35. Astral Self-Defense

Whether or not you believe in astral wildlife or nonphysical entities will depend on your beliefs and personal experience. Many people claim that these things, if they even exist, are probably just harmless thought forms. They claim this even though they have no real experience in these matters, and have never had to deal with this kind of situation firsthand. Intellectual belief becomes a bit of a moot point if you have to deal with this kind of thing in person.

Regardless of belief and of whether or not anything threatening or potentially dangerous is ever seen (and usually nothing ever will), it is psychologically comforting and fortifying for projectors to have some idea how to protect themselves if they should ever need to do so. I don't like to dwell on negative possibilities, but here are several methods of self-defense during an OBE. The projected double - especially the real-time double - is an extremely powerful being when compared to nonphysical entities. It has a strong and renewable energy source; the physical/etheric body, constantly supplying its energy requirements. It also has the ability to change its size and appearance, and has innate creative ability with which to forge tools, armor, and weapons.

All jokes aside, an aware projected real-time double does not have to put up with the unkind ministrations of others. It is capable of protecting its integrity in any situation, up to and including extreme energetic confrontation.

The personal freedom and integrity of any projected double, if even slightly aware of its true potential, is not only a God-given natural right, it is enforceable. You only have to be a little bit brave and do what you are naturally capable of and most astral wildlife will beat a hasty retreat.

Those that do not run immediately will find themselves outmatched by the constantly renewable energetic potential and versatile creative ability of the projected double.
 

Astral Matter
The question of whether or not astral matter exists is moot when operating in the out-of-body environment. Astral matter is the ether, the underlying substance of which all subtle dimensions are composed, including the real-time zone. This is extremely sensitive to consciousness, and reacts to thought energy in the same way as physical matter reacts to force. Astral matter can be molded by thought into any shape or form imaginable. Thought creations can be so perfect as to be indistinguishable from reality.

One way to describe the nature of astral matter, especially when dealing with thought-form creations, is to draw a comparison between astral matter and unexposed photographic film. When unexposed film is exposed to light energy, focused by the lens of a camera, an image is burned onto the film when the photosensitive chemicals coating the film react to light energies. The quality of the camera's lens and the quality of the film and paper it's printed on, plus the skill of the operator, determine the quality of the resulting image.

When astral matter is exposed to thought energies, focused by the lens of the mind, an image begins to form, caused by the reaction of sensitive astral matter to focused creative thought energies. The thought form's complexity, strength, and durability depend largely on the strength and duration of the creative thought generating it.

The strength and skill of the creative mind determines the quality and durability of the resulting creation.
 

Created Thought Forms
The ability of the projected double to deliberately create thought-form objects is fairly well known. Maintaining the existence of a thought-form creation for any length of time, however, depends largely on the creative strength, skill, and experience of the projector, and by the nature of the dimensional level in which they are operating.

In the real-time zone, for example, it is more difficult to deliberately create lasting thought forms, as this is a much less fluid environment than is the astral dimension proper. Objects can be deliberately created, but this takes a lot more time and effort than it does in the astral planes. Real-time creations tend to fade away fairly quickly, when compared with the more durable creations possible in the astral planes.

A created thought form can be absolutely anything: a person, an animal, an object, or even a complex scenario or panoramic view. Many magical, pagan, and shamanistic practitioners spend a great deal of time and effort doing just this. They create and maintain buildings, temples, workshops, tools, weapons, and even helper beings for their craft.

When a new thought form is created, it will usually start to decay and melt away fairly quickly, often almost the moment its creator ceases working on it. For example, if a novice projector creates a new sword in the real-time zone, it will take shape over several seconds. As the projector focuses and constructs it with imagination, it will slowly appear. However, once the effort used to generate it ceases, the sword will begin melting away.

