Review: Astral Projection by Emily Oddo

Astral Projection

 

by Emily Oddo

Today I'm reviewing Astral Projection by Emily Oddo. The subtitle is 7 Secred Techniques to Master Conscious Travel and Unlock Higher Realms. The copyright is 2025.

I had high hopes for this book. It started out good, but it let me down. As usual, I'll start with the negative things about the book, then move on to the positive.

I always start by questioning the author's credentials and amount of firsthand experience. I ask, "What makes the author qualified to talk about this subject?" In the case of Emily Oddo, there is nothing in the book to make me think she's had even a single out-of-body experience / astral projection. She doesn't credit any teachers or books for her knowledge. She does mention a few well-known authors like Robert Bruce, Robert Monroe, and William Buhlman. There are no credentials and no narratives. There are no professional references to look up, and the whole book is just another "textbook" knowledge dump.

Even chapter 12, "The Collective Experience: Stories From the Astral Plane," which sounds promising, wasn't. In fact, it didn't contain a single OBE narrative. It was just a collection of AI-like sentences stating how astral projections change people's opinions on life-after-death, their expanded view of life, spirituality and other topics. But not one example.

A quick search on the Internet demonstrates that Oddo has published a lot of books on new-age topics, which makes me believe she's cranking out as many books as she can to collect as much money as she can from honest seekers who don't know any better. And it must work because she keeps cranking them out.

It took me a while to realize it, but I'm fairly certain it was created with the help of AI, Artificial Intelligence. But unlike my previous book review, The Astral Plane: An Exploration Beyond the Physical, by D.R.T. Stephens, it actually says something useful. So I guess the author used a better AI engine than Stephens, or something. The first few chapters read more like a human wrote it, but it quickly devolves over the next few chapters.

How do I know it's AI? Because it's way too "formula." It sounds monotone, unemotional, and analytical. In other words, mechanical, very mechanical. There's not a single off-the-wall comment or emotion expressed to make me think she's human.

Almost every sentence--let's just say 85 percent of them--are written in passive voice. Inexperienced authors think that sounds professional, intelligent, and mature, but in reality, it just makes it very difficult to read. I've complained about this before in other books. It's one of my pet peeves.

If you don't know what "passive voice" means, simply put, it's when the subject doesn't "do" the verb, but the verb "is done" to the subject. So instead of writing "I purchased the book" (active voice) you have "The book was purchased by me" (passive voice). Excessive use of passive voice drives me crazy. CRAZY! [A wide-eyed, crazed look crosses Bob's face as he pulls the choke lever on his chainsaw and pulls the starter cord.] Seriously, please try to remove it from your writing if you can.

When I say the book is "too formula," here's what I mean:

• Almost every chapter has a similar introductory paragraph that sounds almost reasonable.
• Almost every paragraph follows the same formula:

1. The first sentence is almost invariably written in passive-voice, and talks about (or eludes to) some technique, process, or practice.
2. The second sentence is written in active voice or passive voice, usually about 50 percent chance, and gives a little more detail about the subject of the first sentence.
3. The third and following sentences make points to support the previous sentences, the most often are written in passive voice.
4. The paragraphs are all about the same length.

I'll give you a concrete example: Here are the first sentences of EVERY paragraph from pages 105 through 107:

• The immediate recording practice creates a crucial first bridge between astral and physical awareness. (pg. 105)
• The symbolism translation process addresses the challenge of bringing multidimensional understanding into linear awareness. (pg. 105)
• The physical anchoring technique embeds astral insights into daily awareness through sensory association. (pg. 105)
• The progressive embodiment approach recognizes that integration occurs in stages rather than instantly. (pg. 106)
• The trigger phrase method condenses complex astral insights into concise verbal formulations that can be recalled easily during daily activities. (pg. 106)
• The parallel processing practice develops the capacity to maintain expanded awareness alongside ordinary functioning. (pg. 106)
• The integration meditation creates dedicated space for systematically incorporating astral insights. (pg. 107)
• The application identification technique transforms abstract insights into concrete behavioral changes. (pg. 107)
• The gradual frequency elevation approach works with the vibrational differential between astral and physical consciousness. (pg. 107) 
• And on and on and on, ad nauseam. 

Does that sound like a human or a machine to you?

Okay, I've harped enough about passive voice and the use of AI. 

Even if you slog through the passive-voice sentences, the author tries to make it seem like her information (from 2025, mind you) is cutting-edge, but it's really not. For example, she references (in passing--not much detail) the TPJ (Temporoparietal Junction) of the brain and default mode network (DMN), but says absolutely nothing about newer discoveries in neuroscience, like the 2023 discovery of the role of the anterior precunius in OBEs. Another example: She writes:

"The hormone melatonin and the neurotransmitter DMT (dimethyltryptamine), produced naturally in the pineal gland, have been implicated in facilitating these altered states of consciousness." (pg. 3)

She says this again on page 111. The "theory" that the pineal gland may produce small amounts of DMT was put forth by Rick Strassman in his 2001 book, DMT: The Spirit Molecule. As interesting as it is, Strassman's theory has since been disproven by science, yet Oddo presents it here as fact.

There are a few more points I disagree with. For example, she writes:

"...consciousness shifts to new locations by forming clear conceptual images of the desired destination." (pg. 60)

As I've said many times before, it's not that easy. When I was a beginner, after leaving my body, I'd try to reach destinations by visualizing them, or visualizing people I wanted to visit, stating my desire, and many other methods. It never worked. And I'm very good at visualization. It took me a couple years to get the hang of it. It's more like setting an intention of a place as an anchor-point, and pulling your awareness there. I wrote about it in this blog article and this blog article.

Oddo kind of describes a similar thing, anchor points, with regard to stability:

"As you move through the astral environment, periodically designate specific pointsas anchors by focusing brief but intense attention on them." (pg. 64)

The Vibrations

Oddo gives advice on how to pass through the vibrational state.

"When the vibrations begin, focus complete attention on experiencing them fully without resistance or analysis. Rather than attempting to immediately exit the body, temporarily direct your intention toward intensifying these sensations. This counterintuitive approach prevents premature separation attempts while allowing the energy body to complete its shift naturally." (pg. 75)

She also offers a unique approach:

"When vibrations occur, direct your attention  to a single body part--typically the head, chest, or hands. Concentrate on the sensations in this limited area until they intensify beyond the general vibrational state. This concentrated energy creates a localized separation point through which consciousness can exit more easily than attempting full-body separation during intense vibrations." (pg. 76)

That seems like good advice. I rarely experience the vibrations anymore, but I'll have to try that. Whenever I try to intensify the vibrations through intention, they always fade away. What always works best for me is to remain completely passive and watch the vibrations grow in intensity, then try to physically move. See this blog article for more information.

Lucid Dreams and OBEs

Oddo believes the same as I do with regard to lucid dreams and OBEs:

"This dream environment exists within the individual's consciousness rather than as an independent reality. Astral Projection, by contrast, involves the perception of environments that exist independently of the individual's consciousness..." (pg. 84) 

I found this interesting:

"The oscillation technique intentionally moves awareness back and forth between dream and astral states to develop precise control over state transitions." (pg. 95)

To me, that's like playing with fire. In my first book, I wrote about something I called "The fantasy trap." Basically, if you daydream and/or use your imagination too much during an OBE, you're likely to accidentally slip into a dream state. Your OBE lucidity can slip into a lucid dream state, then slip further into an ordinary dream state. So to me, trying to oscillate between the two is like injecting yourself with a sedative: it's not only unproductive, you risk losing everything. I recommend you hold onto OBE awareness as long as you can. Don't try to bop between them.

As I said, this book is much better than the previous one I reviewed. Unlike that book, this one gives some good information:

"Practice is essential. Astral projection is not merely an intellectual concept to understand but an experience to embody." (pg. x)

Here's another gem:

"Practice deliberately withdrawing awareness from each sense individually. Begin with hearing: listen to the most distant sound you can perceive, then gradually bring awareness to closer sounds, and finally to sounds within your own body. Repeat this process with visual awareness..." (pg. 15)

Techniques 

The book has some good astral projection techniques.

Oddo gives a fairly decent rendition of Robert Bruce's famous "Rope technique." She even credits him, and unlike most authors, explains (correctly) how to focus on the tactile sensations, not visualization. (pg. 34)

Oddo gives a decent explanation of the "Point Shift" method, in which you basically try to shift the focus of your attention to another location. (pg. 37)

She gives a good explanation of the Wake-Back-To-Bed (WBTB) technique on page 45. 

She also gives some decent visualization techniques (pg. 41)

She talks about sound-induced projection techniques, such as the use of binaural beats. (pg. 49) 

The book's subtitle suggests "7 Sacred Techniques," but she doesn't enumerate them, nor does she give any information about them being "sacred."

Tips and Advice

Oddo gives some good advice regarding the learning and practicing of OBEs. For example:

"Spatial disorientation provides another powerful method for completing difficult projections. When partial separation occurs, deliberately confuse your spatial awareness by imagining contradictory positions and movements." (pg. 55)" 

She also gives some solid recommendations, like:

• Keep a dream and OBE journal, and write down your experiences as soon as you can.
• Incorporate or "anchor" your intentions during daily life, like with affirmations.
• Examine your own belief system and alter them.
• Work to resolve your fears. 

I give the book 3 stars out of 5. It was obviously created with the "help" of AI, Artificial Intelligence. There was some good information in this book, but a lot of it appears in other books too. The grammar is good, the spelling is perfect, but oh my God, so much of the book is written in passive voice, it's a chore to read.

Bob Peterson
16 June 2026

----------------------------

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

Astral Projection, Ego, and Arrogance

by Bob Peterson

Today I want to talk about ego. The bottom line is that astral projection can cause some people to over-inflate their ego and become arrogant.

When you start having out-of-body experiences or astral projections, it's easy to fall into the ego trap. This is especially true when you learn to self-induce them regularly. Since most people can't leave their physical body at will, it's easy to think you're special, you're better than ordinary people. After all, you've seen things "normal" people don't see: you've seen "the afterlife." You've seen astral planes, spirits, angels, light beings, akashic records, non-physical cities. You've felt things others don't, like the incredible feeling of flying free without boundaries or devices. You may have met spiritual masters like Jesus and attended their lectures. You may have flown to the stars, or explored the craters of the moon. You may have explored the depths of the oceans. You may have done healing, witnessed life-planning. You may have visited the distant past our incredible future. You've caught glimpses of a deeper reality, other worlds that evade "ordinary" people. It's easy to think "I'm special, I'm magical, I'm better than everyone else." And it's easy to look down on other people as mere "Muggles."

It's the same thing with computers. As a career computer professional, I met a lot of very arrogant people with huge egos. Back in college, my friends and I used to brag about how many computer languages we knew. Back in the day I was fluent in Fortran, Pascal, C, Basic, Cobol, Snobol, C++, Compass assembler, 8080 assembler and others. For today's kids, it's Java, Java script, Python, Bash scripting, Rust, Go, TypeScript, Kotlin, Swift, and guess what? It's all meaningless. No matter how much you know about computers, there's always someone more knowledgeable or better. And there are always things you don't know.  I sometimes wonder if there's some "final boss" at the top who is unmatched, like maybe Linus Torvalds.

It's the same thing with martial arts. In college I used to practice Tai Chi, Chin Na, and some Shaolin Kung Fu, and I met some very arrogant people along the way. Most of the greatest Kung Fu movies are about ego, and who is the "final boss." There's always someone better. (As an aside, I love love love the "Ip Man" movies).

But it's all a trap. It's all a distraction. The ancient Buddhist and Hindu teachers knew that thousands of years ago, and cautioned us against it. The fact is, the more you learn to see and understand, the more you know you don't know. You realize there are layers upon layers, and each is greater than the last, and that applies to aspects of "self," as well as aspects of reality. You come to realize we are all one, and that separation is an illusion. 

The more you see, the more you realize we're just a speck of nothing. The more you see, the more you realize your "ego"--the conscious you--is only a tiny fraction of your greater self. Your entire lifetime is only one of thousands. Or as Kansas put it, "All we are is dust in the wind."

To feel or act like you're better or superior to another person is, in fact, just like an ant thinking he's better than the microbe. Or the microbe thinking he's better than the molecule. Or the molecule thinking he's better than the atom, or the atom thinking he's better than the neutrino. Get it? Any comparison is so trivial it's laughable. 

In the end, our bodies all end up in a box or an urn, but our spiritual essence--the soul--lives on in another layer. After we die, we judge ourselves, not by what we learned or how much better we were than others, but by how we treated other people and animals, how we helped them or hurt them; how we lifted them up or tore them down. So tearing someone else down is just like gnawing on your own leg. At first it might taste good, but it's wrought with your own pain and suffering. But lifting up another person is like ascending with them. Raising consciousness for one is raising consciousness for all.

I'm reminded of the song "Lonely is the Word" by Black Sabbath from the Ronnie James Dio era. Here's a quote:

"I've been higher than stardust
I've been seen upon the sun
I used to count in millions then,
but now I only count in One.
Come on, join the traveler
If you've got nowhere to go
Hang your head and take my hand
It's the only road I know"

Bob Peterson,
02 June 2026

The Astral Plane: An Exploration Beyond the Physical

by D.R. T Stephens

Today I'm reviewing The Astral Plane: An Exploration Beyond the Physical by D.R.T Stephens. The subtitle is Uncovering the Secrets of Astral Travel and OBEs. The copyright is 2023.

If I was asked to describe this book in five words, I'd use words like "sterile, impersonal, mechanical, boring, uninspired."

As you know, the best astral projection books are inspired by personal experiences. This one isn't.  There are no clues how the author acquired this "knowledge." In fact, it reads like the author doesn't have any knowledge at all; it could very well be copy-pasted from an AI chat-bot, sight unseen.

The book has a couple of astral projection narratives in chapter 30, but they're extremely generic and uninteresting. They're so uninteresting, with lack of emotion, that I question their authenticity. And they're not the author's experiences.

The book doesn't really say anything interesting at all. I would be more entertained by misinformation or misinterpretation. At least that's interesting. At least that gives me something to think about.

I can't really find fault with anything the book said. It just didn't seem to say anything. I have absolutely no evidence to substantiate this, but I tend to believe the entire book was written by AI, Artificial Intelligence. It reads like the author, D.R.T Stephens, entered instructions into an AI chat-bot like "Write a short chapter on astral projection X" where X is something like "throughout history" or "anatomy of the astral plane" or "and aging." In other words, each and every chapter reads like a short AI-generated essay on the topic that says nothing substantial.

The entire book reads like: "While many scholars regard astral projection as a phenomenon of the mind, experiencers see it as an experience of a nonphysical reality." Well, duh.

In other words, it tries to argue multiple sides, like an AI presents different viewpoints. It never asserts anything. It never argues anything. It never presents information. It never backs up anything with experience. It never references other works on the subject. It's completely uninspired and unimaginative. Worst of all, it's mostly written in passive voice. I'll give you an example. (Opens the book to a random page):

"Chapter 20: Astral and the Occult
The realm of the occult, with its multifaceted practices and deep-rooted philosophies, has often been closely intertwined with the concepts of astral projection and the astral plane. This chapter aims to delve into the historical and contemporary roles of astral experiences within the realm of occult practices and traditions... (pg. 73)
While occult traditions share similarities with religious and shamanic systems in their use of astral projection, they often differ in objectives and methodology... (pg. 73)
The astral plane in the occult context is seen as a repository for thought-forms--concentrated packets of energy created by collective belief or individual focus...(pg. 74)
Summary
The realms of the astral and the occult are tightly interwoven, with astral projection serving as a significant practice with various occult traditions...(pg. 75)

And on and on. See what I mean? It's all just...gobbledygook. 

Another dead giveaway: At the beginning of the book, it says the characters in the book are all fictional. But there are no characters and it's supposedly nonfiction. Get it?

Then there's the off-putting multi-page disclaimer at the beginning that says things like:

"By continuing to read this book, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions stated in this disclaimer." (pg. 3) 

You're better off finding a decent AI chat bot like chatgpt and asking it your own questions about astral projection. Better yet, find a book that speaks from personal experience, and moves you with their experiences, and actually says something worthwhile. Like, say, Jurgen Ziewe, William Buhlman, Robert Monroe, or just about anyone else.

I cannot recommend this book. I give it one star out of five. It is 129 pages of unhelpful discourse, with narrow margins and a decent font. I didn't find much inside to fault, but I didn't find anything to recommend it either. Unlike some books that openly promote misinformation, this book just says...nothing. It's like bubble-wrap or packing peanuts: nicely packaged air.

And remember that subtitle? Uncovering the Secrets of Astral Travel and OBEs? It's bait-and-switch. It uncovers no secrets.

Bob Peterson
28 April 2026

----------------------------

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

Astral Voyages by Dr. Bruce Goldberg

Astral Voyages 

by Dr. Bruce Goldberg

Today I'm reviewing Astral Voyages by Dr. Bruce Goldberg. The subtitle is Mastering the Art of Soul Travel. Some copies have "Master the Art of Interdimensional Travel." The copyright is 1999. People have requested me to review this book for a long time, so here it is. As usual, I'll start with the bad points and end with the good points.

Credentials 

I always like to start out by asking who is the author and what makes them qualified to teach astral projection? In the case of Dr. Bruce Goldberg, the answer is: he has extensive experience with hypnosis, having conducted more than 33,000 past life regressions, and he's used hypnosis to induce astral projection in more than 11,000 patients. He also claims to also have personal experience, but he fails to give any of his own astral projection narratives in the book. He does mention, however, that he's had OBEs in which he was pulled back inside his body by his silver cord "several dozen times" for getting too close to his body. (pg. 14). He also says "I have practiced astral voyaging since 1971, and have trained thousands of my patients to experience the techniques presented in this book." (pg. 73)

I can tell you this much: he seems well-read on the subject, because he references Monroe, Muldoon, Oliver Fox, and other experts in the field.

Goldberg has made quite a name for himself as an author and lecturer on several new age subjects. He's been interviewed on several talk shows, such as Oprah, Phil Donahue, Leeza, Joan Rivers, The Other Side, Jerry Springer, Montel Williams, Regis and Kathie Lee, as well as appearances on CNN, CBS News, and others.

Assumptions 

The first thing to note is that this book is published by Llewellyn, and like most Llewellyn books, it completely buys into new age beliefs. It's clear from the beginning that he believes in several "planes of existence" and "astral bodies" and such, rather than more modern views like: states of consciousness, how we interpret sensory data streams, "stories of experience," and "body schemas."

Goldberg apparently believes in 13 "planes of existence." The lower six planes are:

1. The Earth / Physical Plane

2. The Astral Plane

3. The Causal Plane

4. The Mental Plane

5. The Etheric Plane

6. The Soul Plane

He doesn't really say much about the "near Earth" area where you seem to visit an imperfect duplicate of the physical world. Many authors call that the "Etheric Plane" but Goldberg puts the Etheric plane much higher in his "plane hierarchy."

Where I Disagree 

This is where the book gets weird. He teaches some really weird, and dubious--eyebrow raising--things about the lower planes. For example:

When describing the Astral Plane, he writes:

"The sound characteristic of this plane is the roar of the sea." (pg. 62).

Wait, what? I've never heard the roar of the sea in the astral plane, and I don't recall any other books on the subject describing that at all. It's just...weird.

When describing the Mental Plane, he writes:

"The soil is blue and is used to build their roads, which have a deep blue appearance. All souls here wear a white flowing cloak and give the appearance of angels. The sound of running water is heard on this plane." (pg. 64) 

Say what? None of the other books I've read on astral projection describe blue roads or the sound of running water.

With regard to "The Etheric Plane," he writes:

"Brilliant white lights dominate the sky of this plane, and the sound of buzzing bees is heard continuously." (pg. 64).

Come on, man. Odder still, he says "Most commonly these sounds are detected in the right ear only." (pg. 68) Again, no one else in the genre make these claims.

Goldberg doesn't name the "upper planes." He just numbers them Plane 7 through 12, and plane number 13 is called the "God Plane." He doesn't describe these upper planes at all. So where does he get this "information?" Unfortunately, he doesn't say. Which leads me to throw it all away as unverifiable "nonsense" passed down for generations, or worse, it may have been "made up" a long time ago by some ancient guru or cult leader in India who wanted to make himself seem more knowledgeable. If it comes directly from his hypnosis patients, he should say so, rather than just presenting it as fact. Either way, it's stretched way beyond my tolerance of credibility. Take it with a grain of salt, or better yet, a horse-size salt block.

This begs the age-old question: "How do you know which plane you're on?" Goldberg writes:

"There are three methods to distinguish your dimensional location. Your Masters and Guides or Higher Self can inform you of which plane you are currently on. The landmarks and uniqueness previously described can assist in your identification..." (pg. 68-69)

So I'm supposed to look for those blue roads or listen for the buzzing of bees? I'm sorry, but after 46 years of OBEs, I can accept some weird experiences, but I'm still too grounded and skeptical to accept this.

