Astral projection: Kenyan Gen Z have a new mysterious obsession, but what exactly is it?

A young lady has ignited a rather puzzling conversation on X after her quirky roadside interview with popular TikToker J Segera caught the attention of Kenyans.

After being told to introduce herself, the lady launches into a lengthy ramble, talking big mystical concepts, leaving the interviewer stumped. 

"My name is Maruru and I'm having a human experience in this vessel. But I'm not human," she begins.

And just when the viewer was getting started on the confusion, Maruru picks up the tempo, delving deeper into her special brand of mysticism.

"I'm a vessel, I'm an instrument of nature, man. I'm into philosophy and esoteric knowledge. Pre-history and history, like I just love humanity..." she continues.

"What's your political hot-take?" The host asks her, to which she responds; "If you're kind of politically-engaging it means you have a heart. You're not a jellyfish..."

And on her takes on personal finance and wealth, Maruru said, "It doesn't take an individual to come up with wealth. It takes a crew, not just one person. Many brains make the best inventions and business plans..."

Her answer to the last question thrown to her is what actually ignited a full-blown conversation on astral projection, with many Kenyans on X unable to understand just what exactly she was talking about.

"What are cool people doing nowadays?" she was asked.

"Astral projection!" she shot back. "Normalise loving yourself. You know sometimes when you look in the mirror and you're so used to yourself that you don't realize how beautiful of a vessel you are?"

Maruru's unconventional answers led many to heap praises on her seemingly exceptional knowledge and somewhat impeccable grasp of her identity - others, however, found her a little strange.

So many questions were raised on her person - Who is she? Was she high? What is she talking about? Is she a human or a bot? - that she had to jump online and clarify a few things to people.

Responding on X, she tweeted, "Guys I'm not AI or NPC! I'm a secret third thing!"

Maruru's eccentric revelations led many to wonder, what, really, is astral projection?

According to Wikipedia: "Astral projection is a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of a subtle body, known as the astral body or body of light, through which consciousness can function separately from the physical body. "

It's also called astral travel, soul journey, soul wandering, spiritual journey or spiritual travel.

The phenomenon started back in 2020 after stir-crazy humans, seeking to escape the tedium of a solitary indoor existence, stumbled onto an old declassified document from the CIA mentioning astral projection. It quickly created a massive buzz on X.

According to HowStuffWorks, astral projection is basically like taking a vacation without even leaving your home. All you have to do is, well, leave your own body.

And unlike the sort of out-of-body experience some people report after near-death experiences, astral projection is an intentional out-of-body experience, giving you a sort of third-person perspective.

"Astral projection is when the consciousness of a human is projected outside of his body into what we call the astral world," says Robert Rubin, a Philippines-based mystic.

Rubin adds that people do this "usually to understand the deeper significance of what lies beyond this realm, or to go places their physical bodies could not go. Even in some cases to commune and interact with nonphysical entities, like spirits, gods or even the departed at times."

While some people have dismissed the theory as just another form of romanticised modern witchcraft, most Gen Z's are swearing by the transformative powers of the method, attributing it to their sanity in a chaotic world.

For those wishing to try out astral projection, Spiritual Unite, a dedicated website, suggests lying in bed, clearing your mind and visualizing that "your astral body is leaving you."

Where does this guy get these ladies he interviews?

Interesting characters pic.twitter.com/yFkAG3moOp— Mtulivu (@Bobbysyoks) April 10, 2024