What Is Soul Travel?
Soul travel refers to the experience of consciousness moving beyond the boundaries of the physical body to explore other dimensions, planes, or realms of existence. Unlike physical travel, which moves the body through space, soul travel moves awareness itself, expanding perception beyond what the five senses can detect.
This experience goes by many names across cultures: shamanic flight, astral projection, ecstasy (from the Greek ekstasis, meaning "to stand outside oneself"), bilocation, and spiritual journeying. While the terminology and frameworks differ, the core experience is remarkably consistent: consciousness separates from or transcends the physical body, perceives realities beyond ordinary waking awareness, and returns with insights, healing, or expanded understanding.
Surveys suggest that between 5% and 10% of the general population has had at least one spontaneous out-of-body experience, making this one of the most commonly reported non-ordinary states of consciousness. Many more have experienced milder forms, such as the hypnagogic floating sensation that occurs during the transition to sleep.
Soul Travel Across World Traditions
Shamanic Flight
Shamanism, perhaps the oldest spiritual practice on earth, centers on the shaman's ability to travel between worlds. Through rhythmic drumming (typically at 4 to 4.5 beats per second), chanting, dancing, or plant medicines, the shaman enters an altered state and journeys to the Lower World, Middle World, or Upper World to retrieve information, healing, or lost soul parts for their community.
Mircea Eliade, the renowned historian of religion, called shamanism "archaic techniques of ecstasy" and identified the soul flight as its defining characteristic. Research on shamanic drumming has shown that the specific rhythm induces theta brainwave patterns (4 to 8 Hz), associated with deep meditation, hypnagogic states, and visionary experience (Hove et al., 2016).
Tibetan Dream Yoga
Tibetan Buddhism developed sophisticated practices for maintaining consciousness during sleep and dreams. Dream yoga (milam) teaches practitioners to recognize the dream state, maintain lucidity within it, and eventually transcend dreams altogether to access what is described as the "clear light" of pure awareness.
The six yogas of Naropa include dream yoga as a path to recognizing that all experience, waking and dreaming, has the same fundamental nature. This insight, that consciousness is not bound to physical waking reality, is itself a form of soul travel.
Sufism: The Journey of the Heart
Sufi mystics describe mi'raj (spiritual ascension), modeled on the Prophet Muhammad's night journey through the heavens. Through practices like dhikr (repetitive chanting of God's names), sama (listening to sacred music, as in whirling dervish ceremonies), and deep contemplation, Sufi practitioners seek to journey through spiritual stations (maqamat) toward union with the Divine.
Eckankar: The Science of Soul Travel
Eckankar teaches that Soul is eternal and that soul travel is its natural ability. Through spiritual exercises involving contemplation, visualization, and the singing of "HU" (described as an ancient name for God), practitioners seek to shift awareness from the physical to successively higher planes of existence: Astral, Causal, Mental, Etheric, and the Soul Plane.
Christian Mysticism
While not typically framed as "soul travel," Christian mystics have described experiences of consciousness transcending the body. The Apostle Paul wrote: "I know a man in Christ who was caught up to the third heaven, whether in the body or out of the body I do not know" (2 Corinthians 12:2). Saints Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross described "flights of the soul" during deep contemplative prayer.
Hindu Traditions
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali describe siddhis (spiritual powers) that arise from advanced meditation, including the ability to project consciousness beyond the body. The concept of the sukshma sharira (subtle body) provides the vehicle for this non-physical travel. Practitioners of yoga nidra (yogic sleep) and certain tantric practices report experiences of consciousness expanding beyond physical boundaries.
Soul Travel vs. Astral Projection: Key Differences
While often used interchangeably, soul travel and astral projection have distinct connotations in many spiritual frameworks:
Astral projection typically refers to consciousness traveling in the astral body through the astral plane, which is described as a dimension closely parallel to the physical world. Astral travelers often report seeing physical environments, other people's astral bodies, and astral landscapes that mirror earthly geography.
Soul travel implies a broader range of experience, potentially encompassing higher planes of consciousness beyond the astral. In traditions like Eckankar, the astral plane is considered one of the lower planes, and true soul travel moves consciousness through progressively higher and more refined dimensions of reality.
Shamanic journeying adds another dimension by framing the experience in terms of specific cosmological territories (Upper, Middle, and Lower Worlds) populated by spirit guides, power animals, and ancestral beings.
