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FILE 15 - CompuServe Astral Projection Class by Don DeGracia, 1994
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                    Astral Projection Class on CompuServe

                        by Don DeGracia:  72662,1335

                              Copyright 1994
                           None of this material
                          may be reproduced without
                          explicit permission from
                                the author.


                           ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
                          Recommended Reading List


     There are basically 3 different types of books in this list.

        1. Books about HOW TO astral project, which give techniques.

        2. Books about people's experiences in the OOBE realm.
           These are written in the first person and are
           autobiographical.

        3. Books not specifically about astral projection but
           that provide background information on topics
           related to astral projection.

     For each book on this list I will specify which category(ies)
it falls under, and then say a few words about the book.  The list is
simply in alphabetical order according to the author's name.  By no
means is this a complete list.  It is only meant to give you a
starting exposure to literature relevant to astral projection/OOBEs/
lucid dreaming.  The books listed here are, however, those I
have found to be particularly useful.


                         ********************


Besant, A.  A Study In Consciousness, Madras: Theosophical
        Publishing House, 8th edition, 1980.

        This book is not about astral projection.  This
        book is an excellent and profound introduction to
        theosophical occultism.

Besant, A., and Leadbeater, C.W. Occult Chemistry.
        London: Theosophical Publishing House, 2nd edition, 1919.

        This book is not about astral projection.  This book
        describes Besant and Leadbeater's clairvoyant
        investigations into the structure of the atom. The
        reason this book is relevant is because Besant
        and Leadbeater use the little known psychic ability
        anima (called also "magnifying clairvoyance" or "micro-
        psi) which I discussed under the section of the notes
        titled "Surreal Spaces".   As you can excersise the
        ability of anima during your projections, this book
        gives you some idea of what is possible to see
        using this psychic ability.

Besant, A. and Leadbeater, C.W.  Thought-Forms.
        Wheaton, IL: Quest, 5th edition, 1986.
        (Originally published in 1901).

        This book is not about astral projection.  Again,
        this book provides important background information
        relevant to the OOBE.  This is a classic book, the first
        ever to describe thought-forms.  You will encounter
        thought-forms when out-of-body and this book will
        give you a good understanding of the nature of thought-forms,
        what they are and how they behave.

Fox, Oliver. Astral Projection A Record of Out-of-the Body Experiences.
        Citadel Press, Secaucus, N.J., 1975.

        This is one of the classic first person accounts of
        the OOBE.  Oliver Fox was highly influenced by
        theosophical ideas, so his accounts generally fall
        under the occult world-view.  There are many useful
        tips in this book as well.  For example, this is
        the book that first described "False Awakenings".

Hall, Manly P.  Unseen Forces.  Los Angeles, CA. Philosophical
        Research Society, Inc.  1978.

        This book is not about astral projection.  Again, this
        book provides excellent background material about the
        forces and inhabitants of the inner planes.  It is
        written from the occult perspective.  Most important
        this book discusses the "Dweller on the Threshold".
        I highly recommend any of the books by Manly Hall.
        He is a highly infomative and intellignet speaker.
        His material contains a vast wealth of useful
        information.

Leadbeater, C.W.  Man Visible And Invisible.
        Wheaton, IL: Quest, 3rd Quest printing, abridged, 1980.

        This book is not about astral projection.  This book
        is about occult anatomy.  Here, the various bodies
        (astral, mental and buddhic) are described in detail.
        Leadbeater claimed to be able to percieve these bodies
        using clairvoyance.  Again, this is important
        background information.  I also strongly recommend
        reading any and all Leadbeater books you can get
        your hands on.  Of all the authors I have read,
        Leadbeater has been by far the most useful for
        understanding the nature of the OOBE.  Many
        things I have directly experienced during my OOBEs
        are described in Leadbeater's books and Leadbeater
        present many useful ideas I never seen published
        anywhere else.

Leadbeater, C.W.  The Astral Plane. Madras: Vasanta Press,
        twelfth reprint, 1984.

        This is *the* classic book on the astral plane.
        Written in 1895, it is still relevant in many
        respects today.   Of course, just as the physical
        world and society changes, so too do the astral
        realms transform.  Nonetheless, this book will
        introduce you to many of the important principles
        operating on the astral plane.

