Guest post by Anna Sweat - The World of Otherborn: Is Astral Travel Real?

The World of OTHERBORN: Is Astral Travel Real?

When I began writing OTHERBORN, I was fascinated with dream research and theories like astral projection and the collective subconscious. It was the inspiration for what would become my YA debut, a soft sci-fi/dystopian fantasy where dream shamans reincarnate into a group of creative, disillusioned, urban-bred teens. I have always believed that dreams play a much more powerful role in our waking lives than most of us understand in contemporary society, and I wanted to make it the fictional vehicle for saving my fantasy world in OTHERBORN. But of all the aspects of dream research that I’ve come across, perhaps one of the most interesting is that of astral travel.

In an experience of astral travel, or astral projection, a person feels or appears to move out of their body while retaining a certain level of consciousness, where they can either participate in the astral plane, the ethereal world of dream consciousness, or even interact with this world, such as in cases of remote viewing. Closely related to lucid dreaming and even near-death experiences, astral projection suggests that our consciousness can be disembodied and exist separate and apart, if still tethered, to our physical forms. We’re deep in the metaphysical trenches with a subject like this one, and it has long been explored by shamans, yogis, and some martial artists, but it should be remembered that even our own military has allegedly participated in experiments of remote viewing and so on.

It is believed that astral travel can be induced through deep meditation and lucid dreaming practices, whereby you maintain the knowledge that you are dreaming as you proceed through the dream phase. And I myself have heard some very compelling first-hand accounts from people who have reported shocking and unexpected experiences of astral travel. One woman I spoke to even had her bedroom mirror shatter as she re-entered her body!

One of my favorite authors on the subject of dream phenomenon, and one of the most prolific, is Robert Moss. I highly recommend his books, especially The Secret History of Dreaming, for anyone wanting to learn more about supernatural dream experiences such as astral travel or premonitions, and even for those who just want to know more about how to interpret their own dreams and get the most from dreaming in their personal lives. While the scientific community has yet to give us evidential proof of occurrences of astral travel, one thing is certain— dreams and the dreaming mind are still something we don’t fully understand, and their ability to impact our waking consciousness, for better or for worse, is not to be underestimated.

~Anna Silver

Author Bio:

Anna Silver is an author and artist living in the greater Houston area with her family, pets, and overactive imagination. Her art has been featured in the Houston gallery Las Manos Magicas. She studied English Writing & Rhetoric at St. Edward’s University. She's freelanced for private clients and small publications like the Hill Country Current. OTHERBORN, her first published novel, has been featured on 2 of Amazon's "Bestsellers" lists. She is represented by Rebecca Podos and Nicole LaBombard of Rees Literary Agency.

Author Links:

Website: http://www.annasilverauthor.com/index.html

Blog: http://www.annasilverauthor.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaysAnnaSilver

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorannasilver

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6862122.Anna_Silver

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/AnnaSilver/

Publisher: http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/

Otherborn Synopsis, short:

Confined within Capital City’s concrete walls, London keeps an impossible secret: she dreams. And she’s not alone. Her friends are seeing themselves in “night pictures” too, as beings from another world. Together they uncover the story of their avatars, astral shamans they call Otherborn.

When one Otherborn is murdered and another goes missing, London realizes someone is hunting them. Escaping along the Outroads, they brave the deserted Houselands with only their Otherborn to guide them. Can they find their friend before the assassin finds them?

Book Links:

Otherborn Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17162371-otherborn

Otherborn book trailer on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fiWzY-jTRg

Otherborn excerpt on my website: http://www.annasilverauthor.com/otherborn.html#excerpt

Otherborn paperback listing on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Otherborn-Anna-Silver/dp/1938404327/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363098912&sr=1-2&keywords=Otherborn

Otherborn ebook listing on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Otherborn-The-Series-ebook/dp/B00C5QP3CM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1365044630&sr=1-1&keywords=otherborn+anna+silver

Otherborn ebook listing on Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/otherborn-anna-silver/1114783119?ean=2940016485874

Author Blurbs:

"Anna Silver weaves a dark new world full of taut suspense and characters that leap off the page." –Sophie Jordan, NYT bestselling author of the Firelight trilogy

"Travel to a world where dreaming is a radical act that can save the world… Anna Silver’s post-apocalyptic vision is rich with imagery and metaphysical ideas, grounded by vivid, three-dimensional characters. A truly fresh take on dystopian." –Nina Berry, author of the OTHERKIN series

“Silver built the right amount of conflict and tension to draw readers into her dystopian world, and created characters who are leery, yet determined to embrace New.” –Natasha Hanova, author of Edge of Truth