Thread: Difference between Astral projection and Lucid dream

I've been wondering about this too actually, I've herd people talk about lucid dreaming and AP'ing, it always sounds like the same thing. I think you can get to AP through LD too, or so i've herd, ofcourse im just a noob

Hi Terrin, i had a faulse awakening the other night and i also didnt look to see if my body was on the bed but i was wandering the same question, how can you tell the difference...i have read some stuff on the web but i still cant see what the difference is, can any one that has had an OBE and lucid dream please explain the difference

Welllll. A dream is on the dream plane. the experience is manifested by you subconciously or conciously. On the astral plane you are viewing things on the physical plane. If it feels like a dream its a dream most likely. Does that make it any clearer for you????

OK so i can see what your saying but lol.... when i have a faulse awakening and it feels very real and im in my own room how could i tell the difference then, they say in OBE things can be a little fuzzy and blurred the first trime just like in a faulse awakening..sorry but this subject does my head in LMAO

Originally Posted by saltyseedog

Welllll. A dream is on the dream plane. the experience is manifested by you subconciously or conciously. On the astral plane you are viewing things on the physical plane. If it feels like a dream its a dream most likely. Does that make it any clearer for you????

ok.. but thats the thing.. everything i saw was exactly the same as in real life.. nothing seemed obscure.. it seemed as if i had just left my body.. how can i tell if i am in the physical plane or the dream plane? it seemed like a dream so maybe it was.. but if it was then it was the most realistic dream i have.. ever had.. has anyone every AP'd so i can do a comparison?

Well your subconscious can recreate your environment exactly the way it is. Dreams can be extremely vivid and real. when you astral project though you are present in your astral body. It feels a lot different from being in a dream. You can feel the presence that you normally feel in waking life in your body, but you are like outside of your body. the feeling of it is way different. Your environment in the physical world has a much different feeling than the environment in your dreams probably has. The energy feels different. the presence of everything feels different. Your dreams normally feel like whats going on inside of you. the objects or life in the physical world has different feeling energy than whats going on inside of you. So it will probably feel different to be in a dream then when you astral project.

OK lets see if this helps:

Definitions

Lucid dreaming occurs when you are dreaming and are aware that you are in fact dreaming. Once you become lucid (aware) in your dream, you can control all of the dream characters, albeit with some practice. You can fly in a lucid dream, go out with Brad Pitt, go hang gliding, or even shape shift into a cat and see what that’s like. Knock yourself out (you can even do that!). You’re only limited by your imagination.

Astral projection, or out of body experiences, occur when your soul or consciousness leaves your body and enters a realm known as the astral plane. This is not the dream plane. This is an entirely different place, and it’s definitely not Kansas!

Comparison

Let’s compare lucid dreaming and astral projection so that you’ll see how distinctly separate these two experiences are.

In lucid dreaming:
•You are asleep
•Your experience is a dream
•Your location is whereever you wish it to be (desert, ocean, future, past, mom’s house, etc.)
•Your consciousness is still inside your body
•You can control the environment and characters
•When the experience is over, you simply wake up

In astral projection:
•You awaken, then you project
•Your experience is real
•Your experience begins in your bedroom, or wherever your body is
•Your consciousness is outside of your body, and your body is left with none
•You can manipulate your environment in the astral realm (somewhat), but you cannot control the actions of the inhabitants of the astral plane.
•When the experience is over, you return to your body and merge your consciousness back into it

Do you have to know how to lucid dream in order to astral project?

No. You could potentially learn astral projection without ever learning lucid dreaming. There are some people who can simply lay down on a couch and in a couple of minutes totally separate out of their body. It’s difficult, but possible. The skill of being able to project your consciousness out of your body is something that can be practiced to a point where you could potentially leave your body while dining at a restaurant or sitting in a movie theater. However, I can definitely say that being an accomplished lucid dreamer will help you learn astral projection.

I recall one experience where I laid down on my bed to take an afternoon nap and immediately, instantly, went out of body. I literally thought I had died because it was the first time I astral projected from a totally awake, not-coming-out-of-sleep state. I stood there looking down at my body thinking, “Holy hell-in-a-handbasket, Batman! What just happened?” It was trippy and unnerving and I just got right back into my body. Fear of death will do that to you.