I agree with a lot of new age beliefs, but definitely not all. For example, Goldberg writes:

"When you become an experienced voyager, the mere thought of a location or person will instantly send your consciousness to that location or individual." (pg. 15)

Similarly, he writes:

"...we can fly anywhere by merely thinking of a location." (pg. 65) 

And later on, he writes:

"One of the great advantages of voyaging to the astral plane is that our thoughts instantly materialize into reality and create an object or person." (pg. 179) 

I've read similar things in other Llewellyn books, such as The Llewellyn Practical Guide to Astral Projection by Melita Denning and Osbourne Phillips,  (which I haven't reviewed yet). Contrary to this claim, as I described in my first book, I had lots of problems trying to visit my friend Lisa ("LD"). After leaving my body, I'd think of Lisa, I'd visualize Lisa, I'd imagine I was with her, I'd try to fly to her, and yet, despite all my efforts, my consciousness was never "instantly sent" to her as I expected. So I'm sorry, Mr. Goldberg, but that's not my experience. My thoughts during an OBE definitely do not result in the creation of a person (or place) nor make me travel there.

Now, in a lucid dream, that's another matter. In a lucid dream, you will often be transported to a person or place just by thinking of them/it. You can manipulate your dream world with a thought. So naturally it makes me wonder if Goldberg, Denning, Phillips, and the lot, were just having lucid dreams and not true out-of-body experiences. And I wondered the same thing in the 1980s when I read other books that make these claims.

While I agree with a lot of what Goldberg says, I don't agree with it all. Some of it is just outdated, and since been disproven. For example, he writes:

"A blackout is experienced when the astral body separates and eventually rejoins its physical component." (pg. 22)

Robert Crookall and several others wrote about the blackout. As I wrote in chapter 17 of my first book, I've had OBEs in which there was no blackout at the beginning, and others in which there was no blackout at the end. In some rare cases, I've had full-blown OBEs in which there was absolutely no blackout on either end. It was a completely lucid and conscious experience from physical to non-physical and back. I've spoken with a few other people (one recently) who corroborated this. A blackout is common, but not a certainty.

Here's another oddity:

"When spirits are in the normal conditions of astral life, they appear as glimmering lights. When they wish to manifest themselves to mortals, they assume (in order to be recognized) the physical appearance similar, but often much younger, to that they had in their physical body." (pg. 39)

I've seen spirits in the normal conditions of astral life, and they appear normal to me. Yes, I've seen glimmering lights, but normally, they appear normal, fully "there" even when they don't know I'm there. But don't take my word for it. Take a look at Jurgen Ziewe's book, Elysium Unveiled, where he describes seeing people going about their daily lives in the astral world. They appear normal, not as glimmering lights. I have, however, experienced what I call "Schrodinger's Astral Body," a phenomenon in which my astral arms and hands, or legs, don't seem to exist until I think about them.

Here's another curious statement:

"One group of not so happy campers you may encounter are souls going through a near-death experience. These beings are stressed, moody, and most likely will not be very sociable." (pg. 46)

Well, I can't say I've ever met someone going through an NDE, but I've read enough books about NDEs, and personally met near-death experiencers (on the physical plane) that I know their experiences are transformative and almost always positive, so positive that the NDEr doesn't want to return to physical life. One of my friends, Don Bisant (whose book, Death Dodger, is soon to be released) has had three near-death experiences.

Here's another statement I disagree with:

"Demons represent pure evil." (pg. 58)

I'm sorry, but I don't believe in pure evil. I just don't. I never have. Yes, there are negative entities. There are entities that may want to scare you. I've seen some seedy creatures, but I still don't believe in pure evil. Call me naive, but to talk about demons like this is just fear-mongering, and fear is counterproductive to inducing OBEs.

Goldberg goes contrary to conventional wisdom with regard to inducing OBEs. He recommends:

"Lie on your right side for best results, but absolutely never lie on your left side--it will inhibit your success." (pg. 75) 

Well, that's wrong. In fact, science has shown the vast majority of OBEs happen to people when they lie on their back. I've had OBEs facing every which way, right side, left side, stomach, and back. To me, left side and right side seem about equal, but I've had the most success lying on my back, like so many other OBE authors.

Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs) 

Goldberg also says some dubious things about Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs). For example, he writes:

"There are three classes of ASC, and they can be listed as follows:"

He then enumerates them as: OBEs, NDEs, and "COBES," which he describes as Conscious OBEs in which "the soul maintains a connection with the Higher Self at the precise moment of physical death."

If you've watched or attended one of my talks, you probably know I have only two "heroes" in my life: Leonardo Da Vinci, and the late, great Dr. Charles Tart, who wrote the foreword to my first book. Tart did laboratory experiments on OBErs like Robert Monroe. He also wrote, IMHO, the authoritative (and timeless) classic on ASCs, a large book titled "Altered States of Consciousness," which I've read from cover to cover, all 500+ pages of it. Believe me, there are a lot more ASCs than just OBEs, NDEs, and COBEs!

Conscious Dying

A few authors in the genre, especially those of Eastern mystical traditions, stress the importance of maintaining consciousness and a connection to your Higher Self during death, to avoid reincarnation. William Buhlman comes to mind. But none of them classify it as its own ASC. Perhaps it was just a poor choice of words and/or organization. 

With regard to death, Goldberg writes:

"At the moment of death, our physical body, including the ego, clinically dies. Our subconscious mind or soul survives." (pg. 133)

Maybe it's just semantics, but my out-of-body experiences have shown me (and many others) that the ego, the small "me" that I identify with when I'm awake, does not depend on the physical body, so I don't think it "dies" at the time of death. Maybe he was referring to "ego death" which has become a popular concept in recent years, but I doubt it. He goes on to say:

"The NDE (near-death experience) requires the body to literally die for a few seconds to several minutes, as I discussed in the previous chapter." (pg. 133)

This is way too broad and simplistic of a description. Research on NDEs have stirred up a lot of controversy about this topic. Many skeptics argue that the vast majority of NDEs happen without the physical body being "that close" to death. For example, most NDEs occur during heart failure, but just because your heart fails doesn't mean your brain is "dead" or even inactive, and even if your brain waves go down to zero, that doesn't mean you are "brain dead" because they only measure what's happening on the surface of the brain and not what's happening inside it. What makes Eben Alexander's NDE so convincing is that while it took place, his cerebral cortex was completely shut down by meningitis. His body and brain were, for all intents and purposes, dead, at least more so than the vast majority of NDEs. But by no means does your body "literally die" to have an NDE. 

Regarding Lucid Dreams vs. OBEs

Goldberg is unclear about the difference between OBEs versus lucid dreams. In some places, he seems to say lucid dreams are OBEs. He writes:

"When you have an OBE you are definitely aware that you are not dreaming. The lucid dreamer, on the other hand, is quite aware that they are dreaming. The difference is that of awareness and not of function. In both types of phenomena, the astral body may travel and document these voyages as is reported in remote viewing experiments. There is little doubt among researchers that information is somehow acquired by the projector/dreamer beyond that attainable by our five senses." (pg. 150) 

My stance on the subject is clear and well-documented: I believe lucid dreams (and dreams in general) are OBEs in which the dreamer experiences a self-created hallucination, whereas OBEs seem to take place in some kind of "objective" world. For more information, see my blog article titled Are OBEs the Same as Lucid Dreams?.

