I know some of you that read this forum say "Oh, astral projections, what a load of BS" ... wrong. There is a scientific explanation for it. Nothing wrong with being a material realist, I can understand your suspicion. I posted the message below in another message in this sub-forum.
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I don't mean to sound like a pretentious prick... but you guys have it all wrong. There are 6 senses, not 5, sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch, and PROPRIOCEPTION.

Proprioception is your ability to know where parts of your body are without looking at it or touching it; basically sensing it with any of the other 5 senses. Try it right now. Hold your arm out, you know it's out in front of you, not because you're sensing it with your other 5 senses, but because of proprioception, you just KNOW it is there. Think about your foot right now, you "feel" it, don't you? Well, unless it's been itching or sore or something, you reading that message should have triggered a message to be sent and received confirming the attachment of your foot. It is "sensed" by your mind. I've heard of 3 documented cases of people who permanently screwed up their proprioceptive senses somehow.

The effect?

You'll dig this... for the rest of their life, they believed they were outside their body in a spirit-like form. Even if their eyes moved over their arms, and they saw it attached to their body and everything, their proprioceptive senses said NO. They lived their life as an apparition outside their body, but of course they really weren't, they just felt like that.

By the way, these can happen anytime during your life. Partially or wholly, you might feel like you're outside your body, or a toe, or a leg is missing. Kinda freaky experience when you lose your ability to sense limbs temporarily.

Go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception