What is an out of body experience?
An obe, or out of body experience is defined as, “a sensation of being outside one’s own body, typically of floating and being able to observe oneself from a distance”.
Another term for an obe is “astral projection”. A method also used to have an out of body experience is called, “lucid dreaming”.
People who experience NDE’s (near death experience). These experiences have been well documented and seriously studied all over the world. It is a sensation of the consciousness leaving the body.
An out of body experience also may occur when children go through trauma. I know people who, as young children, went through abuse, and often separated from their bodies. They would have the sensation of floating near the ceiling of the room and watching what was happening to their body. As soon as the abuser left the room, their consciousness would move back into the body. While in this state, they felt no pain to the body and were much more able to cope with the experiences of abuse.
There doesn’t always have to be trauma associate with an obe. My son, as a 5 year old experienced an episode while having a nap. After waking up from his nap he came running to me in another room, telling me about his experience. He explained to me that he was floating by the ceiling and was watching himself sleeping on the sofa. He had no fear, no questions, is was as though it was fun and natural.
Although I had a sense of fear, he was perfectly excited and happy. I recall not making a big deal of it. I didn’t want to frighten him. It never happened to him again.
If he was Floating up by the Ceiling, who or what was Asleep on the Sofa?
If people say “I was here watching my body there”, what is the body and what is floating about? What is the real “I”?
I truly believe there are two parts to our existence, the physical, (what we can touch and see) and the non-physical (what we cannot touch or see).
I highly doubt that my 5 year old was making this story up. Perhaps he was dreaming. However, I don’t think so. I believe with all of my heart that he had an out of body experience.
I believe his consciousness , spirit, soul, whatever you choose to name it, separated from his body. This experience was real for him, just as it was real for the kids who were being traumatized by abuse. It was real for them. I cannot explain why it happened to him, what purpose it may have served, I don’t know. I do know it was short lived and to my knowledge, it didn’t leave any damaging effects.
What is Astral Projection?
Astral projection is similar to having an out of body experience. However, in this case, it is welcomed because it is brought on through a desire to experience the phenomenon. It is therefore, intentional.
I have been working on trying to separate from my body through this process for some time now. However, it alludes me. It is difficult to achieve this experience, but I have no intention of giving up.
My reason for wanting to do this is because I want to travel in time, to alternate dimensions, higher dimensions, to the spirit realms.
For me, this is part of my spiritual journey. I believe that using astral projection will allow me to receive help from greater energies and entities. I believe these higher Beings can provide wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and can show me how to use untapped powers that are now asleep in my subconscious mind.
Fear is Keeping me From Having Out of Body Experiences
My belief is that fear is preventing me from having an obe. The worse fear is being unable to reconnect with the body. There are also stories of people having encounters with unsafe entities who may cause more harm than good. Almost as though they are acting like immature teens trying to cause trouble. However, I am becoming less fearful as I learn how to protect myself from these little imps.
As the fears lessen, I feel much more at ease when in a deep meditative state. The deeper my state of relaxation, the further I can move along. In addition to this, I have yet to discover evidence to prove, that anyone was unable to return to their body.
No Scientific Proof of OBE’s
Of all the material that I came across, there is no scientific proof that obe’s actually happen. However, there is no proof of their non-existence either.
There is loads of speculation in the scientific community that they are only creations of the mind. However, no actual proof as of yet. On the other hand, if the science is based on a spiritual level, of course they find proof of the experiences being real. But are they real?
I intend to figure that one out for myself.
What is Lucid Dreaming?
Lucid dreaming occurs when you are asleep and you “know” that you are dreaming. Some people are capable of controlling their dreams, as though they are directing a movie.
I have a friend who can do this every time he sleeps, and he loves it! On the other hand I am often aware that I am in the dream state, however, I am rarely capable of directing the course of the dream.
There are those individuals who use lucid dreaming to induce astral projection. Thus, they can control where they travel, and who they choose to communicate with. They are able to get new ideas, and/or experience things in other dimensions that they cannot experience on this plane.
Others are able to control what happens during nightmare states. I have a tendency toward nightmares so lucid dreaming could be a solution to my problem.
Lucid dreaming is not for everyone, especially those who suffer from mental illnesses. It is said that lucid dreaming may cause issues because some may have difficulty with distinguishing truth from reality. Meaning, lucid dreaming from reality.
Link to Learning the Process of Lucid Dreaming
Unfortunately I cannot comment on this practice as I am in the early stages of learning this task. However, this site introduces 5 lucid dreaming techniques that may want to try out.
If you are interested in this topic and want to try any of these experiences for yourself, please be prepared. There is plenty of information on the internet and loads of books to help you along the way.
If you are already engaged in these behaviors please feel free to share how your experiences manifest for you. Also if you have any recommendations to pass on, it would be awesome to get some feedback.
Featured Image; pixel 2010 and by Pixabay