out-of-body experience, OBE

Sometimes called 'lucid dreaming' or 'astral projection', an Out of Body Experience (or OBE) is the experience of being fully conscious and functioning while being outside one's physical body. People who have experienced this often report sensations of floating, perceiving one's own physical body from a different place, and being able to direct or control one's experiences by using thoughts.

William Buhlman at the Monroe Institute

Name of Review Item:

William Buhlman Talk

Media Type:

Video

Author/Creator:

William Buhlman

Publisher and Copyright Date:

Monroe Institute

Name of Reviewer:

Edgar Reyes

Date of Review:

10/21/2019

Stars:

Url:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OR6Kiwlohw

This is an incredible talk.

This is a guy who has explored the non-physical dimensions of the universe for over 40 years. He's an experienced explorer of these realms and what he has to tell us can rock our world. Some of the biggest things I got from this video were:

The belief systems that promise to liberate us and take us to heaven actually do the opposite: they bind us to the physical reality and hold us back from real freedom.
Learning out of body techniques and how to navigate (knowing the rules) of the non-physical dimensions is absolutely essential to learn here and now while we have a physical body so that we know what we're doing once we no longer have a body
Lucid dreaming is a step in the right direction. With a little effort and practice, lucid dreams can BECOME out of body experiences
If the Earth happened to blow up at this very moment, NO ONE WOULD DIE! We are not biological machines, we only USE biological machines.

There is so much more. Please take the time to watch this video if the above has interested you even a little.

Glossary Terms:

out-of-body experience, OBE

Tags:

do-it-yourself

The Link Between Sleep and Death - OBE's, NDE's, and Sleep Paralysis

Name of Review Item:

Out-of-body Experiences May Be Caused By Arousal System Disturbances In Brain

Media Type:

Paper

Author/Creator:

University of Kentucky

Publisher and Copyright Date:

Neurology Journal, March 6, 2007

Name of Reviewer:

Michael C. Willis

Date of Review:

09/20/2019

Stars:

Url:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070305202657.htm

This scientific study contducted by the University of Kentucky examines a link between out-of-body experiences (OBE's), the sleep-wake transition, and near-death experiences (NDE's). A group of 55 people who had had near-death experiences were asked if they had ever had an OBE in their lifetime prior to the NDE. The researchers found that those who answered yes to this question were found to be more likely to experience something similar during the near-death experience.

For context and convenience, here are links to the definitions of terms used often in this article:

out-of-body experience (OBE)

near-death experience (NDE)

subtle world

The study also maintains that some people have brains that are chemically predisposed to out-of-body experiences. One of the doctors who led the study, Dr. Kevin Nelson, said that it was the brain's "arousal system" which regulates the spectrum of states of consciousness between REM to wakefulness that "may be the cause for these types of out-of-body displays". And it is this "arousal system" that the team of researchers suspect may have something to do with a person's predisposition to having OBE's during death and sleep-waking transitions. (This article was written in 2007, and since then, science has more accurately answered the question of what the brain's "arousal system" is. For many years it was thought that the system was comprised of several parts of the brain that worked togheter, but it was unknown which parts or how they accomplished this. According to a separate study published in June of 2018, scientists have been able to manipulate neurons located in the thalamus of rodents by a process called optogenetics in order to induce sleep and to wake them up. See https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322118.php)

Statistically, the study found that people are just as likely to have an OBE during the transition between sleep and wakefulness as they are during near-death experiences.

To add to the mystery, Dr Nelson also says, "The strong association of sleep paralysis with out-of-body experiences in the near death experience subject is curious and unexplained."

Now, to anyone who has experienced sleep paralysis (or researched it) knows that sleep paralysis can be a very scary thing! While I myself have not experienced it, I have read enough to understand why it can be such a harrowing thing. Sleep paralysis is when, during the transition between sleep and waking (or vice-versa), a person finds that although they are aware and conscious of their surroundings, they cannot speak or move their physical body. When this occurs, many people report that although it can be disconcerting to not be able to move or speak, the condition usually passes within a few seconds. At the same time, many people report strange and often frightening experiences during these episodes, including the feeling of electricity shooting through their bodies, or being able to see or sense that other people or entities are in the same room. And many times these 'others' are not exactly friendly or kind...

