There is little denying that the physical world, the one in which we can lay our hands-on, is not the only one in existence. Have you ever stood in a brisk wind and been fully aware of the sensation it creates when it hits your skin? You can almost feel the ethereal world surrounding you. When a misty Samhain evening rolls in, it is as if the doorway hangs, balanced, waiting for you to go through it. Meditation, astral projection, and trance states all serve as possible entrances to this astral world that exists right beside ours.
But what of those whose lives seem to straddle the two worlds? Those who seem to simultaneously exist in both the physical and the astral worlds? Well, at first it can be a bit maddening. While many humans seem content to go to work, come home, raise families, and simply be, there is a subset of the population for whom this idea is excruciating. This attachment to the physical world, and the expectation of living solely within its confines, is spiritually painful for those already connected to both the physical and the astral realms. It is difficult for these individuals to find the same satisfaction in the mundane as others do. Where the excitement of having a child or getting married may keep some people content for months, for those who straddle the worlds, these moments can seem fleeting. And sometimes lead a person to question “is there something wrong with me?”
In answer to your question, no, there is nothing wrong with you. You are simply a square trying desperately to fit into a round hole. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. As you will see when I talk about how this manifests, there are a lot of positive traits and characteristics that come from being connected to different realms. More good news is that once you are aware of it, you can do something about it. Let’s first establish some of the symptoms of straddling the realms. Please note that having these manifestations does not automatically mean that a person is constantly straddling the two worlds, but they can be an indicator.
Big Dreamer: As mentioned earlier, working the same job for 20 years does not appeal to you if you are this type of person. Maybe your friends and family always told you to pick something and stick with it, but life is full of far too many experiences for you to be so limited.
Depression: This is one of the most obvious ones. Don’t think narrowly about the definition of depression, this could appear as the textbook definition, as bipolar, or might be experienced as if one’s emotions are muted. This makes sense because you likely have a hard time fitting into one place or group, and this can lead to a sense of perpetually longing.
Seeing Multiple Sides of a Situation: This gift is not as common as one would hope. It means that even if you do not agree with another person’s viewpoint, you can still see where they are coming from. You may even have a knack for playing “devil’s advocate.”
Being on Autopilot: If you do a large number of day-to-day tasks and can’t recall doing them, you may have been on an astral sort of autopilot. This may be an indication that you are subconsciously trying to be present in the astral while your body completes the tasks that don’t take a lot of effort. You may be aware of an occasional interaction, for example handing somebody a cart at the store, but everything else is fuzzy and distant.
There are, of course, other examples, but these are some of the main ones. Now, you may be asking yourself, “what causes an individual to exist simultaneously between two worlds?” The biggest cause is trauma, especially if it occurred during childhood and young adulthood. This would cause a person’s energetic side to go elsewhere as a way of protecting the mind and spirit. Some people could straddle the worlds from the moment they are born, either to heal their family line and break the cycle or to teach others how to do this.
The cause of a condition such as this can really only be spiritual in nature. Therefore, the solution must also be spiritual in nature. Though there is nothing “wrong” with experiencing the world this way, it may be alarming for friends, family, and yourself. It may even cause difficulties in your day-to-day life. What you do, is largely up to you. But I am including some suggestions that may help even this out. The first of which is to increase how often you meditate. This permits you to be wholly on the astral plane. It is sort of like designated a time for homework, but it is designating a time to feed your spirit.
Then, you can incorporate exercises that allow you to be more present. Active listening, putting away your phone, holding a stone, and even reminding yourself, “it is time to be present,” can all be useful. Engaging your senses provides a tangible way to keep yourself in the physical world. Smelling earthy scents, touching natural materials, eating natural food and drink, listening to the sounds of nature, and watching interactions can help keep you present, even when you want to travel somewhere else.
Something that it took me well into my adult years to learn was that not everybody is meant to do only one thing. If your spirit wants you to get a pilot’s license, then learn violin, then get a degree in math, and spend a year meditating on a mountain, only to decide that none of these is your career path, that is fine. You keep exploring these things. The pursuit of knowledge is never in vain.
The important part, in order to feel at ease with yourself, is to allow yourself to have time to exist in the astral world and the mundane one. These worlds are not in competition, and each should be given their due.