Out-of-Body Experience:
A Powerful Tool for Self-Research
 Part two of an article by Sandie Gustus. Out-of-body experiences are common to all humanity, but producing them at will and remaining lucid whilst outside the body requires ideal physical conditions as well as strong desire, concentration and determination.
Out-of-body experience, or an altered state of consciousness?
With the silver cord ensuring a constant connection between the physical and extraphysical bodies, it is possible to have a rich variety of lucid experiences outside the body. We can travel in the physical realm or visit other dimensions, meet old friends and make new acquaintances, exercise our will and take decisions.
But how can we be so sure that what we experience is real, and not a dream or some other altered state of consciousness provoked by any number of things such as fainting, exhaustion, fever, medicines, hormones or drugs?
Some of the characteristics of the conscious out-of-body experience that clearly distinguish it from a dream or hallucination include the following:
- Individuals are lucid, active participants of out-of-body experiences, taking decisions and using their mental attributes, whilst in dreams they remain passive, having no control over the dream experience;
- Environments and situations encountered during a projection are real, whilst in dreams they may be distorted or nonsensical;
- Situations encountered in projections occur independently of the individual's capacity for creativity and imagination;
- Projections are more difficult to recollect than dreams, as the experience occurs beyond, and is not recorded by, the physical brain;
- Projectors can see their physical body and even touch it; dreams occur inside the physical body;
- Projectors experience a sense of liberty, well-being, expanded awareness and sometimes euphoria at being able to fly and pass through physical objects; dreams provide more mundane feelings and experiences;
- Projectors often perceive the departure and/or return of their extraphysical body from the physical body; this does not occur in dreams.
Sensations in the process of leaving the body
To contribute to the understanding of out-of-body experiences, we can, for example, look at some of the sensations associated with the process of departing the physical body.
Data collected from students' descriptions of their sensations in experiments held during the practical sessions of the courses on OOBEs (offered around the world by the International Academy of Consciousness, formerly known as the International Institute of Projectiology and Conscientiology) suggest that some of the common sensations usually experienced in relation to either leaving or returning to the physical body are: falling, floating and repercussions, e.g., myoclonus (jerking limbs), jerking awake, projective catalepsy (a sleep paralysis type of sensation), sinking, torpidity (numbness), intracranial sounds (a sound that seems to be coming from inside the head), tingling, clairvoyance, oscillation (a type of rocking or swaying sensation), vibrations and serenity.
Other experiences reported by the students included the perception of extraphysical beings, sensations such as itching, chills, change of temperature, pressure in the body, tears (watering of eyes) as well as clairvoyance and the tunnel effect. Respondents also reported experiencing a variety of less-common sensations such as spinning, waves passing through the body, pulsation, swelling, being lifted, dizziness, elongation, dematerialisation and bubbling.
Current and historical research on out-of-body experiences
Personal experimentation is the most logical method for validation of these sensations, and researchers are largely reliant on the accumulation of data relating to personal accounts in seeking to identify the elements common to these experiences. For this reason, survey research has often been used in the study of the OOBE. One of the first recorded was conducted in the UK in 1890 by the British Society of Psychical Research.
More than 100 years later, in 1999, a sophisticated online survey analysing 98 different aspects of the OOBE was launched via the Internet by the International Academy of Consciousness [see NEXUS 6/05]. To date, over 7,000 Internet users have responded. The IAC researchers Wagner Alegretti and Nanci Trivellato acknowledge that the survey participants are not representative of the general population as they are all Internet users and most had some pre-existing interest in studies of the paranormal. Nevertheless, the results show that many different characteristics of the phenomena associated with the OOBE are shared by people around the world, irrespective of their age, gender, nationality, ethnicity, cultural background, religion, level of education or socio-economic status. This is a significant outcome that further confirms the value of pursuing such investigations. (This survey may be accessed at http://www.iacworld.org.)
The sensations mentioned previously are corroborated by the preliminary results of the IAC online survey, which reveal that, of the first 1,185 people who responded to this survey in 1999, 1,007 reported experiencing some of these sensations.