How can we use the skill of lucid dreaming to facilitate an astral experience?

Mastering the art of lucid dreaming comes with a great side effect. You learn how to wake your mind up while keeping your body asleep. And that is a skill you need for conscious astral projection. In order to separate out your consciousness from its shell – your body – you need to learn how to move your consciousness out of your body and into your astral vehicle, as it’s called. Your astral vehicle is simply your astral body. Think of it like putting your consciousness into a ghostly body. It’s not quite that simple, but it will do for now. So once you’ve become a master at keeping your body asleep while your mind is totally awake and conscious, you’re halfway there.

So how does astral projection take place?

The best and easiest way to learn how to astral project is to learn lucid dreaming first. Listen to my podcast for tips on how to do that. What you want to do is end your lucid dream with the intent to astral project. As you wake up, you’ll notice your body is totally paralyzed for a few moments. This is to prevent you from acting out your dream. In this state, you want to raise your vibration (you might hear a high-pitched whine or feel a buzzing in your body), and then stretch your astral body out of your physical body. It will feel like you’re moving your physical body. It’s supposed to!! This is because you are leaving your body – all of you is leaving your body – and so it will feel like you are simply stretching out and standing up. But when you look down, you’ll see your body still lying on the bed.

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they simply cast their awareness outside of their body and experience a dual consciousness, or imagine they are getting up out of their body. No. When you successfully leave your body, it will feel like all of you is standing up while your body is still lying on your bed. You will not feel like you’re still lying in bed. You will not feel like you’re dreaming. You will literally feel like you got out of bed and are standing beside it. You will look down at your body and recognize it but you will not feel your arms lying on the covers, you will not feel your head on the pillow. You will only see it. You may feel a pull or tug, however. This is your astral cord trying to get you back into your body where you feel safe, because let me tell you, the first dozen times you go astral you will want to get back into your body right quick!! Get as far away from your body as fast as you can and the tugging sensation will dissipate rapidly. When you’re ready to go back to your body, just think about it and your cord will snap you back. If you get into any trouble out there, call for the angels or your spirit guides to help you. They’ll get you back where you belong.

Other tidbits you need to know

Sometimes I will be having a lucid dream followed by a false awakening where I will dream that I am astral projecting. That’s not an astral projection. Still a dream. If Brad Pitt shows up in your astral experience, you’re just dreaming. Sometimes I will actually begin to have an astral experience but not make it fully out of my body. So frustrating. If my will is not strong enough to get out of my body, I will often snap into a lucid dream very quickly. Not astral, but still a cool experience.

Sometimes people successfully go astral but don’t leave their body! What a waste of a great experience. In this case you vibrate your frequency high enough to get out but you don’t actually stretch out of your body and go anywhere. I’ve done this many, many times. You are in an astral state, you are plugged in to the astral realm, but you simply aren’t going anywhere. In this state, you may attract the attention of some entities who may not be very nice, who will come and look at you, or talk to you, or try to suck your energy away. I wouldn’t let them.

In still other cases, there are beings who can separate your astral body from your corporeal body for you. Some of them are nice, and others are not so nice. If you have friends who are good at astral projection, they can come and encourage you to leave your body. This is so very tricky and requires some precision timing, but it can be done if you’re all really serious about it.

Yes and no kind of.... Well maybe not no its just I feel that guide is a little misleading. The astral plane is a plane that is basically just above the physical plane. You view and even interact energetically with with the physical plane. The dream plane is like all your thoughts emotions and everything going on inside of you being manifested in a symbolic experience. You can dream anything. so you can have dreams obviously where you leave your body and float around or whatever. that doesn't mean your on the astral plane. When you astral project. You are outside of your body viewing things. It is possible to be present viewing things on the astral plane without having a full blown obe. Really if you want this, this is what it requires: Intention. If you want to obe. or even view things on the astral plane without completely leaving your body. it requires intention. So if you want to astral project. Do what you would do to WILD but focus on the intention of astral projecting. So what you can do is just wake yourself in the middle of the night and go back to sleep but hold onto your intent of astral projecting. Astral projection can be really intense in my experience and it did scare the first maybe 10 times I did it. You really feel like you are outside of your body like a ghost. It is weird. Don't doubt yourself in doing it either. Its not hard. You probably have obes every once and a while naturally although you don't remember. So don't doubt yourself. Astral projecting and lucid dreaming is only as hard as you make it. Just be confident.

