Review: Astral Projection by Brad Steiger

Review: Astral Projection

by Brad Steiger

 

Today I'm reviewing Astral Projection by Brad Steiger. The copyright is 1982, so it's an oldie for sure. My copy is signed by the author himself, although I don't remember where I acquired it. I've owned it since the 1980s.

Brad Steiger is a good author and he's written many books on many paranormal subjects. His books are both informative and entertaining.

In a few words, this book has a lot of general information about astral projection, coupled with lots of narratives, and you know how much I love OBE narratives. The narratives are cast as stories, so not exactly fictionalized, but more entertaining to be sure. The nice thing about this book is that the vast majority of them contain veridical evidence. In other words, evidence that the OBEs were "real."

Starting in October 2020, I wrote a series of six articles for this blog that presented some of the most convincing "proof." You can find them here:

Part 1, Introduction, click here.
Part 2, Laboratory Experiments, click here.
Part 3, Anecdotal Evidence, click here.
Part 4, Evidence from OBE Adepts, click here.
Part 5, Indirect Evidence, click here.
Part 6, Evidence against OBEs, click here.

Well, most of the OBE narratives with veridical evidence I cited in these articles are not found in this book. Or, to look at it another way, this book contains lots and lots more evidence not included in those articles. I could have done another six-part installment based on this book alone!

So if you're looking for "Proof" this book is for you.

Steiger breaks the book into sections, each describing different circumstances under which the OBEs occurred. For example:

• Projection at the Time of Accident
• Leaving the Body during Intense Pain
• Out-of-Body Experiences during Illness
• Projection during Surgery
• Astral Travel during Sleep
• Projection at the moment of Death
• Conscious Out-of-Body Projections
• Projections during Hypnosis

Steiger spends a lot of time discussing experiments done using hypnosis, and it's fascinating. Especially since many of these contain veridical evidence. For example, they hypnotized a talented friend and instructed her to leave her body and travel to a friend's home that she'd never seen before. She described these people and places perfectly, including some unexpected things that were later proven to be true.

It also includes some stories of remote "out-of-body" healing done through hypnosis.

The book also contains a few narratives from the author himself. For example, when one of Steiger's acquaintances attempts to "prove" OBEs are real by visiting him in an OBE. These are important because, unlike most narratives, they are firsthand from the author.

He writes that his wife, Francie, is an accomplished "mind traveller" and has done it since the age of five. She gives a pretty good description of how she does it. After some necessary prep work and extreme relaxation, she says:

"Next, imagine circles emanating before you. They may be vague at first, then they will become clearer, moving toward you, growing gradually larger, until they can pass easily over your body and completely encircle you." (pg. 186)

Wow, that sounds a lot like what happened the first time I induced the vibrations, as described in chapter 3 of my first book. You can read my account at this link.

He also talks about the "Old Pros" like Sylvan Muldoon, Oliver Fox, Yram, Paul Twitchell, and others. Bear in mind this book was written long before the likes of William Buhlman and many other post-Robert-Monroe authors.

Steiger gives a couple meager OBE induction procedures, but nothing to write home about. One of the more interesting techniques is quoted from an elderly gentleman who claimed to do it since 1905:

"You need total darkness, a mirror,  and a five-watt light. On your forehead, in the center, you place an orange-colored disc. You look at this disc for five minutes without winking, and this is to be practiced every night until you can do this.

"You increase your sitting to six minutes, then seven minutes, and so on, only when you have succeeded in making the previous time. Once while doing this, the wall suddenly disappeared and I found myself in a backyard garden..." (pg. 117)

There are also one or two helpful hints as well, such as:

"You should have some motivation, some reason for going. I think the greater motivation, the easier it is to achieve this thing." (pg. 122)

The book is professionally written and edited, and enjoyable. I didn't notice any grammar or spelling problems. The material is dated, but still very interesting. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Bob Peterson
18 February 2025

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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.

If you like my work, visit my website, robertpeterson.org, where you'll find lots of other free OBE advice and links.

