THE PROJECTION OF THE ASTRAL BODY

SYLVAN J. MULDOON

THE PROJECTION OFTHE ASTRAL BODY

BySYLVAN J. MULDOON

AND

HEREWARD CARRINGTONAUTHOR OF "YOUR PSYCHIC POWERS : AND HOW TO DEVELOP THEM"

as HIGHER PSYCHICAL DEVELOPMENT ;" "MODERN PSYCHICAL PHENOMENA," RTC.

" In my opinion, it is this . . . notion of a subtle body,which for so many centuries has played the dominant r8le inthe traditional psychology of both the East and the West,that is most deserving of being retried, reviewed and revised ;to serve as a working hypothesis to co-ordinate and explain avery large number of these puzzling psychical phenomena ."

G. R. S. MEAD, in The Subtle Body .

"These self-projections represent the most extraordinaryachievements of the human will, and, are perhaps acts whicha man might perform equally well before and after death ."

F. W. H. MYERS, in Human Personality .

LONDON : RIDER 3 CO.PATERNOSTER HOUSE, E;C.

1929

t

First Published . . . February, 1929ReprintedAugust, 1929

Printed in Great Britain atThe Mayflower Press, Plymouth . William Brandon & Son, Ltd.

01

PREFACE

WHEN my first out-of-the-body experiences occurred Iwas but twelve-so young and immature in mind thatI did not realize their magnitude . The occurrencescame about involuntarily and repeated themselves fre-quently, until I became so accustomed to them that, as a matter offact, I soon regarded them as nothing extraordinary and seldommentioned them even to members of my own family, to say nothingof keeping a record of them, although I had been urged to do so bymany interested persons .

I had been told, by persons professing to know, that consciousprojection of the astral body was nothing unusual, and that manypsychics could produce it at will. I, too, wanted to be able toproduce it at will, and I admit that I was envious of those who (Ihad heard) could do so . So I began a search for some one who couldproduce the phenomenon voluntarily . But my search provedfruitless, and eventually I concluded that I could not find that" some one." Thus I began to experiment with the phenomenonmyself, and in this book you will find the results of my experiments .

Although we are living in the twentieth century we still have withus the intolerance of the Middle Ages, and I am not optimisticenough to believe that a great many will read without prejudicewhat I have to say . I have written this work with the idea of givingthe results of my findings to other students of the occult. Unfor-tunately many occultists are of the belief that what is claimed to beconscious astral projection is nothing more nor less than a dream .

I am well aware of the fact that one must first experignce consciousastral projection before he can believe in it, and I confess that Ishould not accept it as true myself, perhaps, had I not experiencedit and know it to be true. The sceptic says, " I want the-proof, theobjective proof, then I will believe it ! "

And the projector replies, " You cannot have objective proof .You must experience it, then you will have the proof." The argu-ment that the projector cannot prove to the sceptic that it is not adream is of no avail ; for neither can the sceptic prove to the pro-jector that it is a dream. Thus argument is useless-as useless asarguing the matter of a first cause or a last effect !

I stand on a clear-cut issue. I say experience it . " The proof ofthe pudding is in the eating ! " I have not tried to conceal anything

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PREFACEnor resorted to pseudo-arguments about the " dangers " involved,which is a common characteristic of most writers on this subject . Ihave given the specific methods for bringing about the projection ofthe astral body, as I know them, and I am willing to have the truthof my statements judged squarely by the results' obtained throughthe practice of these methods. You want proof, and I say you canhave itbut you must experience it. You want to know how youcan experience it, and I tell you how to go about it . I can do nomore.

In this volume I have related many of my experiences ; however,the experiences I have given do not in any way represent all whichI have had ; a book this size could scarcely hold the accounts of allof them. I could never .have gleaned the information which is con-tained herein by the few experiences which I have quoted .

The average human being is not interested in the experiences ofothers-he is interested in his own experiences ; and I have pre-supposed, in writing this book, that the reader wishes to know justhow the phenomenon is produced, and not merely to read experiences .Although, as I have stated, I am not optimistic enough to believethat many will read what I have to say without prejudice, I amoptimistic enough to believe that no one can give the methods whichI have outlined a conscientious and thorough trial, and not obtainresults .

Do not try to judge the book by reason alone . Judge it by experi-ment. I want no one to accept my word for what I have written .I say-experience it ! Follow the formula: and judge the merits ofmy statements afterwards . That is the time to judge--afterwards ;not in advance !

I have been accused of being " superstitious," because of my beliefin phantoms of the living and phantoms of the dead . Usually I findthat my accusers are themselves superstitious on other subjects !Recently a churchgoer told me that he did not understand how I,or any other person, could believe that he had a " ghost " insidehim. Yet this same critic professed to believe the Bible from coverto cover-even that " Christ gave up the ghost " at death !

On the other hand the Materialist believes that it is superstitionif anyone believes that the mind can exist apart from the brain .His theory is that the brain " oozes " thoughts, just as the liveroozes bile . And the Materialist (who cannot prove that the brainoozes thoughts) forgets that he cannot prove his argument-anddemands proof of the spiritist ! If you press the Materialist forproof, he will tell you that by experiment (by experiment, remember)it becomes evident that the brain produces thought . And that isabout the very thing the spiritist will tell you, viz ., by experiment itis evident that the brain does not produce thought ! Both Materialistand Spiritist must throw away " reason " and resort to experi-ment.

PREFACE

viiAnd that is all I ask the reader to do, to convince himself of the

merits of what I have written : throw away reason and try experi-ment . It is my hope that all who are successful, even those whoproduce minor results (by following the methods contained herein),will make those results known to me : for I wish to collect theevidence I I take -this opportunity to express my thanks to Mr .Carrington for his valuable co-operation and assistance ; and to myfiancee, Miss Goodrich, for her help in typing the manuscript .

S. M.

CONTENTSPAGE

PREFACE

VLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

xiiiINTRODUCTION . By H. CARRINGTON

XV

EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS .

Xxxvil

CHAPTER I

Existence of the Astral Body long known-My first conscious projection

r

CHAPTER II

Astral catalepsy-Types of projection-Astral somnambulism-Con-scious interruptions during astral somnambulism-Distant pointprojection-The phantom's three moving speeds-Morbidity anincentive to projection-Instantaneous astral exteriorization-Anephemeral conscious projection experience-Instantaneous projec-tion is not uncommon-Collision may cause astral exteriorization-A projection caused by a mis-step-The fundamental law of astralprojection-Intentional and unintentional projection both resultfrom the same causes-Meaning of physical " incapacity "-Whereand what is the conscious mind?-The hypnagogic state, neurosis andsleep-Sensation and emotion at different stages of exteriorization Io

CHAPTER III

Route the phantom travels in projection-Some symptoms of astralexteriorization-The astral cable-Cord-activity range-An in-teriorization caused by a noise-Repercussion of the astral body . 26

CHAPTER IV

Typical "projection" dreams-How I discovered the cause of manyfalling dreams-Types of " falls " or interiorizations-The causesof the different " falls "-How to break the repercussion in afalling dream-Types of flying dreams-The flapping dream-Head-thumping dream-Dream of moving toward a phantasmalobject-Dream delusions .

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CHAPTER V

Effect of instability-Eccentricities of the senses-Duplicate sense oftouch-Phantom can pass through needle-points without feeling-Delusions of the senses during the hypnotic trance-Duplicatesensibility and obsession-The case of " 89 "-The painful bayonetcase-Duplicate and shifting motivity-A " rap " produced atwill, during exteriorization of motivity .

ix5r

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER VIPAGE

The purpose of sleep-Dream control-Subjects of "nervous tempera-ment " are best suited for psychic experiments-When outside cord-activity range the phantom is free-Prolonged projection-Theprojector cannot get lost-How the physical is recharged duringprojection-Not dead but sleeping I-The astral cable is akin tothe umbilical cord

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CHAPTER VII

Where the astral " line of force " makes contact with the bodies-Turning over in the air-The four brains of man-The pinealgland-The pituitary body-The Cosmic energy-Doctor Lindlahr'sviews on energy-Foods, fasting and psychic development-Fasting increases the inflow of Cosmic energy-How fasting aidsastral projection-Consciousness uses up energy I

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CHAPTER VIII

Consciousness during astral projection-A " dreaming-true " experience-Awakened in the astral by a " noise "-The dream world-The"dream-control" method of projection-The proper dream willalways project the phantom-Summary of the dream-controlmethod-Bringing consciousness to the dream body .

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CHAPTER IX

The factors which stimulate the subconscious Will to action-How Idiscovered that " desire " is an activating factor-The action ofthe unconscious phantom is governed by the " stress "-Sexualdesire is a negative factor-Phantom projects more easily to afamiliar place-Projecting from an unfamiliar to a familiar place-Phantoms of the dead are often dominated by the " stress " ofdesire or habit-The unconscious phantom sometimes movesmaterial objects-A " haunter " under the stress of a desirablehabit-An early morning " haunter "-The factor" enervation" . 110

CHAPTER X

Determining the proper " stress " to use in developing-Incapacity-thefundamental difference between astral projection and physical som-nambulism-An astral projection which was caused by thirst-A physical somnambulation which was caused by thirst-How Idiscovered that incapacity is an important factor-Some positiveminor factors-Repercussion noises-" Light " a negative factorAn interiorization caused by excess light-Telepathic repercussion 125

CHAPTER XI

How to induce " incapacity "-Developing a consciousness of Self-Dynamization of projection-What is " will " ?-Typical dreams ofprojection-How to instil the stress of routine-How to instil thestress of thirst-Projecting to water

145

CONTENTS

xi

CHAPTER XIIPAGE

Conscious projection is rare-The passive Will-Inducing projection bythe passive Will method-The results produced by dynamizationof projection-Some typical projections .