In practice, these categories overlap significantly. The common thread is the experience of consciousness functioning independently of (or beyond) the physical body and accessing information or realities not available through ordinary perception.
What Neuroscience Reveals About Out-of-Body Experience
Neuroscience has made significant progress in understanding the brain mechanisms involved in out-of-body experiences (OBEs), providing a fascinating complement to spiritual perspectives.
Landmark research by Olaf Blanke at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology demonstrated that OBEs involve disrupted processing at the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), the brain region responsible for integrating visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive information to create our sense of embodied self-location. When this integration fails, consciousness can be experienced as separate from the body (Blanke & Arzy, 2005).
Electrical stimulation of the TPJ during awake brain surgery has repeatedly induced OBE-like experiences in patients, including sensations of floating, seeing one's body from above, and feeling located outside the physical form. These findings suggest that OBEs involve a real neurological process, not simply imagination.
Research on near-death experiences (NDEs), which frequently include OBE components, has found them difficult to explain purely through anoxia, medication effects, or psychological expectation. The AWARE study (Parnia et al., 2014) documented cases where cardiac arrest patients reported verified details about events occurring while they had no measurable brain activity, raising questions about the relationship between consciousness and brain function.
Techniques for Experiencing Soul Travel
1. The Vibrational State Method
Lie down comfortably, close your eyes, and progressively relax your entire body. As you approach the hypnagogic state (between waking and sleep), notice any vibrations, buzzing, or energy sensations. Rather than resisting these, allow them to intensify. Many practitioners report that when the vibrational state peaks, a shift occurs and consciousness separates from the physical form.
2. Contemplative Singing (HU Technique)
Sit or lie in a relaxed position. Gently sing "HU" (pronounced like "hue") on a long, drawn-out breath. Maintain this for 15 to 20 minutes while holding a soft focus on your inner vision. This technique, taught in Eckankar and adapted by many other practitioners, uses the sustained vocalization to shift awareness from the physical to subtler states.
3. Wake-Initiated Lucid Dream (WILD)
Maintain continuous awareness as your body falls asleep. The key is relaxing the body completely while keeping the mind alert. This technique requires practice but can produce vivid, conscious transitions from waking to the out-of-body state. Setting an alarm for 4 to 5 hours after falling asleep and then practicing the technique during the subsequent transition back to sleep increases success rates.
4. Shamanic Drumming Journey
Listen to a recording of repetitive drumming at approximately 4 beats per second for 15 to 30 minutes while lying comfortably with eyes closed. Set a clear intention for your journey (a question, a destination, or a being you wish to meet). Allow images, sensations, and experiences to arise naturally without forcing or analyzing them.
5. Progressive Relaxation and Target Technique
After deeply relaxing the body, visualize a specific location you wish to visit (ideally a real place you know well). Build the visualization with all senses: see the colors, hear the sounds, feel the textures. As the visualization becomes vivid, allow yourself to "step into" the scene, transferring your sense of presence from your physical body to the visualized location.
Mapping the Inner Worlds
Various traditions describe multiple planes or dimensions accessible through soul travel:
The Astral Plane: Closest to physical reality. Often mirrors earthly environments but with fluid, dream-like qualities. Emotions and thoughts manifest instantly as forms and colors. This is where most beginners first experience non-physical awareness.
The Causal Plane: Associated with memory, karma, and past lives. Experiences here may include reliving past events, understanding karmic patterns, and encountering the "seed" causes behind current life circumstances.
The Mental Plane: Realm of pure thought and archetypal forms. Geometric patterns, light languages, and direct knowing (without words or images) characterize experiences on this plane.
The Etheric Plane: Described as the threshold between the lower worlds and the true spiritual realms. Experiences here often involve encounters with spiritual teachers and profound silence.
The Soul Plane and Beyond: In traditions that describe it, this is the realm of pure being, beyond form, thought, and duality. Experiences are described as ineffable, filled with overwhelming love, light, and the direct recognition of one's divine nature.