Leadbeater, C.W.  Dreams. Adyar, Madras India: Theosophical
        Publishing House, 12th reprint, 1984.

        Here we have the theosophical conception of
        dreams.  This is a very PRATICAL book for the
        astral projector.  This book will help you
        understand the nature of your projections and how
        they relate to your dreams better than any other
        book available.  This is a MUST read for anybody
        learning astral projection/OOBEs/lucid dreaming.

Leadbeater, C.W.  The Chakras. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical
        Publishing House, 4th Quest edition, 1985.

        This book is not about astral projection.  Again,
        this is another classic book in the field of occultism,
        and explains the chakras; how they function and what they
        do.  Again, this is important background information
        and will help you better understand the nature of
        things you percieve while in the out-of-body state.

Leadbeater, C.W.  Clairvoyance.  Wheaton: TPH, 1986, 15th reprint.

        This book is not about astral projection.  This book is
        another important source of background information.  Here
        Leadbeater defines the various types of clairvoyance.
        This book is also a MUST read because you will find yourself
        using the different types of clairvoyance Leadbeater
        defines while you are out-of-body.  Agin, this book will
        help you make sense of perceptions you will have while
        out-of-body that you could not understand otherwise.

Mavromatis, A.   Hypnogogia.  London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987.

        This book is about hypnogogic imagery.  This book
        presents numerous reports of hypnogogic imagery and
        also presents a number of theories to explain
        hypnogogia.  It is an academic book, but it is highly
        informative.  My favorite aspect of this book is that
        it is the only academic type book about altered states
        of consciousness I have ever read that suggests that
        the theories of Besant and Leadbeater may be the most
        suitable theories for explaining altered states of
        consciousness.

Monroe, R.  Journeys Out Of The Body.  New York:  Doubleday, 1971.

        This book too is a classic in the astral projection
        literature.  Here, Robert Monroe presents his
        personal experiences out-of-body.  This is a first person,
        autobiographical book, but it also has some technique
        described in it.  The important thing about Monroe's books
        are that they are NOT based on occult ideas, nor strickly
        on parapsychological ideas, nor on psychology ideas.
        Monroe has his own personal style of understanding his
        OOBEs.  Nonetheless, Monroe clearly describes and supports
        many of the claims of occultists.

Monroe, R.  Far Journeys.  New York: Doubleday, 1985.

        This is Robert Monroe's second book.  In my opinion,
        this book is perhaps the most "modern" of any book
        about OOBEs.  In Far Journeys, Monroe paints a picture
        of the OOBE realms that is absolutely stunning.  This
        book is a MUST read book.  Again, what is very clear is that
        Monore is desribing the planes that occultists have
        described.  However, Monroe's approach is different in that,
        unlike occult ideas, Monroe's attitude is that the reality
        of the planes is open to everybody.  Traditional occultism
        tends to reserve traveling in the planes for special initiates,
        Masters and other supposedly "advanced" humans.  Monroe
        severly challenges this view by showing that anybody
        can travel in the planes (or "rings" as Monroe calls them).
        This change in attitude is very important, and it is an attitude
        that I share with Monroe.  Also in this book, Monroe
        describes the activity and researches of the Monroe
        Institute in Faber Virginia, a research organization
        established by Monroe for studying the OOBE.  As I said
        in the notes, the Monroe institute furnishes tapes
        and programs for learning how to have OOBEs.

Monroe, R.  Ultimate Journey.  New York, Doubleday, 1994.

        This is Robert Monroe's third book about OOBEs and is
        hot off the press as I sit here and write these words.
        In this third book, Monroe describes how he has discovered
        his past lives, and also gets a faint glimmer of something
        mystics have described for centuries, which is the fact
        that our psyches touch God.  Actually, I am dissapointed
        with this book.  It is not as useful a book as is Far Journeys.
        You would think that, after 30 years of having OOBEs,
        Monroe would have somewhere come across the fact that what
        he has experienced in the out-of-body state is very similar
        to what others have described.  However, he comes across
        in this book as if he is the only one in humanity that has
        ever experienced the realities he describes.  This is just
        not a good attitude to have in the OOBE buisness.  Also
        dissapointing in this book is that Monroe gets kind of
        "preachy" (as one New Age forum member put it), as if
        his particular viewpoint on the universe is the ONLY
        viewpoint.  Again, this kind of closed minded approach
        is not good in the OOBE buisness.