this is a hotly debated topic. many dreamers / researchers / people do not believe you actually leave your physical body. despite this there is are volumes of esoteric literature on it, and many people claim to have experienced other planes as well. i have had a few experiences like an OBE, where i have pulled myself out of my body, and i can say they are at least slightly different than your average lucid dream.

i however believe they are basically like an LD where your focus is on your body and your consciousness is active within a specific range. i also believe that there is not a clear distinction, it's more of a continuum, with non-lucid dreams on one side and OBEs on the other.

but no one can say for sure.

So.. An LD is inside your head.. And an AP is outside your head ?
Sounds pretty interesting though

wowwwwwwwwww!! thanks a lot guys.. I think i have it.. i'm still pretty new to LD but i'm catching on quick i've had 2 in 1 week i wanted to step up to astral projection and i didn't even know that LD'ing was a stepping stone.. you all have been every helpful! "holy crap batman!" that was funny.. I can't wait to become more of an experienced LD'er so i can practice AP'ing.. once again thanks a lot guys!

I really like what both angie746 and zhineTech said but you have to remember. Astral Projection is not yet proven per say and many people don't believe in it. It may be different than a lucid but some people believe it is just an illusion and still all in your head. I myself don't know what I believe about the subject yet.

It is not the same thing!

You can!

We are all noobs!

ok sorry for the quick post but here is my limited experience on the difference between the LD and AP:

The AP when reality checking your hands melt. When LD they look weird but dont melt... you are at a much deeper at AP (faster phase/frequency of brainwaves) level of thinking when in both but from my 1 experience you feel much more there in reality.

this is phase shift. your brain waves are cycling differently then normal reality.

Originally Posted by angie746

Hi Terrin, i had a faulse awakening the other night and i also didnt look to see if my body was on the bed but i was wandering the same question, how can you tell the difference...i have read some stuff on the web but i still cant see what the difference is, can any one that has had an OBE and lucid dream please explain the difference

this is phase shift. your brain waves are cycling differently then normal reality.

From my (limited) experience, I'm confident OBEs are just lucid dreams. They feel very different because you end up there in a different way.

You are not becoming lucid (DILD) in a world made out of your fantasy, neither you are creating one by visualizing it (playing with hypnagogics during WILDs).
What you are doing is building a new world out of your short-term memory, and that's why they are so defined, realistic, yet respectful of laws of physics.
The bond with your body is still very strong because your conscious mind knows where the whole experience started and refuses to accept the separation.
But if you succeed, you have just created 5 new senses and that's the reason they are SO vivid.

I may be wrong though, I'm genuinely curious to read theories about a different "plane" because that would be awesome.
What unexplainable fact would suggest that this is not, in fact, a dream?

Below is a quote from energyreality.com its a great resource for understanding astral projections. namaste.

Astral/Emotional consciousness is primarily awakened through the stimulation of desire.

"Awareness of the Astral Universe is awakened by meditation, psychic development techniques, out of body (astral) travel techniques, shamanic practices, lucid dreaming, drugs - especially psychedelics, certain pranayama practices, certain types of trauma, biochemical imbalances, and certain types of energetic stimulation."

the difference is, astral projection is not a lucid dream, because you think you are astral projecting, which is really just a DREAM about astral projecting. I dare anyone who thinks they are astral projecting to stop and do some reality checks turn lucid and realize this fact.

So, appearently nobody can tell why they don't think APs are just a kind of lucid dreams but believe in this "astral plane" instead?
I mean, we are not talking about some religion that requires faith. We CAN explain them using lucid dreams, am I missing something here?