Other historical surveys of interest include a study conducted by Celia Elizabeth Green. In 1967, she asked 380 students at Oxford University if they had had any experiences in which they felt themselves to be outside their body. Thirty-four per cent of the students replied affirmatively.
In addition, much experimental research has been conducted by a number of scientists. In 1972, for example, Janet Lee Mitchell, a researcher at the American Society for Psychical Research in New York, USA, carried out a number of experiments aimed at furthering knowledge of vision whilst outside the body. The research subject was Ingo Swann, a known clairvoyant and surrealist painter. During the experiments, different target objects were hidden on a platform suspended 3.5 metres above the floor of the room. After "projecting" his vision, Swann described the objects he saw both verbally and with illustrations. An independent judge correctly matched eight of Swann's drawings with the eight target objects used in the experiment. Such satisfactory results were highly improbable and attest to the "travelling" nature of Swann's viewing.
The following year, Karlis Osis, a parapsychologist, sent an open invitation throughout the United States to all individuals capable of projecting at will, to project themselves out of body and into the premises of the American Society for Psychical Research in New York. One hundred people were selected from the large number that volunteered. Four target objects were placed at a predetermined location within the building. Although the experiment didn't achieve total success, 15 per cent of the participants produced clear evidence of having visited the office through extraphysical means.
In 1979, in partnership with Donna L. McCormick and again at the American Society for Psychical Research in New York, Karlis Osis tested the kinetic effects of the projected consciousness. The team developed a means of measuring the presence of the extraphysical body of the projector (Alexander Tanous, in this experiment) through a system of sensors placed inside a sealed chamber. In addition, the projector was to attempt to perceive figures that were randomly produced by a specially designed optical system inside the chamber. Of the 197 attempts made by Tanous, 114 hits and 83 misses were made during 20 sessions. Every time that Tanous was able to describe correctly the figure selected and shown, the sensors detected the presence of something inside the shielded chamber.
Currently, an experimental research project entitled Projective Field is being conducted by the aforementioned IAC researchers. The experiment is aimed at understanding the processes by which an individual captures information through the OOBE and remote viewing. The main purpose of the experiment is to investigate both the apprehension of the information via nonphysical means and the subsequent transfer of this information to the physical brain.
Five batteries of well-designed experiments have already been conducted in Spain, Portugal, the United States and the United Kingdom. External auditors and judges participated in all experiments to attest to the validity of the scientific methodology. Intriguing preliminary results presented at the Third International Congress of Projectiology and Conscientiology at the New York School of Medicine in 2002 showed that, of the 105 participants, 52 reported 93 instances of the OOBE. The results presented also suggested that shapes of objects, followed by colours, are most easily perceived when outside the body.
The out-of-body experience and its applications
Whilst it is important that the sensations associated with the OOBE along with myriad other related phenomena are studied, identified and understood, it is essential that they be examined as part of a larger context that properly acknowledges the value of the experience.
What precisely, then, is the value of the OOBE? The real purpose of the OOBE is to precipitate major personal evolution by providing individuals with opportunities to perceive first-hand the invisible, yet real, nonphysical dimensions with which they interact all the time. A tool for self-research, the OOBE enables people to know who they really are—that is, they're not just the physical body but a consciousness in evolution.
During OOBEs, as the consciousness leaves the physical brain and manifests in the brain of the extraphysical body (where the memory of one's previous lives resides) there is an increased probability of recalling past lives and, therefore, of furthering our understanding of evolution, the process of physical birth and death and the cycle of successive lives.
It's also logical to reason that the acknowledgement that we do not die brings with it a complexity of consideration relating to: past and present relationships and possible interconnections between the two; pathologies that have manifested over previous lives in addition to the current life; the period between lives; our multidimensional curriculum; and our purpose or task in this physical life.
Where do we go when we leave the body?
A consensus of opinion derived from conscious projectors and researchers who have recorded their experiences throughout history has provided much information about the nonphysical dimension. Anyone who is interested to verify this information may do so by having lucid OOBEs.