Drugs

Goldberg writes:

"Those that experimented with hallucinogenic substances (LSD, PCP, etc.) actually generated a drug-induced astral voyage." (pg. 205) 

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree here. Hallucinogenic drugs induce, well, hallucinations, and hallucinations are not real, not objective. I believe if you take them, you can no longer trust what you see, hear, or experience. Go natural.

One last point of disagreement. Goldberg writes:

"Your belief in your ability to leave your body is a critical prerequisite to purposeful astral projection." (pg. 227)

Well, that's absolutely false. When I first tried Robert Monroe's OBE technique in the fall of 1979, I was a complete skeptic. I didn't believe a word of what Monroe said. But I had an open and curious mind, and that's really all it takes. You don't need to believe in your ability to leave your body. You just need to attain the proper level of focus. 

The Good Side of This Book 

Despite its shortcomings, this book has a pretty good set of astral projection techniques. Some of them are unique to the genre, such as the "37-Degree Technique" in which you practice while your physical body is tilted at a 37-degree angle. This is similar to lying on your back in a recliner, but your feet are nearly touching the floor.

Techniques 

Goldberg's techniques section is actually pretty good. The vast majority of his techniques are based on hypnosis. In fact, he says "I personally and professionally feel self-hypnosis is the most efficient and easiest method to use for astral voyaging..." (pg. 111)

So he goes into great depth about self-hypnosis, creating scripts, trance deepening, trance conditioning techniques, Ganzfeld techniques (although he doesn't call it that--taping halved ping-pong balls over your eyes to create a uniform visual field.), etc.

He also gives several solid OBE techniques: 

• He gives decent "Shifting Focus Techniques" (pg. 86).

• The Mirror Technique (pg. 93)

• The "Body of Light" technique (pg. 102)

• Astral doorways

• Tattwa techniques

• Contemplation techniques (several of them, starting on pg. 112)  

Other exercises include:

• Focusing exercises (pg. 82)

• Relaxation exercises (pg. 83)

• Breathing exercises (pg. 84)

• Contemplation exercises (pg. 110) 

Crutches 

Goldberg talks about various crystals (pg. 96), various herbs and oils (pg. 97). Some of this was new to me. For example, he talks about an herb called "Deer's Tongue" that's like vanilla, that's supposedly "will facilitate OBEs." (pg. 97) I've never heard of it, and don't recall it from any other book on the subject.

He says of Mugwort: "This plant induces astral voyaging." (pg. 98) but that's not my understanding. Mugwort is known for its ability to induce vivid dreams, and it's known as the dreaming herb. Some people drink it in a tea, while others put it in a bag under their pillow. The first time I tried mugwort (many years ago) it just gave me some vivid nightmares, with no lucidity. Subsequent attempts didn't do anything at all for me.

Astral Sex

Goldberg has a whole chapter (chapter 12, page 169) dedicated to astral sex, and he treats the subject quite fairly, which not many authors talk about. Some of this comes from D.J. Conway, another Llewellyn author.

Also, with regard to sex, he writes:

"You are much more prone to an OBE following an orgasm than at any moment of your waking life." (pg. 171)

I wrote about that in my Hacking book, and also a blog article titled OBEs, Celibacy, Masturbation and the Sex Drive.

Astral Healing

Goldberg has a pretty good chapter on the topic of astral healing, which is a subject few authors talk about. This includes several astral healing techniques.

Time Travel

This is another subject that very few authors talk about. What fascinated me is his observations about traveling into the past and future. For example, he writes:

"...you may not be able to travel to a time three hours ahead of you, but a scene two days in the future might be relatively easy to attain. Some voyagers failed to venture ten days into the future, but found going ahead by one month child's play." (pg. 208)

He also talks about time distortion between the physical and the astral. In many cases, he notes that time in the astral seems to pass the same speed as waking life. And yet, there are exceptions:

"For instance, you might very well spend several days or weeks in the twenty-eighth century, while only a few minutes have elapsed on the physical plane." (pg. 209) 

That reminds me of the childhood experience I described in my first book where my friend, Frank ("FD"), knocked me out with a bear hug. It seemed like literally centuries of time had passed, yet when I woke, only a couple minutes had passed. You can read my full account at this link: https://www.robertpeterson.org/obe-chapter-2.html

This book also offers some good advice for astral projectors. For example, he writes:

"One of the most efficient methods of stabilizing the astral body is to look at a bright object." (pg. 22)

Well, that's kind of true. The trick here, as it turns out, is to engage your non-physical senses as much as possible. Michael Raduga recommends you touch everything in sight. In other words, engage your non-physical sense of touch as much as possible. But staring at (or into) any object, i.e. engaging as much as possible, your non-physical sense of sight, has the same effect.

Conclusions 

I give this book 3.5 stars out of 5. The writing is professional and I found very few spelling or grammar mistakes. The book is 247 pages with a conservative font and decent margins, so there's ample content to satisfy. He has a good amount of exercises and techniques, but also a good amount of misinformation. Some of the exercises are good, but many are based on hypnosis, and a lot of people are resistant to hypnosis.

Bob Peterson
31 March 2026

----------------------------

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 Without Tears by Mark Gurriaran

Astral Projection Without Tears

by  Mark Gurriaran

Today I'm reviewing Astral Projection Without Tears by Mark Gurriaran. The subtitle is A Primer in Out-of-Body Travel. The copyright is 2022.

Unbeknownst to me, this is Gurriaran's second book about OBE/AP. I haven't read or reviewed his first book, which is titled: The Illusion of Method: Undressing the Core Practice of Astral Projection, Lucid Dreaming, and other Psychic Phenomena.

First let's talk about the negative things about the book. I'll cover the positive later.

As always, the first question I ask is the author's level of experience. In the case of Mark Gurriaran, he doesn't offer many clues. There are absolutely no AP/OBE narratives to give you an idea whether he's speaking from experience. A couple of times in passing, he says things like, "In my experience..." and such, but it's not much to go on. 

The main problem I have with the book is that everything is grossly oversimplified. For example, many authors write about different out-of-body "planes" like the "etheric plane" AKA "real-time zone", a multi-leveled "astral plane," "mental plane," "causal plane," and so forth. Charles Leadbeater described seven different planes, according to the teachings of Theosophy. Robert Monroe wrote about three different "Locales" in his first book, and many "Focus Levels" in his other two books.  Jurgen Ziewe's book Elysium Unveiled is dedicated to describing and illustrating numerous different nonphysical locations. Reminds me of:

Gurriaran simply writes:

"After exiting the body you'll find yourself in the out-of-body reality, also known as the astral plane." (pg. 5) 

That's it. Now, maybe he's deliberately simplifying everything for a reason. Maybe he goes into greater depth in his first book. But I think details like that are important if you're going to attach a label like "astral plane" to it. I hate labels like that. I've said many times, "It's not like there's a sign hanging on the doorway that says 'Astral plane.'" For me it's more like I find myself in an unknown place, and some places feel more "heavy" and physical, and other places seem more ethereal or malleable than physical reality.