Guess I will throw in my thoughts...

I feel lucid dreams and astral projection to be the same thing. I'm not a pro but I have noticed that when I project out of body consciously and look around my room I see dream signs, like the room being a different color and pictures on the wall are different. I see many things like that so it can't be that i am in a reality reflecting setting. It must be a dream. I have done the playing card trick except with a random word on paper.. The word has never matched in the AP to what it says in real life. Also in APdmt body does not feel any different than It does in a lucid dream. Someone posted above that your hands will melt when you are projecting, I have not had this happen either. My hands appear deformed in wierd ways just as they do in lucid dreams. I think astral projection and OBE to be a trick of the mind.. Just a unique kind of WILD. AP always seems so real like I am truly out of body but when I wake it's clear to me it's also a dream.

Things that appear the same in both AP and LD
-having a physical body
-thought provoked reality
-dream signs
-Reality checks have the same outcome
-day and night are accurate to waking life
-commands/affirmations have same outcome
-stabalizing is the same

These may not be "real" experiences but I am a believer of going beyond the dream (astral planes, other demensions) whatever you want to call it. The last LD I had I made the affirmation that I was beyond the dream and in the astral planes. A force then pulled me to space and into some type of grid. I then fell into a city
that was beyond my imagination. You can go beyong the dream it doesn't matter if your AP OBE or LDing so don't worry about what your doing... Just do it

there are whole subcultures built around esoteric ideas like magic, dimensions, and astral travel. people tend to think "astral travel" is more "real" and "spiritual" and all that.

having said that, my experiences "separating" from my body into a more "OBE" like world always seem quite a bit different from "normal" lucid dreams. but i agree with what someone said above about the difference is how you got there.

also, people will buy more incense

Originally Posted by WhatsReal

These may not be "real" experiences but I am a believer of going beyond the dream (astral planes, other demensions) whatever you want to call it. The last LD I had I made the affirmation that I was beyond the dream and in the astral planes. A force then pulled me to space and into some type of grid. I then fell into a city
that was beyond my imagination. You can go beyong the dream it doesn't matter if your AP OBE or LDing so don't worry about what your doing... Just do it

one of the best explanations thanks man.. my waking life is kind of getting in the way of my dream time smh.. had about two weeks off and now i'm having a hard time with DR but thanks again I will "just do it" lol NIKE lol

I love how you say waking life is getting in your way. I feel the same. I don't want to be buisy with bullshit I just want to Lucid dream. I know what's out here... I don't care,I want to know what's in there.

exactly! I was making so much progress.. now its work,worry,stress.. meditation helps sometimes.. and i see you have 22 wilds very cool.. do you have any advice for me?

Hi Angie, my experience is that several time I came out of my feet, my 3rd eye or rolled out of my body but even if I ended up in my room everything was still kind of dark around, and only one time I looked at my real body and the transition wasn't as noisy and as strange as many people say, and even if I felt naked and unsettled I was able to feel ok with it after few minutes from my awake, so I guess in those cases I was still dreaming to Astral Project, a rehearsal in few words!
Another time I felt like I was getting ripped out of my physical body, almost like coming out of my shell or cocoon, it was strange almost painful and I felt really naked like never before. The funny thing is that I also felt that I was not only coming out of something but also at the same time going and being part of the external world that was around this cocoon. It was like cutting from one reality into another reality in which everything was connected like an alive 3D painting around me. Better than this I can't explain it! It felt more real than anything else.
My point and question is ...I guess when one is really astral projecting, "Holy hell-in-a-hand-basket, Batman!" to quote Angie, really knows it. It's not an experience after which you can easily stand up like nothing happened! Right Angie?
So my question to you Angie is how do you "Holy hell-in-a-hand-basket, Batman!" go through it consciously knowing or sensing how this experience is so close to death?
Do you have some personal tips that can help me to go through it with a more relaxed approach?
Thanks Angie

AP/OBE = Entering "that world" via seperating from your body (usually at the REM period)

LD = Entering "that world" via becomign counscious in a dream (usually at the REM period).

That's all there is to know.