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
You made it to the end, congrats.
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