Another example of the author's oversimplification (and he even admits this upfront) is how he describes people as having just two aspects: A conscious self and a subconscious, which he simply calls the "nervous system," the same system that controls our automatic breathing, heartbeat, etc. He says we need to motivate our "nervous system" to achieve an OBE. In my opinion, it's a lot more complicated than that. In my opinion, there's a big separation between the subconscious and the "autonomic nervous system" that keeps our heart beating and our lungs pumping. Not to mention the "Higher Self" that so many authors, like William Buhlman, talk about. Or, say, the "ego," "id" and "super ego" that Sigmund Freud wrote about. He's right, though, that we need to motivate our subconscious to achieve OBEs. Sylvan Muldoon observed that almost a hundred years ago in his classic The Projection of the Astral Body.

There are several places where I disagreed with the author. For example, he seems to say that "seeing everything black" only happens to novices:

"However, most practitioners' first experience is seeing everything black, feeling intense fear and returning almost immediately to the body as a result." (pg. 6)

He assures the reader that the problem will go away with experience. 

None of that is true. In fact, "seeing black" may be one of two things: First, if you're too close to your physical body, it often interferes with your eyesight. Second, you might be in "The Void" which is a jumping-off place that several authors describe. Frederick Aardema's book Explorations in Consciousness describes this well. See my blog article in the "Problem solving" section of my "blog" page on website titled Problem 8: I Get Out and I'm Blind.

As for beginners having intense fear: that's also not true. In fact, people's first out-of-body experience is almost always one of joy, elation, and wonder, with absolutely no fear. You can verify that by reading any number of books, like any of Robert Crookall's OBE-heavy narrative books like The Study and Practice of Astral Projection, or With the Eyes of the Mind by Gabbard and Twemlow, two professional psychiatrists who studied OBEs. Or other books of OBE narratives, like Herbert Greenhouse's expansive book The Astral Journey. 

I also disagreed with this statement:

"However, as soon as we astral project, we can no longer imagine--our five senses suddenly start to perceive the astral reality with incredible vividness and realism." (pg. 15)

Well, that's completely wrong. When I was first learning astral projection, I used to try to visit various people, like my friend Lisa ("LD" from my first book). Many times I tried to visit them by using my imagination: I would imagine their face, their presence, the way they "feel" to me, etc. It took me a long time to get learn that skill. Hell, I've used my imagination in countless out-of-body experiences. In my first book, chapter 20, I described what I call "The Fantasy Trap" where my conscious awareness got "blurred" back to a lucid dream or even a normal dream because I let my mind wander too much. You can read it at this link. Your imagination works perfectly fine in an OBE, but it can definitely pull you back into the dream state if you're not very careful.

I also disagreed with this statement:

"Now, the next thing you must know about OBEs is that they don't take place in a state of full wakefulness....you cannot have it if you're walking your dog, eating a pizza, writing an essay or playing video games. You need to enter an altered state of consciousness." (pg. 32)

Well, that's not entirely true either. While you should focus your astral projection efforts on altered states (like the hypnagogic or hypnopompic), they can, in fact, happen in broad daylight, while you're wide awake. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. One time I was walking down the street and suddenly found myself in an OBE and my body kept on walking as if nothing had changed. Another good example is in the book Loved by Mary Dioma where she describes (among other things) an intense out-of-body experience while driving her car in heavy traffic! I seem to recall another example in Gary Wimmer's book A Second in Eternity.

But the main thing I disagree with is: Gurriaran writes that you need to let your mind drift. He writes:

"The mind can only reach deeper states if it's relaxed, and in order to relax it cannot be expectant over anything--it has to flow aimlessly as if it was dancing." (pg. 37)

Not in my experience. The key, I've found, is focus, which is different from concentration. In my favorite technique, I focus on an imaginary object that's moving. It's even better if you work your way down to the hypnagogic state, then "focus" on the hallucinated images you see or the hallucinated sounds you hear. Still, your mind should remain passive and act as an objective "observer." If I let my mind flow aimlessly, I'll just fall asleep.

He also writes:

"...if you want to have an out-of-body experience you cannot obtain it by trying to force the exit or waiting in expectancy for separation to occur." (pg. 45)

That's not true either. Plenty of people have obtained it through the use of intense focus. 

Mark Gurriaran's out-of-body technique is oversimplified too. Here is a summary of the steps he recommends:

1. Ensure that you are fresh and rested (e.g. mid-day).
2. Lie down intending to have an OBE.
3. Rest in a comfortable position during the whole session.
4. Forget about the goal and pretend that you fall asleep.
5. Instead of falling asleep you will leave your body.

In step 1, he recommends you make your attempts when you are fully rested, like the middle of the afternoon on a non-work day. I agree that you should avoid practicing at your normal bedtime. I used to practice on weekend mornings. Most OBE books recommend you practice in the early morning. But that's not the final word on the matter. Many OBE books say that broken sleep is conducive to having OBEs. A lot of new parents start having OBEs because their newborn baby breaks up their sleep. So "fresh and rested?" Maybe, maybe not.

Step 2 is great, because as many experts say, intention is almost everything. It's what motivates the subconscious.

In Step 3, Gurriaran recommends a position that gives you the most comfort. That may work for him and for others, but a lot of experts recommend being slightly uncomfortable. Gurriaran even addresses this, but frankly, I didn't buy into his explanation. I've had plenty of OBEs in slightly uncomfortable positions. He says:

"When we are in an uncomfortable body position, the body becomes rigid and tense, therefore being unable to relax." (pg. 56)

Well, that's kind of true, but as I said, I can still fall asleep in a slightly uncomfortable bed. Many times I've induced OBEs when I'm staying overnight at my in-laws house in a much colder room than I'm used to, and on a much smaller bed than I'm used to. The slight discomfort doesn't stop my body from sleeping, so relaxation is not a problem. But with so little space, I can't roll around, so I sometimes wake up stiff and sore. Given the slight discomfort, my subconscious doesn't let me get too deep into sleep, and my conscious awareness is closer to the surface. The same can be said for hotel rooms, which are often uncomfortable and brightly lit from outside.

In step 4, pretend you fall asleep, he writes:

"In short, mind-wandering is what I mean by 'fake or pretend that you fall asleep.'" (pg. 63)

As I said earlier, letting my mind wander will only put me to sleep, even when I'm fully rested and alert during broad daylight. I remember one time I told a friend, John, that I had very good control over sleep, and I could sleep on demand. He didn't believe me and challenged me to fall asleep right then and there, middle of the afternoon, in a brightly lit room, wearing headphones that were playing loud, raucous music. I took the challenge, put on my headphones, cranked the volume up so loud he could hear it, and started playing "Powerslave" by Iron Maiden, and boom, I forced myself to sleep. The trick, as I told John, was to learn to direct your attention where you want it, to the exclusion of all sensory distractions. But I digress.

Step 5 is way too vague. The OBE is just supposed to magically take place because the conditions are right? Or because you pretended to fall asleep? For me, it's never been that easy. For me, what's necessary, as I said before, is focus: "passive observer" focus. And I almost always need to initiate it by exercising the intent to move. See my "Almost Move" technique for details.

