I've recently being reading Astral Dynamics by Robert Bruce and found this to be rather interesting and inline with the current debate: [quote:0f08a1aff9] The astral dimension contains a wide variety of nonphysical energetic life forms, whose intelligence level varies enormously. The vast majority of each type appear to have their own agendas, like to keep to themselves, and in general do not like being bothered or interfered with. Not counting high-level beings like demigods, angels, and spirit masters, they range from friendly, to occasionally helpful, to playful, to neutral, to mischievous, to malicious, to downright nasty and evil. These beings appear in a wide variety of illusory forms. Some of the less-intelligent types seem animalistic and predatory by nature, much like the animal and insect wildlife found in the physical dimension: I call these last astral wildlife. Although these all appear to come from somewhere in or near the astral dimension, many are capable of operating in the real-time zone. And some of these, unfortunately, delight in tormenting projectors, especially new ones. In a way, the astral dimension can be likened to the ocean — given the fluid nature of its many internal environments, you can find absolutely anything there: fish, shellfish, octopi, dolphins, whales, sharks, barracuda, sea snakes, crabs, shrimp, jellyfish, turtles, seals, and penguins, etc., etc. Some ocean wildlife is friendly; some is harmless; some is harmful only when disturbed, annoyed, or hungry; some can be unintentionally harmful; and others are downright dangerous all the time. There are also many travelers, some even from far-off lands, found sailing, flying, or swimming thereabouts. Although many parts of the astral planes appear to be full of life, it is fairly rare to meet up with interested beings while traveling there. But it does happen occasionally. Just about every astral plane and realm has some kind of local inhabitants. These life forms often live in specific areas or realms, and often seem quite unaware of any reality or dimensional level other than their own. They are often amazed when they meet an astral traveler. Other types seem to be well aware of other dimensions, but most seem to have little patience with projectors and tend to ignore them. In a way, approaching astral beings you do not know is very much like approaching strangers in the physical dimension. Most strangers ignore other people, even when politely asked directions or questions. Strangers will, at best, give cursory answers as they hurry away while actively trying to ignore you. Astral beings, too, don't seem to enjoy getting involved with the affairs of strangers, usually having much more important things to do with their time. While projecting, you'll also occasionally meet up with other projectors like yourself, but most of these will not even be aware they are projecting. Projectors' awareness and memories of their physical existence, of who and what they are, vary greatly. Many seem to be sleepwalking or dreaming, or are just going along with the flow of life and events in an astral realm as if they were a part of it and actually lived there. They are often quite surprised when it is pointed out to them that they can fly, etc. *snip* The most important thing to realize about any beings you might come across in the astral dimension is that they are not all dream beings or creations of your own subconscious mind. Intelligent or otherwise, they usually have their own life, meaning, and purpose, whatever that might be. They are, in most cases, not mere decorations to be toyed with or used by any passing astral traveler. And yet, some astral beings will converse with and even actively encourage astral travelers, especially if projectors are courteous and sincere. Like attracts like in the astral planes; if you are friendly and sincere, you are far more likely to meet beings who are also friendly and sincere. The best conduct and safety rule is to keep to yourself, be polite, and mind your own business unless approached or invited to do otherwise. And — always be ready to move quickly away if anything strange or threatening happens, or if you feel uncomfortable in any way. Only very rarely will projectors come across advanced spiritual beings, and even more rarely will they encounter angels. In my opinion, angels are a race of highly advanced spiritual beings. They most definitely exist. I have seen angels many times, in OBEs and visions, as well as with my bare eyes on a few rare and precious occasions. They are impossible to track down or find intentionally during an OBE. They are especially rare in the real-time zone and the low- to midastral planes. You occasionally come across them accidentally, especially in the high-astral and mental dimension. Angels, and other advanced spiritual beings, seem to make themselves visible only when they have a very good reason for doing so. They are definitely not the type to stop and chat in passing. Angels and advanced spirit beings, unlike most astral inhabitants, do not appear limited to any particular plane or dimension level. They have the ability, I believe, to manifest in any level, even in the real-time zone and the physical dimension. They have the ability to enfold lesser beings in their energy and temporarily transport them into other dimensional levels. In this way, they will often be seen helping the spirits of deceased people to manifest temporarily in the real-time zone, or even to help them appear visibly in the physical dimension itself. This kind of thing always has very good reasons behind it, although those reasons may not be apparent at the time. Typically, a spirit manifestation like this will begin with a strong buildup of energy in the room, accompanied by many silver motes and tiny sparkles of light. A tangible aura of power and presence spreads throughout the room and the atmosphere becomes electric. A narrow, vertical shaft of brilliant-silver light then appears and quickly expands, as if curtains of light were being drawn apart just wide enough for a person to walk through. A huge gush of brilliant-silver light, along with a tangible feeling of power, excitement, and love spills through this parting in the dimensional veil. The visiting deceased spirit then simply walks through this opening and stands just inside the room, bathed and held within this pool of light. At this time, if you have the sight and you look further back into the light behind the deceased spirit, you will usually see at least one advanced spirit being or angel standing there, as if patiently waiting a dozen or so feet behind the spirit visitor. A deceased relative or friend of the visiting spirit will also often be seen standing just behind and to the side of the spirit visitor, often holding a hand or resting a hand on a shoulder. [/quote:0f08a1aff9] And another excerpt about negative beings: [quote:0f08a1aff9] The most troublesome types of astral wildlife appear to come from the notorious lower astral subplanes that contain the darker and more negative aspects of the astral planes. These can be likened to parallel shadows of the more positively oriented parts of the astral planes. While still a part of the astral planes, technically speaking, they are a distinctly separate aspect or part of it, containing all the darker qualities. Another way of looking at this is to consider this to be the