Lightworker's Guide to the Astral Realm

by Sahvanna Arienta

Today I'm reviewing Lightworker's Guide to the Astral Realm by Sahvanna Arienta. The book is copyright 2019.

One thing I wished Arienta had done differently is this: The epilogue should have been chapter 1, before everything else, not an after-thought. For me it was the best part of the book. In the epilogue, the author explains how she started to have spontaneous "soul travel" as a child, how it was accompanied by loud humming, vibrations, sleep paralysis, and such. She explains how she would leave her house, in her astral body, like a kid who sneaks out the window in the middle of the night to go off with friends. Later in life, she became involved with a Spiritualist church and studied under legendary medium Emily Hewitt. These are the credentials I need to see--and you should demand--in every astral projection / out-of-body book.

She also talks about being influenced by Jane Roberts, author of the "Seth" books, which I like. She even gives a taste of her philosophy:

"So, when you experience soul travel, be open to all possibilities and scenarios. You never know where your soul will carry you. As conscious beings, our abilities are without limitation. The practice of soul travel is an adventure that can show you the limitless potential of the universe and how you share in that potential." (pg. 155)

That really sets the stage for the rest of the book. But since she didn't start out with the epilogue, the reader is instead forced to take her word for everything (or not) without any credentials or hint of where she got her information, at least until the very end.

The book is more about new age philosophy than it is about astral projection or out-of-body traveling. It's good philosophy. I do like it, but it's not quite what I was hoping for.

Part 1 of the book is "The New Age Soul Traveler" and it's pretty much setting up expectations, and yes, new age philosophy. Here's an example:

"As humans, we tend to adopt a bit of an attitude of greatness and power. This feeling of greatness will quickly diminish when you get a glimpse of the higher planes." (pg. 4)

That's true. Traveling out-of-body is exhilarating, but it also kind of puts you in your place. I agreed with most of what she wrote, but I did disagree with this:

"When practicing lucid dreaming, there is no separation of astral body and physical body. Astral projection (or soul travel) is a true out-of-body experience..." (pg. 27)

In my experience, we are in an out-of-body state when we're both dreaming and lucid dreaming, often floating a few inches above the body. The difference is that we're completely trapped in (or focused on) a hallucinated dream environment.

In chapter 4, she gives her one and only "Soul Travel" technique. Unfortunately, it's a simplified version of Robert Bruce's "Rope" technique, but visualizing the rope rather than feeling for the rope. This is so common in OBE books that it's tiresome. If you're looking for out-of-body induction techniques, this book isn't it.

Part 2 is "The Realms." This is where the author describes the various planes of existence, according to her worldview. She lays them out as:

1. The earth plane (where we all live now)
2. The astral plane (the buffer zone: the world between the living and the dead)
3. The third plane (the turning point: where spirits and guides reside)
4. The fourth plane (leveling up: a place of healers, artists and love)
5. The fifth plane (divine intelligence: where the akashic records are)
6. The sixth plane (the multiverse: think celestial beings walking around in crystal cities)
7. The seventh plane (the power generator: aka "God")
   

She claims to have visited all of these planes, but the seventh only for a split second.

Part 3 is "Beings of the Realms." This is where she describes what goes on in the various planes. She talks a bit about spirit guides, spirit-guide turn-over, and even her own spirit guides.

Part 4 is "The Lower Realms." I liked her philosophy about this too. For example, she wrote:

"Those of us who subscribe to love and light may not want to acknowledge what I have to say here, but the simple truth is: knowledge is power, and when you have the power, nothing can ever harm you." (pg. 115)

Part 5 is "The Keys to the Multiverse." Here the author focuses on more new age philosophy. For example:

"If you find that you constantly focus on negativity or what you don't want, it starts to dominate your thoughts. Change your focus to something that is much more positive, and your thoughts will be more positive." (pg. 134)

That is coupled with the Seth / Jane Roberts notion that you create your own reality based on your beliefs and thoughts. She even says:

"Through your consciousness and intention, you will seamlessly create your own subjective reality." (pg. 147)

This example hit home for me:

"For example, you can set an intention that you will find a great parking space at the store. If you focus (put thought behind it) on that intention, you will find the best parking space." (pg. 140)

I laughed out loud when I read that because I always do this. My wife and friends constantly shake their heads in wonder at how I always get the best parking spaces; usually the spot next to Handicap parking. They often ask me to drive to crowded events (like parades or Independence Day fireworks) because they know I always get a good parking spot.

She also shares things like:

"Commitment to creating a higher frequency means repetition of practical application of whatever it is you want to commit to. If you want to expand your spirituality, if means committing to a routine of practical exercises that will help you grow spiritually." (pg. 151)

The book is well written and organized. I found no mistakes in grammar or spelling. It's 155 pages with good size, font and margins, which means there's a good amount of content. I expected the book to be more about astral projection and it turned out to be mostly new age philosophy. It's not bad philosophy; it's just not as focused on astral projection as I expected. It only had the one (abbreviated "rope") technique, and very little about actually traveling out-of-body. So I'm only giving it 3 stars out of 5.

Bob Peterson
16 March 2021

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

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