He says:

"You don't need to imagine your way out because words are more than enough, plus the problem with these techniques is that, as stated above, you you spend your whole session imagining what you want to occur rather than just letting it go." (pg. 55)

There's something to be said for stating your intentions to have an OBE and "letting go" but I think it's more reliable to "knock your story of experience off its tracks" by using your imagination to override the data your brain is getting from the physical senses.

He writes:

"You simply need to stop resisting the experience; as soon as you allow it to happen, it will happen." (pg. 101)

I don't know, man. He doesn't know how many countless hours I've spent "allowing it to happen" unsuccessfully!

Okay, I've talked about the negative, so let's talk about the positive.

Gurriaran does get several things right. He agrees with me (and many authors) that OBEs are very different from lucid dreams, and that Lucid Dreams, like normal dreams, are self-created hallucinations, whereas OBEs are more "objective" and resistant to change.

He is right that we tend to overthink things, psych ourselves out, judge our own abilities by past failures. Most of us don't "let go" to the extent we need to for OBEs to happen. Most people don't let themselves drift close enough toward the sleep barrier, for fear of falling asleep.

Some authors describe how they return from OBEs feeling tired or drained. My experience is that I come back feeling super energized, and Gurriaran agrees.

"I rarely wake up refreshed from sleep, but I feel fresh and rested after an OBE." (pg. 18) 

This is probably the only AP/OBE book I can remember that talks about Aphantasia, the rare inability to use visual imagination. Gurriaran writes:

"I know practitioners who can't imagine at all, yet they astral project on command." (pg. 14) 

His advice is, like I mentioned, don't worry about it, don't try to imagine anything, and just let it happen. 

Another thing I liked is this statement:

"Approach every OBE attempt as if it's your first one: don't look back on past results, nor create ideal expectations or preconceived ideas about future outcomes." (pg. 107)

That's absolutely true. You shouldn't set expectations for your attempts. Don't lie there frustrated because it feels hopeless, or because the same technique doesn't work a second time. Just be optimistic and accepting of whatever happens. And if it doesn't happen, don't kick yourself. Dismiss it and hope for better next time. 

The book has no OBE narratives, and the only technique is the one I described above, but in more detail. He doesn't cover what to do when the vibrations hit. He doesn't recommend any types of meditation. As a matter of fact, he dismisses and discourages the use of ages-old OBE techniques like chanting mantras (inwardly or outwardly) and occult rituals, or newer tricks like binaural beats, hemi-sync, sound-and-light machines, etc. He dismisses timeless techniques like the target technique, falling asleep while repeating, "I will have an OBE," and everyone's favorite, Rope. He doesn't give any problem solving tips. It's just...lacking.

The book is 115 pages, but the format is small, so there's not a lot of content.  

I give this book 3 stars out of 5. It's not a terrible book. It's just not a great book. The spelling and grammar were okay, but the author uses exclamation points way too much, especially at the start of the book! There were just a few typos. What I didn't like is that everything was oversimplified, and I disagreed with the author on several points. His technique may work for him, but it seems naive to assume it will work for everyone.

Bob Peterson
03 March 2026

----------------------------

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: The Astral Traveller by Gerard M Pratt

The Astral Traveller

 by Gerard M Pratt

Today I'm reviewing The Astral Traveller by Gerard M Pratt. The subtitle is Guardians of Light & Shadow. There's also a sub-subtitle: A Journey into the Supernatural: Exploring Astral Projection and Out-of-Body Experiences.

I know it's been a long time since I posted to my blog. I took a long hiatus and I've had very little time to read. However, I just finished this book and wanted to share my thoughts about it. I set down a lot of flags, so let's get into it.

Note that the author, Gerard Pratt, is British, so I'll be using the British spelling of some words throughout. 

The first question you should always ask about a book on astral projection / out-of-body experiences is: Is the author writing from experience? Experience is almost everything in this genre. Sure, there are a few exceptions, if the author has done their research. Authors like Anthony Peake, Robert Crookall, and Janet Mitchell come to mind. They may or may not have had OBEs themselves, but it hardly matters because they've done tons of research and are really experts in the subject.

In the case of Gerard M Pratt, the answer is yes, he does write from experience, and he has multiple journal entries in the book to illustrate his claims. He even went above and beyond and took a polygraph (lie detector test) to demonstrate the authenticity of his claims, and put the results at the end of the book. So Pratt is the real deal. But you can also tell that from his narratives themselves. For example, he writes:

"It's both frustrating and exhilarating--this dance between fear and discovery." (pg. 84)

He shares some experiments he did in the out-of-body state, like trying to deliberately get himself stuck inside walls, then calling for help to see who would come to his aid. 

He talks about Robert Monroe and some of his odd experiences, and compares them to some of his own OBEs. For example, he talks about one of Monroe's "locale 2" OBEs in which everyone seemed to bow down to a powerful being. Then he writes about a similar experience he had, along with conjecture about whether this being was the entity known as "King Paimon," a renown demon and djinn celebrated in the Ars Goetia. My (amazing) brother, Joe, has been studying this, and similar, work for about 50 years and is an expert on these subjects. He could probably spend hours talking with Pratt. Do yourself a favor sometime and look up "Joseph Peterson" on Amazon. He's written more books than I have.

Pratt is also contemporary. His experiences are as recent as 2024. That's important.

Here's an example I loved from one of his journals:

"At that moment, the realisation dawned on me: my Higher Self is far more significant, and the impact of my actions is--or will be--immeasurably substantial. It's a gentle reminder that even when we feel small or insignificant, our potential and influence are far greater than we can fully comprehend." (pgs. 90-91)

Some of the most intense and interesting of Pratt's experiences have to do with the "angels" or light beings I've sometimes talked about, who sometimes take us out-of-body to go on spiritual missions; often without our conscious knowledge. For example:

"08 Nov 2019: I had an unforgettable experience that still lingers. One morning, I awoke to two voices deep in conversation. One of the voices, a commanding male tone, urged, 'Don't wake him yet; we have another task for him!...'" (pg. 216)

I've had things like that happen to me, so it gave me the chills. He ends this same OBE narrative with:

"...A part of me firmly believes that humans are intricately woven into the fabric of the astral world, engaging in battles far beyond our waking reality." (pg. 217)

Also like me, Pratt did some of his own "God" experiments, with interesting results. (Page 242, etc.) He also was given "tests" and "lessons" by spirit guides, like I describe in my second (hard to find) book, Lessons Out of the Body.

"Suddenly, I was transported to a shadowy cave. It was all a test--a series of virtual challenges orchestrated by unseen guides to confront my fears and gauge my growth." (pg. 267) 

Like me, he gives this advice about the vibrations:

"I've realised the importance of approaching spirits with a mindful sense of caution. Not all of them are who they claim to be; they can embody forms or generate personas that resonate with those they guide." (pg. 227) 

Experience aside, Pratt has also done a great deal of research on the subject. In my books, I tried to use a more scientific approach. Pratt takes a more occult-leaning approach. Like many authors in this genre, he's investigated more traditional occult approaches to the topic. So he subscribes to the multiple-bodies theory (Physical body, Etheric body, Astral body, etc.) I found it interesting that he doesn't mention Eckankar, but that's probably a good thing.

