How does one start with astral stuffs? Are there any resources you recommend?
I don't have any good resources, either print or pdfs to recommend, but I can walk through my concepts of how the astral works and workshop things with you.
First off, let's define astral. Everyone has a different concept of what it is, here's the definition I use:
refers to a place outside of the human physical existence that is usually visited through visualization, dreams, or other forms of sensory experiences; commonly called astral as an umbrella term and may or may not refer to methods of astral travel; words that can fall under the umbrella of astral are Otherworld, dreamscape, aether, other planes / dimensions
Now, a lot of people say astral and they mean astral projecting, which usually involves sitting or laying in a dark, dim room, doing some form of meditation, often to music or with candles, special lighting, incense, etc. The goal of this, to my understanding, is to go through an Out of Body Experience (OBE) or otherwise dissociate from your earthly form. This method requires complete focus, as well as the ability to focus for long periods of time without any interruption.
I'm adhd, as well as having dogs, so this method is Not For Me. I get interrupted all the time, even when I'm just trying to drink a cup of tea, let alone do special practice.
I've found in talking to a lot of different practitioners that there are a number of different way to connect to the astral, and not all of them resemble astral projection.
Imagination Method
I know, I know. To a lot of folks who do any kind of metaphysics, imagination is a bad word. But that's what it is! This method requires you to envision the astral, which in itself is imagination.
(This is only how I term this, doesn't mean it's a standard term. I've just found that coming to grips with the fact that imagination is involved is helpful to do up-front rather than discover later.)
This method is what happens when you do guided meditations. Someone tells you to sit in a nice, calm space and start to envision certain things -- meditate, ground yourself, envision your body in the astral, what does it look and feel like, envision a forest, walk through it, there's a door up ahead, walk through it, you're in a room with two chairs, you sit down, who sits down with you?
The step from envisioning (imagining) an environment to entering an astral 'reality' is smooth and subtle. When you suggest that there is a chair where you're expecting someone, that opens up your mind to letting someone (or something) come talk to you. For some folks, they might have a deity or spirit that was already hanging around. Other people might visit with deceased relatives or mythological figures. Or speaking with an animal friend, a monster, or a creature.
Advice
I have a couple pieces of advice for this.
First, not everyone can see in the astral. Sight is not guaranteed. There are other senses, like touch, taste, hearing, smelling, as well as proprioception (knowing where/what your body is doing, in relation to outside of you) and interoception (knowing how you feel, like physically and emotionally). The astral can be sensed through all of these.
A lot of people are able to visually access the astral, but not everyone. My usual recommendation is to try a guided mediation and record what you can and can't do. Do it more than once, and record your results. You may improve over time, but you may consistently be unable to sense certain things.
If that's not appealing (or if you can't do guided mediations), then try this:
Sit or otherwise be still for a few minutes, and build yourself a house. Start with a room. How big is it? What color are the walls? What texture are the walls? Is it indoors or is it a cave? A cave can be a room. Is there furniture? A couch, a painting, a rug? If you can't see or envision these things, think about what they feel like, their shape, their texture, where they're located in comparison to each other. Walk around your 'room' and touch the walls, trace the edges of things.
Repeat this until you can reliably access this same room/space without much thought. It should consistently look the same, and it shouldn't change without your input. This is your space.
Now, once you're comfortable with that, make a doorway. Build a door frame, put the door in it. What color is the door? Is it wood? Metal? Glass? Is it plain or decorated? Did you put wards on it, or is it naturally protective? Get really comfortable with your doorway.
Then open it. See what's on the other side, in the astral. Explore.
It's the same concept as that guided meditation thing. By using your imagination, you've built a protected space that is your anchor / access into the astral. The doorway gives your mind permission to let go of what you've imagined and access the astral.
And, once you're in the astral, sometimes.... you still imagine stuff!
I've had it explained to me by an entity over there like this. I see them as having a monstrous shape that fits their environment. Think a wolf-creature for a deep forest. I see them as that because that's how my brain interprets their form. They don't necessarily look exactly like that to everyone. What matters is that I see them as a Person who has usable limbs and can have expressions.
The astral is very similar in concept. It doesn't matter if you see a key and someone else sees a crowbar -- they both open things.
Part of the imagination method is allowing yourself to exist with this diversity of interpretations, and to not hinge too much of your faith in your ability in seeing the Exact Truth. Cause there isn't one. The goal is not perfection, but the experience.
Other Methods
Creative - This method is often reached through intentionally or unintentionally channeling while doing something creative. This experience won't necessarily be as play-by-play reality as the Imagination method, but it can help you find themes and concepts that resonate with your experiences. An example is writing fanfic / fiction RP: I wrote a series of characters for years that ended up being linked to stuff like the UK, Scotland, fire and warmth, the ocean, sailing, and I wasn't consciously choosing these things. It was just happening. Color me surprised when I finally settled down to look at a deity that was godbothering me and found that these creative choices over the years were them trying to contact me and I didn't realize it. That's the downside of this method. You usually realize it's happening after it's been over for a while. Take notes on continuing themes in your works and try and dissect what's your interest and what keeps happening without your input.
Overlay - This is the second most common version of astral stuff, and it's basically linked directly to the imagination method. Whereas in the imagination method, you go somewhere else and see things, in the Overlay method, the astral is in your personal space. Quite frequently this means like a spirit will be in your room, talking to you. Or the landscape of the astral will be projected over top of your space, like an overlay. The downside of this method is that you have to be particularly careful because any entity or magical happening is happening simultaneously in the astral and in your space. So you're inviting things into your space, which means you need to ward and cleanse much more than if you're travelling elsewhere.
Dreams - I have the least experience here, as I genuinely don't dream (sleep apnea D:) but this is a form of astral work! I don't have practical advice for this, but I'm sure other dreamworkers do.
Final Notes
This is a lot of information for you to take in, but the important thing is to 1) try out different options and 2) don't give up because it's hard. I've been doing this stuff for a decade, it's easy for me to say it's easy. But you won't make any progress if you try one method and say it's not for you. Don't be discouraged if you can't visualize, try another sense!