OOBEFAQ.ZIP - OOBE FAQ file by Jouni Smed, 1994.

        This is NOT a book!  OOBEFAQ.ZIP is a compressed file
        which contains the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file
        for the Internet newsgroup alt.out-of-body.  This file
        is available in the Compuserve New Age forum Library.
        If you are not on Compuserve, you can send e-mail to the
        Internet address jounsmes@utu.fi and request information
        for obtaining this file.  This FAQ file is an excellent
        source of information on the OOBE.  It includes techniques
        for inducing OOBEs, information about numerous surveys and
        studies of the OOBE and much other useful information.
        It also has a large reference section which can lead you to
        many other sources of information about OOBEs.  This FAQ
        file is written mainly from a parapsychology perspective
        and quite obviously attempts to discredit occult views
        of the OOBE.  Nonetheless, the author at least presents
        occult views side by side with nonoccult views, which is
        much more than most parapsychology presentations do.  I
        highly recommend this file for reading.  Though it is
        slanted with a bias I do not share, it is a veritable
        storehouse of information.  Reading this file will
        expose you to the variety of ideas that exist regarding
        the nature of the OOBE.  In effect, this file is a more
        advanced approach to the theory behind OOBEs than I
        have attempted to present in these notes.

Ophiel.   The Art And Practice Of Astral Projection.
          York Beach, Maine: Samuel Wiser, Inc., 1982.

        This is a HOW TO astral projection book and is another
        classic in the field.  Ophiel outlines specific methods
        for achieving OOBEs and also describes many helpful
        hints.  This is one in a series of "The Art and Practice
        of..." books by Ophiel.  Generally, all of Ophiel's
        books are practical introductions to traditional occultism,
        and are fun reading too.  Unlike most occultists, Ophiel
        does not have a "holier than thou" attitude and he also
        presents the view that OOBEs and other occult gifts are
        meant for everyone, not just Masters.  This book is
        highly recommended.


Powel, A.E.  The Etheric Double.  Wheaton IL. Quest Books (TPH), 1969.
Powel, A.E.  The Astral Body.  Wheaton IL. Quest Books (TPH), 1972.
Powel, A.E.  The Mental Body.  Wheaton IL. Quest Books (TPH), 1972.
Powel, A.E.  The Buddhic Body.  Wheaton IL. Quest Books (TPH), 1972.

        A.E. Powel undertook the extrordinary task of compiling
        the writings of Annie Besant, C.W. Leadbeater and
        H.P. Blavatsky on the topics of the etheric, astral
        mental and buddhic bodies.  Each of the four books
        listed above is a complete compilation of these three
        authors thoughts on each of the bodies.  These four
        volumes compiled by Powel provide a very compact and
        convinient source of information about occult anatomy
        as defined by Besant, Leadbeater and Blavatsky.
        These volumes make a nice addition to any library.

Rogo, D.S.  Leaving The Body.  New York: Prentice Hall, 1986.

        This is a HOW TO book on astral projection and is
        a MUST read book.  If there is one book in this list
        that you should read, it is this one.  Rogo has done
        us all an increadible service in this book by collecting
        all of the known methods of achieving OOBEs in one book.
        He covers Monroe's methods, Ophiel's methods, Fox's methods,
        the methods of Yram, and others as well.  For the beginner
        in astral projection/OOBEs/Lucid dreaming, this is the
        book you want.  My only reservation about this book is
        that Rogo's ideas about the nature of the OOBE are not
        very sophisticated.  Rogo was a parapsychologist who
        came eventually to realize that occult ideas are more
        uesful than not.  But he was not informed enough about
        occult theory to really give a coherent picture of the
        OOBE.  Nonetheless, this is *the* most useful HOW TO book
        on astral projection available today.


Roberts, Jane.  The Nature Of The Psyche.  New York: Prentice Hall,  1979.

