This refers to when the subject behaves adequately in terms of communication and interaction, but nevertheless shows no sign that he ever knew the practitioner. Meanwhile, this person may be exactly the same as the practitioner is used to seeing him, with the same character traits and physique. He may know his name, but everything else, especially the life history he describes, may not have anything to do with reality.

It is safe to assume that this lack of a true-to-life memory in a deceased person will present no obstacle to communication for some practitioners. Lack of true-to-life recall in a deceased subject is truly not all that important when compared to the joy of finally seeing a loved one again. A practitioner reunited with a loved one would hardly think that their encounter were unsuccessful if the deceased acted like a stranger, and would hardly see it necessary to take corrective action, as this type of communication allows the practitioner to once again see those same eyes, hear that same voice, and so on.

Perhaps those encountered do not need to remember what happened to them or know where they are? Maybe it’s best to let them live in their reverie, seeing the whole situation in a completely different light? Does one really need to go through all of the ordeals that may arise after they realize their situation? That’s why, before implementing measures to achieve more true-to-life contact, one ought think long and hard about the wisdom of doing so.

One should interact as naturally as possible with a person lacking memory of the past, as this is just what the situation calls for. It should be kept in mind that brining up what happened in the past might evoke negative reactions in the subject, which is why sometimes it makes sense to introduce oneself to him and talk to him as if for the first time.

If you have already encountered the out-of-body phenomenon (the astral plane) in your life, then you already know how great it is and you hardly need any more motivation than the desire to do it again. But if you do not have any experience, then you, my friend, must first either try to understand the incredible essence of the phenomenon, or read in detail about its practical side.

The fact is that if you are going to do this just because it’s something new to try and then see what happens, it’s possible that you won’t get any results. You have to really want it. When this desire inside you becomes deep and intense, your results will be much, much better. Moreover, it will often happen spontaneously without any intention on your part – that’s how strong the power of desire and intention is!

Perhaps, dear friend, I will disappoint you now – I am not going to go into detail here regarding the nature of this phenomenon. Know why? I’m not quite sure what it is. My competency lies in how to master the astral plane, as well as how to control it and use it, but I have nothing but my own personal views on the nature of the phenomenon itself. I could give voice to my opinions, were it not for one thing: my views have been turned inside-out at least once. Perhaps they will change again in the future. I do know that when there is little practical experience on the table, there’s nothing left to do but discuss theories. That’s why there are a mass of authors out there who are at a primitive level in their own personal practice, and yet devote 90% of their books to waxing philosophic about what the phenomenon is. I’m not going to do that. Space is at a premium in this book. There is no room for discussing theories any further.

There are several fundamental points of view, and over the course of the book, you’ll learn which camp I belong to – though this has not the slightest importance. No matter what anyone may or may not think about the phenomenon, there’s one thing that brings everyone to the table: the practice of it. The unique thing about the astral plane consists of just that: it brings both true-believer mystics and hard-core materialists together under its roof, including those who do not even believe in the human soul. Isn’t that something that we have only been able to dream of up until now?

And so what are the most-widespread views on the phenomenon? The most ancient view, often correlated with the concept of an "astral plane", is that the soul travels through some parallel world, a spirit world. A more modern view that is associated more with the term "out-of-body travel" is that the souls exits the body into the day-to-day world of reality. By the way, you will simply have no doubt that you are in the astral plane when you experience it for the first time. This is the most accurate description of the sensation of the experience, which is why I myself use that term as often as not.

Meanwhile, the point of view that is gaining the most currency is that this is a hyper-realistic state of mind, a kind of dissociative experience. That is, despite the miraculous realism and complexity of the construct world that you find yourself in, it is all only in your head and goes no further than that. It should also be mentioned that most people doubt all of these explanations. In practice, it appears that most people ascribe different astral travel experiences to different phenomena, based on one factor or another. However, no matter what the term, the properties of the worlds experienced are always the same – believe me, my friend.

Whatever the nature of this state, it exists, is accessible to all, and has practical applications – and all this is encompassed by the term "astral travel".

Either way, friend, under no circumstances make the same mistake that I and thousands of others made: drawing conclusions from personal conjecture, books, or what other people say. Draw conclusions about the nature of the phenomenon only on the basis of your own practical experience. This is the one and only authority worth placing faith in. You shouldn’t even believe a single word I write. This book is for reference only. Reality is what you confirm in practice, are able to replicate, and verify through experiment. And only that.

