Review: Ethereal Voyages: Exploring the Infinite Realms of Astral Projection
by Holly Jane McConnell
Today I'm reviewing Ethereal Voyages: Exploring the Infinite Realms of Astral Projection by Holly Jane McConnell. The subtitle is "A Comprehensive Guide to Out-of-Body Experiences and Spiritual Journeys."
The copyright is 2024. The book is 157 pages with decent font and margins, but a lot of wasted white space and several "nice" AI (Artificial Intelligence)-generated graphics.
There is no way to sugar-coat this. This is a bad book. How bad? Let me count the ways.
First of all, the subtitle is misleading: In no way is it "Comprehensive." In fact, it could win awards for being vague and unhelpful. There are only three out-of-body techniques in the book, and they are vague and very poorly described.
Like many others, it's a "data dump" but in this case the data is vague, redundant, and not helpful. There are no out-of-body narratives and no personal experiences, so we have no idea who the author is, nor what makes her an expert on the subject. I'm guessing she has absolutely no experience in out-of-body travel. She may have done some scant online research, but there's just no depth here.
One big problem I had with the book is that it's almost exclusively written in passive voice. In the entire 157 pages, I found maybe five or six sentences in active voice. All the rest are passive voice, which makes it very cumbersome and hard to read. Tedious.
Note to would-be authors: Please, please, PLEASE study and learn what "passive voice" is and absolutely destroy it from your writing. It doesn't make your writing sound sophisticated. It just makes your writing sound immature.
Almost every chapter is written with no regard to the other chapters. That means there's a lot of redundancy. So she ends of saying things like "X is very important" several times, in several chapters. For example, a bunch of chapters start out saying things like:
"Astral projection, transcending physical boundaries to explore other dimensions, offers profound opportunities for personal development." (pg. 70)
Compare that to:
"Astral projection is a transformative practice that offers a myriad of benefits for personal development." (pf. 73)
To be honest, it really felt like the author plugged some parameters into an AI bot and told it to write essays for a 9th grade humanities class. Then she stitched them together as (unnumbered) chapters to form this book.
In one of the first chapters she states:
"However, there is no measurable or verifiable evidence to confirm the objective reality of one's consciousness leaving their body and traveling to other places or dimensions." (pg. 10)
Really? No evidence? I guess she never read my six part blog article about the evidence (which you can find at https://www.robertpeterson.org/astral-projection-information.html). I guess she never read Alexander De Foe's book "Consciousness Beyond the Body" either.
The book has a fair amount of other misinformation as well. For example, on page 17 she states:
"Belief is the cornerstone of astral projection. Without a fundamental belief in the possibility of astral travel, the journey cannot commence." (pg. 17)
Wrong. I wasn't a believer when I had my first self-induced run-in with the vibrations. You only need to be open-minded. Belief helps, but I wouldn't call it the cornerstone. All you need is suspension of disbelief.
More disinformation:
"Astral projection requires a focused mind capable of visualization." (pg. 80)
Wrong. In fact, author Robert Bruce invented the "rope" technique to aid blind people (who by definition are not capable of visualization) achieve OBEs. Visualizations might be the most effective OBE exit techniques, but in my book Hacking the Out of Body Experience, I gave techniques to induce OBEs by engaging the other senses: sound, touch, etc. You don't need focus either: You can achieve OBEs through lucid dreams and other subconscious trickery.
More disinformation:
"The relationship between sleep and astral projection is intricate. Disrupted or irregular sleep patterns can make it challenging to reach the state of consciousness needed for astral projection." (pg. 81)
Wrong. In fact, it's just the opposite. Disrupted sleep is the cornerstone of the most popular and effective astral projection (and lucid dreaming) techniques ever invented: Wake Back to Bed (WBTB). Many young people have their first OBEs due to college pressure and/or newborn babies which forced them into irregular sleep patterns.
Another:
"A healthy body supports a focused and balanced mind, facilitating easier access to the astral state." (pg. 81)
Nope. While many OBEs happen to healthy people, there are plenty of examples of the opposite. Author Vincent Turvey was bed-ridden and sick most of his adult life. Author Sylvan Muldoon was bedridden. When I'm sick enough to stay in bed, I often feel more "loose" from my physical body and can project easier.