163

CHAPTER XIIIThe crypto-conscious mind-Crypto-conscious manifestations often

credited to phantoms of the dead-The various ways in which themind functions-A superconscious projection-Automatic pro-jection-A horrible experience-Why victims of violent deathre-enact their death in the astral body-The case of Irene .

. 179

CHAPTER XIVThe crypto-conscious mind and telekinesis-An astral projection in

which I moved a physical object-" Raps " produced during adream-The sex of the astral body-Inter-relation of the physicaland astral counterparts-Composition of the astral body-Cal-culated weight of the astral body-The clothing of the phantom-" As a man thinketh "-Purgatory-Thought sustains the astralbody-Earthbound phantoms not numerous-An encounter withan astral fiend

.

CHAPTER XV195

Obsession-The Akashic Records-Enacting future events in the dreambody-Many clairvoyant dreams are mistaken for astral projections-Dream consciousness is not the real consciousness-Death ismerely a permanent projection .

218

CHAPTER XVIProjection during the sleep of anmsthesia-A peculiar dream-There

may be other methods-A prophecy-All possess the powers ofprojection-Concerning morals-The demon theory-Conclusion . 234

INDEX .

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.

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6 239

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

SYLVAN J. MULDOON

FrontispieceFACING PAGE

HEREWARD CARRINGTON

xiv

THE KA, VISITING THE MUMMY

XXll

THE PHANTOM, SLIGHTLY OUT OF COINCIDENCE 6

THE PHANTOM LYING IN THE AIR ABOVE THE PHYSICAL BODY . 32

THE ROUTE THE PHANTOM TAKES IN PROJECTING . 52

PHANTOM PROJECTED AND UPRIGHT WITHIN CORD-ACTIVITY

RANGE .

. 64

HOW THE PHANTOM INTERIORIZES . 82

THE SWAYING OF THE ASTRAL BODY 104

OLD CHINESE PRINT, SHOWING THE PROJECTION OF THE ASTRAL

BODY 154

THE DEPARTURE OF THE ASTRAL BODY AT DEATH 186

ATOMIC STRUCTURE OF THE ASTRAL BODY 208

HEREW ARD CARRINGTON

0

INTRODUCTION

By HEREWARD CARRINGTON

T

HE Astral Body may be defined as the Double, or theethereal counterpart of the physical body, which itresembles and with which it normally coincides. It isthought to be composed of some semi-fluidic or subtle

form of matter, invisible to the physical eye . It has, in the past,been spoken of as the etheric body, the mental body, the spiritualbody, the desire body, the radiant body, the resurrection body, thedouble, the luminous body, the subtle body, the fluidic body, theshining body, the phantom, and by various other names. In recentTheosophical literature, distinctions have been made between thesevarious bodies ; but for our present purposes we may ignore thesedistinctions, and speak of the " Astral Body " as some more subtleform, distinct from the organic structure known to Western science,and studied by our physiologists .

The broad, general teaching is that every human being " has " anastral body just as he has a heart, a brain and a liver . In fact, theastral body is more truly the Real Man than the physical body is,for the latter is merely a machine adapted to functioning upon thephysical plane. But-it must not be thought that the astral body isheld to be the Soul of man either . That is a mistake often made .It is said to be the vehicle of the Soul-just as truly as the physicalbody is a vehicle-and constitutes one of the essential connecting:links between mind and matter . To the Materialist, of course, whoregards mind merely as a product of certain brain activities, such atheory would appear superfluous and nonsensical. But the presentbook is not addressed to Materialists. It is addressed to those whobelieve in the reality of certain supernormal (psychical) phenomena,and in the theoretical possibility, at least, of the astral body . To allsuch students this book will, I, am assured, prove a veritable mineof valuable and unique information .

THE DOCTRINE

The astral body, then, coincides with the physical body during thehours of full, waking consciousness ; but in sleep the astral bodywithdraws to a greater or lesser degree, usually hoyering .just above 'it, neither conscious nor controlled . In trance, syncope; while

b

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INTRODUCTIONfainting, when under the influence of an anaesthetic, etc ., the astralbody similarly withdraws from the physical . Such cases of with-drawal constitute instances of automatic or involuntary projection .

As opposed to such cases we place those of conscious or voluntaryprojection, in which the subject " wills " to leave his physical body,and actually does so . He is then fully alert and conscious in hisastral body ; he can look upon his own physical mechanism, andtravel about at will, perhaps viewing scenes and visiting places hehas never seen before . Subsequently, he can verify the truth ofthese experiences by visiting the scenes or places in question . Whilefully conscious in the astral body, he seems to be possessed of extra-ordinary, supernormal powers . He can at will return to his physicalbody, or may be drawn into it again automatically by reason ofsome shock, fright or vivid emotion .

The astral and the physical bodies are invariably connected bymeans of a sort of cord, or cable, along which vital currents pass .Should this cord be severed, death instantly results . The onlydifference between astral projection and death is that the cord isintact in the former case, and severed in the latter . This cord-the" Silver Cord " spoken of in Ecclesiastes-is elastic, and capable ofgreat extension . It constitutes the essential link between the twobodies .'

The above is a general, and very brief, summary of the, doctrineand teachings regarding the astral body and its projection .

Now, although the literature regarding this subject is fairly volu-minous, I have been unable to find anywhere in it much material ofscientific value ; above all, next to nothing of a practical nature-how to project the astral body . If such a body actually exists, andcan be projected voluntarily-as many individuals assert it can-why has so little practical advice and information ever been pub-lished regarding it ? It is all very well to dwell upon the possible" dangers " connected with such a procedure ; every sensible personrealizes that they may very well exist, but would be willing to trythe experiment just the same . Nevertheless, it is next to impossibleto obtain any practical and precise information from those indi-viduals who assert they can " project " at will ; and in this I feelsure psychic students everywhere will agree with me . Why shouldthis be so ? I quite agree with Mr . Muldoon in thinking that thereason for all this secrecy is not on account of the theoretical"dangers" involved, but simply because these self-styled "teachers"do not know. They know that astral projection occurs ; they mayhave experienced it themselves ; but the actual details of the pro-cess-how it is accomplished-this they do not know, and conse-quently cannot tell others . The great value of the present bookconsists in the fact that this information is given to the world for

1 See a brief article on "The Silver Cord," by Max Heindel, in The OccultDigest, May, 1928 .

INTRODUCTION

xviithe first time ; and I cannot but believe that we have here a docu-ment of the utmost value-information for which psychic studentshave waited for years, and which might never have been given outhad not a combination of fortuitous circumstances rendered itspublication possible . It may therefore be of interest to the readerto know how the following book came to be written, and somethingof the author himself.

HOW THIS BOOK CAME TO BE WRITTEN

In my book Modern Psychical Phenomena, I had devoted a chapterto the experimental projection of the astral body-summarizing thework of M. Charles Lancelin (to be discussed more fully later on) .This material I amplified considerably in a later book, HigherPsychical Development. This dealt almost exclusively with the workof others, however, and I always felt that it was all most inadequate ;it epitomized everything that I had been enabled to unearth, how-ever, dealing with this important subject . In November, 1927, Ireceived a letter from Mr. Sylvan Muldoon, in which he said

" I have recently finished reading your volumes on the ` Occultand Psychical Sciences .' . . . I was much interested in your chapteron `Astral Projection,' as I have been a 'projector' for twelveyears-long before I knew that anyone else in the world ever didsuch things . . . . What puzzles me most is that you make the remarkthat M. Lancelin has told practically all that is known on thesubject. Why, Mr. Carrington, I have never read Lancelin's work,but if you have given the gist of it in your book, then I can write abook on the things that Lancelin does not know ! . . . I have beenwondering whether M . Lancelin is in fact a conscious projector .From what you have given, I have concluded either that Lancelindoes not project at all, or that his subjects are not in the clearconscious state while exteriorized . Is this not reasonable ? If M .Lancelin or his subjects were clearly conscious, could they not giveevery detail of the phenomenon ? Of course they could ! But theydo not . . . . Now I have been all through this, and I know everyemotion, every move, every last detail that takes place from clearconsciousness in the physical, out, into the astral with that sameunchanged consciousness and back into `coincidence .' . . . But thething I marvel at most is that so little is said about the astral cord-the very foundation of the whole phenomenon . Is it possible thatnone of Lancelin's subjects ever examined this cord, nor even sawit ? . . . Nothing is told as to how this cord works, how it stabilizesthe phantom, or throws it into instability . How large it is while thebodies are nearly in coincidence ; Chow it decreases in size and resist-ance up to a certain distance (which I have measured exactly), andso forth. Lancelin says that the phantom appears as if rocked by thewind, but he does not say what causes this . . . . Lancelin does not

