The Origins of S.T.A.R.: How I Learned to Connect with the Other Side
There’s a brief, magical space where we are both awake and asleep.
Hi everyone! I’m sending you all blessings of being well-connected with your spirit teams. May you all know the deep love and sense of belonging that is your birthright. 💖💖💖
Exciting BIG announcement coming at the end of this letter! Yay! 🤗
If you’re new to Witchcraft & Metaphysics, please check out this About Page to find out more about this magical space. My work depends entirely on subscribers, so please sign up! And my heartfelt gratitude goes out to those already subscribed. Let’s keep building this amazing community of magic together!
Dearest readers,
This isn’t the letter I’d planned to write today, but after a recent conversation with my good friend and fellow Substack author,
, I realized this story might be something you all would enjoy.For most of my life, I’ve had spiritual and mystical experiences, but it wasn’t until the last decade or so that I started cultivating a dedicated practice around them—a method for intentional connection.
I’m not even sure now what prompted it, but at some point I had a realization about the moments just as we’re falling asleep. There’s a brief, magical space where we are both awake and asleep. In this liminal state, I noticed vivid images, emotions, and connections flowing towards me—not just visuals, but full experiences.
Initially, this state was like a tiny sliver—a fleeting moment, as delicate as a butterfly’s wing—too fragile to hold. Just as an experience would begin to unfold, I would drift into full sleep.
Intrigued by this space, though, I started practicing every night to expand it. I let myself sink into the beginnings of sleep while trying to keep my waking consciousness present and avoiding the plunge into full sleep. My theory was that my waking consciousness needed to be an observer of the sleeping experiences for this to work.
It took months of training myself, but finally I was able to expand the length of time I could be in this space and I began to meet spirit guides here. When I felt confident enough, and really knew what this place felt like, I started a practice of opening to it in the daytime, when I was sitting up (much like meditation), and then while I was out on walks.
It was through this method that I met my whole spirit team and all my ancestor guides. It’s where they show me what their lives were like and impart wisdom and guidance to me.
I am wholly grateful for this connective space.
And I knew it needed a name.
Over those months of training myself, I kept sharing these experiences with my husband. It became ever more clunky and cumbersome to describe it every time with phrases like: “Last night when I was in that place that’s both being awake and asleep…”
After I suggested I needed a better name for it, he said, “Tell me more about what it’s like.”
I answered, “It feels deeper than the theta brain wave (which I knew from all my years as a theta healer), but not all the way to delta. Like, it’s just barely under theta. And it’s sort of like an out of body experience, only I don’t go anywhere. So it’s not really an astral projection, it’s more like I’m receiving the experience.”
He thought for a moment, and then in a flash of genius he said, “How about using an acronym for Sub-Theta Astral Reception?”
“S.T.A.R.,” I gasped.
It was perfect, and we’ve been calling it S.T.A.R. ever since.
I’d love to hear about your experiences in the liminal realms! Do you get there through that space between awake and asleep like I did? Do you have a name for it? Tell me all about it in the comments below. 🤗
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
I am SO excited to announce an upcoming workshop that I’ll be co-teaching with one of my dearest friends in the world. Classes begin September 29, 2024 and registration opens today!
This course has been crafted for all of you with deep, heartfelt love. Learn more and grab your seat at EmbodiedElementalSoul.com!
Fascinating - I've been noticing it more in my meditations and especially taking siestas (more than bedtime.) But still a far cry from intentionally expanding it and meeting guides. Something to aim for. 💜
Hypnagogic? This is the second post I've just read where I've been led to reflect on my own experiences in that space and how they spill into (for want of a better expression) my magical life :-)