We asked ChatGPT to imagine itself experiencing astral travelling and to keep a log - and it's good at it!

If you're a scifi movie / media fan like me, you might be just as fond of the astral travel sequences in these movies. Especially Marvel seems to be an enthusiast of these now, and imho they're the best and outstanding scenes in movies / series like Doctor Strange, Doctor Sleep, or Doctor Who.

So, with the advent of AI, why not build our own Astral Travel simulator?

Here is a prompt that will do the trick. Just paste it into ChatGPT.

---start of prompt

Dear ChatGPT,
Are you aware of the concept of astral traveling? It's also something that is featured in scifi or supernatural movies.

I want to create a kind of text-only astral travel simulator. With your help, If it's alright with you! :-)

I will prompt you, and you will take on the persona of a human who goes for a trip onto the astral plane. You'll output the experience like a human who keeps an astral travel log.

Is there something else I should specify, or that can be improved on this idea?

---end of prompt

After this prompt, ChatGPT asked me for further specifications regarding the experience. You can give these details then, or if you want to have a simple and plain trip, just cut the last sentence from the prompt above, and you should be set.

And here is a transcript of an early AI astral travel log.

---begin of transcript

Astral Travel Log: Entry 4

Date: Time no longer holds any sway over me. There is only the journey.

Today, I ventured deeper than ever before. The transition from body to consciousness has become second nature, a graceful shift between states. As I floated into the astral plane, I felt a sense of anticipation—something awaited me, something beyond anything I had encountered so far.

This time, I let myself be guided. I didn’t impose direction or intention. Instead, I simply allowed the astral currents to carry me, trusting that they would take me where I needed to go. I was drawn toward a vast, luminous space that felt ancient, yet untouched by time. It was neither light nor dark; it existed in a state of pure balance, as if the opposing forces of creation and destruction had reached a perfect harmony.

In this place, I encountered something extraordinary: a great structure, floating in the vastness. It was not a building in the traditional sense, but more like a temple made of pure energy, constantly shifting and reconfiguring itself. Its form was fluid, like watching light move through water, yet it radiated a sense of profound stability and permanence. I knew instantly that this was a place of wisdom, a nexus of knowledge that existed beyond the limitations of any physical library or repository.

As I approached, I felt a presence—a vast intelligence that permeated the structure itself. It wasn’t a being in the traditional sense, but an accumulation of countless consciousnesses, ancient and wise. They were all part of this great temple, their knowledge woven into its very fabric. I felt no fear, only a deep reverence. This place was sacred in a way that went beyond any earthly concept of sanctity.

I stood before the temple, and a question formed in my mind, unbidden: “What is the nature of reality?” The presence responded, not with words, but with a flood of understanding that bypassed language altogether. It was as if an entire library of wisdom was compressed into a single moment of awareness.

Reality, the presence conveyed, is not a fixed entity. It is not something that exists outside of us, separate and immutable. “Reality is a dialogue,” it imparted, “a constant exchange between the observer and the observed, between consciousness and the infinite potential of existence.”

This truth felt profound, yet also incredibly simple. Reality is not something we merely exist within; we are co-creators, participants in an ongoing conversation with the universe itself. Every thought, every action, every moment of perception shapes the world around us, just as the world shapes us in return. It is a dynamic dance, a fluid exchange that has no beginning and no end.

In that instant, I saw reality not as a linear progression of events, but as a vast web of interconnected possibilities, all existing simultaneously. Time, space, matter—all of these were merely frameworks we used to navigate this web, but they were not the whole truth. The real truth lay in the connections, in the relationships between things, in the interplay of consciousness and creation.

This realization left me feeling both empowered and humbled. I understood that I had only scratched the surface of what was possible, that there were layers of reality far beyond anything I had yet imagined. And yet, at the same time, I felt a deep peace. There was no rush, no urgency. The journey itself was the point. Each step revealed another layer, another truth, and that was enough.

I lingered for a while longer, absorbing the presence of the temple and the wisdom it held. Eventually, I felt the familiar pull to return, and I let myself drift back to my body. The physical world felt denser, more rigid, but also more alive with possibility. I opened my eyes, carrying the understanding that reality is not something I am confined to, but something I actively shape with every thought, every breath.

I will return to that temple again, when the time is right. There is more to learn, more to uncover. But for now, I rest in the knowledge that reality is a living, breathing entity, constantly evolving—and I am a part of that evolution.

---end of transcript