A connection between Daoism and Astral Projection

So quote 1 is a daoist attempting to leave his body for the final time, reuniting with the dao

Quote 2 is a description of the mental dimension and the buddhic dimension from Robert Bruce

you can tell me if they sound similar =)



Quote 1 - Daoist account

"He was a bright star floating upward. He was pure energy, pure being. In the dark hotel room, he seemed to float as if in an aqueous medium. He looked down at his body, sitting there very still. He felt curious, wondering whether this was actually himself. Here he was, looking at his own body in the only way to do so besides using a reflector. What was sitting there couldn't be him, if what was looking was the consciousness floating above. The body was not the self, he concluded.
The dazzling light within him continued. The walls seemed to be nothing. They were only composed of matter. He was now pure consciousness, and nothing on the material plane could oppose him. They dissolved.
He was out in darkness. Saihung felt an acceleration, and he burst into a maelstrom of colors. Colors more vivid than dyed silk, more brilliant than the refractions from a thousand shattered prism spectrums. He flew through this vortex powerfully. After some distance, he came to an opening into a boundless space. There across this ocean of molten rainbows he saw the gate to liberation.
He floated in utter tranquillity and it seemed that his entire soul trembled in delight of experiencing a splendor that was holy, welcome, and peaceful. He was light, and he absorbed light, became brighter as he went closer. He felt a profound sobriety. It was an aloofness from all that was human, all that was associated with the misery of his emotions and the tyranny of his subjectivity. He was free simply to perceive the gentle thrill of being in a stream of infinity. He was with the Tao.
Saihung contemplated this opening in space. He wanted very much to go through it and leave the human world behind. There was a wide world on the other side, a paradise. It was not like the human world at all. It was no city, no place, not material. It was not even governed by the physics that people experienced. Nevertheless, Saihung felt himself overwhelmingly attracted to it. He let himself go with no regrets, no hesitation. Now! he would leave this human folly for all eternity!
He willed himself forward farther than he had ever projected himself. Recklessly, he plunged farther. He strained his concentration, kept it at an absolute peak. The silver cord that attached him to his body, that was literally his very lifeline back to earth began to stretch thin and fade in its luster. Saihung's eagerness was uncontainable. He flew toward the portal.
Suddenly, the jarring sound of an electric guitar chord cut his trajectory. He felt pain. The place where the silver cord was attacked to his abdomen wrenched at him, and he turned in space. Again came the noise, jerking him back to his body so suddenly that he nearly cried out with the agony. He opened his eyes. He was back in the room. His neighbor had turned his radio up loud. Rock music blasted through the walls so acutely that the walls shook.
He lost all control. Saihung dashed from his room, his eyes glaring demonically. He splintered his neighbor's door. With a mighty grip, he pulled the startled man to his feet. The man wet his pants in terror.
"He's killing me!" The neighbor's eyes teared up with fear, and Saihung could feel his stiff neck trembling under his grip. Saihung squeezed a bit more to quiet him. Wire-framed glasses fell to the floor.
Other men desperately tried to separate Saihung from the frightened man. It took six of them to drag him into the hallway. He let them do it, for he had slowly begun to realize the absurdity of his actions." From Chronicles of Tao



Quote 2 - Astral projector's description of two realms



"
The Mental Dimension

This is a spectacular dimension! Iridescent rivers of sound bounded by rainbow shores of pulsating light. Thoughts appear as kaleidoscopic patterns of light and sound. You walk across fields of ideas under a sparkling crystal sky of inspiration. If you enter this world don't try to rationalise or understand it, or you may go mad, for it is beyond human understanding. Just accept it all, go with the flow and enjoy it!

This dimension is what, I believe, the ancient Vikings called the famed "Rainbow Bridge" into Asgard. It truly looks and feels as if you are walking up a rainbow into some wonderful world where the Gods must surely dwell.

