The habit of our scattering thoughts must also be brought under control.  One must be able to concentrate his mind on what he wants to think about.  Camille Flammarion says nineteen-hundredths of the human family never think at all.  They are merely shallow receptives for the thoughts of others.  As you acquire the habit of controlling your thoughts and with the emotions well under control, then you begin to turn the consciousness back upon self, and as the sleeper lays his body down to rest he gives the ego an opportunity to impress itself on the lower mind.  Gradually the mind is brought under control.  This connects the two different states of consciousness.  At first you begin to see pictures, landscapes, faces, etc., only for a flash.  Then you will fall into unconsciousness.  Once this state is attained, if continued the rest will not be so difficult.

With practice, you will be conscious of yourself leaving your body, conscious of yourself looking down on your body asleep, and seeing yourself going on a journey to inspire a friend or to acquire some knowledge of something you are studying in physical life.  In this way you make your nights, as well as your days, to be of assistance to others.  Your nights may be made useful even if you are not conscious of yourself out of the body, by suggesting to yourself upon retiring, that you will go somewhere, and meet some one and assist them in an unselfish act.  If you persist in your suggestion on retiring, your spirit will go where you demand it to go, although you may not remember your experience in your waking state.

Just as it is possible for you to render help to another in sleep, so you can influence them for a good purpose.  It is also possible for you to influence another selfishly, and let me warn you here, if you do, you are practicing black art, and as surely as night follows day it will return and burn you as you justly deserve, so beware and think well before you act.  He who dabbles in occult teachings for selfish ends treads on dangerous ground, and he will not attain his desires, but rather the reverse.  The unselfish soul who acts unselfishly can be of much service to his fellow-man, not only the living but also the misnamed dead, and they can often remember their astral happenings in waking consciousness to the minutest detail.  This requires rigid training.

The beginner will find it to his advantage, to resolve before falling asleep that he will bring his astral experience through into his waking consciousness.  It is also well to keep a notebook at hand and write down your dreams in the morning, if you cannot remember your dreams.