Mental projection is a supposed or experienced form of consciousness/spirit/intelligence projection from the emotional/astral plane to the mental plane. Adepts say they are able to project first to the emotional/astral plane (or directly from it after death) and then onward to the mental plane by completely calming their emotional processes and withdrawing their emotional senses. Like astral projection, mental projection is performed during sleep, between lives, during meditation-contemplation, or through 'psychic' (soulful) separation of the mental body from the emotional/astral body via the silver cord. Planes beyond the mental are accessible through use of the 'gold cord'. According to many esoteric philosophers, when projecting in these higher planes one has no humanoid shape and is just a lotus- or egg-shaped 'auric body' of consciousness.