What I would like to do now is to take the scientific conclusions of the study and talk about them from my perspective, keeping the knowledge of the subtle world and subtle bodies in mind. My purpose is not to negate the science - on the contrary, I would like to show how science is knocking on the door of the subtle world and encourage its continued advance toward this realization.

"For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause."

--Shakespeare

From antiquity to the present, sleep has always been likened to death. Anyone who has kept vigil at a dying person's bedside can attest to the similarity between watching someone fall asleep and watching someone pass on. I myself have seen a dear family member pass on after a stay in hospice. The way the body relaxes slightly at the moment of death is very similar to when someone falls asleep. The physical body's inertness during both sleep and death...it is a universal human experience that these two states are very much alike to an observing eye.

To me, with the understanding of the subtle body, it is easy to come to the logical conclusion that, in both cases, we are witnessing the subtle body's exit from the physical body. This would support the finding in the study that "an out-of-body experience is statistically as likely to occur during a near death experience as it is to occur during the transition between wakefulness and sleep". With this in mind, I'm going to take another step.

For most of us, the transition between wakefulness and sleep is a smooth one. We typically have no recollection of it happening, whether it's wakefulness-to-sleep or sleep-to-wakefulness. But those who have experienced sleep paralysis know that the transition is not always easy and forgettable. To me, what they are experiencing is the separation or coming together between the subtle and physical bodies. I can't be sure what exactly causes the transition to not be as smooth as it is 'normally', but it may have something to do with the thalamus as described in the above study which backs the idea of "out-of-body experiences as an expression of arousal (neurons in the thalamus) in near death experiences". If this is correct, why would the thalamus work this way in some people and not others?

Two quotes from the study:

Dr Nelson also says, "The strong association of sleep paralysis with out-of-body experiences in the near death experience subject is curious and unexplained."
and,
"We found it surprising that out-of-body experience with sleep transition seemed very much like out-of-body experience during near death," Nelson said

What if scientists took a good long look at the possibility of the existence of the subtle world, subtle bodies, and how we interact with them? In a bright, new future, dots that currently remain unconnected would be thus connected, and mankind would be able to unlock amazing and vast new areas of science and medicine, along with a more real, more true understanding of who and what we really are. I would sincerely love to see what Dr Nelson and his team of researchers could discover using the knowledge of what we cannot see with all of their incredible knowledge of what we can see.

Isaac Newton was once curious about a force he could not see, but he could see the effects of it. He looked until he found gravity, and all our lives have been drastically changed for the better for it. What the world needs now is a new Pioneer who seeks to understand subtle things in the same way.

Glossary Terms:

subtle world

subtle body

energy bodies

out-of-body experience, OBE

near-death experience, NDE

Tags:

sleep

death

Fly Far Far Away...

Submitted by Edgar Reyes on Sun, 09/08/2019 - 11:30

The few times I become consciously aware in my dreams I usually start jumping high. I find it fun. if I'm even MORE consious, I'll suspend in mid air, or fly around a bit.

Lately I've wondered: how far can I go? How high can I go? William Buhlman says I can go to outer space, to other planets. He's been there. I'm beginning to believe that, if I get more serious about this whole thing, I too might possibly travel very very far away...

Glossary Terms:

out-of-body experience, OBE

Possibly My First OBE

Submitted by Edgar Reyes on Fri, 02/01/2019 - 03:12

Below is my journal entry from what is possibly my first OBE. I say possibly, because a few months have gone by and nothing like it has happened again. At the time I was very sure that it was an OBE, but now, I've had a few doubts. Even if it wasn't, however, it was still the most lucid dream experience of my life.

11/4/17

I transitioned into my first OBE from a lucid dream –the most lucid dream of my life.

I was with a friend in a desert scene. We were jumping for height and distance. This is something I do for fun whenever I become lucid to any degree in my dreams. I could jump higher than he… and I eventually decided to just stay in the air floating/flying. I told him I would teach him how to jump higher and asked him to follow me to the top of a nearby cliff. Once at the top, I told him “it’s easier than you think,” then I looked down the cliff at the sand about 100 feet below. At that point, I made a startling discovery. “Holy crap!!” I said to myself, “I’m totally present. I’m here! I’m really here!” “Wow,” I continued… “What should I do?” I looked back down at the earth below and said to myself, “I’m going to jump. And I’m going to totally let myself go. I don’t know what’ll happen, but I trust.”