        This is not a book about astral projection.
        however, the Seth books are MUST READ books. The
        ideas that Seth presents go one step beyond traditional
        occultism to what we can call "modern occultism".  In
        this book, Seth discusses the nature of human psychology.
        The ideas he presents in this book are highly relevant
        to the idea that what we percieve in dreams and OOBEs
        are, in some sense, symbolic expressions of our
        "higher self" (or whatever term you prefer here).
        Seth helps us realize the greater contexts in which our
        physical, dream and OOBE experience fit.  This book
        is especially useful for understanding the differences
        and the overlap between waking and dreaming.

Roberts, Jane.  Dreams, "Evolution", And Value Fulfillment, A Seth
        Book.  New York: Prentice Hall, 1986.

        Another Seth book.  Actually, this is two books:
        volumes I and II.  Here, Seth presents a concept of
        what dreams are that is completely unique.  Nowhere else
        can you find concepts of the nature of dreams that are
        described in this book.  I will not even pretend here
        to capture Seth's ideas.  All I can say is I highly
        recommend this book.


Roberts, Jane.  Seth - Dreams And Projections Of Consciousness.
        New York: Bantam, 1989.

        This Seth book goes into the nature of OOBEs and their
        relationship to dreams and our waking experience.  Again,
        this Seth book helps us understand the personal symbolism
        that is always present in our life, whether waking, dreaming
        or out-of-body.  This is a very good book.

Rudhyar, D.  Culture, Crisis and Creativity.  Wheaton: Quest, 1977.

        This book is not about astral projection.  I list this book
        here in the bibliography because it is an excellent
        example of how sublime occult thought can be.  For
        secular intellectuals and academic types who think
        occultism is for raving loonies by raving loonies,
        I strongly suggest they check out this book.  Rudyar
        presents a view of human history, evolution and
        spirtuality that dwarfs any of the feeble minded
        misconceptions that proliferate in secular academic
        circles today.

Sparrow, G. Scott.  Lucid Dreaming, Dawning Of The Clear Lights.
        Virginia Beach, VA. A.R.E. Press (The Edgar Casey Foundation),
        1987.

        This book is about lucid dreams.  It is written primarily
        from a psychology perspective.  For those of you interested
        in this perspective, here's a book.  There is not much
        practical material in this book.  It is mostly case
        studies and a lot of speculation about the nature and
        meaning of lucid dreams and how lucid dreams are
        different from OOBEs.

van der Leeuw, J.J.  In Conquest Of Illusion.  Wheaton,
        IL: Quest Books, 2nd paperback edition, 1968.
        Original edition 1928.

        This book is not about astral projection.  This
        book is about enlightenment, it is about mysticism.
        I have advocated in these notes that enlightenment
        (or buddhi) is the perspective and state of consciousness
        you should seek.  This book is one man's experience of
        achieving this state.  van der Leeuw does an elegant job of
        displaying how becoming enlightened alters forever ones
        view of oneself and the world.  He also does a great job
        of showing how the intellect is *inferior* when not
        illuminated by the light of buddhi.  For those of you
        who seek the ultimate, and desire to overcome the limitations
        of the mind, this book is a MUST READ.

Zimmer, Heinrich.  Philosophies Of India.  New York, Meridian Books, 1956.

        This book is not about astral projection.  For those
        interested, this book is an extensive survey of the
        ideas of Indian civilization, including Hinduism, Yoga
        Jainism, Buddhism, Tantra and Brahmanism.  It is a beautifully
        written book by one of the foremost modern scholars on Indian
        thought.  Any of Zimmer's works are highly recommended;
        he is a brilliant, articulate and sensitive writer. One
        might even suspect Zimmer was a reincarnated Hindu!

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Please note:  Any of the above books that are published by
              Quest Books or the Theosophical Publishing
              House can be ordered directly from the Publisher.
              Almost all of the above TPH books are still in print.
              To order books or get more information about the
              Theosophical Society, please write:

                Theosophical Society in America
                P.O. Box 270
                1926 N. Main Street
                Wheaton, IL  60189-0270

              Or call toll free at:  1-800-669-1571

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