Return to the index of my OBE Book reviews

Review: Astral Projection by Jennifer Vinney

Astral Projection

by Jennifer Vinney

Today I'm reviewing Astral Projection: An Easy Way to Travel the Soul by Jennifer Vinney. The copyright is missing, but assumed to be 2024.

This book gave a very bad first impression. Why? There was no copyright page, the pages aren't numbered, the chapters aren't numbered, and the English grammar is poor. I could easily believe the book was written in Chinese and translated by a bot or AI into English. For example, the author, Jennifer Vinney, never talks about herself in the first person. Instead she refers to herself as "The author." In several cases she is referred to as "he" when she quite clearly (from a photo) is a she. For example:

"In the author's journey, the author found a lot of amazing knowledge and techniques. It is amazing due to the its simplicity, yet it produced amazing results." (pg ??)

Despite all that, the book gets better. The grammar gets a little better with each chapter and it contains several solid out-of-body techniques. I'll go over them later.

Despite the poor grammar, the book does have some good advice. For example:

"One-pointed attention does not mean to empty your mind. As the name suggests, one-pointed attention means to focus your attention on something. It is not recommended for you to be in a complete empty mind because this may allow the entry of distracting external forces." (pg. ??)

I agree to some extent. The difference is subtle but important. It's not exactly "Concentration" and it's not exactly keeping the mind empty. You need to achieve a quiesced state of mind with single-pointed focus.

Here's some more good advice:

"However, if you are just partially paralyzed, silence your mind and relax. As you relax, your paralysis will become stronger and then you can will yourself out." (pg. ??)

She talks about affirmations, suggesting, for example:

"My body will sleep soon, but when my body falls asleep, I will be conscious. My consciousness will not disappear. I will have full consciousness while my body is sleeping." (pg. ??)

The book contains a few curious things that baffle me. For example, she writes:

When you return to your physical body, you will usually feel the beat. This beat is a sensation caused by friction or fast movement when the other layers of your aura merges with the physical body." (pg. ??)

I have no idea what she's talking about. Is she talking about heart beat? The Vibrations? Who knows.

At one point she talks about using crystals to facilitate astral projection. She says:

"While many crystals enhance body vibrations, thereby facilitating the process, Jasper, particularly Leopardskin Jasper, is considered the best crystal for this purpose." (pg. ??)

To my memory, this is the only book I've read that suggests jasper. Some books recommend quartz crystals, and various kinds of quartz such as amethyst, but one of the most popular seems to be Blue Calcite. I've had a large Blue Calcite crystal at my bedside for many years and I don't think it's made my OBEs more or less likely. Modern thinking suggests that mixing more than one type of crystal is a bad idea, so if you do want to use crystals, stick with one type. Again, this is the first book to suggest Jasper, so maybe I'll pick up some Jasper the next time I find myself at a rock shop, and I'll let you know.

Also, most books that suggest the use of crystals say to keep it by your bedside. Vinney has the following suggestions:

"Once the crystal is cleansed and prepared for use, gently place it on your navel before sleeping. It is recommended to avoid using large crystals weighing several kilograms for this purpose. A small crystal the size of your thumb is sufficient. If you find the crystal on your navel disruptive, you can place it beside your body, at a height around the navel." (pg. ??)

The Bad

Here is something I disagree with:

"The problem most commonly experienced by most people after returning to the physical body is a headache...However, most of them will suffer headaches for days each time they leave their physical bodies." (pg. ??)

Well, that just sounds wrong to me. I've never returned to my body with a headache. Not once, ever. In all the studying I've done, and all the books I've read, I've never heard of anyone returning with a headache. If that were the case, it surely would have been talked about by the likes of Dr. Janet Mitchell, Susan Blackmore, Robert Crookall, Gabbard & Twemlow, William Buhlman, and similar.

Show of hands: Have you ever returned to your body with a headache?

Here's another point I disagree with:

"In visiting friends or relatives, don't visit someone who performs a lot of spiritual practice...A person whose energy frequency is far higher than you can throw you back into your physical body with rapid heartbeat. It also might result in the inability to leave your body for several weeks afterwards." (pg. ??)