xviii INTRODUCTIONtell how to control the astral cord, the mechanism which is the vitalfactor. He says that the astral body emerges from the solar plexus-which is anything but true . The bodies separate at all placessimultaneously . The cord centres at a given plexus, and the idealspot is the medulla oblongata, which has direct control over the organsof respiration in the oblivious physical body . Lancelin says nothingof suppressed desires and the condition of the heart-beat throughthe cord ; nor how to stabilize the phantom after the exteriorizationis accomplished . He says nothing of the form the phantom takes ;how it moves in coming out ; how a cataleptic state ensues whilethe phantom is under control of the subconscious mind, and is stillconscious . . . . He has not told of the various degrees of sight andhearing in the phantom ; nor how it travels, nor how it gets into acondition where it is helpless and unable to travel . . . . The WillPower part of the process is greatly over-stressed. There are otherways of accomplishing this besides will power. In fact, several otherways. And the Good Health idea is nothing short of a blunder . Isay, and can prove it, that the nearer dead a person is, the easier itis to project . . . . I could go on telling you many more things aboutastral projection ; but I suppose that after all was said you wouldreply, `Prove it.' But it cannot be , so readily proved ! It wouldrequire a treatise upon the subject . I once thought of writing abook upon this topic, but abandoned the idea when everyone toldme that I was ` crazy,' and found that no one would pay anyattention to it . . . . Just the same, I have exteriorized enough toknow that if you have given the gist of what is now known, thenindeed there is much darkness upon the subject . . . . I might addthat I am a boy twenty-five years old, and that if you even readthis letter and take it seriously, it will be an honour to me . . .

It need hardly be pointed out that I realized at once that I haddiscovered some one possessed of a vast fund of most valuableinformation ; and I lost no time in replying at length, and in urgingMr. Muldoon to begin his book at once, which I promised to reviseand edit and introduce . The following book is the result . I maysay that Mr. Muldoon and myself have worked together upon itmost harmoniously ; he has covered many points and tried manyexperiments which I have suggested to him, and in every waydemonstrated his complete sincerity, and his scrupulous adherenceto the truth . He makes no claims he cannot justify ; he advancesno theories which are not based upon actual experiences ; if he doesnot know a certain thing, he frankly says so . The additionalextracts from his letters (pp . xxxvii-xli) will bring this out evenmore clearly, and will also furnish the reader much valuable material,not included in the book. I may add that the bulk of this work waswritten when Mr. Muldoon was so ill that he could not get out ofbed, and was never certain but that the next day might prove hislast ! If ever a man may be expected to be truthful and sincere, it

INTRODUCTION

xixwould be at such a time. But the writer's truthfulness and sincerityare apparent in every line .

I should like to draw the reader's attention particularly to thefact that no wild or preposterous claims are anywhere made in thisbook as to what has been accomplished during these " astral trips ."Mr. Muldoon does not claim to have visited any distant planets-and return to tell us in detail their modes of life ; he does not claimto have explored any vast and beautiful " spirit worlds " ; he doesnot pretend to have penetrated the past or the future ; to havere-lived any of his past " incarnations " ; to have read any " AkashicRecords " ; to have travelled back along the stream of time, andreviewed the history of mankind, or the geologic eras of our earth .He asserts, merely, that he has been enabled to leave his physicalbody at will, and travel about in the present, in his immediatevicinity, in some vehicle or other, while fully conscious . This isperfectly rational, and is precisely what we should expect, on thetheory that these " trips " are actual experiences . Assuming thatsome such entity as an Astral Body exists, and can at times bevoluntarily detached from the physical body, everything else whichis said falls naturally into place, and is precisely what might beexpected to happen under such circumstances .

THE DIFFICULTY OF " PROOF "

Of course, it may be replied : " Very true, provided the reality ofyour astral body once be established ! After once having swallowedthe camel, it is useless straining at the gnat I " But the evidencefor the existence of some such entity as an astral or etheric bodyhas been constantly accumulating-quite apart from these cases ofconscious or voluntary " projection." The very first thing whichstruck the early investigators of the Society for Psychical Research,when they began their investigations, was the great number ofapparitions coinciding with the death of the person thus represented ;and the result of the first Census, published in Phantasms of theLiving, and of the second and far more extensive one, published inVol. X of the S.P.R. Proceedings, confirmed the belief that` suchcoincidences were more than chance would account for ; that therewas some causal connection between the apparition and the deathof the person whose " double " thus appeared . Quite logically, theattempt was made to explain the majority of these experiences as" telepathic hallucinations ." But all of them could not be so readilyexplained, and even as the result of the first Census, Mr . Myers feltqualms as to the sufficiency of this explanation, as his " Note on aSuggested Mode of Psychical Interaction " clearly shows. The evi-dence for the objectivity of certain phantoms appeared, indeed, sostrong that Mr . Andrew Lang was forced to write, in his Cock Laneand Common Sense (p . 2o6) : " . . . Some apparitions are 'ghosts'

xx INTRODUCTION-real objective entities, filling space ." And it may be said that theevidence for this has considerably increased of late years-quiteaside from " materializations " and similar manifestations . Intothis evidence we have not, unfortunately, the time to enter now .'

It may be asserted, therefore, with considerable confidence, thatthe evidence for the existence of some sort of an " astral body " hasbeen constantly accumulating as the result of our psychical investi-gations, and that this evidence is now very strong . It need hardlybe pointed out that, if this were once definitely accepted, it wouldenable us to account for a large number of otherwise baffling phe-nomena very readily-haunted houses, apparitions seen by severalpersons at the same time, psychic photographs, clairvoyance, etc . ;and (assuming that such a body might occasionally move or affectmatter) raps, telekinesis, " poltergeists," and other physical phe-nomena. In fact, once the objective existence of an astral body bepostulated, a flood of light would be thrown upon psychic mani-festations, both physical and mental .

Now, quite apart from such collateral evidence, there have alwaysbeen individuals who have asserted that they could leave the physicalbody at will, and travel about in some " astral body " for a longeror shorter period of time-retaining consciousness throughout . Thedifficulty has always consisted in furnishing proofs of such claims .Indeed, this is a most difficult thing to do, in view of the fact thatthe experience must of necessity be subjective ; and it is an openquestion whether such proofs have been furnished even in the presentbook. However, the attempt has been made to do so ; and thespecific instructions which have been given will perhaps enableothers to " project " themselves-thereby affording them the bestpossible means of verifying the accuracy of the statements made .Should a number of (otherwise sensible!) persons come forward andassert that they too have succeeded in voluntarily projecting theirastral bodies, this question would at once assume a very differentstatus.

In the present book, Mr. Muldoon has discussed both falling andflying dreams, and has advanced the ingenious theory that many ofthese may be due to actual movements of the astral body . Ofcourse, Mr. Muldoon would be the first to admit that the majorityof such dreams are due to ordinary psychological-even physio-logical-causes, and, as examples of " illusions of levitation " pro-

1 It need hardly be said that alleged " spirit communications " have invariablyasserted this to be a fact. Thus, in Dr . Hodgson's Second " Report on the TrancePhenomena of Mrs . Piper," we read

" The statements of the ' communicators' as to what occurs on the physicalside may be put in brief general terms as follows . We all have bodies composed of' luminiferous ether' enclosed in our flesh and blood bodies . The relation of Mrs.Piper's etherial body to the etherial world, in which the 'communicators' claim todwell, is such that a special store of peculiar energy is accumulated in connectionwith her organism, and this appears to them as ' a light .' . . . " etc . (Proc ., XIII,P 4O) .

INTRODUCTION

xxiduced by such purely physiological mechanisms, I cannot do betterthan summarize the interesting articles of Mr . Lydiard H . Horton,which appeared in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology (April, 1918 ;June, 1918 ; August, 1919), in which he attempted to prove thisfact-that such illusions of levitation may be so produced-evenwithout sleep ! He induced a number of experimental subjects tolie upon a bed or couch, and relax completely . Upon the degree ofrelaxation thus attained depends the success of the experiment . Ifthe patient can induce this complete relaxation of the muscularsystem without falling asleep, he will often experience an " illusionof levitation." " Out of the thirty subjects who relaxed completely,and of the twenty or so who retained consciousness after they hadcompletely relaxed, eight of them reported illusions of levitation ."

The following are typical experiences of this nature" One of them jumped out of the chair and was afraid to continue

the experiment, so realistic was his apperception of a soaring motion ." Another, this time a woman, gripped the chair in the momentary

belief that she was floating away ; two others reported that theyfelt ' caught up ' by a wave, but that their reason reassured them atthe time .

" One other enjoyed the sensation so much that he took it as amatter of course, and supposed it was part of the ' treatment.' Oneother said that if his head had been as light as his body he wouldsurely have floated away . He reported himself ' just floating away,'the sensation being overwhelmingly real. . . ."Mr. Horton attempts to account for all such cases as follows" The mechanism underlying the flying dream and the levitation

illusion is attributed, mainly, to the functions of the adrenal-sympa-thetic nervous system . . . . The genesis of the illusion of levitationdoes not come from the diminution of tactile sensations . Whetherdue entirely to an inhibition in the course of the pressure sensetracts (deep sensibility, I mean), or merely to lessening of actualmuscle pressure, is a question . I think the latter is a great factor,but that the sensory ' inhibition ' is real too . . . . This of itself doesnot become the adequate or efficient basis of the illusion of levitationtill the vaso-motor relaxation supervenes . Out of the combinationthere arises the bodily `stimulus ' (negative in this case) whichbecomes the foundation of the illusion of soaring . . . ."