night side of the astral planes. Low astral wildlife normally seem capable of operating only in dimensions similar to or lower than their dimension of origin. This is reasonable, based on the energetic limitations set by their nature and dimensional level of origin. Some of these beings do seem capable of operating in the real-time zone. (The real-time zone can be thought of as being fairly neutral territory, dimensionally speaking.) All lower types, regardless of classification or origin, appear to be predatory loners showing varying degrees of strength, intelligence, and ability. Negative beings exhibit a cold and almost insectlike nature. Higher feelings like love, compassion, and mercy are totally alien to them. This does not, however, mean they are evil; it just means they have no higher feelings. A garden spider has no higher feelings; it is not evil for killing and eating a beautiful butterfly. It is a spider and acts according to its nature; spiders feed on insects to survive. In my experience, negative types do not work well together, regardless of possible shared origins. They usually appear to be quite aggressive and combative toward each other, which results in a distinct pecking order whenever they are found together. Astral wildlife may sometimes be forced to work together, temporarily, through circumstances where they have a common interest or need. Astral wildlife can manifest in an enormous variety of illusory and changeable forms. Regular favorites are ugly grinning monkeys, gargoyles, and harpy forms. Some seem to prefer a more traditional horned-demon look, while others go for a more contemporary appearance. These latter forms are possibly modeled on horror movies and TV shows, or even from the modem nightmares of mankind. The size and appearance of an entity, as seen by a projector, or with real-time or astral sight, gives no fair indication of its actual strength and intelligence. Many small and weak entities seem to delight in looking big and dangerous, much as an animal will fluff up its fur during a confrontation to make itself seem bigger. Stronger and more intelligent entities do not seem to bother overmuch with pretense and may even use their original form — if they have one, that is. I have seen entities the size of polar bears run screaming when "BOO!" is said to them. I have also seen others the size and appearance of large rats with which I would not interfere by choice. Many entities seem to choose a form taken from the mind of a projector (which indicates some degree of telepathic ability) and use it to generate the maximum possible level of fear. This is a very good reason for projectors to keep their minds clear and mask their true feelings when they encounter or are forced to deal with astral wildlife. The weaker and by far the most common types of astral wildlife, those responsible for the majority of elemental and dweller-type scare attacks seem to have little power of their own. These are fairly weak, timid creatures and their appearance is always a greatly exaggerated illusion. They generally avoid direct encounters with projectors, and usually beat a hasty retreat whenever approached by a projector with a firm or confrontational attitude. Most negative entities dislike direct attention and actively avoid being seen. Some types of astral wildlife seem attracted to, and possibly even feed on, the energetic vibrations generated and broadcast by overly fearful projectors. Continued fear and timidity on the part of a projector seems to make astral wildlife more aggressive. Their intimidating behavior is, however, always without direct attack. This indicates they are not capable of mounting a direct attack on a projector, and my experience supports this. Increased and continuing fear on the part of a projector will often attract others of the same type, thus increasing their numbers and making things generally worse for a projector. Still, the appearance of these types is quite rare. The vast majority of astral wildlife do not, I believe, have the power to directly injure a projector, but caution is always advised in these matters. It is commonly thought that nonphysical entities of any type are completely harmless to projectors, and are only capable of scaring them. While this is generally true, as with the elemental and dweller types discussed later in this book, there are exceptions. Real-time, astral, and all higher bodies are virtually invulnerable, and definitely cannot be destroyed or killed. But it is possible to suffer energetic damage and weakness through intense or prolonged attack by the stronger and more intelligent types of nonphysical entities. Cases of this are extremely rare, but if the energetic substance of a projected double became damaged, this damage could reflect back into its physical body. In this case, the physical body could experience unusual tiredness. Even more rarely, swellings, rashes, and strange marks could also appear on the physical body. These are much like the swellings, watery blisters, and rashes that are an occasional side effect of energetic development work, especially during the early stages when energetic pathways are being cleared and conditioned. All these symptoms heal unusually quickly, often disappearing within just a few hours. The energy body heals and restores itself very quickly if its substance is disturbed or damaged in any way. Any significant attack causing energy substance loss in the projected double has a fail-safe side effect. It causes the immediate abortion of that projection as a reflex action. Projection is a delicately balanced process involving a constant two-way energetic-cum-telepathic exchange between the physical body and its projected double. It does not take much to interfere with this process and cause it to abort, resulting in the immediate return of the projected double to the safety of its physical body. Please keep in mind here that attacks, and especially attacks causing actual energetic damage or substance loss, are rare in the extreme and not something to overly worry about. The risk is roughly equivalent to a recreational swimmer being seriously injured by dangerous marine life. For the average swimmer, injuries are fairly rare events, with the biggest danger being nothing more than an occasional jellyfish sting. Professionals and deep-sea divers, however, spend a great deal more time in unexplored and untamed ocean depths, and thus face a slightly greater risk of harm than do recreational swimmers. This also applies to frequent projectors, especially those with a natural propensity for the more occult and metaphysical aspects of out-of-body exploration. Lastly, this also applies to the more experienced projectors who actively help people suffering from psychic attacks and other such entity-related problems. To the best of my knowledge, if projectors mind their own business, stay calm, use common sense, and project away if they ever find themselves in a bad situation, they have very little to worry about. Out of all the thousands of projection-related case histories I have been consulted on, I have only come across a very small handful of situations where really troublesome astral wildlife were involved. In the majority of these cases, once this situation was confronted with a braver and more positive attitude, the problem entities, whether real or imagined, simply vanished. [/quote:0f08a1aff9]