Out-of-Body Experiences

Skepticism

I must admit I am a skeptic when it comes to out-of-body experiences. I never experienced one and they seem rather unbelievable, but I am open to discover and research almost anything. I have mentioned throughout my blogs, that I have lucid dreams on a regular basis. So, it is easy for me to believe in lucid dreaming. I have a solid testimony that lucid dreaming is real. Just because I haven’t experienced an out-of-body experience, I can’t just dismiss them as myths. I’ll share with you what I have discovered so far for out-of-body experiences.

Definition

An out-of-body experience (OBE) is an event that typically involves a sensation of floating outside of one’s body and, in some cases, an experience in which a person seems to perceive the world from a location outside his or her physical body. People claim that all senses are utilized during OBEs. Some people claim that they saw or heard things which they could not possibly have seen or heard from the actual positions of their bodies such as being in bed sleeping. OBE is interpreted as a projection of the ‘astral body’ from the physical body.

History

The term out-of-the-body experience was introduced in 1943 by G.N.M Tyrrell in his book Apparitions. Much earlier than that are OBEs that have been recorded in history as early as ancient Egypt. 5,000 years ago the Egyptian priests had knowledge of the existence of the astral body that they referred to as Kha. There are ancient Egyptians inscriptions and drawings on rock walls of many temples and buildings representing the abandonment the physical body during sleep.

Scientific Study of OBEs

From my research, the vast majority of scientists don’t believe that OBEs really exist. They believe that OBS are simply a recreation of sensory feelings that our minds just make up. Through the use of virtual reality goggles, cameras, poking or touching a person, etc., scientists can recreate what it is like to have a real OBE, if they do indeed exist.

Real OBEs?

Surveys show that about up to 35% of the population have had an OBE at some time during their life. One explanation of the OBE is that consciousness or one’s spirit is a separate entity from the body and can exist without the body.

There are thousands of claims of OBEs and hundreds of Websites dedicated to people sharing their personal OBEs with the world. Those that claim to have OBEs totally believe that they real and not something that is simply made up in their minds. They are truly convinced that there consciousness or spirit is temporarily leaving there bodies. I was truly amazed at the number of believable OBE stories I have read. Just do a search on the internet and you will see what I am talking about.

Lucid Dreaming and OBEs

Some believe that OBEs begins when a person loses contact with sensory input from the body while remaining conscious.

(Blackmore, 1988; LaBerge – Lucidity Letter; Levitan – Lucidity Letter): The person retains the feeling of having a body, but that feeling is no longer derived from data provided by the senses. The “out-of-body” person also perceives a world that resembles the world he or she generally inhabits while awake, but
this perception does not come from the senses either. The vivid body and world of the OBE is made possible by our brain’s marvelous ability to create fully convincing images of the world, even in the absence of sensory information. This process is witnessed by each of us every night in our dreams. Indeed, all dreams could be called OBEs in that in them we experience events and places quite apart from the real location and activity of our bodies.

Conclusion

This is only the beginning of my research of OBEs. I will continue to research and share my findings with you. It is really much too early to draw any conclusions on out-of-body experiences. Also, there are too many people that claim to be experiencing them. It makes no sense to me to simply dismiss them just because scientists can’t prove in a laboratory that they really exist.

Please feel free to share any OBEs you may have had!

© 2009 Gary Gardner, All Rights Reserved