This attempted explanation, it will be observed, differs essentiallyfrom that offered by Horace G . Hutchinson (in his Dreams and theirMeanings) and also that of Havelock Ellis (in his World of Dreams)which is that " flying dreams " are best explained by a combinationof respiratory sensations together with cutaneous anaesthesia . It isquite possible that some such explanation may ultimately be foundfor, and will adequately explain, many . ordinary flying dreams ; butit must be emphasized emphatically that such dreams are quitedifferent from clean-cut instances of " projection," and that any

xxu INTRODUCTIONexplanation of the latter by such principles is absolutely unjustified-just as unjustified as, e.g. the attempt to " explain " the super-normal knowledge displayed in Mrs . Piper's trance by postulatingsome physiological causation of that trance. The essential problemwould remain untouched. In all cases of astral projection, it mustbe emphasized that clear consciousness of Self is maintained by thesubject, while he is outside his body ; he can look back and see hisbody ; he can view his present surroundings ; he can observe people,and note distant scenes and events just as they are-or are occurring-which he could not possibly have seen and known, but which hewas afterwards enabled to verify and check off as correct . This isthe distinctly supernormal factor involved, which is the crux of thewhole matter ; and for this no purely physiological explanation inany way accounts. In his experiments, Dr. Horton succeeded onlyin producing the illusion of levitation, which is not even a flyingdream ; and. a flying dream is, according to Mr . Muldoon, again anentirely different matter from a conscious projection !

HISTORICAL

It is hardly necessary to remind the reader that the Egyptiansbelieved implicitly in the KA-which might be said to correspond toour conception of the " Astral Body." This KA was not the Soul ofman, it must be understood, but its vehicle-just as the astral bodyis thought to be the vehicle of the mind and soul to-day . It wasthis KA which visited the mummified body from time to time, andwas usually depicted as a sort of bird-like Double of the deceased .Many of the older Egyptian paintings show this . The wanderingsand trials of the dead man in the Under World are described at greatlength in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and in other early writings .`Even more striking and ii iportant, from our point of view, how-

ever, is the recently translated Tibetan Book of the Dead, edited byDr. W. Y. Evans-Wentz, and published by the Oxford UniversityPress (1927) . This work-the Bardo Thodol-was probably firstcommitted to writing in the eighth century A.D ., and embodiedteachings much older. The manuscript from which the presenttranslation is made is judged by experts to be between 15o and 200years old. As the reader may have surmised, it deals with the samegeneral topic as the earlier Egyptian work ; but, from our modernpoint of view, is far more " rational," and many of its teachingscorrespond, in a remarkable way, with those of Occult and PsychicalScience. A very brief summary of those portions of the book whichdeal more or less directly with our theme will doubtless prove ofinterest.

When a -man is about to die, a Lama is called' in, whose duty it isto-,attend 'to the dying man and usher him properly into the nextworld. The arteries on the sides of the neck are pressed . This is

THE ASTRAL BODY, OR KA, VISITING THE MUMMY

INTRODUCTION

xxuidone to keep the dying person conscious, with the consciousnessrightly directed. For the nature of the Death-consciousness deter-mines the future state of the " soul-complex," existence being thecontinuous transformation of one conscious state to another . Thepressing of the arteries regulates the path to be taken by the out-going vital current (Prana) . The proper path is that which passesthrough the Foramen of Monro . " If the expiration is about tocease, turn the dying one over on the right side, which posture iscalled the ' Lying Posture of a Lion .' The throbbing of the arteries(on the right and left sides of the throat) is to be pressed . If theperson dying be disposed to sleep, or if the sleeping state advances,that should be arrested, and the arteries pressed gently but firmly .Thereby the vital force will not be able to return from the mediannerve and will be sure to pass out through the Brahmanic aperture .Now the real setting face to face is to be applied . At this moment,the first glimpsing of the Bardo, of the Clear Light of Reality . . .is experienced by all sentient beings ."

All the time the patient is dying, the Lama urges him to keep hismind tranquil and poised, so that he may see and enter into theClear Light of Reality, and may not be troubled with hallucinationsor " thought-forms " which have no objective existence, save in hisown mind. The Lama superintends the whole process of the with-drawal of the astral body from the physical at death . " It is com-monly held that the process (of separation) takes from three andone-half to four days, unless assisted by a priest called hpho-bo(pron . pho-o), or 'extractor-of-the-consciousness-principle ' ; andthat, even if the priest be successful in the extracting, the deceasedordinarily does not wake up to the fact of being separated from thehuman body until the said period of time has elapsed ."

If the mind of the dying person has not been properly concen-trated upon the Clear Light, he is liable to see scores of devils anddemons of all sorts I But it is emphasized over and over again inthe book, that these demons have no actual, objective existencethey are merely hallucinations, or " thought-forms," having noactuality, save in the mind of the seer . They are all purely sym-bolical . The mind is capable of manufacturing these, or creatingthem, just as we do every night in our dreams . He must cleave hisway through these into the Clear Light of the Void . The sooner hecan do this, the sooner is " liberation " attained .

The teachings concerning the astral body are very clear :andconcise : " When thou wert recovered from the swoon (of death)thy Knower must have risen up in its primordial condition and a= .radiant body, resembling the former body, must have sprung forth . . : .It is called the desire-body. . . . The Bardo-body hath been spokenof as `endowed with all sense-faculties .' . . Unimped~d motionimplyeth that thy present body being only a desire body.is not a

.body of gross matter . . . . Thou art actually endowed with the power _

Jxxiv INTRODUCTIONof miraculous motion . . . . Ceaselessly and involuntarily wilt thoube wandering about . To all those who are weeping (thou shalt say)`Here I am, weep not .' But they not hearing thee, thou wilt think,' I am dead ! ' And again, at that time, thou wilt be feeling verymiserable. Be not miserable in that way. . . . There will be a grey,twilight-like light, both by night and by day, and at all times . . . .Even though thou seekest a body, thou wilt gain nothing buttrouble. Put aside the desire for a body ; and permit thy mind toabide in the state of resignation, and act so as to abide therein . . . .These are the indications of the wandering about on the Sidpa Bardoof the mental body. At the time, happiness and misery will dependupon Karma . . . ."

THE LITERATURE OF THE SUBJECT

Much has been written, in the past, concerning the Astral Body-mostly in books devoted to " Magic " and " Occultism ." I believethat I have gone through the majority of such works carefully, inmy endeavour to find some practical information bearing upon thisquestion, but with little result . Thus, there are numerous referencesto the astral body in e.g . Eliphas Levi's Doctrine and Ritual ofMagic, in his " Key of the Mysteries " (published in The Equinox,Vol. X) ; in A. E . Waite's Mysteries of Magic, and his Occult Sciences ;in Dr. Franz Hartmann's Magic, White and Black, and in the variouswritings of Paracelsus. In the older works upon Sorcery and Witch-craft there are, of course, frequent allusions to astral projection .Theosophical literature is full of this subject, but even here I havebeen unable to find anywhere precise information-any practicalinstructions as to how the projection of the astral body is to beaccomplished . This is true not only of the older works, such asLeadbeater's The Astral Plane, and Annie Besant's Man and hisBodies, but also the newer and more voluminous treatises, such asthose of Major Arthur E . Powell-The Etheric Double, The AstralBody, The Mental Body, etc. In all these books, much theoreticalinformation is given (of course, from the strictly Theosophical pointof view) but very little practical advice . The same criticism appliesto D'Assier's book Posthumous Humanity : A Study of Phantoms .Some interesting spontaneous experiences are given in Little journeysinto the Invisible : A Woman's Actual Experiences in the FourthDimension, by M. Gifford Shine ; Some Occult Experiences, by Johanvan Manen ; My Travels in the Spirit World, by Caroline D. Larsen,and in other books of the kind ; while some curious lore of a generalnature is contained in The Astral Light, by " Nizida." An interestinghistoric study of this subject is given in G . R. S. Mead's Doctrine ofthe Subtle Body in Western Tradition, in which he summarizes theviews of the early Fathers, as well as the later conceptions . CharlesHallock's book Luminous Bodies : Here and Hereafter, contains little

INTRODUCTION

xxvto the point . Occasional references to what Mr . Myers (in his HumanPersonality) called " Self Projection " may be found scatteredthrough the journals and Proceedings of the S.P.R ., and the verystriking case of Dr. Wiltse (Proceedings, VIII, pp . 18o-194) is, ofcourse, classical. The case of the Rev . L. J. Bertrand (pp. 194-too)is also of considerable interest ; while the same may be said of thecase recorded by Dr. I. K. Funk, in his Psychic Riddle, pp . 179-185 . 1Mr. A. Campbell Holmes has some remarks upon The Double "in his Facts of Psychic Science and Philosophy, while I have devotedchapters to the subject in my Modern Psychical Phenomena, andHigher Psychical Development . Several years ago, Mr. Prescot Hallpublished in the journal of the A .S.P.R. a number of " communica-tions " of considerable interest, which he had received regarding theastral body through the instrumentality of a blind medium. Theirvalue, of course, depends altogether upon the authenticity of theirsource .

