Is the astral body the soul or spirit?

[RyanParis]

I have astral projected before, just like described in Astral Dynamics.

I have a question.

Is the astral body the soul or spirit? Is it a spiritual experience? Does astral travel have anything to do with Heaven, etc?

Thanks.

[Korpo]

Hello.

AFAIK the astral body is only part of what constitutes your soul, and not your spirit. Your spirit exists at a much higher vibration than the astral body.

Projection can be used to visit the afterlife, but not all projection is taking place there.

Oliver

[ButterflyWoman]

Is the astral body the soul or spirit?

I would say not. I believe the spirit/soul is pure consciousness of an extraordinarily high vibration. (I happen to believe that it's God, but that's another discussion, I think.) The astral body is, as far as I can tell, just another possible "container" for that consciousness.

Is it a spiritual experience?

I would say it is, but it really depends on your definition of "spiritual". I tend to use that term to refer to any experience that is not material.

Does astral travel have anything to do with Heaven, etc?

Dunno. I've heard of people going to a heaven-like place, but I don't think it's necessarily the dogmatic Judeo-Christian concept of "heaven". (Note: I've got nothing against Judeo-Christian beliefs, I'm only noting that the whole heaven vs. hell concept is very dogmatic )

[CFTraveler]

I have a question.

Is the astral body the soul or spirit?

Neither. It is a vehicle used to explore more subtle realms than the 'gross physical'. But it is my opinion that if you need a vehicle, it's physical, just more 'subtle'.

Is it a spiritual experience?

I don't know. It's an experience, and it points to other ways of existence- but if you mean 'spiritual' as in 'helping you connect with God', it depends on what your definition of God is. I'd say it can be.

Does astral travel have anything to do with Heaven, etc?

It depends on what you consider heaven to be. I think the christian concept of heaven and hell came from astral projections into the belief system territories, that is into forays into the collective belief areas that were created by living people, so in that way, yes. But as an 'ultimate destination of being'? Probably not.

Thanks.

You're welcome.

[Korpo]

BTW, anything can be a spiritual experience. Eating can be as much a spiritual experience as having a projection. It's the state of mind and the sense of wonder, it's about being present and being open to it. So whether an OBE is a spiritual thing depends solely on you - IMO.

Take good care,
Oliver

[CFTraveler]

According to theosophy, the spirit is the mind and the astral or emotional body is the soul.
The truth is that all these concepts are given by religion and we try to make them fit to what we experience. We have a vehicle, although subtle, when we traverse the etheric or the real time zone, but I don't call this the soul- we also have a point of consciousness and sometimes can create the impression of a body when we're in the astral or in the mental plane. I don't call this the spiritu but some do.
I think it's better to go with observation instead of religious dogma to label these things, that should be experiences, and always keep an open mind before we accept someone else's idea of what things are.

[Sinera]

For me none of the 'bodies' is a spirit/soul or consciousness.

The answer actually already lies in the word:

BODY.

So what is a BODY for us?

A VESSEL. A VEHICLE to MOVE around.

So is our physical BODY our soul or mind? Maybe for materialists it is as it contains it in the 'brain' or whatever.

Not for me.

The body is a VESSEL/VEHICLE to move on a certain plane: physical, astral, mental or higher. Yes, it affects or is an expression of certain mental states, such as we call the astral also the 'desire' body. The astral BODY is compatible with the astral PLANE and can only move there and is dissolved if we leave it for good after death (unless we get stuck after death and need retrieval).

In very high planes of existence there is not BODY/VESSEL anymore since it is all formless. And on Higher Self level anyway. We can assume form and take on a BODY anytime so it might be 'part' of our creational ability as a soul (as consciousness), but it is not a soul.

It is a VEHICLE.

[IA56]

For me none of the 'bodies' is a spirit/soul or consciousness.

The answer actually already lies in the word:

BODY.

So what is a BODY for us?

A VESSEL. A VEHICLE to MOVE around.

So is our physical BODY our soul or mind? Maybe for materialists it is as it contains it in the 'brain' or whatever.

Not for me.

The body is a VESSEL/VEHICLE to move on a certain plane: physical, astral, mental or higher. Yes, it affects or is an expression of certain mental states, such as we call the astral also the 'desire' body. The astral BODY is compatible with the astral PLANE and can only move there and is dissolved if we leave it for good after death (unless we get stuck after death and need retrieval).

In very high planes of existence there is not BODY/VESSEL anymore since it is all formless. And on Higher Self level anyway. We can assume form and take on a BODY anytime so it might be 'part' of our creational ability as a soul (as consciousness), but it is not a soul.

It is a VEHICLE.

Thank you Sinera I agree with you. Consiusness has not a body and my experience what I have told about when I met JHWH and got the echo into the eternity and what I have bean lacking in understanding is why it is so different into the eternity is that we do not have bodies and that I now know when I say..that I strech my consiusness is totally clear for me now...I do not Project my subtile bodies only stretch my consiusness and that reaches much further than you ever can travel with a subtle bodys consiusness.

Thank you!

Love
ia

[Dreamweaver]

Ask your higher self to speak to you intuititively. Ask to KNOW. Astral projection experiences downloaded to your conscious mind - the most lucid are the most relevant - are legitimate spiritual lessons. Communication can happen across any developed or available sensitivities, and can be all related to a particular focus/path/direction. It's like different languages or modalities all translated toward a shared focus. Use the level you are presented with.