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Astral: of, connected with, or resembling the stars. Relating to a supposed nonphysical realm of existence to which various psychic and paranormal phenomena are ascribed, and in which the physical human body is said to have a counterpart.
I always wondered why life seemed to be so unfair. It seems like everything I do is just wrong lately. Why do I have to be in school? I know more than most of my teachers and could easily pass my GED if I wanted to. Sure, school is good for socializing, but then I do something stupid and get in trouble. It’s not my fault that people just want to see others burn. Why are people so annoying all the time? Aster was reflecting on her day before going to bed. It has been a lot lately. As she sat thinking about all of the things that had been happening lately she realized she had been dealing with a lot of stress recently due to school and life responsibilities plus some situations of her own doing, stupid impulse control issues.
Aster was getting ready for bed and she noticed that she was more exhausted than usual. Her mother reminded her to wash her face, brush her teeth, and put in her retainer. Yeah, yeah she thought, I’ll get to it. She quickly did, just so she would be left alone. Then she crawled under her weighted blanket and settled in for the night. She told Alexa to turn out the lights in her bedroom. Slowly she drifted into what she hoped would be a deep, restorative sleep. She started to dream about all of the things she loved. Cats, moons, stars, and planetary bodies when suddenly she started to feel strange. She felt her body start to move, almost shaking but she was not conscious. She braced herself for what was coming. Everything went numb, but she was fully aware of the weight of her limbs. Her entire body felt like it was made of solid marble.
She had projected before and found it easiest to let go of the tether to her human form and allowed herself to float above her bed. This was a feeling and sight that she never thought she was going to be able to get used to, no matter how many times it had happened. Looking down was always a trippy experience. Seeing the form she was tied to all day long in her bed so still and almost lifeless. She noted that she needed to get a hair cut. She had to remind herself that her body was just the shell that contained who she really was. She noticed the faint golden cord that she always saw when she was projecting. It was tethered to her solar plexus. This was a normal thing and something others who did astral projection also experienced. With the solar plexus being the third chakra of her being it was connected to the astral plane. This cord was her way back to her body after whatever adventure she was going to have tonight and it assured her she was safe to leave.
Aster went outside and floated around her neighborhood. It was always strange to her that she never felt the temperature when she was in her astral form. She was used to feeling the warm sun on her skin or the cool glow of the moon at night, but in this form she just felt free. All of her neighbors' homes were dark and it was quiet around her. The streetlights were the only light she had beyond that of the moon and stars. She moved around her neighborhood and down the street toward the city. It was beautiful all lit up like this. The lights on the horizon shimmered like the ocean at dawn.
The rules of the astral plane were significantly different from the rules of her regular life and it was a relief to not have to think about things that were going on. In her day to day life she had to worry about being on time to school, what she wore, who she sat near, getting all her work done. At home, she had her homework and chores to do. This form did not have those same restrictions and her astral form did not expect anything from her beyond just being. This form though made her feel how small she truly was in the spans of time and space.
She floated along lying on her back to look at all of the constellations and tried to reach out to touch them. Every time she projected she hoped she would be able to touch just one star, but they were always too far. She also realized they would burn her in reality, but it did not calm the desire. She thought about how much easier things were on this plane when suddenly she felt a very sharp tug.
She knew what was getting ready to happen, but still tried to will it not to. She was not ready for it, but the cord snapped like a rubber band and pulled her back. Everything was a blur as she flew back to her body. The roof, the walls, her curtains, none of it could be made out. There was a sound similar to paper being torn as she plummeted back into her human form. It always shocked her how terrifying it felt to be pulled back from the ethereal silence of the astral realm.
Quickly, she sat up in bed very aware of being back. She was slightly sweaty, clammy almost, and had to work to catch her breath. She noticed her alarm clock showing two in the morning. She realized she had been “asleep” for 5 hours, but she still had plenty of time before she needed to be awake. She knew it would take her a while to drift back into dreamland. She grabbed her notebook and started to write about what she had done. This always helped calm her mind after a projection. She also wondered how long she had been away from this form. It was impossible for her to ever tell how long she had been in her astral form, but she knew it was never really as long as it felt. After she finished her entry into her notebook she sat it back on her nightstand for the next time her mind decided she needed a vacation from the earthly realm, got up and got a glass of water, then laid back down hoping to actually sleep this time.