This is practically all the published material which I have beenenabled to find relative to the astral body and its projection, withthe exception of Mr. Oliver Fox's articles in the Occult Review, to bequoted presently, and two books in French . These are : Le Fant6medes Vivants, by H. Durville, and Methode de Deboublement Personnel(Exterioration de la Neuricite : Sorties en Astral), by M. CharlesLancelin . These will be quoted and referred to more fully later on .But, as I have said, with these exceptions, I have found practicallynothing of value in the entire literature of the subject ; and thiscriticism is especially true when we come to the most important andcentral theme of all, viz . how to project the astral body experiment-ally and retain consciousness within it. Upon this vital theme ourauthorities are especially silent

It is just here that Mr. Muldoon is most explicit . He explains inthe greatest detail just how the projection of the astral body is tobe effected, and he describes precisely what takes place in thesubject's mind and body during such a projection-together withmany other details connected with the process . Any impartialreader will agree, I think, with the conclusion that it would beimpossible for Mr. Muldoon to have written as he has-to haveacquired this knowledge-without in some sense experiencing whathe claims to have experienced . His reading upon the subject hasbeen very scant ; his contact with anyone liable to possess even atithe of this information is next to impossible-when we take intoaccount the fact that he lives in an obscure village in the MiddleWest. No ; his knowledge has been gained at first-hand, and as theresult of actual experimentation ; that is very evident . How suchinformation could have been acquired-had he not actually under-gone these experiences-I leave it for the reader to decide .

1 Extracts from these cases are given elsewhere .

xxvi INTRODUCTION

SPONTANEOUS CASES

As before mentioned, there are two types or varieties of astralprojection : the spontaneous and the experimental . In the former,the individual undergoing the experience merely finds himself " pro-jected " without knowing how or why ; he finds himself outside hisown physical body-which he can clearly see-but how he got therehe does not know. In the latter, the experimenter makes a deter-mined and voluntary effort to " project "-usually to some definitelocality-and wakes up, to find himself there, or en route . Of course,the vast majority of such attempts end in failure ; successes areextremely rare . Or the subject may be " seen " by some individualat the locality in question, and remain quite unconscious of hisapparent success . Examples of all types or varieties of projectionare to be found in this book, together with an analysis of the modusoperandi involved, and an explanation of the success or failure, asthe case may be .

Let us consider, first of all, a few typical cases of " spontaneous "projection . As before stated, this may occur, theoretically, whenthe subject is asleep, in trance, while under the influence of ananaesthetic, etc. Or it may occur when the subject is awake andconscious, but merely relaxed-at least at the beginning of theexperience. A good illustration of this may be found in a recentlypublished book entitled My Travels in the Spirit World, by CarolineD. Larsen, where we read

" . . . Suddenly I underwent a very strange experience . A feelingof deep oppression and apprehension came over me, not unlike thatwhich precedes a fainting-spell . I braced myself against it, but tono avail. The overpowering oppression deepened, and soon numb-ness crept over me untll every muscle became paralyzed . In thiscondition I remained for some time. My mind, however, was stillworking as clearly as ever . At first I heard the music (downstairs)plainly, but soon the sounds began to slip away from me by degreesuntil finally everything became a blank, and I was unconscious tolife and the world. How long this state lasted I do not know . Whathappened during this period I am also unable to relate. The nextthing I knew was that I, myself, was standing on the floor besidemy bed looking down attentively at my own physical body lying init . . . . I recognized every line of that familiar face, pale and still asin death, the eyes tightly closed and the mouth partly open . Thearms and hands rested limp and lifeless beside the body . . . . Iturned and walked slowly towards the door, passed through it andinto a hall that led to the bathroom . . . . Through force of habit Iwent through the motions of turning on the electric light, which, ofcourse, I did not actually turn on . But there was no need forillumination, for from my body and face emanated a strong whitishlight that lighted up the room brilliantly . . . ."

INTRODUCTION .

xxviiIn the case published by Dr. I. K. Funk, in his Psychic Riddle

(PP. 179-185), the writer describes how he " lost control of his body "-by reason of a cold n!liibness which spread over it, on a numberof occasions-before having his first conscious projection . On theoccasion in question, after these preliminary symptoms, he first ofall became momentarily unconscious : " . . . There came a flashingof lights in my eyes and a ringing in my ears, and it seemed for aninstant as though I had become unconscious . When I came out ofthis state, I seemed to be walking in the air. No words can describethe exhilaration and freedom that I experienced . No words candescribe the clearness of mental vision. At no time in my life hadmy mind been so clear or so free . . . . I became conscious of being ina room and looking down on a body propt-up in bed, which I recog-nized as my own . I cannot tell what strange feelings came overme 1 This body, to all intents and purposes, looked to be dead .There was no indication of life about it, and yet here I was, apartfrom the body, with my mind thoroughly clear and alert, and theconsciousness of another body to which matter of any kind offeredno resistance . . . . After what might have been a minute or two,looking at the body, I began to try and control it, and in a veryshort time all sense of separation from the physical body ceased,and I was only conscious of a directed effort toward its use . Afterwhat seemed to be quite a long time, I was able to move, got upfrom the bed and drest myself, and went down to breakfast . . . ."As to the criticism invariably advanced-that this was a merevivid dream "-the writer says

I know that many people may think that the statements recordedhere are simply the result of an active imagination or perhaps adream, but they are neither the one nor the other . If the wholeworld were to rise up . . . it would not make one particle of differencein my mind, as I am absolutely certain that I have been as free frommy physical body as I ever will be, and that my life apart from itwas far more wonderful than any life I have ever experienced init . . . ."

The case of Dr. Wiltse is very well known . It was first printedin the St. Louis Medical and Surgical Journal, November, 1889, andafterwards in Vol . VIII of the S .P.R . Proceedings . It was alsopublished, in part, in Human Personality (Vol . II, pp . 315-22) . Inview of this, only a few brief extracts from this most interesting casewill be given-referring the reader to the above sources for the fullaccount . After a few preliminary remarks and descriptions, Dr .Wiltse goes on to say

" . . . With all the interest of a physician I beheld the wonders ofmy bodily anatomy, intimately interwoven with which, even tissuefor tissue, was I, the living soul of that dead body . . . . I watchedthe interesting process of the separation of soul and body . By somepower, apparently not my own, the Ego was rocked to an fro,

xxviii

INTRODUCTIONlaterally, as a cradle is rocked, by which process its connection withthe tissues of the body was broken up. After a little time, the lattermotion ceased, and along the souls of the feet, beginning at the toes,passing rapidly to the heels, I felt and heard, as it seemed, thesnapping of innumerable small cords. When this was accomplishedI began slowly to retreat from the feet, towards the head, as arubber cord shortens . . . . As I emerged from the head I floated upand down and laterally like a soap-bubble attached to the bowl of apipe until I at last broke loose from the body and fell lightly to thefloor, where I slowly rose and expanded into the full stature of aman. I seemed to be translucent, of a bluish cast and perfectlynaked . . . . I directed my gaze (to the bed) and saw my own deadbody. It was lying just as I had taken so much pains to place it,partially upon the right side, the feet close together, and the handsclasped across the breast . I was surprised at the paleness of theface . . . . I turned and passed out of the open door. . . ."Dr. Wiltse then relates a number of mental experiences which he

had during his extended " trip "-including the perception of certainthings which he did not know existed, but which were subsequentlyverified and found correct-and, at the conclusion of his astraljourney, he was suddenly arrested by what appeared to be a dense,black cloud : " A small, densely black cloud appeared in front ofme and advanced toward my face. I knew that I was to be stopped .I felt the power to move or to think leaving me. My hands fellpowerless to my sides, my shoulders and head dropped forward,the cloud touched my face and I knew no more . . . ."When he regained consciousness, he was in his own physical

body .The case of the Rev. L. J. Bertrand, also given in Proceedings,

Vol. VIII, p . 194, is thus summarized by Mr . Myers" During a dangerous ascent of the Titlis, Mr. Bertrand separated

from his companions, sat down to rest, and became paralyzed by thecold . His head, however, remained clear, and he experienced thesensation described by Dr . Wiltse of passing out of his body andremained attached to it by ` a kind of elastic string .' While in thiscondition, he had clairvoyant impressions about his absent com-panions, and much astonished them on their return by describingtheir doings to them . . . ."

EXPERIMENTAL CASES

We now come to cases of voluntary or experimental projection .These, as I have said, are much rarer, and-apart from a fewscattered cases (possibly) in Phantasms of the Living-are limitedmore or less to Mr. Fox's records, in the Occult Review-to be quotedpresently-and a few dubious and historic cases, fairly " remote ."Two books have been published in French, however, dealing with

INTRODUCTION

xxixthis subject ; one by M. Charles Lancelin, the other by M . HectorDurville. Both of these works deal with the attempt to " extract,"as it were, the astral body from the " magnetized " subject while ina state of trance . Neither of them contains cases of self-projection .The subject was placed in a deep magnetic or mesmeric (as distinctfrom hypnotic) trance, and suggestions were then given that thesubject should, if possible, leave his (or her) own body, and moveaway from it for some appreciable distance . A variety of ingeniousexperimental tests were then made, to ascertain, so far as possible,that this had been successfully accomplished .

