Top 25 OBE Groups on Facebook

by Bob Peterson

 

There are a lot of Facebook groups that focus on astral projection and/or out-of-body experiences; so many it's hard to choose where to focus your attention. One way to judge these groups is by the number of group members and membership growth.

It's been a year and a half since I published my blog article titled Astral Projection Facebook Groups in October 2019 which covered almost all the groups I knew about at the time. Facebook is a fast-moving landscape, so the article quickly became outdated: groups came and went, some grew in popularity while others shrank, and some groups were renamed. So I thought I'd give everyone an update.

This time I'll focus on the top 25 AP/OBE groups with the most members. They all have 3800 members or more. (If I extended it back to 2000 members or more, I'd need to list 39 groups instead of 25.) Since I'm only listing the top 25, I'm unfortunately unable to include some of my favorite smaller groups, like "the William Buhlman group" and Mark Certo's "The Triad Mind." It may be worth searching in Facebook for additional groups not listed below.

My list is ordered by the number of members: most to the least.

1. Ascending Together (was: Ascension 5th Dimension) - 149200 members
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/181122809372617/
   This group has grown from 12050 members to almost 150000 since my aforementioned previous article, which is incredible: a 12X growth in membership (unless I got my numbers wrong last time, which is always possible). It dethroned the previous number 1 which is now at number 3.
   
2. Inner dimensions - 84900 members
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/210060139557966
   This is a newcomer. When I wrote the original article above, I didn't even know it existed. Now it rocketed to the number 2 position.
3. Astral Projection - 66400 members
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/2218501282/
   This is Phil Swain's very successful group, formerly in the #1 position. It's also one of the oldest and most respected groups related to AP/OBE. It has a large team of moderators around the world that filter out the rubbish (and I'm proud to say I'm one of them!)
   
4. Astral Projection Lessons - 47000 members
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/173612009892502/
   This group maintains its #4 position, but it tripled its membership from 15500 members: a huge gain in popularity.
5. Astral Projection Community - 31900 members
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/AstralProjectionCommunity
   This group has also tripled its membership since the 2019 article.
6. Sleep Paralysis - 22300 members
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/52290258063/
   Their group membership grew by 25% since the 2019 article.
7. Project Consciousness - 21700 members
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/82182042432/
   Their membership grew 17% since the 2019 article.
8. Astral Projection - Techniques - 18000 members
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/495848321095643/
   A relative newcomer to the stage, it's gained a lot of popularity.
9. The Out-of-Body Travel Foundation! - 16000
   https://www.facebook.com/groups/328357483399/
   A Christian OBE group based on the teachings of author Marilyn Hughes. Knocked down from its #5 spot, it still showed an impressive 19% growth in membership.
   
10. Lucid Dreaming, Astral Projection, Out of Body Experience, Astral Travel - 13900 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/DreamMeaning
    This group was number 17 in the 2019 article, but it's grown its membership almost 4X.
11. Non-physical Consciousness Family Reunion/ Oneness - 11800 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/745851625508441/
    Their membership actually shrank a bit since the 2019 article, from 12450.
12. Lucidity 4 ALL - Lucid Dreaming, Astral Projection, OOBE. Phase & Shift - 11200 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1669937939901175/
    Their membership grew by about 50%, which is impressive.
13. Astral Projection&Lucid Dreams Teachings And Other Psychic Abilities - 10900 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/526012714646612
    Another newcomer with an impressive membership. It's constantly plagued with "Inbox me for a private reading" and other crap, which results in the poster being dropped from the group.
    
14. Inner Cosmos - 10400 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/723736347760344/
    A 13% membership growth.
15. Astral Explorers - 9000 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/119432314798455/
    Their membership shrank from 9400 members. :(
16. Astral Projection and Psychic Experience - 8600 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/680083798837546
    A new-comer to the stage.
    
17. Astral Projection Third Eye Meditation - 8500 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/Astral.Projection.Technique
    Another new-comer. What's interesting is their name, which leads me to believe the group was renamed.
18. Journey To The Astral World - 7000 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/181128651980482/
    This group was knocked down from its 15th position, despite 39% membership growth. An indication of how popular the subject has become.
19. ASTRAL PROJECTION - 7000 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/345494594580/
    13 percent membership growth.
20. Out of Body Explorers - 6300 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/221196514607411/
    Membership only grew a meager 3 percent.
    
21. CONSCIOUS EXPLORERS - 5700 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/327952237280976/
    Sadly, this group lost some members.
    
22. TMI Out of Body Experience Group - 5000 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/293153980770983/
    Based on The Monroe Institute teachings. They had 23% membership growth.
    