Here's another example of disinformation:
"Dragons in the astral realm defy the typical stereotypes. They vary greatly in size and color, with some being intimidatingly large and others smaller and less imposing. Their role in the astral plane is as diverse as their appearances." (pg. 46)
In my 44 years of experience I've never seen a dragon. I've never heard of anyone seeing a dragon. In the hundreds of books on the subject, I've never read a single OBE narrative that included a dragon. As far as I remember, I don't think C.W. Leadbeater even went that far in his book The Astral Plane.
Here's some more misinformation:
"Demons have unrestricted access to all levels of the astral plane." (pg. 47)
This is nonsense. It's bad enough that she's fear mongering here. In my opinion, 98 percent of all demons reported in OBEs are manifestations of subconscious fears, especially with regard to Awareness during Sleep Paralysis. All the big astral projection experts agree that if demons are anywhere, they are confined to the lowest levels of the astral plane. They do not have "unrestricted access."
Most of what McConnell does say in the book is word salad; devoid of meaning and unhelpful. For example, she says things like:
"Through spiritual exploration, self-discovery, and creative inspiration, individuals can achieve profound growth and understanding." (pg. 73)
Yeah, that's not helpful at all, is it? Like, give me a concrete example. I'd cut her some slack but the whole book is like that. For example, under the heading "Advanced Techniques for Experienced Projectors" she writes:
"Explore the concept of multiple, overlapping layers with the astral plane. Each layer can represent different levels of consciousness or dimensions of reality." (pg. 94)
How exactly am I supposed to explore the concept? See what I mean? Not helpful. Tell me what to do, what actions to take.
She only mentions three astral projection techniques, described in one sentence each. They are:
- Belly Button technique: "Focus on the belly button to induce astral projection, visualizing energy flowing in and out." (pg 73)
- Hammock technique: "Imagine lying in a hammock, embracing the feeling of weightlessness." (pg. 73)
- Rope technique: "Visualize climbing a rope to ascend into the astral plane." (pg 73)
Sorry, but most people need more than one sentence.
Later she also mentions a technique from Robert Monroe, but this is about as bad an explanation as possible. The steps she gives (on page 112) are:
- Prepare the Space: Creating a warm, quiet room free from disturbances.
- Calm the Mind and Body: Using relaxation techniques to sooth the mind and body.
- Enter the State of Vibrations: Achieving a semi-aware state, focusing on relaxation.
- Welcome and Command Vibrations: Sensing and controlling the vibrations signaling the onset of an out-of-body experience.
- Sever the Tether: Encouraging the sensation of separation and floating above the physical body.
- The Return: Focusing on reintegration with the physical body at the end of the journey.
See what I mean about word salad, done in passive voice? Robert Monroe's first book, Journeys Out of the Body, had a good explanation of his techniques. He was never that vague or unhelpful. I get steps 1 and 2, but steps 3, 4 and 5 are gibberish that say nothing. And step 6 is completely unnecessary: You will automatically return to your physical body when you run out of time.
Here's some more unhelpful word salad on page 116 under the heading of "Advanced Techniques for Deeper Astral Experiences:"
"To deepen astral experiences:
- Astral Travel: Exploring different realms and dimensions for profound spiritual insights.
- Enhanced Astral Sight: Developing the ability to see and perceive the astral realm more clearly.
- Energy Manipulation: Learning to harness and direct energy within the astral plane."
See what I mean? This just doesn't make any sense. She's not saying how to deepen astral experiences. She's not really saying anything useful at all.
One last example of word salad:
"Astral experiences can also aid in recognizing and asserting personal boundaries. Understanding one's astral self can translate into more confidence in establishing and maintaining boundaries in everyday life. This assertiveness is key to personal well-being and effective interpersonal relationships." (pg. 135)
Again, that's not helpful. In fact, it's backwards. Out of body experiences can sometimes make you feel disconnected and hard to relate to other people. They can make you feel alone, isolated, like nobody understands. Sometimes you need to actively work hard to maintain close relationships.
So bottom line: I don't have anything good to say about this book. As far as I can tell it's mostly AI-generated word salad that really doesn't say anything. I give it 1 star out of 5.
Bob Peterson
12 November 2024
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