I shall not now stop to consider the work of M . Lancelin, as I havealready summarized it quite fully in my Modern Psychical Phe-nomena, and in Higher Psychical Development, and Mr. Muldoon hasdealt with it at considerable length in the present volume . I may,however, give a brief summary of the findings of M . Durville, asgiven in his book Le Fant6me des Vivants .

The book is divided into two parts : Part I being historical andtheoretical, dealing with the general theory of the " double," andciting a number of ancient and more modern cases which mightpossibly be considered examples of its manifestation .' Part II isexperimental, dealing with cases in which the astral body was ap-parently projected, while the subject was in deep "magnetic" trance .Some of this material is of considerable interest, and agrees remark-ably with the descriptions and experiences of Mr . Muldoon. Thuswe read (p. 189) : " The subject of the experiment is constantly enrapport with the " double " through the intermediary of a fluidiccord, capable of elongation . . . . Usually this is cylindrical, but maysometimes appear to be a sort of ribbon . . . ." As to the clothes ofthe phantom, these seem to be composed of a sort of " fluidicgauze " (p . 215) . Various sense-impressions are conveyed to thebody by means of the astral cord (p . 235) . The question of tem-perature is important ; and too much light has a detrimental effectupon the astral body . Experiments with the dynamometer showedthat the muscular strength (grip) of the subject was always greaterafter projection than before (p . 152) . On the contrary, the tem-perature of the hand-particularly of the right hand-almost invari-ably fell as the result of the experiment (pp. 195-197). One chapteris devoted to the action of the phantom upon (a) the double ofanother subject-both being " projected " at the same time ; and(b) upon the physical body of another person . Some positive resultswere apparently secured in both cases . Calcium sulphide screenswere then placed at some distance from the subject, and the sugges-tion was given that the phantom should approach one or other ofthese screens . As it did so, the screen in question glowed up withadded brilliance as the result of the proximity of the astral body

1 Such as cases recorded in Owen's Footfalls ; The Debatable -Land ; Mrs. Csowe'sNight Side of Nature ; certain cases in Phantasms of the Living ; etc .

xxx

INTRODUCTION(pp. 275-280) . Some successes are also reported in obtaining physicalmovements of objects and raps, and in moving the straw of a Sthen-ometer, at a distance from the entranced subject-by the projectedastral body (pp . 297-332) . The last chapter details a number ofattempts to photograph the astral body, and various vital radiationsemitted by it or by the physical body. M. Durville concludes hisbook as follows

i. Projection of the astral body is a certain fact, capable of beingdemonstrated by means of direct experiment . This also demon-strates to us that living force is independent of matter, and that ourIndividuality is composed of a physical body and an intelligent Soul-and a vital link, the astral body.

2 . Since this phantom can exist and function apart from thephysical body, it may also exist after death . That is, Immortalityis a fact which is thus proved scientifically .

This apparently little-known work of M . Durville is full of curiousand interesting material, and if one could be assured that the resultsattained were all scientifically accurate, would constitute a treatiseof first-rate importance . It is to be noted that many of his findingstally, in a very striking manner, with those of Mr . Muldoon. Somecritical comments on these results are to be found in the text of thepresent book .

MR . OLIVER FOX'S EXPERIENCES

The only detailed, scientific and first-hand account of a series ofconscious and voluntarily controlled astral projections which I haveever come across is that by Mr . Oliver Fox, published in the OccultReview for 192o (pp . 256-264 ; 317-327) . These articles wereentitled, respectively, " The Pineal Doorway," and " Beyond thePineal Door," and embody the author's personal experiences . Ishall endeavour to summarize very briefly-quoting a few especiallyimportant passages verbatim .Mr. Fox very logically begins by placing squarely before the reader

the two alternate theories which might be advanced to account forhis experiences . These are (a) exceptionally vivid dreams, and (b)real projections. Which of these is the correct explanation ? Mr.Fox admits that it is extremely difficult to prove the latter theoryobjectively, and therefore thinks it wiser to confine himself to adescription of his own experiences and a summary of his own methodsof development, hoping that others might possibly obtain the sameresults by following his advice, thereby proving the reality of astralprojection for themselves .

The first step (says Mr. Fox) consists in acquiring a certain dream-control-but not the same kind of dream-control as that detailed inthe present book . It consists in acquiring, by observing some incon-gruity or anachronism, the knowledge that one is dreaming. I quoteMr. Fox's own words i

INTRODUCTION

xxxi Eighteen years ago, when I was a student at a technical college,

a dream impelled me to start my research . I dreamed simply thatI was standing outside my home . Looking down, I discovered thatthe paving stones had mysteriously changed their position-the longsides were now parallel to the curb instead of perpendicular to it .Then the solution flashed upon me : Though that glorious summermorning seemed as real as real could be, I was dreaming ! Instantlythe vividness of life increased a hundredfold . Never had sea andsky and trees shone with such glamorous beauty ; even the common-place houses seemed alive and mystically beautiful . Never had Ifelt so absolutely well, so clear-brained, so divinely powerful . Verilythe world had become my oyster . The sensation was exquisitebeyond words ; but it lasted only a few moments, and I awoke . AsI was to learn later, my mental control had been overwhelmed bymy emotions ; so the tiresome body asserted its claim and pulledme back. And now I had a (to me) wonderful new idea : Was itpossible to regain at will the glory of the dream ? Could I prolongmy dreams ?

I have italicized the heading of this section .' It sounds simple ;but in practice I found it one of the most difficult things imaginable .A hundred times would I pass the most glaring incongruities, andthen at last some inconsistency would tell me that I was dreaming ;and always the knowledge brought the change I have described . Ifound that I was then able to do little tricks at will-levitate, passthrough seemingly solid walls, mould matter into new forms, etc . ;but in these early experiments I could stay out of my body only fora very short time, and this dream consciousness could be acquiredonly at intervals of several weeks . To begin with, my progress wasvery slow ; but presently I made two more discoveries

i . The mental effect of prolonging the dream produced a painin the region of the pineal gland-dull at first, but rapidly increasingin intensity-and I knew instinctively that this was a warning tome to resist no longer the call of my body .

" 2 . In the last moments of prolonging the dream, and while Iwas subject to the above pain, I experienced a sense of dual con-sciousness. I could feel myself standing in the dream and see thescenery ; but at the same time I could feel myself lying in bed andsee my bedroom. As the call of the body grew stronger the dream-scenery became more faint ; but by asserting my will to remaindreaming, I could make the bedroom fade and the dream-sceneryregain its apparent solidity . . . ."

The thought then occurred to Mr . Fox : What would happen ifhe were to disregard this pain and " force " his dream-consciousnessstill further ? Not without some trepidation, he finally did so ; asort of " click " occurred in his brain, and he found himself " lockedout " in his dream. He no longer seemed connected with his physical

1 By observing . . . etc .C

xxxu

INTRODUCTIONbody ; the sense of dual consciousness vanished ; the ordinary senseof time likewise disappeared, and he found himself free, in a newworld. This was his first conscious projection .

It lasted only a short time . Owing partly to the sense of utterloneliness, he experienced a sort of panic . Instantly, the same strangecerebral click was heard, and Mr . Fox found himself back in hisphysical body, completely cataleptic ! Very gradually, he regainedcontrol of his organism, moving first one muscle and then another ." Suddenly the trance broke, my eyes opened, and I was free . Ijumped out of bed with great joy, and immediately collapsed uponthe floor, being overwhelmed with nausea . I felt ill for two or threedays afterwards . . . ."

Just here, Mr . Fox enumerates what appear to him to be thepossible dangers connected with these experiments . These are

i. Heart-failure, or insanity, arising from shock .2 . Premature burial .3. Obsession4. Severance of cord .5. Repercussion effects upon the physical vehicle .

Of course, as Mr. Fox wisely remarks, the last three of thesewould be scorned by the orthodox scientist . It may be added herethat all these dangers are more imaginary than real, and are dealtwith very fully in the present book .

The chief characteristics of these -astral projections Mr . Foxsummarizes thus

i. The body appears to be in a semi-rigid condition, which mayapproach in severity the seeming cataleptic state already described .

2 . Though the eyes are closed, the room is plainly visible ; andthe atmosphere also, so that one gets an effect rather like particlesof dust illuminated by the sun-or roughly a golden glow, veryvariable in its intensity. Behind this, as it were, and only just onthe border-line of visibility, is something like a mass of frog's eggs,bluish-grey in colour and vibrating .

3. Physical sounds are distinctly audible.4. In this condition one is liable to any imaginable hallucination

or sight or sound ; or, to voice the other view, one is both clair-voyant and clairaudient .

5. In this condition, especially if it be mistaken for the wakingstate, one falls an easy prey to wild and unreasonable fear.

