Eckankar same as OBE and astral travel?
Seeker
Am familiar with out-of-body experiences and astral travel, but only
recently come across Eckankar. Are these 3 more or less the same
thing?
Lee.
KMerrymoon
Seeker <lee....@csun.edu> wrote:
>Lee.
Lee, there are some significant differences. I'll try to give a quick
summary, here.
First, out-of-body experiences are a rather large category that can cover
a variety of experiences, but generally, these days, refer to spontaneous
events that occur during near-death experiences, or during moments of
physical shock or danger. Some dreams are classified as OBE's. All
together it is quite a wide field, but more that anything it is just a
category of experience.
Astral Travel is a more specific type of OBE. It is usually a type of
experience that has been developed through certain techniques, where the
individual can leave their physical body and explore realms that border
the physical and the Astral regions. There are some unique features that
are common with Astral Travel, for example the Astral Body is generally
connected in some way to the physical body through what is called the
"silver cord". This cord is not always visible, but generally limits how
far away, or how fast the Astral Body can move. It is possible with Astral
Travel to visit the homes of friends, for example, and see things that one
could not see or had never seen before. Some of these things will turn out
to be true, physically, some will not. This is because the Astral body's
eyes will see things differently than the physical eyes.
Strong emotions will generally bring the Astral Body back to the physical
body. This is different from most OBE's, where it is common to have great
experiences with the Light and feelings of love, but without creating a
rush back to the body. OBE's are generally not repeatable, but happen
spontaneously, bringing with them a whole new way of seeing death as well
as the purpose of life. This is because they are generally the result of
higher forces. Astral projection can be learned and is repeatable, but
while it generates a tremendous exhilaration, like being able to fly at
will, it does not reach very far into the worlds of spiritual revelation
or awareness.
ECKANKAR is something all together different. Although the term Soul
Travel sounds similar to Astral Travel, it is not the same at all. With
Soul Travel, there is no experience of a silver cord, or anything holding
us to the physical body. While some of the experiences with Soul Travel
will take us into the same regions, it is not limited to those regions,
and our awareness is much greater during Soul Travel.
Soul Travel is more accurately the ability to move our true Self into
higher states of consciousness through connecting to inner spiritual
currents that lift us up and carry us off, like surfing an ocean wave. It
allows us to experience higher states of consciousness where we come
closer to the spiritual origins of life, and can leave us with expanded
visions of life's meaning and purpose. It can be said that if you feel
moved by a great poem or work of art, that in that moment your inner Self,
or Soul, has shifting its state of consciousness to the source of that
creativity. This is the true language of Soul, and those who are tuned to
it find their own personal revelations about life.
ECKANKAR is much more than Soul Travel. It is a teaching that shows many
aspects of the spiritual path that Soul experiences on its way to finding
spiritual Truth. It includes the meaning of dreams, the ways that
spiritual guidance can work with us if we choose it, explanations for the
purpose of this world and the reasons we might be here, the relationships
of the many world religions and why they are different in some ways and
similar in others. It is based mostly upon personal spiritual experiences,
not outward instructions.
For more information you should probably try to find one of the ECKANKAR
books, or you can look up ECKANKAR's home page at:
http://www.eckankar.org
I'd also be glad to help further, if you'd like.
Doug.