He writes about (and quotes) people like Eliphas Levi, Madame Blavatsky, Aleister Crowley,  and so on. He references Crowley more than any of the others. He also talks about Dr. John Dee, astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, and so on. (e.g. Page 20). Dr. Dee is also near and dear to the heart of my  brother, Joe. (See above). Pratt even has a photo on page 228 of Dr. Dee's crystal and scrying stone from the British Museum. (I also took a photo of it when I was there in 1990.)

He also writes about the Rosicrucians, Golden Dawn, Theosophy, and other organizations, and occult works like various grimoires. 

Pratt also talks about the Scole Experiments (pg. 118) and also on pages 226-227. So he's well-read and examines all these paths.

He divides the astral dimensions into three categories:

1. Consensus Realities
2. Non-consensus Realities
3. Voids 

In talking about exploring higher planes of existence, he says:

"[Crowley] noted that while a 'fine body' may be sufficient for the lower planes, it falls short in penetrating the higher realms. Significant development and a deep infusion of our highest spiritual essence are essential to pierce those veils of perception." (pg. 123)

In his quest for spiritual explorations, Pratt has studied several different paths. This includes a "Truth of Spirit" group. He delves into the world of Mediumship (chapter 12), the world of witchcraft, and he addresses phenomena like the incubus and succubus, and the guardian of the threshold.

Pratt gives good, sound advice for inducing out-of-body experiences. It's not the usual rehashing of the same techniques in other books. He gives good advice about relaxation, meditation, and such. He discusses tools and aids, such as binaural beats, crystals like labradorite, lapis lazuli, and keeping both dream and OBE/AP journals. Like me, he recommends that you do not try to amplify "the vibrations" but instead, to make yourself as calm and passive as possible when they come.

As for techniques, he gives a pretty good sampling of various techniques, from many sources. He puts more emphasis on the manipulation of hypnagogic images, which is my go-to technique.  He covers:

• Visualisation techniques
• Post-Sleep techniques
• Lucid Dreaming
• Affirmations and Intentions
  He echoes various authors who say that intention and mindset are the most important things to leverage. (Author Franck Labat comes to mind.)
• Dream Journaling
• Relaxation techniques 
• Rocking & swaying techniques
• Roll Out technique
• The Hammock technique
• The Rope technique 

He also talks (briefly) about supplements like mugwort, Dream Leaf, and "Lucid Esc": 

I was slightly disappointed he didn't go into more details, so even though he covered a lot of ground, he never went very "in-depth" on any of them.

He also talks about UFOs/UAPs, and even a bit about the "inner voice" phenomenon. For example, this quote is just as likely to be from my book Answers Within:

...their responses often remain elusive and brief, mentioning, "I can't tell you." (pg. 293) 

In short, I loved this book. It's like someone used "CRISPR" to mix my "spiritual DNA" and knowledge with my brother Joe's "spiritual DNA" and knowledge, with a good healthy dose of personal experience.

The book is 333 pages, with good margins and font. It's well thought-out, well written, and well organized. I only found a few mistakes and typos. I give it 4 and a half stars out of 5. There was one particular place in the book where the author used an excessive amount of "passive voice" sentences, which got on my nerves, but most of the book was great. This is a great book.

Bob Peterson
10 February 2026

----------------------------

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: The House Between the Worlds by Marion Zimmer Bradley

The House Between the Worlds

by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Today I'm reviewing The House Between the Worlds by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The copyright is 1980-1981. NOTE: This book is fiction.

I read a lot more nonfiction than fiction, so naturally, my book reviews are mostly for nonfiction books. However, lately there has been a growing interest in fiction (novels, etc.) that feature out-of-body experiences or astral projection as a main theme. So I decided to re-read and review this book, which is one of my favorite novels dealing mostly with OBEs. 

Many people know the author, Marion Zimmer Bradley, from her 1982 epic The Mists of Avalon, a very big book about the legends of King Arthur, but from a woman's perspective. Bradley wrote The House Between the Worlds just prior to Avalon.

When it comes to fiction, I love a book that keeps "upping the stakes" so to speak. In other words, things go from good to bad, bad to worse, worse to catastrophic, catastrophic to...Well, you get the picture. And this book "kind of" follows this formula.

It's difficult to describe the book and plot without spoilers, and I don't want to ruin it for you. So I'll do what I can. 

The main character of the story is a man named Cameron Fenton, a University professor at the (mythical) parapsychology department at the University of California at Berkley, United States. Fenton is contacted by his older colleague, Dr. Garnok, who has a breakthrough: scientists discovered a new drug called "Antaril" that gives people super ESP powers. Under the drug, people can go through a whole deck of ESP cards with 100 percent accuracy. Garnok gets Fenton to be part of his laboratory study. After Fenton gets the injection of the drug, he discovers that reading the cards is not really ESP: it induces and out-of-body experience in which he can just walk through the barrier and watch the cards being flipped, reporting what they are in real time. Everyone is amazed.

But after a few runs of ESP cards, Fenton loses hold of this reality and finds himself in another reality, the world of the Alfar, a race of beings that resembles elves or human-sized faeries. The Alfar are assaulted by a race of hideous creatures, the Ironfolk, from a different reality, and Fenton witnesses the abduction of the Alfar queen. Since he's out-of-body and therefore non-physical, what they call a 'tweenman, he can't really do much about it.

When Fenton returns from his OBE, his colleagues, including Dr. Garnok, believe it was all just a hallucination. But it seemed so real!

Fenton gets involved with a colleague, Sally, who doesn't believe him, so they argue and such. 

In further experiments with Antaril, Fenton returns to the world of the Alfar and is able to help them in a limited way. But he learns there's a lot more going on, with inter-world problems. Now he needs to find a way to help the Alfar. His fellow parapsychologists believe the drug may have affected him badly and he's having a psychotic breakdown, losing touch with reality, etc. So they take him off the study and cut him off from the drug. So he turns to a local drug dealer who gets him some illegal black market antaril.

At one point Fenton stays out of his body too long and when he returns to the lab, his body is gone! Eventually he gets forcefully pulled by his silver cord all the way to the hospital where his body was taken because the scientists couldn't revive him. 

Eventually he uncovers a sinister plot devised by an evil "Lord Commander" named Pentarn. Pentarn is from another physical world like ours, and he's causing all these problems for a very good reason: The Alfar have his son and won't give him back. Fenton learns that Pentarn has somehow found technology to open portals between the worlds so that people, and creatures like the Ironfolk, can travel to the other worlds, but physically. Eventually there are incursions from other worlds into our physical Earth, and like I said, things escalate. Truths get uncovered. People get killed. The police get involved. Fenton gets arrested. It's a fun ride.

The book is 313 pages with small print and tight margins, so there's a lot of content. 

The writing and editing are professional and I found no mistakes in the book. I give this book 4 and 1/2 stars out of 5. I didn't want it to end. Out-of-body experiences play a prominent part in this book. About 4/5ths of the book talks about OBEs. There are definitely some things in the book that are unrealistic, but it's still very fun.

Bob Peterson
19 August 2025

----------------------------

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