6. One is conscious of strange atmospheric stresses-the before-a-storm feeling, but enormously intensified .

So far, Mr. Fox had never succeeded in effecting a true projectionwithout any break in consciousness . He always felt that some one,or something, was holding him back . " It was lik&getting past the

INTRODUCTION

xxxiii'Dweller on the Threshold."" Then the solution of the problemsuddenly occurred to him : " I had to force my incorporeal selfthrough the doorway of the pineal gland, so that it clicked behindme. . . . It was done, when in the trance condition, simply by con-centrating upon the pineal gland and willing to ascend through it .The sensation was as follows : my incorporeal self rushed to a pointin the pineal gland and hurled itself against the imaginary trap-door,while the golden light increased in brilliance, so that it seemed thewhole room burst into flame . If the impetus was insufficient to takeme through, then the sensation became reversed ; my incorporealself subsided and became again coincident with my body, while theastral light died down to normal. Often two or three attempts wererequired before I could generate sufficient will-power to carry methrough. It felt as though I were rushing to insanity and death ;but once the little door had clicked behind me, I enjoyed a mentalclarity far surpassing that of earth-life. And the fear was gone . . . .Leaving the body was then as easy as getting out of bed . . . ." (Mr .Fox, with admirable scientific caution, warns his readers againsttaking what he has said about the pineal gland too literally ; buthe asserts that these are the exact sensations, and he believes thatwhat he has said is not far from the truth .)

In the vast majority of his experiences, Mr . Fox asserts that therewas a break in consciousness (seemingly, for only a few moments)between his attempt to enter the " pineal door " and his fully con-scious state, outside the physical body . 2 He did ultimately succeed,however, in attaining a number of projections, fully conscious fromthe beginning. As he himself states

" This, then, was the climax of my research . I could now passfrom ordinary waking life into this new state of consciousness (or,from life to 'death') and return, without any mental break . It iseasily written, but it took fourteen years to accomplish ."Mr. Fox mentions three different methods of " locomotion " in

the astral body. The first of these is Horizontal Gliding-" accom-plished by a purely mental effort ." Usually this is easy, but whenthe pull of the cord is felt, it is anything but effortless ; " it is asthough one tugged against a rope of very strong elastic ." Mr. Foxalso observed that whenever he was pulled back into the body, hehad the sensation of being drawn backwards into it . (The reasonfor this feeling is fully explained in this book .)

The second method of locomotion is a variety of levitation, verysimilar to the typical " flying dream ." This is described as " easyand harmless."The third method is what Mr. Fox calls " Skyying," and in this

he appears to shoot upwards, like a rocket, with great velocity. It

1 For a discussion of this, see Steiner : Initiation and its Results ; also my HigherPsychical Development.

See 'the lengthy discussion of this point later on, in the present volume .

xxxiv

INTRODUCTIONis described as " difficult and dangerous." A typical experience ofthis sort is given in the article referred to .As to the people encountered in these astral trips, Mr. Fox notes

(i) the total absence of " elementals " or other terrifying beings, sooften said to inhabit the Astral Plane ; and (2) the fact that he isnearly always invisible to them, though his presence may at timesbe felt . He points out, however, that this is always unfortunate,for when such is the case the entity is shocked and frightened, andthis state produces a corresponding shock within himself, the resultof which is to draw him back into his physical body immediately .(The reasons for all this will be made very clear in the text of thepresent book.) As to the scenery, this was almost always similiarto that seen on earth-though, of course, unfamiliar scenes werevery common ; probably more common than familiar ones . Onevery curious and unusual feature about Mr . Fox's experiences isthat he was never able to see his own body, when " projected,"though he could see his wife's body, e.g . very plainly . This isalmost the only instance on record, so far as I know, in which thishas been 'the case. Generally, the physical body of the projector isthe first object seen. In this, Mr . Fox's experience is almost unique .On the whole, however, his impressions and experiences are quitetypical, and tally with those of other investigators in this field, aswill be brought out more fully later on . Lack of space unfortunatelyprevents me from recounting the very dramatic and extraordinarymanner in which Mr. Fox lost this power, after having acquired itwith so much effort and diligence . This may be found in full in thearticles referred to, from which this summary has been drawn .

SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

I may perhaps conclude this section by giving a brief account ofa few attempts of my own, made some years ago, at " astral pro-jection." These were undertaken when I was experimenting in Yoga.On a number of occasions I " willed " to appear to a certain younglady-naturally quite psychic-just as I was falling to sleep . Mostof these attempts were apparent failures, but on three occasions sheawoke suddenly and saw me standing in the room or sitting on herbed . I remained visible for a few seconds, then " melted away ."I was quite unconscious of any seeming " success " on any occasion ;I merely awakened in the morning as usual, not knowing whetheranything had " happened " or not . These experiments extendedover a period of several weeks, and it is hardly necessary to say thatI never gave the slightest inkling of the times selected for tryingthese " projections ."Of course, while these may have been actual unconscious pro-

jections, they may also have been purely subjective experiences-perhaps telepathically initiated . But one experience was quitestriking, and should perhaps be recorded in greater detail .

INTRODUCTION

xxxvI may state that the young lady in question is an accomplished

pianist, and has a phenomenal musical memory . If she has onceplayed or heard a piece of music, she never forgets it . This isimportant, for reasons which will be apparent later . One day Iasked her if she had ever heard of an old song, " When SparrowsBuild," made famous years ago by jenny Lind, and a favourite ofmy childhood days. She stated that she never had . I said that Iwould get and send her a copy " some time," as I thought shewould like it. That was all that was said about it at the time, andno particular importance was attached to it . A couple of nightslater, I attempted to " appear " to her, and as usual awoke in themorning, without knowing whether my experiment had " succeeded "or not . A little later, I received a telephone call, and the younglady in question informed me that I had " appeared " to her thenight before-rather more vividly than usual-and that she hadthereupon been seized with the impulse to write automatically-theresult being a verse of poetry. That afternoon I called, was told ofthe experience, was shown the poetry, and confess that I receivedquite a momentary thrill ! The " poetry " consisted of the openinglines of the song "When Sparrows Build," absolutely accurate, withthe exception of one word !

I merely record the above case for what it may be worth, since Ican furnish no " proof," and the whole incident may have beenmerely a case of remarkable coincidence . Personally, I doubt thatit was . However, I shall not press the point, being content torecord it, as illustrative of the curious results one is able to obtainwhile experimenting in this baffling field . As we have seen, otherexperimenters have had far more striking and convincing results .

*

*

*

I must now draw this Introduction to a close . It has been myprivilege to work with Mr . Muldoon throughout the writing andpreparation of this book, and I have added a few foot-notes fromtime to time, and suggested certain experiments which might betried or certain points which might be covered ; apart from thesethe writing of the body of the book has been his work entirely, andI feel that the psychic world owes him a deep debt of gratitude forhis self-sacrifice and determination, in undertaking the labour in-volved in writing it, when ill in bed and in great physical pain . Idesire to record here my complete conviction of his sincerity, histruthfulness and his remarkably detached and scientific attitudetoward his' own experiences . All of which will, I feel assured, beevident in the book itself . It is a work of the utmost importance,and is just the sort of book for which psychic students, the worldover, have long waited I

HEREWARD CARRINOTON .

EXTRACTS FROM MR. MULDOON'S LETTERS

THE following extracts from letters written to me by Mr .Muldoon contain much interesting material, not found inthe text of the book itself . They serve to throw aninteresting sidelight upon the writer's psychology ; and,inasmuch as this is highly important in a case such as this, I feelassured that their inclusion is fully warranted-for this, if for noother reason . It is hardly necessary to say that these extracts havebeen made with Mr. Muldoon's permission .

The phraseology of the writer-as shown in these letters, as wellas in parts of the book itself-is also of interest, and will serve asa further indication of his inner Self . These letters were of coursewritten to me during the writing and revision of the present book .

H. C .EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS

You ask me if I have ever touched the physical body while in theastral body. No ! This is difficult to do . I have tried it, and Ifind that one cannot keep from interiorizing, because of the veryclose range . Did you ever attend a materialization seance whereyou tried to hold a " spirit " from getting back into the cabinet ?Well, if you have ever met with that tremendous magnetic pull, youwill realize how hard it is to keep from interiorizing, when one getsclose enough to the physical body to meddle with it . . . .

You have asked me, too, if I have ever seen anything while inthe astral which I did not know existed, and later verified by seeingit in the physical . Certainly ! This is nothing unusual to do, whileconsciously projected. I have often gone into houses, and noted thethings-later going there in the physical, and seeing everythingexactly as I saw it in the astral . . . . But when in coincidence - Ihave never had a clairvoyant vision in my life-not one . The onlyway I ever was able to see astrally was in the astral body . Whenin the physical body, I couldn't see a spirit if there were a millionof them in the room ! . . . Seeing inside a box would be no trouble,although I have never tried to do so, while exteriorized . It justnever occurred to me ; but I have seen right inside houses, and haveseen people in them, etc., without ever going inside . . . .

xxxvu

xxxviii EXTRACTS FROM MR. MULDOON'S LETTERSOn a table, in the parlour of my home, there stands a little device

which is used to beat time for a pupil learning music-a metronome .All one has to do to make this device work is to start the pendulum,and it will click very loudly until the spring runs down . I sleep ina room next to the parlour . The other night, I dreamed that Istood very near this device ; in the dream I seemed about to startthe metronome. No sooner had I dreamed this than I awoke in myphysical body, in bed . About one second later the device in thenext room started to click, click, click . Now there is no possibleway in which that device can start itself ; further, it has stood onthe table for months without being used . It seemed that no soonerhad I touched it-in the dream-than I awoke and heard it startclicking in the next room . Were it not for the time element, Ishould be inclined to think that I started this in the dream body-which, of course, is the astral body in a partially conscious condi-tion. But it did not start until I was awake in the physical-thoughI started it, in the dream, an instant before . Could it be possiblethat the motivity travelled to the device-while I dreamed of it-remained there until after I was conscious, and started it then ? IfI had been projected in the astral body, would not the device havestarted before I got back into the physical ? I wonder if it is possibleto do something of that sort : to try and move something in theastral body, and not have it move until some time after the astralbody has left it ? . . .

