Sylvan Muldoon was an American esotericist who promoted the concept of astral projection. According to Muldoon, astral projection is an out-of-body experience that assumes the existence of an astral body separate from the physical body and is capable of travelling outside it. A 2012 Princeton University Press publication by Hugh Urban asserted that one of Muldoon's most popular books formed the basis for theories of the Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard which he claimed were his own.