That sounds like a lot of nonsense to me. I've been around a lot of people with varying degrees of spiritual practice, such as channelers, psychics, mediums, healers, and fellow astral travelers. I've also encounter many high-vibration entities "out there" and never once has it caused me to be sent back with rapid heartbeat. What's more, after every out-of-body experience, it's been a lot easier to induce more, at least for a couple weeks. Yes, I've been thrown back inside my body for various reason, and sometimes with rapid heartbeat, but it's always been due to a startling physical event (the phone rings, etc.) and it has NEVER made the induction process any harder.

Here's another thing I disagree with:

"Evil life forms can only reach the fifth dimension. If you are able to leave with at least the fourth layer of your aura, then you will be able to secure yourself by going to the sixth dimension when you are chased." (pg. ??)

First of all, this is unnecessary fear mongering. Second, although there seems to be "layers" of places in OBEs, I've never identified them as "layer 4, 5, or 6, etc." Like I've always said, there aren't signs above the doorway saying "This is the Astral Plane, level 3." It's more like "This doesn't look very physical, so where the heck am I now?"

I really don't believe in "evil" as people think of it. Yes, there are entities with bad intentions and motivations, just like in physical life, but if you keep your thoughts and emotions positive, they won't be able to reach you, regardless of which "dimension."

Another point of disagreement:

"The subconscious, however, is merely an overflow of information from these three consciousnesses...Unlike our three consciousnesses, which can deliberate, make choices, and learn, the subconscious lacks these abilities, although it is connected to all three consciousnesses. It serves as a receptacle for strong emotions and other information from the consciousnesses, functioning essentially as a "garbage can." (pg. ?? -- Near the end of the book) 

That sounds like textbook learning, and it doesn't match my experience. In my experience, the subconscious is highly intelligent and independent, capable of making its own decisions. Or maybe it's just a problem with semantics: Maybe what I call my "subconscious" is one of the "three consciousnesses" she describes. Who knows.

The Good

Okay, so far I've focused mostly on the negative aspects of the book (pretty much the first half of the book). Now let's focus on the positive (the second half). This is where Vinney describes out-of-body induction techniques, and she offers a good variety of them:

Table Tennis Technique

I'm not sure why she calls this technique "Table Tennis." I think maybe it's mislabeled. Basically you lie down and imagine yourself floating up to the ceiling and back down.

Accordion Technique

This is similar to the Table Tennis Technique, except you imagine a small ball the size of a table tennis ball, then you pull it toward you and push it away, in rhythmic fashion. Gee, does that sound familiar to you? It's basically the same thing I wrote in chapter 24 of my first book. You can read my version of the technique by clicking this link.

Rope Technique

This obligatory technique was created by Robert Bruce. At least Vinney gets it right that it's supposed to employ "tactile imagination" rather than visualization.

Watch Yourself Going to Sleep

Again, this was appropriated from my first book, chapter 5. You can read it at this link.

Monroe Techniques

This also seems to be an obligatory technique for newer astral projection books, created by the famous Robert Monroe. Vinney's is a fairly decent description of the technique.

OOBE from Lucid Dreams

Again, this is pretty straightforward, but the author really doesn't say how to transition from a lucid dream to the OBE state.

The Red Spot Method

This technique is kind of unique. Basically, she suggests it should be done "after several hours of sleep." Basically, as you drift to sleep, you imagine there is a red spot on the floor next to your bed, and imagine that you, as a pinpoint of consciousness, are sitting on that red spot.

The Object Technique

This is just another name for the famous "Target Technique" quoted by many, but again, invented by Ophiel.

Displaced-awareness Projection

This sounds very similar to techniques in my first book.

The Jump Technique

This is a well-known technique in lucid dreaming where you jump up in the air slightly as a reality check. 

Muldoon's Thirst Technique

Sylvan Muldoon described this in his book The Projection of the Astral Body. I don't recommend it. You basically leverage unsatisfied thirst to motivate your astral body to leave the physical. Believe me: dehydration is a dangerous game.

The Stretch-out Technique

This is a take-off on Jerry Glaskin's "Christos Technique" where you imagine your body is stretched to be taller at the head and at the feet. The original Christos Technique involved the use of helpers to massage the head and feet, but Vinney's variant doesn't. Incidentally, this technique was one of many techniques taught by William Buhlman in the Out of Body class he used to conduct at The Monroe Institute.