I swan dived off the side of the cliff. As the earth approached me I didn’t get scared, I stayed calm. When I was 2 feet above the ground, I suddenly became suspended in mid-air. I also noticed lots of vibrations. Having experienced this through several practices is Buhlman’s “targeting” technique, I allowed myself to sink into it and for the vibrations to spread throughout my whole body. Everything got dark and I heard a pulsating sound.

When I opened my eyes, I was in my room! At the foot of my bed, to be exact. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough, there I lay, sleeping!!! I looked away quickly because I didn’t want to begin thinking about my body and thereby get pulled back into it (as Buhlman wrote). I closed my eyes and concentrated on something else. First thing that came to mind were my wife and kids (who were sleeping in the other room this night), so I focused on them. Again the vibrations, sounds and darkness. I opened my eyes in the hallway outside my bedroom door. I couldn’t see so well, so I called out, “Clarity now!” and I felt my consciousness drifting, so I also called out, “full awareness now!!”, just as Buhlman suggests. It worked. I could see things come into focus better, but honestly, it was still very hard to see, as it was very dark still. I started walking over to the room where my wife and kids were.

I found them awake on the bed. Compared to the whole environment, they were quite bright. I could see them well. “Can you see me?? I asked them. “Yes,” they said. “Wow! I’m asleep in the other room!” I exclaimed. “My body’s asleep over there! And here I am!!” They smiled.

I said, “Watch this, son!” and I stuck my hand into the wall, feeling the vibrations thereof. “Touch my arm!” I held it out and my son put his hand about 2 inches above my forearm and we both felt intense energy vibrations. Then I looked up at the ceiling and said to myself, “oh yeah, I can jump up there and get stuck in it.” So I jumped, and sure enough, my head got stuck in the ceiling. I couldn’t see what was on the other side.

Maybe next time!

After this I slipped back into a lucid dream and never got back to out of body.

Glossary Terms:

out-of-body experience, OBE

lucid dreaming

subtle world

My First Thought-Experiment

Submitted by Edgar Reyes on Thu, 01/31/2019 - 00:08

I was reading Adventures Beyond the Body (click here for my review of it) a few months ago, at a very busy time in my life. I did not have any significantly large enough blocks of time to sit down and just read without interruption –you may know what life is like with small children in the house. However, this didn’t stop me from reminding myself constantly that “I have to read that book!” and picturing in my mind the physical location of the book, wherever it was at the time.

In the three weeks that I was repeating this to myself, I noticed something very interesting: twice in my dreams, I noticed that in the middle of it, whatever the environment or situation was, I’d suddenly recall that “I have to read that book!” and I’d quickly follow up by asking, “where is it?!” The first time, in my dream, I “remembered” that I had left it on the table that was located about 10 paces behind me. I turned around, walked over to the table, and sure enough, there it was! The second time, I was outdoors and I recall thinking very intently, “I need that book now!”, and it materialized right into my left hand.

I described these occurrences to Michael (another member of the SubtleRealm.org team) one day, and in the course of the conversation, an idea arose for a thought-experiment: for the next two weeks, instead of thinking “I need to read that book” repeatedly, I’m actually going to do some of the techniques suggested in that book; I’m going to think intently: “I am now out of my body!”, I'm going to demand “full awareness now!” and “clarity now!”. I repeated these affirmations several times a day, as often as I could remember, with as much conviction as I could muster.

I kid you not, on the night marking exactly 2 weeks from that conversation, I had the most lucid dream I’ve ever experienced in my life. And, even though I’m not 100% sure about this (more research and experience required), I may have even had my first out-of-body experience. I remember suddenly realizing that I was 100% present. I called out for “full awareness now!” and so it was. “I’m here! I’m here! I'm in the subtle world!” I called out in excitement. “Hmm… what should I do?”

I posted a description of my experience here.

Glossary Terms:

dreams

thought-experiment

lucid dreaming

out-of-body experience, OBE

subtle world

Tags:

do-it-yourself

thought control