PRECAUTIONS

Out of the body practices must be done with precaution. For instance, as soon as one goes out of the body, no matter how slightly, and even just mentally, well, that part of the mind which controls the functioning goes out; and the automatic side of the mind which makes or produces movements or grandular secretions, that whole automatic side remains without the protection and control of the conscious thinking part. In the atmosphere there are always numerous little entities, very tiny, usually originating from human disintegrations, which are like physical microbes, some kinds of microbes of the vital who have a will of their own and like to have a good time and enjoy themselves at people's expense. As soon as they see that you are not sufficiently protected, they get hold of the automatic mind and bring upon you all sorts of quite unpleasant things, for example, some people swallow or bite their tongue when in trance. All sorts of things like this may happen, which means that normally you should never enter into a trance without having somebody near by to watch over you, and not only watch just physically but... watch with the conscious power of preventing these little entities from getting hold of your nervous centres which are not protected by the conscious Presence. This is a general rule. There are greater dangers than that. When one goes out of the body materially and nothing but the contact of a link remains, it is a kind of link like a thread of light joining the being that has gone out with the one that remains behind, if the link is protected, nothing happens. But if it is not protected, there may be adverse forces, not only full of mischief but with much ill-will also, which could come and cut it. And then, once it is cut, you may try as hard as you like, but you cannot get back into the body.