The Astral Body

“I know a man in Christ who, fourteen years ago, was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know - God knows. And I know that this man - whether in the the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows - was caught up yo paradise...”

-II Corinthians, 12:2-4, The Holy Bible

The quote above, taken from The Bible, is in effect, St. Paul’s account of what could have been an astral projection. He refers to a man who travels to heaven “apart from the body”. This was thus a biblical reference to an out-of-body experience. Spiritual enlightenment too, is often associated with the feeling of being outside one’s own body rapt in a feeling of spiritual ecstasy. The word “ecstasy” is etymologically derived from the late Latin word “ekstasis” (ek- outside, histanai-to place). This therefore raises an obvious question: Can we literally leave our bodies or is that simply a metaphorical reference?

Master Choa Kok Sui, in his courses, MCKS Achieving Oneness with the Higher Soul and MCKS Practical Psychic Self-Defense, provides a detailed account about our aura, our soul and our astral body among other subtle entities that are a part of us. The astral body is also known as the emotional body. The design of the emotional body has the emotional permanent seed as its base. This emotional permanent seed is located in the Solar Plexus Chakra or the Manipura Chakra and in the liver. It has colours of the rainbow around it with a pinkish rose-red to a primarily rose-red center.

Why do You Feel What You Feel?

It is through the astral body, a part of our energy body or aura, that we are able to experience the emotions of anger, fear, happiness, love and more in their fullest intensity. The Sanskrit equivalent for the astral body is Kamakosha. “Kama” means emotions while “kosha” means body. So, the astral body that is said to look like starlight, is literally a “body of emotions”.

Astral Projection

When we sleep, a substantial portion of our incarnated soul travels from the physical body to the astral body. The soul is basically energy and thus has a certain fluidity about it which allows it to travel to the astral body while still sustaining a small proportion of it in the sleeping physical body. When you go to sleep, or even when you meditate, there might be instances where you feel a strong energy vibration. Besides this, there may also be an inner sound whether loud or soft. There could be buzzing sounds or a feeling of falling as well. These are precursors to the transfer of the soul from the physical body into the astral body. Dreams are thus often regarded as astral journeys.

With the death of the physical body, the incarnated soul lodges itself onto the astral body. The astral body too dies, however, when the higher soul withdraws the emotional permanent seed.