Whilst there is only one physical dimension, the extraphysical dimension is multi-layered, consisting of many planes or dimensions. This makes the OOBE an extremely rich, educational and interesting experience. However, the majority of people, when they leave their bodies, remain in the dimensional layer closest to the physical dimension (Earth's crust).
Typically, a particular dimension is inhabited by consciousnesses who share affinities in terms of the quality of their energies, intentions, thoughts and sentiments. For example, there are dimensions populated by those who lack awareness of the fact that they are no longer alive in the biological sense.
Other dimensions, by contrast, are inhabited by advanced societies, communities of evolved consciousnesses who are fully aware of the ongoing cycle of successive lives. These consciousnesses plan their next physical life according to objectives that include assisting humankind, evolving further and assisting others with their evolution.
Mechanisms that facilitate and inhibit projective ability
Although every human being experiences some degree of separation of the extraphysical body from the physical body every night while sleeping, the big challenge lies in being able to achieve enough lucidity whilst out of the body to be able to be certain of what is happening and to control the experience. This would consequently assist in the recall of the experience once back in the physical body.
Fortunately, however, a number of mechanisms that facilitate lucid OOBEs have been identified. These include basic, practical considerations such as wearing loose clothing and lying in the dorsal position. The room should be dark, quiet, totally private, climatically controlled and free of interferences. Concentration on a target or (ethical) objective of the OOBE will also facilitate the process. The individual will also benefit from being relaxed, well rested, in a state of emotional equilibrium, motivated, confident of achieving success and without fear or doubt about the experience.
Other factors are similarly known to inhibit OOBEs or diminish their quality. The following are some activities that should be avoided prior to attempting leaving the body: watching films or reading books that are either exciting or violent in nature, engaging in conflict with others, thinking negative thoughts, drinking or using any type of drug, or indulging negative emotions of any variety, especially fear.
The practitioner should also take care of physiological needs prior to trying to have an OOBE, as a full stomach or bladder, for example, will make it difficult to be comfortable and forget the physical body—a prerequisite for having an OOBE.
In the same way, factors and techniques that facilitate the recall of the period spent outside the human body have been identified. For example, applying oneself to the improvement of one's will and memory and to one's capacity for attention and concentration can all contribute to the recollection of the extraphysical experiences.
As it is easier to provoke an OOBE from some altered states of consciousness than from the ordinary physical waking state, then those interested in producing lucid OOBEs should take advantage whilst experiencing such a condition (if positive or sound) such as: physical tiredness, lucid dreaming, the hypnogogic (alpha) state or deep relaxation.
However, the most important qualities, essential to producing lucid OOBEs, are strong desire, mental concentration and determination. The effectiveness of these personal qualities should not be underestimated.
Beyond these, there exist countless other techniques for provoking lucid OOBEs. One of the most comprehensive lists, describing 37 techniques in detail, can be found in a book entitled Projectiology, by Waldo Vieira, MD.
The degree of success of one technique over another is purely personal, so practice and trial and error will determine which techniques work best for each individual.
Levels of lucidity experienced outside the body
Considering that every human being without exception can temporarily project the consciousness from the physical body, and that this seems as natural a process as breathing and sleeping, then why is it that practically 99 per cent of humans do not remember having any extraphysical experiences?
The answer to this is simple. It's because the majority of people leave their bodies with no lucidity or awareness at all. Many factors, common to the average person, prompt this condition. These include: a lack of interest in everything that is nonphysical; an all-consuming fixation on all things physical; an inability, through ignorance, to distinguish the experience outside the body from a dream of no consequence; and scientific and/or religious conditioning.
But this is not an all-or-nothing scenario. Individuals can experience different levels of awareness outside the body. In a state of semi-awareness, for example, the individual will typically be confused as to his condition and be open to interference from dreamlike images or nightmares.
On a scale of 0–100% of extraphysical lucidity, it is at a level of about 60% that the projected individual gains certainty as to his extraphysical state.
During a lucid out-of-body experience, the individual is able to access and employ all of the capacities he enjoys in the waking state, such as memory, rationality, decision-making and critical judgement.
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