To hold an item in shape, a projector must hold the awareness of that new item in mind at all times until it starts to set and becomes more durable. The longer this is done and the more often the same item is generated, the more durable it will become. The short-lived nature of new thought forms does not, however, stop a novice projector from creating effective weaponry. Energy bolts, for example, only need to be held in existence for a very short time to be effective.

The difficulties of creating lasting thought forms in the real-time zone do not affect the subconscious mind's creative ability in the same way. It has vastly greater creative powers than the conscious mind. If the subconscious is tricked into a creative act it will usually hold its creation in shape, often for the duration of that projection.

Creative power can be used with devastating effect in the out-of-body environment, to deter and even damage troublesome astral wildlife. Anything created in the out-of-body environment is relatively solid there. As it is composed of the same basic substance as the environment itself, it is thus capable of directly affecting the contents of that environment. The effectiveness of a created object also depends on how much of a projector's energy is imparted into it during its creation. Projectors must feel a part of their own substance flowing into any item they create. This strengthens it and makes it more effective and enduring.

The traditional approach to astral combat weaponry is for a projector to visualize and create a sword and armor. The armor offers protection and the sword is used as an offensive or defensive weapon. Swords, when created, must traditionally be blessed with the power of God before they are used. This increases their effectiveness dramatically; I recommend this be done before engaging in astral combat.

Energy bolts can also be created and launched at offending astral wildlife. These are made to explode on contact. To use an energy bolt, construct a glowing-white ball of energy about the size of a golf ball with your imagination. You should feel some of your own energy flowing into this as you create it. This should be made to appear just in front of you and then quickly launched at the target. You should move the energy bolt with your mind as soon as it forms, feeling and seeing and imagining it as moving rapidly, expanding as it flies toward the target. This is made to explode sharply and loudly on impact by imagining and feeling it exploding as it strikes.

With a little practice, an energy bolt can be made in a fraction of a second, with this process being rapidly repeated to create an energetic barrage. Energy beams and flames can also be created and made to shoot from the tip of a sword, although this takes more concentration and practice.

Another way to fire energy bolts is to create a rocket launcher and use this to shoot explosive energy projectiles. Imagine and create the rocket launcher by holding its shape and image firmly in mind. Concentrate on this until it forms in your hands, feeling a part of yourself flowing into it as it forms. Alternatively, simply feel yourself as holding one without actually trying to see it.

This weapon is fired with the mind, by feeling it as firing and imaging a bright projectile shooting from it and exploding on impact. You should feel a part of yourself going with each rocket fired. You always have plenty of energy to spare; it is constantly being resupplied by your physical/etheric counterpart. Any type of energy bolt will cause damage to entities, disrupting their substance and draining them of energy.

The color used for projectiles can be varied and any bright color but black or gray can be used. White is the easiest and most popular color, but many people prefer to create energetic weaponry using their favorite color.

As creating complex items can be difficult, I suggest new projectors focus on one simple object at a time. Creating a single weapon like a sword, or simple energy bolts by creating and using them one at a time, are probably the easiest ways to start. The distraction of creating and holding in shape multiple items may cause some items to fade, thus defeating the whole point of the exercise. If a simple sword is all a projector can manage to create, then the projector should use this on its own and not attempt creating fancy armor.

Staying aware of the shape and feel of any created object will prevent it from fading, unless it has a shape and solidity of its own that does not take any effort to hold.
 

The Creative Act
To create a thought-form object, clear your mind and focus completely on what you are creating. Construct and hold the desired object with your imagination and see and feel this object as if it were already in existence. Hold its image firmly in mind at all times; fill your mind with the shape of the desired object and hold this while it forms, feeling a part of yourself flowing into it. Will the object into existence and keep focused on it until it is fully formed.

In the astral dimension, a created object will spring into existence in very short order and with little conscious effort. Creation in the real-time zone, however, requires more effort and time. A created object will tend to fade into sight over several seconds, depending on the projector's effort and creative skill.