The Hammock Technique

This is a classic motion-based technique, like I wrote about in Hacking the Out of Body Experience.

The Trampoline Technique

This is a variant of the Hammock Technique.

Consciousness Transfer Method 

There is one more technique listed, but it's not very helpful. Here it is:

"...the instruction given in the method is 'Let God's Blessings help you to transfer you to soul consciousness.'" (pg. ??--near the end of the book)

So the techniques section is better than a lot of other astral projection books out there, but never as good as the original sources. At the end of the book Vinney gives a "Bibliography" page in which she surprisingly recommends only seven books, only five of which are about OBEs. They are:

1. Jane Roberts (who channeled "Seth")
   
2. Usui Mikao (who wrote about Reiki)
3. William Buhlman (first book)
4. Vee Van Dam, The Psychic Explorer (which I own but haven't read)
5. Robert Peterson (first book--Hey! That's me!)
6. Janet Lee Mitchell
7. Robert Monroe (curiously, only his second book, Far Journeys)
   

The book is 158 pages with slim margins and decent font, which means it's a decent amount of content.

I give this book 3 stars out of 5, but that's generous. The book needs page numbers, chapter numbers, and a solid Native-English editor.

Bob Peterson
04 February 2025

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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.

If you like my work, visit my website, robertpeterson.org, where you'll find lots of other free OBE advice and links.

Return to the index of my OBE Book reviews

Review: Astral Projection by Eva Roseheart

Review: Astral Projection

by Eva Roseheart

Today I'm reviewing Astral Projection: The Complete Self-Empowerment Guide & Workbook by Eva Roseheart. The subtitle is: Experience Profound Awakening With Simple Techniques to Let Go of Limiting Beliefs and Awaken Your Higher Consciousness. Whew! That's a mouthful! The copyright is 2022.

The book is 135 pages, with tight margins and smallish font, but there's also a lot of white space. I'd like the book to be bigger, but at least I didn't feel cheated like some of the 48-page so-called "books" I've read.

After reading a bad book, like my previously reviewed book by Holly Jane McConnell, this one seemed refreshing. Still not great, but better. Roseheart's writing was at least normal, unlike McConnell's tedious "passive voice". Roseheart should probably have used a good editor or proofreader to catch a few rookie mistakes, like three or four times she wrote "mediation" instead of "meditation." But at least she knows the difference between "it's" and "its." And she even has chapter numbers and page numbers, unlike some books I've reviewed.

If I had to sum this book up in one sentence, I'd say: It's a classic "Self-Help" book clothed in an astral projection disguise. That is to say, the book focuses more on fixing the person (in this case, potential astral projector) than teaching dynamics, tricks, tips, or techniques of astral projection.

The questions I always ask when I read an astral projection book are:

• Who is this author?
• What is their level of experience?
• What are their credentials?
• What makes them qualified to write about it?
• Do they have book-learning or knowledge based on personal experiences?

On pages 36 and 37, Eva Roseheart gives a personal out-of-body narrative to show you she's had at least one OBE. That's better than McConnell and many other authors. Unfortunately, it's the only OBE narrative in the book, and it's labeled "My astral projection" (singular), so I can only assume her experience is very limited. Still, I appreciated her honesty and candor.

Roseheart gives several astral projection techniques, but nothing really unique or innovative. She describes some obligatory techniques like Robert Bruce's "Rope" (pg. 121), even giving him credit. Also "The Monroe Technique" (pg. crediting Robert Monroe) But instead of quoting the original authors, she apparently used a website called astralprojectionmastery.com, which is now gone or recently hacked as a redirect to some slot gaming site. Maybe it was once owned by L. Jordan whose book "Astral Projection Mastery" I gave 3 stars? At any rate, she echoes the same advice to "visualize" a rope, which is one variant, but the whole idea behind the rope technique is to use tactile imagination, i.e. to use your imaginary sense of touch, not visualization.

She also describes "The Yo-Yo Method" (pg. 122) which I invented for my first book (she doesn't give me credit, but you can read it at this link).