If you do not have practical experience, and have merely heard or read a lot about the phenomenon, then I have something unpleasant to tell you: almost everything that you think about it has no bearing on reality. You know, I often meet people along my life path that try to prove that I’m wrong about something. They vehemently try to prove something to me – a person who has devoted his whole life since childhood to the phenomenon, who has had thousands upon thousands of experiences with it, who has conducted scores of experiments, and knows a whole army of practitioners, as well as taught it to a countless number of students. But when I ask them where they got all of their information from and how extensive their personal experience is, it nearly always turns out that they got everything from some books, and have yet to have an experience themselves. Odd, isn’t it?

This is the most undesirable of all possible scenarios, and one should use all available means to try to avoid it. A practitioner inadvertently coming across a deceased person in this form may simply never want to repeat the experience again. However, such incidents are caused exclusively by incorrect implementation of techniques.

Corpse syndrome in a deceased person in the astral plane means exactly what the name implies. After performing the technique for achieving contact, the practitioner finds himself face-to-face with a corpse. This experience is most terrible if the subject died in an accident from serious injuries.

Corpse syndrome can be classified into two main types. The first one, ordinary corpse syndrome, includes when a person is in an immobilized state, perhaps in a coffin. The second one, living corpse syndrome, includes when the subject appears to be dead (postmortem lividity, a cold body, no pulse, no breathing, or even autopsy stitches), but can nonetheless move about normally and communicate.

Immediately upon performing the technique for achieving contact and realizing that just such a situation has occurred, the practitioner is advised to exit the situation immediately, as it could have very unfortunate consequences. However, it should not be assumed that all further attempts to interact with the deceased in the astral plane will bring the same result. Such apprehension may be dispelled by achieving contact once again, even right away, without first returning to reality.

If the practitioner nevertheless decides to continue interacting with a subject who appears as a corpse, then he must do so as carefully as possible, trying not to focus his attention on the subject’s condition.

It should be noted that all of these reservations mainly relate to meetings with deceased relatives. Some practitioners are known to deliberately seek out corpses there, just out of curiosity. There’s no point in speculating as to whether or not this is right. Either way, such a possibility exits and may be useful for those struggling with a fear of the dead.

I’ve spoken more than once about the complete realism of the experience, and repeatedly emphasized that aspect because it’s the most important characteristic of the astral plane experience. It’s worth paying especially close attention to this, as most people mistakenly assume that sensations in the astral plane are not vivid, and often assume it to be something like a normal dream. Such assumptions are evidently wrong and fertile ground for erroneous beliefs, which in turn influence how the general public perceives the whole topic. In this section of the book, I will describe all the minute details of how might one might feel while in the astral plane.

All misconceptions about the nature of the phenomenon arising among people who unexpectedly experience a separation of the mind from the body are mainly due to the complete realism of the experience, down to the minutest detail. If you unexpectedly start suddenly levitating into the air and find yourself hovering under the ceiling, and it’s the first time that it has happened to you, then you are bound to be convinced that it’s your real body that is flying, and not all some phantom experience. And once you look down to see for yourself the undisturbed position of your physical body, you will be in no doubt that your mind has really separated from your body, and it may seem to you that death is coming for you at that very moment, causing you to become morbidly afraid.

And so, the most important feature here is the complete lack of a connection to the real body and all of its sensations. While in the astral plane, you can only conjecture as to the existence of a physical body lying somewhere on the bed. You don’t feel which side it’s lying on, how the arms and legs are positioned, or whether the lights are on or off. Moreover, you don’t have any feel for your body’s spatial orientation. However, there’s no need to worry about the possibility of any harm coming to your body when in such a state. That would be impossible.

It is also mistaken to believe that the realism of the experience consists only in the realism of the visual imagery – even though sight is the most important of the senses.