Signs You Are Experiencing Soul Travel
- Vibrations or buzzing throughout the body, often intensifying before separation
- Sleep paralysis with awareness, where the body is immobile but consciousness is fully alert
- Floating sensations or a feeling of rising upward while falling asleep or waking
- 360-degree vision or perceiving your surroundings from an unusual vantage point
- Extreme clarity and vividness exceeding normal waking perception
- Encountering beings that radiate wisdom, love, or teaching energy
- Visiting unfamiliar landscapes that feel deeply real and meaningful
- Verifiable information obtained during the experience that you could not have known through normal means
- A "snap back" to the body accompanied by a jolt or sudden shift in awareness
Safety and Grounding Practices
Soul travel is generally considered safe across all traditions that practice it. However, proper preparation and grounding enhance the experience and prevent disorientation.
Set clear intentions. Know why you are journeying and what you hope to learn or experience. Intention acts as both compass and protection.
Ground afterward. After any non-ordinary experience, take time to reconnect with your physical body. Feel your feet on the floor, drink water, eat something, touch the earth. Journaling immediately after the experience helps integrate insights.
Build gradually. Start with short sessions and extend duration as comfort increases. Forcing the experience often creates tension that prevents it from occurring naturally.
Maintain a regular practice. Consistent daily or weekly practice at the same time creates a rhythm that your consciousness learns to follow.
Seek guidance when needed. If experiences become overwhelming, confusing, or frightening, consult an experienced practitioner, spiritual teacher, or therapist who understands non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is soul travel dangerous?
Soul travel is widely considered safe across the many traditions that practice it. The most common "risk" is sleep disruption from practicing techniques at inappropriate times. There is no documented evidence that consciousness separating from the body causes physical harm. However, people with dissociative disorders, severe anxiety, or psychotic conditions should consult a mental health professional before engaging in practices designed to alter consciousness.
Can everyone learn to soul travel?
Most teachers say yes, though natural ability varies widely. Some people experience spontaneous OBEs with no training, while others require months or years of practice. Children are generally more prone to spontaneous experiences, possibly because their self-model is less rigidly fixed. Factors that support development include regular meditation, keeping a dream journal, and practicing relaxation techniques.
How is soul travel different from lucid dreaming?
Lucid dreaming occurs within the dream state, where you become aware that you are dreaming and can influence the dream content. Soul travel practitioners describe an experience that feels qualitatively different: more vivid than physical waking life, with a sense of being in a real place rather than a mental construct. Some practitioners use lucid dreaming as a launching pad for soul travel, transitioning from dream awareness to a non-dream out-of-body state.
What is the silver cord mentioned in soul travel literature?
Many out-of-body experiencers report seeing a luminous cord connecting their non-physical form to their physical body. This "silver cord" is described in spiritual literature (including the Bible's Ecclesiastes 12:6) as the link that maintains the connection between soul and body during travel. Most traditions teach that this cord cannot be severed during soul travel and that it automatically returns consciousness to the body.
Can you meet other people while soul traveling?
Many practitioners report encounters with other beings during soul travel, including deceased loved ones, spiritual guides, and sometimes other living people who are also in non-physical states. Whether these encounters are "real" meetings in a shared non-physical space or symbolic constructions of individual consciousness is a matter of ongoing debate between spiritual practitioners and researchers.
Why do I experience vibrations before leaving my body?
The vibrational state is one of the most commonly reported precursors to out-of-body experience. It is described as an intense buzzing, humming, or electrical sensation throughout the body. From a neuroscience perspective, this may relate to changes in neural firing patterns as consciousness transitions between states. From a spiritual perspective, it represents the "loosening" of consciousness from its attachment to the physical form.
What is the best time to practice soul travel?
The most effective time for most people is during the early morning hours (4:00 to 6:00 AM), particularly after waking briefly from sleep and then re-entering a relaxed state. This is when the body is already deeply relaxed, REM sleep is most active, and the boundary between sleep and waking consciousness is thinnest. The transition from waking to sleep at bedtime is another natural window, though falling asleep before achieving separation is a common challenge.
References
- Blanke, O., & Arzy, S. (2005). The out-of-body experience: Disturbed self-processing at the temporo-parietal junction. The Neuroscientist, 11(1), 16-24. PMID: 15632275.
- Parnia, S., et al. (2014). AWARE-AWAreness during REsuscitation: A prospective study. Resuscitation, 85(12), 1799-1805.
- Hove, M. J., et al. (2016). Brain network reconfiguration and perceptual decoupling during an absorptive state of consciousness. Cerebral Cortex, 26(7), 3116-3124.
- Eliade, M. (1964). Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Princeton University Press.