If the desired item tends to melt away quickly, more effort will be required to hold it in existence, just as with shape-shifting. If a more-lasting object is planned, one that can be used during every projection, some time should be spent re-creating the same object at the start of every projection. In the beginning, keep created objects as simple as possible and use exactly the same mental recipe every time. Created objects - thought forms - slowly become more solid and take less time and effort to create every time they are remade. In time, you will find your created items waiting there for you whenever you project, or you will be able to call them into existence with a simple thought when required. They will then stay in shape, requiring little conscious effort to hold them in existence.

An interesting phenomenon associated with sword, armor, and weapons creation is that fine detail and workmanship often appears on them, as do variations in size and style from what is actually imaged during the creative act. The end product may look quite different from the mental recipe it sprang from. It is fairly easy to hold the basic shape and details of a sword in mind while creating it, but delicately etched patterns, filigree, complex runes, scripting, diagrams, elaborately bejeweled handles, and sparkling energy fields are most definitely not. These additional details appear to be provided by something other than the mental recipe the creation sprang from.

There are two possible reasons, I think. It is quite possible the projector's subconscious mind plays a part in this, prettying up a created sword as it forms. This seems unlikely, however, because if the subconscious mind were at work here it would most likely create the whole sword in the first place. The creation would then be much more durable and have less of a tendency to fade away.

More likely, the projector creating the sword (totally unawares) actually owns the sword that appears. The projector may have a long-term association, possibly through past-life connections or long-term astral ownership, with that particular sword. This same sword is thus summoned into existence by the projector's attempt to create a sword from scratch.

Astral combat experiences like these show some of the enormous potential of the projected double. It is quite capable of looking after and defending itself - if the projectors realize they are capable of doing so. As I said earlier, the projected double is a very powerful being. It does not have to meekly put up with the unkind ministrations of troublesome astral wildlife of any kind. This may be the reason why astral wildlife in general seem to actively avoid direct encounters with real-time projectors.

I would hazard a guess these beings either know or can sense the energetic potential of real-time projectors and that they are naturally afraid of them. This may be why they go to such great lengths to unnerve new projectors and scare them back into their bodies, often causing them to give up OBE altogether. Every aware projector is a serious threat to them and to their way of life. Think about it: if enough aware projectors were allowed to roam around the out-of-body environment at will, the bad guys might have to vacate the real-time zone and return to whatever dark dimensional backwater they originated from.

Receiving a sword and armor when requested is the sign that a projector has long-term connections in the astral planes and higher, of which they may be totally unaware. It may also mean they have in some way passed the test and been promoted to active astral duty, so to speak.

Asking for your sword should ideally be done at the very start of a real-time projection, after moving away from your physical body. You should raise your hand and ask aloud, with deep sincerity and reverence, for your sword. If you are ready for it, you will receive it. It is as simple as that.

If your first request is not answered, try again the next time you are out, and keep on trying until you are ready.
 

Shape-Shifting
It is also possible to change your size, shape, and appearance in the sensitive out-of-body environment. Shape-shifting is quite possible during a real-time projection, but is of course easier to hold in the astral dimension proper.

You can become whatever you think and feel you are. You can also be as big as you like by simply feeling yourself expanding and growing, until you tower over whatever it is that has had the temerity to annoy you. You can then step on it, kick it, or hit it with your oversized fist or created weapon of choice.

Alternatively, you can feel yourself changing into a large predator - like a lion, wolf, elephant, eagle, even Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Awareness of any new shape must be held firmly in mind and whole-body awareness at all times. It can take some effort to hold a new shape for any length of time. The secret behind successful shape-shifting is much like the secret of learning how to be a successful tree in a drama class. Learning any new shape is like learning how to play a new part in a play, and thus takes regular practice.

Creative imagination and the ability to maintain a changed sense of whole-body self-awareness are the only limitations in shape-shifting. I suggest all new shape-shifting projectors choose one shape and stick with it until they learn how to use it.

As with any thought-form creation, the new shape will become progressively easier to use with practice.

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