Question By JJW of Salt Lake City, July 2, 2008

"I have a question concerning the astral body: All practitioners agree that one must develop the ability to function on this plane to make any meaningful progress on the Path. Bardon is the first initiate I've encountered who mentions the danger of being physically touched or disturbed while in this state. A book I read recently by the UR Group provides excellent instruction on astral work but is silent about any danger of being touched (so far as I recall). If this danger is real then one has to wonder why other practitioners/writers do not to mention it. This is problematic for anyone who doesn't live alone and cannot absolutely guarantee physical isolation during astral work. Is there any way to protect oneself against such disturbances or to minimize the harmful effects of disturbance? (Apparently one can even be killed if physically touched while working in the astral body). Thanks for considering my question."

ANSWER:
When the student exactly follows the instructions in Initiation into Hermetics that he is able to leave his physical body with his astral body at will then he has reached the level of maturity in his development and gained the knowledge and expertise to protect himself. You must remember that a great deal of knowledge and expertise is gained through the exercises, but it is it absolutely necessary to read Initiation into Hermetics over and over, because with every step forward or backward the student gains invaluable new insights and experiences.
However, there are books that contain exercises that promise astral travel in a very short time, but the majority who follow these instructions will fail. Although some might succeed, they are in danger of severing their astral matrix, which is the connection between the physical and astral body, because by just concentrating on astral travel they are lacking the necessary spiritual development and ability to protect themselves, which can be compared to a two-year-old child flying a jumbo jet. Whosoever follows these instructions is out of control, whereas when you follow the instructions given in Initiation into Hermetics you are completely in control, and there is absolutely no cause for concern nor will the student be in any danger. All books by Bardon are based on his personal experiences and are all based on universal principles. The reason that other authors do not know that the astral matrix can be severed is (1) the information provided by them is not based on personal experience but is only a compilation of knowledge, or (2) they are not actually astrally traveling but imagine that they are.Reading all the Franz Bardon books before starting your exercises will answer many questions that will arise in the future, but never start your exercises unless you know the theory thoroughly by heart.