23. Astral Projection & Lucid Dreaming group - 4500 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/1061578314048618
    Another new-comer.
24. Out of Body Experiences - 3800 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/531923563559622
    Another new-comer
25. Lucid Dreaming/OBE Club - 3800 members
    https://www.facebook.com/groups/775498442534686/
    Membership grew from 2450, an impressive 36 percent.
    

These 25 groups with the largest membership are probably the best sources of astral projection / out-of-body experience information on Facebook. If you haven't joined them all yet, consider it. But please:

• Read the group rules
• Answer the group questions (if any)
  
• Be respectful, courteous, non-confrontational, and don't self-promote.
• Stay on-topic
  

I moderate several of these groups, and as a moderator, I can tell you: If you offer to do free psychic readings or cast spells, you'll probably be kicked out of the group. Let's all help each other achieve this incredible experience. 

Oh, and one more thing: Just for fun I created the group "Astral Projection Memes" which is just for AP meme sharing. In other words, no articles. It will never teach you astral projection, but it's got some great humor, especially if you peruse the "Recent Media" section and look at historical posts.

Bob Peterson
25 May 2021

Review: Astral Projection by Kimberly Moon

Astral Projection

by Kimberly Moon

Today I'm reviewing the book Astral Projection by Kimberly Moon. The subtitle is a mouthful: Unlocking the Secrets of Astral Travel and Having a Willful Out-of-Body Experience. Including Tips for Entering the Astral Plane and Shifting into Higher Consciousness. The book is copyrighted 2018.

This is another cookie-cutter book similar to many others I've reviewed. It is:

• Under-credentialed: The author gives no indication where she acquired her knowledge of astral projection.
• Way too short: only 39 pages long.
  
• Not personal: there are no OBE narratives.
• Only one real astral projection technique given, and it's pretty vague.
  

My biggest complaint is that the author gives no indication where she acquired her knowledge. Since there are no personal narratives, I can't believe it's from experience. Did she learn from a master, teacher, or guru? If so, she gives no credit. Thus, she has no way to substantiate claims like this one:

"The soul is incapable of leaving the bod[y], as without it, the person would die. This also makes astral projection different from near-death experiences, which occur when the soul actually leaves the body for a short time." (pg. 3)

Hm. I bet authors like Albert Taylor, author of the book Soul Traveler, would beg to differ. But Taylor's knowledge comes from his direct experiences. This also throws the entire religion of Eckankar and their "Soul Travel" under the bus. But I digress.

Here's another unsubstantiated claim:

(Besides the astral plane) "...The other six planes are etheric/physical (this is the plane where human life exists), causal/mental, essential, spiritual, monadic, and "manifestal." (pg. 3)

I'm sorry, but before you make such claims, you better have something to back it up. The author doesn't even explain what these planes are, how you can tell if you're there, how they differ from one another, etc. A hundred years ago, the Theosophists wrote about seven different planes of existence, but at least they claimed to have experiences to back it up.

I did not disagree with the author on many points. For example, she recommends drinking nothing but water. I've been slowly going that direction myself.

"It is important to train yourself to think that water is really the only beverage you should drink. Avoid sugary, caffeinated, and carbonated beverages altogether, and drink water with meals." (pg. 8)

I've never had a problem with sugar or corn syrup. I don't think caffeine is bad. In fact, in one section of his excellent book The Phase, author Michael Raduga recommends WBTB, slamming an energy drink in the middle of the night, and going immediately back to sleep. Aside from an occasional (once a month?) can of Monster, I don't drink carbonated drinks anymore. I am, however, highly suspicious of some artificial sweetners like aspartame.

I found some of her descriptions to be somewhat lacking. For example, when trying to induce an OBE, Moon writes:

"You must work to keep your mind active and engages in the process, or you run the risk of simply falling asleep and missing out on the astral projection experience." (pg. 18)

Well, that's a bit misleading. In my 40 years of experience, you need to focus and clear your mind into a tiny pinpoint of awareness. You need to quiet all thoughts and emotions, yet retain awareness. It's important to maintain that conscious focus, but you definitely don't want to keep your mind active. If you keep your mind active, you'll never enter the vibrational state.