Exist here in wondrous amazement. Let loose the child within you to play in this fairy wonderland. Everything feels real and solid. Time is even further distorted here than in the Astral and reality is kaleidoscopic.


Buddhic Dimension

This is a warm, abstract world filled with utter peace and infinite love. It is a dimension of pure White. There is no sight or sound perception here other than the all pervading, brilliant White. In this dimension you very quickly relinquish conscious thought and individuality. You cannot think for long once you enter here and there is no need or desire to do so. There is an irresistible urge drawing you into a quiet stillness. It is like being immersed in warm, pure White cotton wool. In this world you cease to be an individual and you become, PART OF THE ONE. You also cease to be male or female. In a way this is like returning to the Mother's womb. You are surrounded, absorbed and assimilated by infinite loving warmth, understanding, forgiveness and atonement. AT-ONE-MENT

Time here ceases to have any meaning. If you enter this world you will never, ever want to leave it, you cannot leave it, until your physical body calls and drags you back. This is the healing, resting place of the soul." Take from Astraldynamics.com - Author Robert Bruce


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i hadnt read Chronicles of Tao for a couple months so it was not fresh in my mind.. i had just read, maybe a day or two before robert bruce's descriptions of the dimensions.. but i was sitting there, practicing trance state/meditating, when i heard one of my pets making noise (baby ducks.. long story), i made sure everything was in working order and stood up to go check on them, as soon as i got to the window this connection hit me

it seems that daoists leave to reunite with the tao permanantly? i am curious if astral projectors recieve the same consciousness after death that daoists do with their immortal spirit body... more research to be done!

a large part (of a certain sect of daoism) is to create an immortal fetus of the true self.. a spirit body, then when you die you just project out, and instead of getting thrown back into the mess of reincarnation you got an chill in the buddhic realm i guess...
however, the process that daoists take to create this body is.. to say the least... risky as hell - theres more than a few parts where you can die

so my curiosity is does astral projecting develop the body after death as completely as daoism...

~douggard


I would also like to take right now to thank robert bruce, i picked up astral dynamics, simply because it caught my eye in the book store - excellent, and im only just past 100 pages in
this thank you is coming from someone who has done a damn lot of research in metaphysics (daoism, kriya yoga, etc, etc, etc) - simply, thank you for doing what youre doing, its great

There should not be a difference since this is how other "planes" present themselves to us. No matter how you came to be at a certain point of inner freedom, be it through meditation alone or by projection for spiritual matters, the state of your mind, your limits of belief and your openness to the experience determine what you will see and where "you'll end up".

The mystical mumbo-jumbo of Neo-Daoism about the "spiritual embryo" is actually nothing else but a plan for personal maturation by allowing energies to clear out your blockages by constantly developing stronger flow by activating more and more of your channels.

Oliver

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Korpo

The mystical mumbo-jumbo of Neo-Daoism about the "spiritual embryo" is actually nothing else but a plan for personal maturation by allowing energies to clear out your blockages by constantly developing stronger flow by activating more and more of your channels.

Oliver

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hmmmm, well, i dont study neo-daoism, i lean towards traditional daoism

thanks for the reply

Quote:

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Originally Posted by douggard

hmmmm, well, i dont study neo-daoism, i lean towards traditional daoism

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The "spiritual embryo" practices are Neo-Daoism. While Neo-Daoism unfolded during the last millenium, maybe even the millenium before that (I don't remember), traditional Daoism is a lot older. Think Lao Tse (> 2,500 years ago).

The Neo-Daoist practices focus on the circulations and opening of special channels, generating power and have relations for example to Tibetan practices. It bears only limited semblance to the more traditional approach of trying to achieve the natural state and rest in it. It is more like a series of magic rituals which are to be precisely performed according to the instructions, else they are dangerous. They are because IMO they ignore what is natural completely and instead put another set of manmade intentions in place, and sometimes these intentions lead to failure, as they come primarily from the ego. The Neo-Daoists are very often on a "power trip".

Oliver