of course got me nowhere after all this time.
But recently, I have begun approaching every object with a very structured pursuit of progress:

First, I take one object, give it a good look and try to remember a reasonable degree of its details, like normal.
But then, instead of simply trying to visualize the object in a generic fashion for the next five minutes or so, I start very very small, with very concise technique.
I close my eyes and imagine the object to the best of my ability, then solely focus on sustaining this static image while counting down from a predetermined duration. The visual fidelity is not important here in the beginning, all that matters is that I hold on to this conjured image with all my might for the duration of the countdown.

At first, I only started with 5 seconds.
If I succeeded, I would move on to another object. If not, I would repeat it until I did. This would continue until I had completed about 10 or so minutes of total practice, or I became tired.

In this perspective, every few seconds gained with the visualization of an object is a wonderful success. I started with only 5 seconds, but very soon I found that I could succeed with 10 seconds, then 20, then 30, and here I am currently with a full minute of success with any object. The fidelity of the image has also gradually improved automatically.
In only a week, I had gotten further with visualization than I had in a decade prior. And considering the fact that 5 minutes of success is the recommended standard for the completion of this particular practice, it seems likely that I will achieve that in the near future at the current pace.

Now, if you find that even with good technique that you cannot develop the imagination, then there may be a deeper mental deficiency that can only be remedied by taking a step back from the development of the imagination, and swinging back to your mental development.

The exercises in question are the various thought-control exercises which develop control over the fundamental consciousness, which I'm sure I have explained to you before.
Thought Control/Mindfulness Meditation, Thought Discipline/Focal Meditation, and Thought Vacancy/Void Meditation.

Before I recently made the aforementioned change to my practice of visualization, I had spent the last few months prior refreshing my mental development because I found that it had regressed somewhat, and I'm sure that my decision to remedy this weakness is a factor in my present success with visualization as well.

In my original post, I stated that Mental Projection is a lofty brick that lies upon the bricks underneath, namely the Transference of Consciousness exercise and the development of the imagination - but these bricks which support the Mental Projection above it also have their own bricks supporting them underneath, namely the Mental exercises/Thought Control.

This is why good courses of initiation like the IIH have you start from ground zero with Mental Development.
All the magical skills that occultists are so desperate for are skills which lie upon other skills....... which then also lie upon other skills.
You can't build a good house without a good foundation, and you can't be a good practitioner without a solid mental foundation and all the bricks between it and the higher skills you are reaching for.
Otherwise, practitioners are in for a rough and sluggish path of magic.

Amazing and thoughtful reply, I am very grateful I am able to reap the wisdom you have gained through years of experience.

I will immediately start the imagination training, as I was completely neglecting that aspect.

maybe I will partake in the course you mentioned, definitely thoroughly research it. Having some structure instead of trying to piece together a plan through different authors and posts will definitely be an improvement.

thanks again friend!

Post automatically merged: Mar 29, 2023

there it is then, you get what you want, always

i would examine your motivation for oobe, what are you ultimately trying to achieve?

A complete mastery of myself, a complete integration of my “Shadow” as Jung would put it. Also to itch the burning desire to explore other planes of reality.

 

[killing raven sun]

I will immediately start the imagination training

excellent, this is fundamental

to attain mastery of self, to enslave the ego, requires intention, a holding in the mind of an energy and the will to act it out

to the degree you can do this with cult like mind control you will be successful

the problem with most is fear, subtle or gross, that creeps in, doubts and loss of faith, terror at the prospect of winning, this will ruin your abilities, fear must be destroyed completely

i reccomend pranayama as a first tool to consciously control fear, fill your self with life energy and take control of your brain, dont let it make you feel thoughts physically through hormones, tell your mind to use your brain chemicals to control the expression of reality around you

i find adrenaline is easy to learn how to produce on command and will enable you to act effectively in any crisis, i have done the "incredible feats of strength" thing a few times, once, i cheated death and was able to heal my broken back in a few months from a motorcycle accident without any medical intervention, and during my recovery i realized it was easier to "not have" accidents than it is to heal

 

[stalkinghyena]

So in meditation or before sleeping I would think of an image and let myself wander through it until I achieve a trance state?

Yeah, definitely experiment as you will. But if you would like an example, have you ever seen the green pyramid poster that originally came in the original vinyl record jacket of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon? When I was a teenager I had that poster up on the wall across from my bed, so when I laid down I could see it. I used to let my mind wander into it, trying to sense everything, and could feel the hot green sun and the sand with bits of gravel under my feet. As I lost any sense of my physical body, I would go further, looking for ways into the pyramids. I stopped doing this after I went to the other side of the pyramids. There was an abandoned village of block houses that was kind of sinister. I sensed some sort of force there that felt potentially hostile and wanted to follow me back into the material world. That kind of creeped me out, and I even now I still feel like it's waiting there for me to return. Now that I am better armed with understanding, maybe I will and see what's up.

you said your preference is Tarot?

It's a good tool, but not the only one. It's really helpful in organizing visionary states, particularly in relation to cabalistics. Any symbol or system of symbols can act as doorways but also anchors to get back. Mostly I stick with abstract symbols now, but I used the Tarot a lot for journeying back in the day. Now I mostly use it for divination in conjunction with other systems.

 

[Diluculo_DelFuego]

I always wondered why Builders of the Adytum recommended buying their posters of the Tree of Life besides for money. Now I see path working opportunities for each sephira. Thanks for the info on the Pink Floyd poster, will try to find it.

 

[Taudefindi]

I feel that my ego associated with my body, as well as being healthy and strong has caused me to become more grounded in the physical, making it harder to perceive and separate from my physical body.

I never had a problem with AP so I can't really even explain how to do it.
The most I can suggest is that the same way you dedicate time to your physical pursuits, you should also dedicate time to mental pursuits.
For example, work more on daydreaming, or just simple imagination work.

The more you develop your mental side, maybe the more open your mind you'll become to AP.
This is just a guess though.