rc0

Thanks for the link. I'm familiar with the views/theories that that cult/group uses. Young and malleable minds can be easily manipulated using such views.

I find that for most people including me, it is much more beneficial to learn to meditate since the benefits are more practical. In my case meditation also allows me to have lucid dream with much better quality. I attribute that to the fact that meditation helps control the mind which calms the mind enough to realize that I'm in a dream.

Most of the time a dream just like most people, but once in a while I experience being awake in a dream which I also call lucid dreaming. It's very interesting and the level of realism will vary. I find that it varies depending on how I have let my different desires (e.g. lust, hunger, laziness, etc) dictate my behavior during the day. The more control I exercise over them the better the experience is.

But I have also had a complete different kind of experience, one that is more realistic than lucid dreaming. It feels as real as being awake. I believe that this is what many call the astral. I can count the times I had such experiences with one hand. It's very rare for me and it requires such an effort that I fail most of the times. And by effort I mean not acting on the different desires that come during the day and trying to understand what triggers them and dismissing them without emotion.