During everyday life, we obtain 80 to 90 percent of information about the world around us through the eyes. Even during conversation, we use our eyes to decode the real meaning being put across, taking in the nonverbal gestures that contain 40% of the information being conveyed. We often do this at the subconscious level without realizing it, which is why many are surprised by the statistics. The sense of sight plays an equally significant role in the astral plane. It’s the most important and vivid part of the experience. The visual imagery is so realistic that it’s impossible to grow accustomed to, and it initially leads to extraordinary rapture, and even to frenzy or shock. I’ve had thousands of experiences, but still often just visually take in what’s going on around me, often unable to believe my eyes.

It’s worth mentioning up front that all of the sensations of the astral plane experience are not only like those in the physical world, but are to a certain degree even more realistic in terms of sensory perception. At any rate, this is what is to be expected if we consider the phenomenon from a scientific point of view, as it turns out that all of the astral plane sensations are generated directly in the brain cortex, without having to travel the relatively long path along the nerves from the sensory receptors, a process that somewhat distorts reality during our day-to-day lives. It can be said that sensations in the astral plane are even more vivid than their waking life counterparts. They are more distinct and more intense, and can thus deliver extraordinary satisfaction, and this makes it possible to experience some events quite vividly – especially when it comes to pleasure, or even real pain. This applies equally to all of the five senses.

Considering the above, the sense of sight alone can bring complete satisfaction in the astral plane. The importance of this for the blind cannot be overemphasized. Not only is the vividness of the imagery striking, but so is its fine detail. This is not some computer game in which objects become boxy upon close inspection, and literally pixelated. There you can take any object, bring it up to your eyes, and see every detail, even those impossible to bring into focus in the real world. It may seem fantastic, but it’s possible to go up to any bookshelf, pick up any book, and start reading it, or, for that matter, take a look at the skin cells of your own hand. It’s wonderful to experience the fabulous range of visible colors, including hues we can’t even dream of during waking life. There’s no limit to the focal range of vision there – this is confirmed each and every time. And you, my friend, will experience this many times over.

The sensation of movement is very important for those who want to practice the astral plane, as it is one of the most effective aspects of what can be accomplished there. Indeed, where else can you get ready to jump from a thirty-story building without a parachute and in doing so experience real unexpected fear – and then overcome that fear and do it anyway? That’s how real the experience is. Each time you walk in the astral plane, fly in it, or fall in it, everything is exactly as it would be in the physical world… As is customarily said, man would like to learn to fly almost more than anything else in the world. None of us are immune to this age-old desire, and are always delighted when we are able to fly in our dreams. And in the astral plane, this experience is many times more realistic… So there’s no reason to be surprised that simply moving through the air brings satisfaction, especially as the laws of gravity impose no limitation there. You can fly at the speed of light, switch directions in the blink of an eye, and experience the G-force – all of which are practically impossible in real life.

We shouldn’t overlook the sense of taste in our discussion of the realism of sensations in the astral plane. For people keeping bland diets due to financial or health reasons, this part of the chapter will be of great importance. I can speak to this from my own experience: I have experienced hunger due to both of the above-mentioned reasons. I know quite well from childhood what the difference is between tasty and tasteless food, as well as a complete lack of either. That’s why the ability to satisfy food cravings in the astral plane is still a big deal for me. Of course, it’s more of a psychological craving. How wonderful it is to enjoy tasty food at least once in a while when on a diet! With experience, you can learn to make up a menu with any ingredients that your heart desires.

In the astral plane, all sensations are both possible and realistically experienced, even those that cannot be had in reality. The sensation of pain is no exception. However, pain is an undesirable experience for most. It arises only upon a practitioner’s carelessness or inexperience, as all sensations are controllable in the astral plane.

Tactile sensations and feelings of pleasure deserve special mention. For some, they may be the most important aspects of the astral plane experience. As a case in point, if you decide to touch a tree in the astral plane, you will feel all of the texture of its bark, its temperature, and its solidity. The sensation another person’s touch is also quite convincing … Even more, you can indulge in any pleasure with all of its accompanying sensations, which will in turn lead to their logical end. Moreover, such sensations can be even more powerful than in real life, often many times more so. Moreover, the choice of partners is yours, and limited only by your desire…

My intention is only to show you that all sensations in the astral plane are just the same as their real-life counterparts, and even more intense. And that only concerns sensations that you’re used to experiencing in the real world. Meanwhile, a vast number of other sensations are possible. For example, have you ever thought of how a dragonfly feels its own wings and controls them?