Moon really only gives one astral projection technique, and that is summed up nicely on page 19:

1. First, simply relax your body and mind.
2. Relax into a trancelike state of "hypnagogia (somewhere between sleeping and wakefulness). [Note that she never explains the hypnagogic state or how to recognize it]
3. Encourage, within yourself, the feelings of mental strength and control, rather than feelings from the physical self; engage with your astral self. [She never explains how to do that.]
4. Be aware of the spiritual plane vibrating all around you; it feels welcoming rather than threatening. [She never explains how you're supposed to be aware of it. How? I can only assume by using your imagination.]
5. Enter and embrace the vibrational state; your astral body is preparing to join the astral plane. [She never explains how to enter or embrace the vibrational state. How exactly does one do that?]
6. Concentrate on exiting from the physical body into the astral realm, slowly and with intention; you will pull your spiritual self, part by part, from your physical self. [She never explains how to do this. Again, concentrating won't work. It's a matter of focusing your mind.]
7. Conclude the process by guiding your astral self out of the body. Just visualize yourself separating, and it will be so.
   

Oddly, she calls this technique "The Monroe Steps." I don't recall Robert Monroe giving these steps. Monroe gave a few techniques, but I don't recall any that sounded like this. In fact, what this reminds me of is my second book, Lessons Out of the Body, when I bitched about way-too-vague instructions given by many astral projection authors. To quote Lessons:

"Usually, their instructions looked something like this:
1. Relax totally.
2. Imagine floating.
3. Now that you're out of your body, go ahead and explore." (pg. 9)

There are other recommendations and techniques in the book--kind of--but nothing as solid as the steps I listed above.

Moon recommends a 4-7-8 breathing meditation: Breathe in through your nose for four counts, hold your breath for seven counts, then exhale through the mouth for 8 counts. This is not an astral projection technique; just a recommended meditation.

While I agree with several of Moon's assertions, the book has a fair amount of misinformation, like this:

"You cannot control your actions in the [lucid] dreams (or the dreams themselves), so that is a different experience than astral projection." (pg. 20)

That contradicts my experience. In most of my lucid dreams, I can completely control my actions and often, I take control of the dream itself, causing objects to appear and disappear with an act of will. With astral projection, I tend to have less control.

Here's more bad advice:

"So, once it is time to return to your physical body and end astral projection, all you have to do is grab hold of your silver cord and take yourself home. It can happen instantaneously, if you so desire." (pg. 25)

Most authors (including me and William Buhlman) say you can end the OBE just by thinking of your physical body or a body part like your little finger. The problem isn't getting back because that will happen automatically when you've been away too long. The problem is staying out as long as possible. Following your silver cord back is bad advice; for one thing, many astral projectors don't see a silver cord, even when they're looking for it. For example, Eddie Slasher's book, Explorations Out of the Body, which is clearly and unequivocally based on the author's personal experiences.

Here's more bad advice:

"It is also a really good idea to set a timer of some sort to remind you when it is time to end your astral projection session." (pg. 25)

In fact, most OBE authors agree it's a really bad idea to set a timer or alarm: setting time limits tend to work against you trying to focus your mind out-of-body no matter how long it takes. If you're concerned about the time, or even mildly thinking about the time ("Have I done this too long? Is my alarm going to go off soon?") it's enough to keep you inside your body. Do yourself a favor: do not set a timer or alarm.

Another thing I found questionable was this:

"There is really nothing to fear in the astral plane or your journeys there, so we would recommend preparing yourself through all of the techniques named here, and don't worry about protecting yourself. You will be just great." (pg. 33)

While it's good to be fearless and have a positive attitude in astral projection, I think the subject should have been addressed more thoroughly. After all, we're dealing with the unknown and it's natural to be scared or cautious. Although rare, scary things can happen. She could have talked about what to do if you encounter something scary: end the experience by thinking about your physical body. Many books instill a sense of safety by saying prayers or rituals, but I've always advocated a sense of fearlessness and to counter force with force.

There were a few things I did like about the book. For example, she wrote:

"In other words, what happens in the astral realm, stays in the astral realm." (pg. 30)

I thought that was clever. She also made the observation that dreams, including lucid dreams, can be interpreted, but astral projections can't, just like real life experiences. I kind of liked that too.

Despite a few doses of misinformation like those above, the book wasn't that bad. In fact, I agreed with a lot of it. The bottom line is that the book is just way too short. It's only 39 pages, which is shorter than the "References" section of the last book I reviewed, Convergence! There's just not enough content.

I'll give it 2 stars out of 5. There are much better AP/OBE books on which to spend your money.

Bob Peterson
11 May 2021

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If you want me to review a book about out-of-body experiences or astral projection, send me an email: bob@robertpeterson.org, but please check the index first to see if I've already reviewed it. Also, I've got a huge pile of books I'm planning to review, so don't expect a quick turnaround.

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