What I have just told you was written several days ago . Lastnight I again started the metronome in a dream, just as I did thefirst time. Now I have tried to move things while projected andconscious, but never could . And the strange part is that I nevermade such a suggestion to myself-the dream occurred both timesspontaneously. If only I could do this intentionally ! What Icannot understand is this : Why the device did not start until abouttwo seconds after I dreamed of starting it ? The metronome isabout fifteen feet from where I sleep . There is a wall between, ofcourse, but that doesn't count if it was the dream body whichstarted the thing going. Perhaps it is that we do not have the faith,the conviction, while conscious, and that therefore the motivity isnot powerful enough (through conscious suggestion) to move any-thing. (See p. 384 of your book The Coming Science .) Does not whatI have just said concerning my experience jibe with what is theresaid, in a fair degree ? There is only one thing which bewilders me-the time element . Why does not that metronome start beforeI am again clearly conscious in the physical body ? To be sure, ittakes no time at all to interiorize the phantom, while one is notconscious ; but still, that would not account for the time element !If I were to dream of starting it, then awaken and hear it going,that could easily be accounted for. But it does not start until afterI am awake . . . .

THE PROJECTION OF THE ASTRAL BODY

SYLVAN J. MULDOON

THE PROJECTION OFTHE ASTRAL BODY

By

SYLVAN J. MULDOON

AND

HEREWARD CARRINGTONAUTHOR OF YOUR PSYCHIC POWERS : AND HOW TO DEVELOP THEM"

HIGHER PSYCHICAL DEVELOPMENT ;" "MODERN PSYCHICAL PHENOMENA," ETC.

~ In my opinion, it is this . . . notion of a subtle body,which for so many centuries has played the dominant role inthe traditional psychology of both the East and the West,that is most deserving of being retried, reviewed and revised,to serve as a working hypothesis to co-ordinate and explain avery large number of these puzzling psychical phenomena ."

G. R. S. MEAD, in The Subtle Body .

"These self-projections represent the most extraordinaryachievements of the human will, and, are perhaps acts whicha man might perform equally well before and after death ."

F. W. H. MYERS, in Human Personality .

LONDON : RI-D;ER ~3 CO.PATERNOSTER HOUSE, E.C.

1929

First Published . . . February, z9a9ReprintedAugust, z9a9

Printed in Great Britain atTlu Mayflower Press, Plymouth. William Brandon & Son, Ltd.

PREFACE

WHEN my first out-of-the-body experiences occurred Iwas but twelve-so young and immature in mind thatI did not realize their magnitude . The occurrencescame about involuntarily and repeated themselves fre-quently, until I became so accustomed to them that, as a matter offact, I soon regarded them as nothing extraordinary and seldommentioned them even to members of my own family, to say nothingof keeping a record of them, although I had been urged to do so bymany interested persons .

I had been told, by persons professing to know, that consciousprojection of the astral body was nothing unusual, and that manypsychics could produce it at will. I, too, wanted to be able toproduce it at will, and I admit that I was envious of those who (Ihad heard) could do so. So I began a search for some one who couldproduce the phenomenon voluntarily . But my search provedfruitless, and eventually I concluded that I could not find thatsome one." Thus I began to experiment with the phenomenon

myself, and in this book you will find the results of my experiments.Although we are living in the twentieth century we still have with

us the intolerance of the Middle Ages, and I am not optimisticenough to believe that a great many will read without prejudicewhat I have to say . I have written this work with the idea of givingthe results of my findings to other students of the occult. Unfor-tunately many occultists are of the belief that what is claimed to beconscious astral projection is nothing more nor less than a dream.

I am well aware of the fact that one must first expe4nce consciousastral projection before he can believe in it, and I confess that Ishould not accept it as true myself, perhaps, had I not experiencedit and know it to be true. The sceptic says, " I want the.proof, theobjective proof, then I will believe it ! "

And the projector replies, " You cannot have objective proof .You must experience it, then you will have the proof." The argu-ment that the projector cannot prove to the sceptic that it is not adream is of no avail ; for neither can the sceptic prove to the pro-jector that it is a dream. Thus argument is useless-as useless asarguing the matter of a first cause or a last effect !

I stand on a clear-cut issue. I say experience it. " The proof ofthe pudding is in the eating ! " I have not tried to conceal anything

V

vi PREFACEnor resorted to pseudo-arguments about the " dangers " involved,which is a common characteristic of most writers on this subject . Ihave given the specific methods for bringing about the projection ofthe astral body, as I know them, and I am willing to have the truthof my statements judged squarely by the results obtained throughthe practice of these methods. You want proof, and I say you canhave itbut you must experience it. You want to know how youcan experience it, and I tell you how to go about it. I can do nomore.

In this volume I have related many of my experiences ; however,the experiences I have given do not in any way represent all whichI have had ; a book this size could scarcely hold the accounts of allof them. I could never . have gleaned the information which is con-tained herein by the few experiences which I have quoted .The average human being is not interested in the experiences of

others-he is interested in his own experiences ; and I have pre-supposed, in writing this book, that the reader wishes to know justhow the phenomenon is produced, and not merely to read experiences .Although, as I have stated, I am not optimistic enough to believethat many will read what I have to say without prejudice, I amoptimistic enough to believe that no one can give the methods whichI have outlined a conscientious and thorough trial, and not obtainresults .

Do not try to judge the book by reason alone . Judge it by experi-ment . I want no one to accept my word for what I have written .I say-experience it ! Follow the formulae and judge the merits ofmy statements afterwards . That is the time to judge-afterwards,-not in advance !

I have been accused of being " superstitious," because of my beliefin phantoms of the living and phantoms of the dead . Usually I findthat my accusers are themselves superstitious on other subjects !Recently a churchgoer told me that he did not understand how I,or any other person, could believe that he had a " ghost " insidehim. Yet this same critic professed to believe the Bible from coverto cover-even that " Christ gave up the ghost " at death !

On the other hand the Materialist believes that it is superstitionif anyone believes that the mind can exist apart from the brain .His theory is that the brain " oozes " thoughts, just as the liveroozes bile . And the Materialist (who cannot prove that the brainoozes thoughts) forgets that he cannot prove his argument-anddemands proof of the spiritist ! If you press the Materialist forproof, he will tell you that by experiment (by experiment, remember)it becomes evident that the brain produces thought . And that isabout the very thing the spiritist will tell you, viz ., by experiment itis evident that the brain does not produce thought ! Both Materialistand Spiritist must throw away " reason " and resort to experi-ment .

PREFACE

viiAnd that is all I ask the reader to do, to convince himself of the

merits of what I have written : throw away reason and try experi-ment. It is my hope that all who are successful, even those whoproduce minor results (by following the methods contained herein),will make those results known to me : for I wish to collect theevidence 1 I take .this opportunity to express my thanks to Mr .Carrington for his valuable co-operation and assistance ; and to myfiancee, Miss Goodrich, for her help in typing the manuscript .

S. M .

CONTENTSLGZ

PREFACE . , VLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

X111

INTRODUCTION. BY H. CARRINGTON

XV

EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS .

XXXVn

CHAPTER I

Existence of the Astral Body long known-My first conscious projection

z

CHAPTER II

Astral catalepsy-Types of projection-Astral somnambulism-Con-scious interruptions during astral somnambulism-Distant pointprojection-The phantom's three moving speeds-Morbidity anincentive to projection-Instantaneous astral exteriorization-Anephemeral conscious projection experience-Instantaneous projec-tion is not uncommon-Collision may cause astral exteriorization-A projection caused by a mis-step-The fundamental law of astralprojection-Intentional and unintentional projection both resultfrom the same causes-Meaning of physical " incapacity "-Whereand what is the conscious mind?-The hypnagogic state, neurosis andsleep-Sensation and emotion at different stages of exteriorization io

CHAPTER III

Route the phantom travels in projection-Some symptoms of astralexteriorization-The astral cable-Cord-activity range-An in-teriorization caused by a noise-Repercussion of the astral body . 26

CHAPTER IV

Typical "projection" dreams-How I discovered the cause of manyfalling dreams-Types of " falls " or interiorizations-The causesof the different " falls "-How to break the repercussion in afalling dream-Types of flying dreams-The flapping dream-Head-thumping dream-Dream of moving toward a phantasmalobject-Dream delusions .

CHAPTER V

Effect of instability-Eccentricities of the senses-Duplicate sense oftouch-Phantom can pass through needle-points without feeling-Delusions of the senses during the hypnotic trance-Duplicatesensibility and obsession-The case of " 89 "-The painful bayonetcase-Duplicate and shifting motivity-A " rap " produced atwill, during exteriorization of motivity .

ix

37

5r

x CONTENTS

CHAPTER VIPAGE

The purpose of sleep-Dream control-Subjects of "nervous temp