What exactly is an out of body experience?

[Wolf_girl]

I'm not really sure what an 'out of body experience' means, could someone explain it to me? Thankies!

[Seeker]

Out of body experience, or OBE is the case in which you believe your spirit has broken free from the confies of your body or mind and is journeying on its own to other times or places. It is hotly debated on whether it is a legitimate experience, a lucid dream, or a trick your mind is playing on you. BTW, moving this thread to Beyond Dreaming forum.

[LucidFlanders]

What Seeker said, nobody knows exactly what it is, just alot of guessing.

[Jeff777]

-gasp- Lycan!! I think Seeker answered what you wanted to know, for the record...I do believe in OBE's.

[roguext22]

well the seeker is wrong.. oobe has nothing to do with believes, and its very not fair to tell such things seeker... oobe is then you realize you are not the body.. P.S. i know so fast everyone will deny everything i tell, because they know better than me lol But i just answered...

[ThePhobiaViewed]

well the seeker is wrong.. oobe has nothing to do with believes, and its very not fair to tell such things seeker... oobe is then you realize you are not the body.. P.S. i know so fast everyone will deny everything i tell, because they know better than me lol But i just answered... Actually Seeker is 100% correct and couldn't have answered it better. I don't understand what you mean by its when you realize you are "not the body". Maybe a typo but there is debate whether it exists or not.

[roguext22]

how can you be so sure then you didnt experienced it.. lol nub talks sorry sorry its better for me not to talk..

[Oneironaught]

how can you be so sure then you didnt experienced it.. lol nub talks sorry sorry its better for me not to talk.. Perhaps changing your custom title from "direct words" to "misguided words" would be in order. OBE is not about having an understanding that the "soul", or "being", is not necessarily the same entity as the body, as you try to suggest. That's more along the lines of spirituality/religion. And to a somewhat limited extent, science. OBE is almost guaranteed to be a purely physiological event and has nothing to do with faith. However, misguided attempts at interpretation often do. OBE is a perceived experience of the being leaving the physical body, as if the awareness - or spirit - were trekking beyond the boundaries of the body and performing separate, independent acts in space and/or time. And to suggest that it has to be real (in the sense it's portrayed by the "believers") because "how can you be so sure then you didn't experienced it.." is ridiculous, to say the least. Where is your proof that it's not just a perceptual phenomena? With the countless tests and observations made regarding the subject, for there to still be no actual proof that anyone has ever left their material body speaks volumes. Nothing greater than chance has been presented as evidence. Now, I'm not suggesting that OBE can't exist. But clearly, the support against its "reality" is, frankly, absolutely overwhelming. By "its reality", I merely mean the idea that it is an actual physical happening and that the being and body actually do manage to occupy different spaces (in location, time or point of view). The only happenings like this that have ever demonstrated a credible account are almost surely related to - and explainable by way of - mental activity, whether it be a dream-like state or another type of perceptual error. In short, an OBE is when the subject has the perceptual experience AND belief that they have left their physical body for some duration of time. To try to assume it's actually using that mechanism (really leaving the body) is to make a huge leap in logic and reason. I believe the experience is very real. But I also believe that it's only when the experience is MIS-interpreted as something external to the physical body that the experience becomes classified under the popular definition of OBE. In other words, a convenient mystical explanation for a natural internal process. Just because something seems true to the senses doesn't mean it is so in reality. Just ask any schizophrenic how convincing perceptual errors can be even to the most sure-minded. Better yet, tell me you aren't 100% "not dreaming" almost every single time you dream. Then think about how sure you are that OBE is not a mind game.

[bro]

My opinion, and only mine, I'm not addressing anyone else's right now is that Out of Body Experiences (O.B.E's) are all dreams. When you start beleiving in O.B.E's you get into the religeous deal. Because in order for your essence to come out of your body, you would need to have a ...well...soul..and souls are a matter of beleif. Dreams are proven, and I stand by the stance that O.B.E's are simply types of dreams where your mind conjured up the idea that you've left your body...

[LucidFlanders]

My opinion, and only mine, I'm not addressing anyone else's right now is that Out of Body Experiences (O.B.E's) are all dreams. When you start beleiving in O.B.E's you get into the religeous deal. Because in order for your essence to come out of your body, you would need to have a ...well...soul..and souls are a matter of beleif. Dreams are proven, and I stand by the stance that O.B.E's are simply types of dreams where your mind conjured up the idea that you've left your body... Most probably are, but there is still some that explain things that's impossible to know without being there when you wern't, infact you can be thousands of miles away and it came true (or maybe just some type of 6th sense). Anyway, like i said...most probably are just dreams. I can think OBE's are cool and all and wish i had one..have a dream of what my last thought was "wanting to have an OBE" and the mind simulates the other stuff like sounds of what you're supposed to hear and stuff. I still don't believe the mind is this powerfull. Powerfull, yes, but beyond our imagination kind of things.

[Oneironaught]

I can think OBE's are cool and all and wish i had one.. You have one every night. Actually, you have several (at least) every night. I still don't believe the mind is this powerfull. Powerfull, yes, but beyond our imagination kind of things. Wow, you have serious underestimation issues going on.

[ClouD]

Wow, you have serious underestimation issues going on. 100% agreed.

[LucidFlanders]

You have one every night. Actually, you have several (at least) every night. Maybe, maybe not. It's all up to a persons belief if dreams are OBE's, or just the brain. I don't know, and rather not believe in something fully because i like hearing both sides, even if it kills me to not be 1 sided and have to hear the truth, even if i wanna be a blind person. It's better to know everything, then 1 thing. Wow, you have serious underestimation issues going on. Probably. Brain noob here.

[Oneironaught]

Maybe, maybe not. It's all up to a persons belief if dreams are OBE's, or just the brain. I'm not saying dreams are OBEs. I'm saying that - in all (overwhelming) likelihood - OBEs are a form of dream-like experience, just misunderstood. Much like the way lucid dreams are often completely misunderstood and misinterpreted by those who don't know about LDs. They have the experience then have to make leaps to find an explanation that makes sense. Yes, I know that can work both ways but it's more reasonable to bias towards the proven reality than to make wild logical bridges to the contrary. Look at the origin of most legends and religions: myth concocted to try to explain something not understood. The problem is that those kinds of "explanations" are archaic and founded in fantastic mysticism rather than modern-day knowledge and reason. EDIT: I wonder how many people who've experienced OBE - IF being HONEST - would have a light switch click after learning about LDing and say "Ahh, OK. That's exactly what I experienced." I'd be willing to bet nearly every single one. The same thing applies to SP (Old Hag). Think of how many people were convinced throughout the centuries that it really was some old lady spirit sitting on their chest, trying to smother them. After all, they SAW IT; they FELT IT; they HEARD IT. But if they knew what we do today, they'd have to (again, IF they were honest about it) say: "Oh, OK. THAT's exactly what I experienced." Personal experience only tells part of the story.

[sideroller]

try to have one when you drift to sleep... I did it twice and wrote about it here..