Roots Of Horror: Let Your Mind Wander

Article by Marie Robinson

Greetings, dear friends! I must confess to you my two passions: horror, and folklore. Luckily for me, they often go hand-in-hand! One day I dream of becoming a folklore expert, and it would be an honor if you would all allow me to spill my knowledge on the strangest of tales. Yarns that have been remembered through time, through all cultures of the world, and also, through film. Creatures and phenomenon that are so extraordinary, so bizarre... that you can’t help but wonder, “Are they real?”

*ASTRAL PROJECTING*

In the 2010 flick Insidious, a boy named Dalton becomes mysteriously “comatose”. With the help of a psychic his parents determine that the child was actually astral projecting in his sleep and becomes trapped in a realm called “the Further”.

Regardless of whether Insidious was a good movie or not (the film received many mixed reviews), I believe the psychic phenomenon that it is based upon is much more interesting than any element of the movie itself; be it plot, script, acting, what have you.

There are intricate theories based on the idea that humans have different levels of consciousness, and these are often referred to as “bodies”—not to be confused with a physical body. One of the most commonly referenced “bodies” is the astral body. Coming from the Greek word meaning ‘star’, an astral body is an energy-composed duplicate of one’s self, and is thought by Theosophists to be contained in a case of shimmering light and is visible only to a person who is sensitive or psychic.

The astral body can rise out of your physical form and ascend to the astral plane or realm. The act of traveling to the astral plane is called astral projecting, the very same activity our little Dalton gets carried away with in Insidious.

The way Dalton leaves his physical body is the same way many astral projectors do—while sleeping. In fact, you must put your body into a state of rest to free your astral form. Once you have reached the perfect, trance-like state, and you separate your consciousness from your natural body, you may get up, walk around, fly, and explore the astral plane to your desire!

Many astral projectors tell of seeing their sleeping body, even floating over it! You have probably also heard this referred to as an “out of body experience”.

Let’s talk more about the astral plane, shall we? Believe me, it sounds much more fun than “the Further”—no ghost-infested houses and cheesy looking demons to report yet! It is believed to be an alternate reality, or dimension, if you will, that is inhabited by disembodied entities and higher beings. Occults claim that the astral plane is invisible to the naked eye, and can be accessed and viewed only by way of astral projection or physic abilities.

Now, there are of course many skeptics who dash these ideas of astral nonsense away to simple explanations of dreams or madness, but there are also people who hold great belief in it. There is even a man, Robert Monroe, who is such a well-achieved astral projector that he has formed his own establishment (the Monroe Institute) that actually holds classes on how to learn the same art he has mastered. There are many books and websites that contain detailed practices you can do on your own to become an astral traveler.

But I must warn you to be careful, and not to get lost like our dear Dalton, or you could end up trapped in a movie with Patrick Wilson, for the rest of eternity…