The Education of a Non-Believer-The Final Phase 14 7from several directions. In one of them, you'll see this
bright thread light, coming directly toward your eyes.
You can't miss it; it's the brightest and thinnest ray.
That's the silver cord."
I was a bit nervous and couldn't concentrate very well
at first. I began looking at the candle flame, squinting my
eyes, opening and closing them, experimenting with the
distortions this caused in the light. I saw reflections
going in all directions, four main stems going up, down
and to the sides. I kept doing it until suddenly I saw it. A
bright thread. Excited, I kept looking at it until I was
sure.
"Yes, I think I have it," I said.
"Keep doing it. Open your eyes, squint, open them
again, and keep practicing until you can find this thread
any time you choose.
"Pay no attention to me; pretend I'm not here. Keep
doing it; I'll tell you what the next step is."
"I practiced for nearly an hour before I got the hang of
it, and was able to see the thread anytime I wanted to.
When Rama saw how confident I was that I'd found the
thread, she told me that next I was to learn to use my
imagination, as the ability to create mental imagery was
a vital aspect of astral travel.
"Now that you've found the thread," Rama said, "you
must follow it to the end of the light projection point,
your candle, in this case. Follow this thread the way a
spider follows its web. The energy of your eyes is going
to travel along this silver cord until you're inside the
wick of the candle. Once there, you'll see a lot of light.
You11 see fire around you, as if you were standing on the
wick. Except you won't have a physical body. Only your
spirit will be there, your energy, your soul.
Now practice that, then I'll tell you the next step."
"You want me to follow the thread to the wick of the
candle, try to imagine I'm really there, sitting at the
center of the flame."