So also gives "The Free Fall Method" (pg. 122-123) which I also invented (I called it "Falling In A Well" which is at the end of my chapter 11.)

She also describes:

• Rotation / Roll-out Technique (Robert Monroe)
• Rocking (which I invented) (See this link)
• Wake Back to Bed (Famous lucid dreaming technique)
• Chakra Spinning technique (ancient yogic technique)
• Target Technique (quoted by many, but invented by Ophiel)
  

I don't want to nit-pick my way through the book, but there are a few things I found in error. Roseheart writes:

"Even though some of the oldest mentions of astral projection date back to at least 3,000 years ago, it was just around the 1970s that it was popularized with the name astral projection by Robert Monroe..." (pg. 11)

It's more like 5,000 years ago, and while Robert Monroe undoubtedly helped popularize the subject, I think he hated the old term "astral projection," which is much older. The term "astral projection" was used by occultists (like Oliver Fox) and Theosophists (like Charles Leadbeater) in the 1800s, long before Monroe was born. Some might argue it was popularized by Sylvan Muldoon in his 1929 breakthrough book The Projection of the Astral Body.

Here's another simple misunderstanding:

"Some people might experience hypnagogia--most known as sleep paralysis." (pg. 42)

Actually, hypnagogia (AKA hypnagogic hallucinations) and sleep paralysis are two very different things. I can easily reach a state of hypnagogia 20 seconds after lying down, but it takes a lot longer for me to reach sleep paralysis.

Lastly,  I found a really bad piece of advice in the book:

"Remember to eat at least an hour before practicing any technique and always choose to wear loose clothing." (pg. 131)

No, no, no. Don't eat an hour before practicing. In fact, astral projection experts agree with the rule "Eat early, eat light." Many say that fasting enhances your ability to induce OBEs, otherwise try to eat nothing after 3 p.m. (15:00) the day before you practice and then practice in the early morning.

Now for some of the good points of the book.

Chapter 6 is "Setting an Intention and Letting Go of Limiting Beliefs." That's actually got some good, useful information. Again, it's more like a "Self-Help Guide" but still, there are entire OBE books centered around this. Rick Stack's book comes to mind. I found her list of suggested affirmations (pages 81-82) especially useful.

The book also stresses how important it is to keep journals; both astral projection journals and dream journals. But she takes it a step further and recommends affirmation journals, and--this is fun--a "One Sentence a Day Journal" (pg. 98). She doesn't go into much detail as to why journaling is so important (See my blog article Why Keeping A Dream Journal Helps OBEs), but she does treat the subject fairly.

She also stresses that it's important to communicate to your "Higher Self" and even includes an exercise on page 106 suggesting you "Write a Letter to Your Higher Self." I agree that it's important. I wrote a whole book (titled Answers Within) about the subject.

Another cool exercise (Roseheart calls them "activities") is to "Write Your Own Prayer" (pg. 109) and she even gives an example.

Her astral projection instructions, however, fall short. I want details! Aside from the exit techniques, she only has a few pointers. It's good stuff. For example, she summarizes "key points of astral traveling" such as (paraphrased from pages 118-119):

• Intention and affirmation: Tune into your intuition, affirm what you want.
• Relaxation - Achieve mind awake/body asleep
• Vibration state - Not everyone has it, but be prepared for it
• Just let go and surrender
• Just stay calm
• Use your exit technique of choice
• Do this in the early mornings, like Wake Back To Bed, or in deep trance
• Try not to move your physical body when you wake up, but go into your technique
  

She goes into more detail than this, but not enough detail to satisfy the more detail-oriented people in the audience (me!)

I give this book 3 and 1/2 stars out of 5. It's not bad, but there are much better. It might be just right for someone who needs to hear her messages of encouragement. I would have preferred:

• A longer book (more information)
• More detailed technique instructions
• Examples and explanations of how things work, the "Whys"
  
• More out-of-body narratives to illustrate her points.
  

Bob Peterson
14 January 2025

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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.

If you like my work, visit my website, robertpeterson.org, where you'll find lots of other free OBE advice and links.

Return to the index of my OBE Book reviews